Thousands demand ‘truth and justice’

Thousands of people flocked to Valletta demanding “truth and justice” last Sunday in the wake of revelations by the Daphne Project. The protesters were addressed by PN MEP David Casa, PD MP Godfrey Farrugia, PN youth movement general secretary Emma Portelli Bonnici, Awturi co-founder Alexander Hili and Occupy Justice activist Rachel Willams.

What made the headlines

‘Police sergeant tipped off Daphne suspects’: The three suspects charged with the murder of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia had been alerted by police sergeant Aldo Cassar before the December 4 raid on a Marsa warehouse during which they were arrested, Nationalist MP Jason Azzopardi claimed in Parliament. Dr Azzopardi alleged that when the Police Commissioner found out, he did not take action against Mr Cassar and instead offered him the choice of a transfer to a district police station or the Rapid Intervention Unit. The police have denied the claims.

Sliema rejoices as Townsquare thrown out: The permit for a monstrous 38-storey Townsquare tower in Sliema was annulled as the Environment and Planning Review Tribunal sent the developers back to the drawing board. The €100 million project had been approved by the Planning Authority in September 2016, giving rise to a number of appeals. The review tribunal upheld the appeals, citing the inadequacy of studies carried out for the project. The developers are seeking to build 159 residential units, 750 parking spots and a number of retail outlets. The decision was welcomed by a number of NGOs, the Sliema local council, the Democratic Party and Alternattiva Demokratika, all of whom argued the project would have an excessive visual impact, create traffic and congestion in Qui-Si-Sana and negatively impact the nearby residents’ quality of life.

Tax incentives for IVF professionals:  IVF experts are being enticed to work in Malta through the introduction of tax incentives. As a result of a legal notice, embryologists and other assisted reproductive technology professionals will be made eligible for the Highly Qualified Persons scheme, which offers a special 15 per cent tax rate to professional expatriates filling high-level posts in key economic sectors. The legal notice came as Parliament debated sweeping changes to the Embryo Protection Act which will lift the existing ban on egg and sperm donation, as well as embryo freezing.

Muscat announces €50 million housing project: Prime Minister Joseph Muscat told Labour Party supporters attending a Workers’ Day celebration in Valletta that the government had approved a €50 million social housing project through the proceeds of the controversial passport selling scheme. He made no reference to fresh corruption and money-laundering claims that emerged in recent days through the so-called Daphne Project.

President hopeful of changes before signing IVF law: President Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca told the Times of Malta she was hopeful that the ethical and moral issues being raised on the new IVF law would be addressed before it landed on her desk for her signature. A spokesman for the President said following her appeal for a non-polarised deb-ate, Dr Coleiro Preca had held a “very constructive meeting” with Health Minister Chris Fearne.

€10m to regenerate Grand Master’s Palace: A €10 million regeneration project for the Grand Master’s Palace was launched, 80 per cent of which will be funded by the European Union. Culture Minister Owen Bonnici described the project as “the greatest investment in the Grand Master’s Palace since Malta’s independence” and said it would take around four years to complete. 

Multimillion-euro fuel smuggling operation coordinated from Malta: Malta has been identified as the centre of a well-coordinated, multimillion-euro, fuel-smuggling operation, with stolen Libyan fuel products traded at the island’s Hurds Bank or even through established storage facilities in the Grand Harbour and Birżebbuġa, according to a Daphne Project investigation. The operation, which started following the 2011 collapse of Libya’s Gaddafi regime, evolved into a large criminal organisation coordinated by Maltese, Libyan and Sicilian businessmen close to the Mafia.

Double-digit carbon dioxide increase: Carbon dioxide emissions increased by almost 13 per cent in Malta last year, the highest in all the EU Member States. Data published by Eurostat showed that while the EU average increased by 1.8 per cent, in Malta carbon emissions from the burning of fossil fuels shot up by 12.8 per cent. Respiratory physician Martin Balzan told the Times of Malta that the increase in the number of cars on the road was likely to blame.

What trended

‘Not exactly Eco Gozo’

Readers’ lack of trust in Malta’s planning overlords reverberated across the Times of Malta’s comments boards this week, most notably following a decision to revisit plans to develop Gozo’s Ħondoq ir-Rummien.

“Common sense dictates that it does not make sense to risk ruining such a beautiful part of our coast, yet they keep coming back again and again. There is something very, very wrong in our system if this is allowed,” wrote one.

“Heartbroken,” sighed another. “It is just disgusting that one refusal after another is not respected and accepted.”

Another took the news with a dose of cynical humour: “Not exactly Eco Gozo, is it?”

Not even the news that another much-maligned project – Sliema’s Townsquare skyscraper – had been sent back to the drawing board seemed to temper Times readers’ cynicism: “They will not stop until they get something approved. These people are ruthless when it comes to money,” one reader warned.

‘Hideous rip-off’

Ten rectangular kiosks installed in Tritons Square which cost taxpayers an obscene €40,000 a pop have managed the impossible: getting practically all Times of Malta readers to agree.

Almost 90 per cent of readers described the kiosks as “hideous and a rip-off” in a Times online poll, and praise for the rectangular structures was similarly hard to come by on comments boards.

“Even ugliness costs dearly nowadays,” wrote one, as another shared a 1930s photo of a kiosk in Senglea, noting “they could do a better job 80 years ago.”

“The tourists probably think they’re public toilets when they’re closed,” snorted another.

One dissenter offered up a somewhat meek defence of the kiosks: “They would fit here in Melbourne no problem,” she wrote. “Not sure this is the right look over there, but shipping containers would be worse.”

Politics before humanity

Vlogger Nuseir Yassin’s delight with Malta turned to despair as he saw his ‘Oh My Malta’ slogan weaponised by politicians, prom-pting him to fire a dismayed broadside at us for putting politics “before your humanity”.

The Facebook note was welcomed by many – “you couldn’t have said it better” – and dismissed by others, such as the defensive gentleman who sniffed, “We were proud of our country before he came and we are proud of our country after he left.”

One reader noted Nas’s note was only visible in Malta, suggesting he did not want people elsewhere to have a negative impression of the country.  “Even in his disappointment, this guy still respects the country,” he wrote.

What they said

“We will sit down with workers to hear their concerns, rather than use May 1 to show off strength.”

Nationalist Party leader Adrian Delia criticising Prime Minister Joseph Muscat for using Labour’s May Day celebrations as a show of strength rather than to listen to the workers’ concerns. 

“Our aim is to keep on bringing about change.”

Joseph Muscat delivering his concluding speech at the Labour Party’s annual general conference.

“There is no need to be in favour of killing embryos to be progressive.”

Democratic Party MP Godfrey Farrugia criticising the proposed amendments to the Embryo Protection Act during a speech in Parliament.

“I have no idea what each party stands for, but I have a strong desire not to be associated with either.”

Palestinian-Israeli vlogger Nuseir Yassin, known as Nas, disassociating himself from the Labour and Nationalist parties after they both used his ‘Oh My Malta’ slogan for political leverage.

“Love me or hate me, at least you know where you stand with me.”

Valletta 2018 Foundation chairman Jason Micallef reacting after over 100 artists, authors and arts managers signed a petition calling for his resignation after his comments against slain journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia.