10 years ago - The Times
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Simshar owner found alive, two bodies recovered
While the whole of Malta held its breath during the past week over the fate of four fishermen and an 11-year-old boy, a drama was being enacted out at sea. Ray Bugeja, owner of the trawler Grecale, last night told The Times how Simon Bugeja, in his late 30s, managed to keep his wits about him to try to save his crew, including his son, Teo, 11, after the vessel they were on, the Simshar, was blown apart following an explosion in the engine room.
Simon Bugeja recounted this horrific ordeal to Mark Bugeja, captain of the Grecale. Mr Bugeja was found by the Grecale and was flown to Mater Dei Hospital last night after he was found alive yesterday at about 7.45pm, having spent eight days at sea.
While they were on their way back to Malta Thursday week, the crew heard a bang in one of the engines and when Simon went down to check, an explosion ripped the boat apart and the crew ended up in the water. On Saturday, the Eritrean member of the crew died. Noel Carabott died on Sunday. On Monday, Bugeja’s father passed away.
“This morning Teo was still alive. At one point the boy slipped off the raft lifeless into the water. The other crew members had succumbed also because they had drunk seawater.
25 years ago - The Times
Monday, July 19, 1993
Illegal building owners ‘totally cooperative’
Owners of illegal buildings, who have been told by the Planning Authority to pull them down, have been totally cooperative. The Planning Authority’s chairman Joseph Kennely told The Times that the Authority had approached the owners of a number of illegal buildings and told them to take the demolition initiative themselves. In all cases – Kennely would not say how many – the owners had acted responsibly and pulled down the buildings. The demolition had been supervised by the Authority to ensure that no damage was caused by debris.
In a statement issued in May the Authority had said it would issue permits for illegal buildings only if they were in accordance with the national Structure Plan. Kennely stressed that the demolition was not an isolated campaign but a process the Authority would continue.
Alternattiva Demokratika, commenting on an Authority statement, urged the Authority to pull down all illegal buildings, particularly the rooms along the seashore at St Thomas Bay and Armier. The Authority chairman, said AD, could not continue to hope that the owners would pull down their own structures. AD added that all cases of illegal development should be made public to ensure that the Authority was carrying out its duty.
Half a century ago - Times of Malta
Friday, July 19, 1968
Lord Robens’ mission workprogressing ‘extremely well’
Lord Robens, chairman of the Joint Steering Committee, arrived by air late yesterday. At a press conference at Luqa Airport, he said: “The work of the steering committee is going extremely well and I believe that when we have finished this four-day visit I think we should be able to give figures that show that the expectations of the mission are very well up to standard; if we go on as we are doing now, the 15,000 new jobs by 1972 can be assured.
Lord Robens was asked: “The General Workers’ Union is organising an extraordinary general conference tomorrow on the rundown subject, and it is being speculated that the aim is to put pressure on the Maltese government to seek a revision of the London Agreement. Do you agree with this?”
Lord Robens replied: “ I think any proposal which says that in a changing economic society no man should be made redundant unless there is a job for him to go into immediately is a proposal that no one anywhere in the world has found it possible to carry out. Our job is to fit redundant workers from the Service into jobs – we believe we can do this but we have no magic wand and nor does anybody else that can guarantee that a man can leave the Service on Friday and walk into another job on Monday.”