Chinese New Year

Chinese New Year and Maltese carnival celebrations collided in Valletta with guest performers from China showcasing their culture on the streets of the capital.  The Zhejiang Wu Opera Troupe staged a show at Pjazza Teatru Rjal before an hour-long parade through the streets, with spectacular puppets adding a new twist to the traditional festivities. The performance was part of the annual Chinese New Year celebrations organised by the China Cultural Centre in Malta.

What made the headlines

Maltese couple killed in Sydney car crash: A Maltese couple in Australia for a family wedding were killed in a horrific traffic accident on Friday. They are Maria Dolores, 57, and Laurence Pulis, 60, from Birżebbuġa. They had been staying with Ms Pulis’s brother, 74, who was driving and who also died in the accident. They were there to attend her nephew’s wedding. Five people were in the car when it collided with a semi-trailer and then crashed into a fence at Bow Bowing, near Campbell town.   

Steward hospital sold to developer: Steward Health Care, the new operators of three State hospitals in Malta, sold the Quincy Medical Centre in Massachusetts, US, a public hospital, to real estate developers for $12 million, the Times of Malta revealed.  The company courted controversy in 2014 after it announced it would be closing the hospital, even though the agreement it signed with the Massachusetts Attorney General shows it could not close the medical centre without notifying the US Department of Public Health 18 months in advance.

Tree accident victim ‘to make full recovery’: The woman who lost her husband when a tree struck their car is expected to make a full recovery from her in­juries, the Times of Malta reported.  Dan Udrea, 38, died when the strong winds that hit the island last weekend felled a tree just as the car passed under it. Mr Udrea’s wife, Irina, 32, was rushed to hospital with very serious head injuries. Their two young sons, three-year-old Edy and six-month-old Oli, were with their grandmother at the time of the accident. Doctors and staff at the hospital raised about €5,000 and members of the public in Malta and Romania donated more than €7,000, which will help fund the repatriation of Mr Udreas’ body to Romania, his funeral and Ms Udrea’s medical expenses. Air Malta said the airline would fly the body to Romania free of charge.

Safi wells contaminated by sewage: Water wells in Safi have been contaminated by sewage flowing for months from an underground leak, potentially rendering “thousands of gallons” of water unsafe, Safi residents told the Times of Malta. Tests confirmed the sewage leak but its source has not yet been determined. A Health Ministry spokeswoman said the case was being investigated by the Environmental Health Directorate.

Valletta council motion on Caruana Galizia monument ‘inadmissible’: Valletta mayor Alexiei Dingli ruled that a motion by Labour councillor Ray Azzopardi to remove the makeshift memorial for journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia was inadmissible, at the end of a packed and chaotic local council meeting. The ruling, that the local council had no jurisdiction over the Great Siege monument, was met with cheers and jeers in equal measure. The motion said the memorial was “abusing” the monument, and that the posters and photos there were illegal. Speakers in defence of the memorial included Demo­cratic Party MPs Marlene Farrugia and Godfrey Farrugia, PN MPs Karol Aquilina and Jason Azzopardi, MEP David Casa and blogger Manuel Delia.

Doctors put latest strike threat on hold: Doctors decided not to take industrial action on Thursday and Friday as a gesture of goodwill, the Medical Association of Malta said. Doctors are at loggerheads with the government for failing to inform them that Vitals Global Healthcare had sold the 30-year concession to run three public hospitals to Steward Healthcare. The doctors’ union contends the government was bound by their collective agreement to notify them six weeks before the sale. The MAM said it appeared progress had been registered in principle during talks with the government and that the two sides were inching towards agreement.

Youths shun sports clubs: Maltese youths, together with those from Cyprus, Lithuania, Poland and Romania, were the second least likely to participate in activities held by sports clubs, according to a Eurobarometer study. The study found that only 11 per cent of Maltese people aged between 15 and 30 said they took part in such activities in the 12-month period to last September. The average across the 28 Member States was 29 per cent. Hungary topped the list of the least active, with a rate of 10 per cent.

What trended

No laughing matter

Unsurprisingly, junior minister Clint Camilleri’s defence of certain individuals who at the Nadur carnival used a battered white van with words like “Mount Carmel Clinic”, “Beware Mental Driver”, “Dimensja (sic)” and “Crazy” sprayed on, did not go down at all well with our online readers.

In a Facebook post, Camilleri said he was convinced the people be­hind the joke had no intention of hurting anybody and there was no need to stir controversy over a carnival float. The joke, he insisted, should be seen in the context of the traditional Nadur carnival.

“Laughing with and condoning these idiots makes you not fit for purpose Clint,” one reader told the parliamentary secretary.

Another distraught person re­marked: “Clint Camilleri epitomises the ‘u iwa mhux xorta’ attitude of this government. In the civilised world, MPs would be made to resign for much less blatant comments, let alone something as insensitive as this.”

“It is unacceptable that a Labour junior minister is so insensitive and it is even worse that his actions were not sanctioned by Prime Minister Joseph Muscat,” another reader wrote.

One reader, calling himself “possibly naïve” added a new twist to the argument, saying his interpretation is that this was “a clumsy way of drawing attention to the reckless and irresponsible actions of so many Maltese drivers, some of which might be at­tributed to mental health problems,” adding that what is really ‘sick’ is “the lack of treatment this particular national disease is receiving.”

Mental problems occur in almost all families. They are not funny

Most other commentators were relentless in their criticism. “It beggars belief that none of these idiots was ever exposed to some kind of awareness about the harsh impact that mental illnesses have on an individual and his/her family,” one person said.

Another added: “Distressing mental problems occur in almost all families in Malta and Gozo. They are not funny. They bring distress to all Maltese and Gozitans who would prefer that the government faces the problem and ensures that suicidal patients be safely treated in our hospitals. It is uncivil and callous to mock them in any carnival – Nadur’s carnival included.”

One reader said simply: “And to think a parliamentary secretary speaks out in defence of this senseless act.”

What they said

“Ultimately, I bore responsibility for these decisions.”

President Emeritus George Abela testifying during the compilation of evidence over involuntary bodily harm caused to 21 people during a car show in aid of the Malta Community Chest Fund, which falls under the presidency of Marie Louise Coleiro Preca.

“Nobody can fight Mother Nature and we thank God we are safe. I have never experienced anything similar, not even when navigating much rougher seas.”

Captain Joynal Abedin, whose vessel ran aground at Qawra Point during a thunderstorm and force six to seven winds.

“My wife already has a grave, in the Addolorata Cemetery.”

Peter Caruana Galizia, Daphne Caruana Galizia’s widower, insisting that a motion by a Labour Valletta councillor to remove the makeshift memorial to the slain journalist misinterpreted the law and falsely described the memorial as a grave.

“The deal was a golden opportunity to make millions off people’s backs rather than a move to improve healthcare.”

Nationalist Party leader Adrian Delia, criticising the deal involving Vitals and Steward Health companies, for the running of three State hospitals, while speaking on Radio 101.

“His comments are an insult to anybody who believes in freedom of expression and European values.”

Nationalist MEP Francis Zammit Dimech reacting to Labour MP Glenn Bedingfield’s statement that Daphne Caruana Galizia’s memorial should be placed “out of sight and mind”.