Washing of the feet

Archbishop Charles Scicluna washed the feet of 16 people during the Maundy Thursday Mass at St John’s Co-Cathedral, which commemorates the Last Supper of Jesus Christ. Many of those who had their feet washed by the Archbishop had made use of the services offered by Caritas.

What made the headlines

‘Abortion must remain off the table’: Anti-abortion activists gathered in Valletta demanded constitutional amendments to ensure abortion remains off the political table. Led by the administrators of a recently set up Facebook group ‘Abortion in Malta? Not in my name!’ a modest gathering in Floriana heard the demands of the vocal pro-life lobby.   Alleanza Bidla leaders Ivan Grech Mintoff and Rebecca Dalli Gonzi said the group wants party leaders to pledge, before the upcoming MEP elections, that they would instruct their party whips to ensure no MPs on their ticket voted in favour of an abortion Bill should one ever be brought forward.

Mother and daughter killed, seven injured in horrific car crash: Two Żabbar women died and seven were injured in a horrific traffic accident close to the roundabout which leads to Mġarr on Sunday night. Two cars collided in the area known as Il-Buqana at about 9pm, with one of the vehicles ending up in a ditch and another on a centre strip. The crash involved a Red Audi A1 and a blue Maruti 800. The victims, Graziella Mallia, aged 53, and her daughter Fallon, 31, were in the Maruti. The Audi ended up in the ditch where the road is being widened. It was being driven by a 31-year-old from Mosta, accompanied by a one-year-old baby and an 11-year-old child, who were seriously injured. Another child, 10, was slightly injured.  Also seriously injured were two persons, aged 77 and 12 who were in the Maruti while a 44-year-old was slightly injured. A 29-year old from Sliema was unhurt.

Over 50 migrants found living in cramped apartment block: Around 52 migrants were found by the police to be living in decrepit conditions in a small apartment block in Triq il-Wied, Qormi. The migrants, who claimed to have come from Italy, were taken away in police vans. The apartments were unfurnished, with only bunk beds and mattresses in the rooms. A migrant who spoke to the Times of Malta said he paid €150 a month to stay there. Police sources said they would register the migrants and send them back to Italy because most did not meet the legal requirements to stay in Malta.

‘Better roads mean more leisure time for drivers’: Maltese drivers will save five million hours of commute every year once seven major roadworks projects are completed, a government-commissioned study has found. The economic impact study, conducted by economist Gordon Cordina for Infrastructure Malta, found that this ‘saved time’ would translate to 12 more minutes of leisure time for every driver every week. The study looked at the collective impacts of the Tal-Balal, St Andrew’s, Central Link, Marsa-Ħamrun bypass, Triq Buqana, Marsa junction, and the Sta Lucija tunnel projects.

Contracts Department told to reverse tender ‘clarification’: The Department of Contracts and the Finance Ministry have been ordered to reverse a ‘clarification’ issued at the 11th hour regarding the submission for offers for a €17 million cleaning tender at St Vincent De Paul and expressed “serious concern” over what happened. In a formal decision, the Public Contracts Review Board upheld a complaint made by Servizzi Malta – a cleaning company – and ruled that the intervention by the government department on the last day of the submission of tenders was “concerning”.

Malta plummets 12 places in press freedom league: Press freedom in Malta has continued to deteriorate, with the country falling 12 places in an index published by Reporters Without Borders. Malta already dropped 18 places in the 2018 World Press Freedom Index last year. This year, it fell from 65th to 77th place, posting the third sharpest drop in the European Union and Balkans region, following Serbia and Macedonia, which fell 14 places. The report measures the level of media freedom by looking at the level of pluralism, media independence, the environment and self-censorship, among other things.

Russia tried to buy tear gas from Malta, cancels ship dock request: Russia withdrew a request to dock a warship in Malta, amid suspicions it was trying to purchase riot gear and gas canisters on the island, a report in Buzzfeed claimed.  The 7,570-tonne Severomorsk, with a crew of more than 400 is believed to be heading towards troubled Venezuela, the report said. The Maltese authorities did not react to the report but sources told the Times of Malta the report was correct and the government had planned to ban the vessel from docking in the island if it forged ahead with the request. The source said the Russians were planning to obtain the riot gear and gas canisters from a local supplier.

What trended

Declining press freedom

The news, according to Reporters Without Borders, that press freedom in Malta has continued to deteriorate unsurprisingly led to a barrage of online comments.

“I ask why is this happening to our democratic (sic) country?” Godwin stated.

To which Joe answered: “Democracy is what I believe to be the most subtle form of dictatorship! Once elected you are at the mercy of ‘democracy’.”

“Once elected democratically tyrants destroy the democracy that allowed them to gain power and that survives only at the mercy of a corrupt foolish majority,” Francis remarked.

Joseph was equally pessimistic: “Muscat has morphed Malta into a parody of a democratic nation, taking advantage of the structural deficits of our educational system and our colonial past. We have also perverted the notion of political consensus, transferring it to whatever is diametrically opposed to the common good.”

“This is also the best time for the press,” Mario sarcastically commented, poking fun at Labour’s ‘Best of times’ electoral slogan. 

Ray emphasised that undermining the press was tatamount to attacking democracy: “The press is the fourth pillar of democracy. A suppressed press is a suppressed democracy.”

“This will be the true, lasting legacy of the government of Muscat and his cronies,” A said.

Lino, on the other hand, was a lone voice criticising the report: “I disagree with this report. Malta’s reporters have all the freedom to write and say what they want. It appears that the basis of this report is based on the Caruana Galizia family’s continuous false propaganda abroad. In our islands we do have and enjoy press freedom.”

New EU border law

The new law protecting the external borders of the European Union, piloted and negotiated by Maltese MEP Roberta Metsola, received its fair amount of online praise, as well as some scepticism.

“Excellent work!” Robie remarked. “That’ll keep the Chinese and Middle East people out – oops! No it won’t because they buy their way in. One law for the rich...” Steve said, tongue in cheek.

“Roberta is one of the few real professionals representing us,” Joseph said.

Donald, however, was somewhat sceptical about the whole thing: “There are close to a million migrants on the Libyan shores waiting for a chance to invade Europe by any means they find. The laws our zealous MEP (kudos to her) managed to pass will mean nothing if those migrants find their way to Europe.”

As far as Tony was concerned, the best solution would be to end the free movement of people throughout Europe. “How about scrapping Schengen?” he asked.

What they said

“Those staying home are certifying corruption. It would be a thank you to Labour, and a thank you to Konrad Mizzi.”

Nationalist Party leader Adrian Delia addressing the party faithful at the PN club in Siġġiewi where he urged supporters to vote in next month’s MEP elections.

“The Maltese language faces digital extinction.”

Education Minister Evarist Bartolo speaking on the results of a study about language use in schools carried out by the National Literacy Agency.

“We have had enough of pseudo public policies which are a cover for vote grabbing or give rise to pro-shady business deals.”

Democratic Party leader Godfrey Farrugia writing in the Times of Malta about his opposition to the Malta-Gozo tunnel. Parliament later approved plans for a permanent link between the two islands.

“Notre-Dame is more than just a French heritage building; it is also a symbol of Christian Europe and European heritage.”

Tony Cassar, a museum multimedia designer, writing in the Times of Malta about the fire that engulfed Notre-Dame Cathedral.

“When I was tasked with drafting a new European Border and Coast Guard law, no one thought we would be here today, less than six months later, with a deal on the table.”

Nationalist MEP Roberta Metsola, who piloted and negotiated the EU law protecting the external borders of the bloc, speaking after the law in question was approved by a large majority in the European Parliament. The law, negotiated in a record time of six months, will see the addition of 10,000 European border and coast guards.