The secret lives of Maltese pagans

A New Zealand researcher studying modern day witches and pagans in Malta says she has had to conceal the identities of those she interviewed to protect them:

Social anthropologist Dr Kathryn Rountree believes the people she interviewed for a book could risk losing their jobs if they became known as practising pagans in the strongly Catholic country. Dr Rountree, a senior lecturer in the School of Social and Cultural Studies in Auckland, says Catholic disapproval of alternative religions meant extreme caution and attention to ethical research practices were vital in her approach to interviewing pagans and witches, as well as Catholic priests, about the existence of paganism in Malta.

With a working title Between the Worlds: Witches and Pagans in Malta Today, it will be the first book to explore neo-paganism in an overwhelmingly Catholic society, she says. Although contemporary paganism – which she describes as “an umbrella term for a large number of modern western nature religions”, each with their own beliefs and practices which include expressing love for and kinship with nature by celebrating seasonal cycles – is an anathema to the average God-fearing Maltese citizen, there are, in fact, some surprising links between it and traditional Catholicism.

Contrary to common Catholic perceptions, paganism is not synonymous with devil worship, Satan and the Occult, she stresses. Dr Rountree, who teaches courses in ritual and belief, has widely researched and published on Goddess Paganism in New Zealand and abroad including her 2004 book Embracing the Witch and the Goddess: Feminist Ritual-makers in New Zealand (Routledge). She stumbled upon contemporary pagan culture in Malta after a series of field trips there to study ancient megalithic (huge stone prehistoric) temples that date back 3000 – 4000 years B.C.

She was aware that these 23 unique monuments – the oldest free-standing stone buildings in the world – were frequently visited by modern Goddess followers on pilgrimages from the United States and Britain. But she had never come across a local version of Goddess worshippers. About a year after returning to New Zealand from a trip to Malta in 2003, she received an “intriguing” email from someone in Malta, asking her if she knew about a secret order claiming to have revived the worship of a pre-Christian Maltese Goddess...

Fighting racism

An ENAR report sees alarmist politicians, media contributing toward racism in Malta, writes David Lindsay:

A rise in right-wing extremism, alarmist and sensationalist language used by politicians and the media and a lack of effort in combating racism in Maltese society were highlighted this week in the European Network Against Racism (ENAR) shadow report on Malta. These factors, the report finds, have contributed to 2005 being characterised as a year in what had been latent racism in Maltese society came into the open, with far-right groups becoming more visible, organised and taking to the streets..

In Malta, the brunt of racist sentiment was borne by irregular migrants living in detention or open centres and those who have been given humanitarian protection status. The ENAR rapporteur for Malta, Christian Attard, who consulted with numerous local NGOs when drawing up the report, described language employed by some of the country’s leaders and certain sections of the media when addressing issues related to irregular migration as “alarmist and sensational”.

This has contributed to a state of affairs in which the public is under a number of misconceptions as to the origin of most migrants and the reasons why they are in Malta. The report points out, “ When riots or protests take place it is very easy for the public at large to perceive the detainees as ‘ungrateful’ or as criminals.

“One particular myth is that all refugees in Malta fled their country to escape poverty. Consequently, when they see some refugees, or sometimes even tourists who are black, wearing brand clothes or in possession of mobile phones, they resent this fact and conclude that these individuals must have abused Maltese asylum procedures in order to be allowed to stay in Malta.”

In this respect, the report noted that the importance the government has given to tackling irregular migration has not been complemented by adequate measures to combat racism and discrimination and increasing immigrant’s integration into society...

Round table on immigration

Malta, Italy and Libya will meet in a round table conference in August to prepare common positions on immigration. From AGI:

A meeting is to be held at the foreign office over the coming days between Italy and Libya to review the economic relationship between the two countries and to deal with the issue of the route requested from Italy by Libyan leader Gheddafi. The announcement was made by Minister for the Interior Giuliano Amato at the end of the cabinet meeting. Amato gave a reminder that in August there is to be a round table meeting between Italy Libya and Malta on the issue of immigration, in preparation for the UE and African Union conference "being the real subjects of this business".

Italy - Malta co-operation

The Maltese Herald

The Maltese Herald is the only national weekly bi-lingual Maltese / English newspaper in Australia providing local news and news from Malta. Today it celebrates 45 years since it was first published. The following is a profile from MaltaMigration.com of the founding editor, Laurence Dimech:

Dimech was born in Hamrun but migrated to Australia in 1954. He returned to Malta in 1962 and worked for the Malta Allied Newspapers as senior sub-editor with II-Berqa. Dimech has been a pioneer of Maltese journalism in Australia, having served as sports editor with Lehen il-Malti and editor of the Malta News. He founded the national weekly The Maltese Herald which he also edited until 1971.

Dimech was appointed to the staff of the Malta High Commission in A and served as emigration attache and consul for Malta in NSW (1971-77). From 1977 till 1985, Dimech was appointed by the Australian Federal Government as director/co-ordinator of the Parramatta Migrant Resource Centre. He has served on various committees, advising govcnmmnts on settlement issues and ethnic affairs and was employed by the department of immigration & ethnic affairs as executive officer (1985-92).

Dimech is founder of the Melita Eagles Paramana Soccer Club where he served both as secretary and president for many years; secretary of the Maltese Welfare (NSW) Inc.; past president of the Maltese Community Council of NSW; and secretary of the Paramatta Baulkham Hill, Holroyd Migrant Resource Centre. In 1996 he was awarded the Manoel Vilhena award.

Dimech is part-time journalist/roadcaster with Radio 2EA and correspondent for Union Press Publications in Australia and editorial consultant with the Maltese Herald. He is currently employed as a community development officer with the La Valette Social Centre, Blacktown, NSW. Dimech is the author of Ageing Maltese - a mi nefield of need and neglect (1992) and editor of the Maltese Resource Directory...

An evening with Beckett

The Malta Arts Festival – Summer 2006 will present a Maleth production ‘An Evening with S. Beckett’ to mark the birth centenary anniversary of Samuel Beckett. This play will be performed next Monday at the Old Opera House ruins in Valletta. More from Maltastar:

..The programme is divided into two parts. The first part includes the plays Act Without Words I and II. These two short plays have both humour and sorrow, and offer an atmosphere of reflection. Act Without Words I will feature Roderick Vassallo, while Marvic Cordina and Graziella Galea Pirotta are the cast for Act Without Words II. This performance is directed by Patrick Vella (from CurtainRaiser), and will be accompanied by Abigail Brown on the piano.

The second part of the programme features a play entitled Endgame. The leading roles are by Renato Dimech as Clov, Joe Pace as Hamm, Marvic Cordina as Nell and Narcy Calamatta as Nag. In Endgame, Beckett etches the human predicament of loneliness with that typical wicked Irish/British dry humour, telling youth not to bother to live on this earth as there is no hope. This play is directed by Narcy Calamatta with Frank Tanti as executive producer, assisted by Josette Cassar, Alec Massa and Doriana Parnis. A Maltese version of this play will be presented on Tuesday 1st August 2006 at the same venue...

Glennia's adventures

Glennia Campbell, who blogs at The Silent 1, writes about her stay in Malta:

From our vantage point in the garden, the panoramic view of Malta and the Mediterranean was spectacular. It was like Monaco, only everything looked a little more comfortable and worn, and seem to be cast in a golden glow in the sunlight. It was like something out of a technicolor movie from the sixties, and I half expected Audrey Hepburn to stroll by with Cary Grant. The vibrant flowers in the garden, coupled with the view of the sea painted a lovely backdrop to start the day. .

We walked down the main street of Valletta, through a crowded shopping area. The street was teeming with people, and Alex wanted to stop at every toy store we passed. Marisa told us that Malta had been used for a number of Hollywood movies, and that this street was featured in a scene from Munich. The wide boulevard was closed to traffic, and had a sort of pan-European feel to it. It could have been a street in London or Paris or Rome. I could definitely see how movie-makers would choose Malta as a stand-in for any number of places.

We arrived at the Cathedral, and were faced with long lines of tour groups from the Sinfonia. Marisa took us to a separate line and bought us tickets without waiting, then to a secret back-way entrance. She spoke to the guards in Maltese and they let us through. It was like being with an A-list celebrity at Studio 54 in the late 70's. There were hundreds of people waiting to get in, and we just sailed passed them. Marisa said, "We don't have enough time to wait in line. They know me here." We decided we loved her. If you ever go to Malta, hire her...

The best concierge in the world

Poetry in Senglea

Tonight at 8pm, four poets from Detroit and New Jersey will be reading their work with other Maltese poets at Ġnien il-Gardjola in Senglea:

"Poeżija Gardjola" is being organized by Inizjamed, in collaboration with the Senglea Local Council. The Gardjola Garden is found just above Senglea Point and it enjoys a breathtaking view of the Grand Harbour, with Valletta across the harbour and Vittoriosa to the right.

The American writers are poet and singer songwriter M. L. Liebler, Italo-American poet Maria Mazziotti Gillan, prose writer Jennifer Gillan, and poet Anca Vlasopolos. They are among the academics who will be taking part in the 10th International Conference of the International Society for the Study of European Ideas (ISSEI) entitled "The European Mind: Narrative and Identity," at the University of Malta in the last week of July.

The Maltese poets taking part in “Poeżija Gardjola” are Antoine Cassar, Victor Fenech, Maria Grech Ganado, Adrian Grima, Simone Inguanez, Immanuel Mifsud, Walid Nabhan, and Leslie Vassallo. There will also be readings of poems by Roderick Mallia who coordinated the event...

Kim Bah Lee

From Lanzarote in Belgium:

Do pay a visit to the Kim Bah Lee blog. The author is English, in love with a lovely Maltese lady, a former Malta correspondent for Brussels’ top satirical rag – The Sprout – (Martin Jay, please note) and a keen fan of white Panama suits. Matt blogs about Malta, Bangkok, Brussels and frolicking naked on hot summer days in the Benelux. He also likes Lanzarote (the blog - neither the island, nor the book)

A touch of Malta

Wherever one goes in the world, it seems, there is no escaping a touch of Malta and the Maltese, writes Charles Flores:

I am sure many readers have gone through the same experience. Wherever one goes in the world, it seems, there is no escaping a touch of Malta and the Maltese, however small a nation we have been and always will be. And I don’t mean the days when we all used to meet inside the duty-free shops at Heathrow and Fiumicino airports to clear out the chocolate shelves an hour prior to departure.

Social and historical developments over the centuries had of course been the chief reason for this widespread Maltese connection even in the most unlikely places. My first such coincidence, though, was in a rather likely one. I was on my first trip ever to the UK, sitting on a bench inside London’s Victoria Station, and with my luggage safely in view at my feet. That was when railway stations still had benches and the poor hobos had no problem sleeping the night away in relative safety and warmth.

I soon realised an old lady was looking rather curiously at me and my luggage. This was London that had just come out of the Swinging Sixties and one would have thought female hippies wearing beads, sporting peace badges and colourful headbands would be eyeing you rather than this plump, pleasant lady in a twinset. She finally mustered enough courage to approach me.

“I notice you come from Malta,” she told me nicely, having obviously read the label on my luggage, then added: “You see, my son lives in Malta. He is a writer and you may have even heard of him.” The lady, I was to discover, was the mother of Ernle Bradford, famous author of The Great Siege and other books with a Mediterranean theme. Even more amazing was that at that moment in time he was actually living in Kalkara, the very village in the Cottonera area I had left a few hours earlier.

I replied saying Ernle Bradford was a good friend of Malta and explained how we – that’s her son and I with various others – often met inside the murky village corner watering hole for the serious business of taking part in the strictly non-literary activity of boozing. She smiled happily and left to catch her train...

Criticism from human rights groups

Malta has received strong criticism from human rights groups for its actions during this crisis, says the BBC's Danny Wood in Madrid. From The BBC:

Malta had initially refused to allow the ship to dock, saying the Africans were rescued outside its territorial waters. Three of the migrants, a pregnant woman, a mother and a baby, were allowed ashore on Tuesday for medical treatment. It had said the men, women and children were the responsibility of Spain or Libya since the boat was Spanish and the migrants were picked up in Libya's search-and-rescue zone..

..But Malta, which joined the EU in 2004, says it has no more capacity to deal with illegal immigrants and has been pressing the EU to help. The European Commission's leading role in resolving the crisis is a sign that the EU is getting serious about helping member states with illegal immigration problems, our correspondent says. "Europe has finally realised our limits. This has been an example of collaboration and how such a burden can be shared," Malta's Foreign Minister Michael Frendo said.

On Wednesday, a plan to create rapid reaction teams of border guards to deal with European Union immigration crises was unveiled by the European Commission. Most of the migrants are thought to be from Eritrea Meanwhile, the Spanish crew which rescued the migrants last Friday have been hailed as heroes in Spain. "What they did shows the sort of men they are," Pepi Irles, wife of the boat's captain, told reporters. The Spanish government said it would award the crew a merit medal for saving 51 lives, Reuters news agency reported.

From The International Herald Tribune: Africans allowed ashore, but EU policy stays adrift

Ġgantija Solar Festival

The legend of Ġgantija and Sansuna will be dramatized for the first time in a light, sight and sound show at the temple site in Xaghra, Gozo. The Ggantija Solar Festival is being presented by Xaghra Mayor Joe Spiteri, the Xaghra local council and a number of sponsors. A press statement distributed by the organisers explains the legend of Ġgantija and Sansuna and provides logistic details about the festival which will have free entrance to all:

As the story goes, at the dawn of time, before written history, before Kings were born in stables, before nations, these Islands were one. The Maltese archipelago formed a mountain range the people called The Sacred Mountain of the Gods. They built sanctuaries to these gods, Temples and Stone Circles. One of the first to be completed on one of the highest plateaus was Ggantija.

Legends say that, in those early, dawn days, giants walked the land. Ġgantija, the Temple of the Giants, owes its magnificence to the strength of one in particular named Sansuna, a woman whose strength, it is said, came from a special diet of broad beans. She carried the huge stone boulders on her head up from the quarry to the temple site. They are some of the largest megalithic blocks used in construction of the temples.

This show tells her story, describes the creation of Ġgantija and reenacts the Solar Festival held there at the beginning of each growing season. For more information, visit the website: www.ggantija.com or email alive@ggantija.com or call 2155 0334. Many hotels in Gozo are offering special rates and discounts. Transportation and shuttle buses will be available for round trips from Mgarr Harbour and among the hotels and the temple site.

Ten eyes for an eye...

In this interview with The Business Times, President Emeritus Guido De Marco discusses the current Middle East crisis. When questioned about Malta's role as a small country he stated:

..This is precisely our advantage. Nobody can suspect that we have a hidden agenda. The only thing we can gain is peace. Malta should continue acting in the role of serving as a bridge between north and south as augured by Pope John Paul II during his visit to Malta in 2001.

When I was President of the Union Nations General Assembly, the Palestinians were foolishly siding with Saddam Hussien who had just invaded Kuwait. On that occasion, I warned the Palestinians that after winning their independence they will be a small state like Kuwait and that they are obliged to side with Kuwait and those defending its sovereignty. I was not patronising them as I also hailed from a small state. The typical Palestinian response was to highlight the fact that while the oil-rich Kuwaitis immediately found international support, the Palestinians were completely ignored. Is this because we do not have any oil running in our veins, the Palestinians used to ask...

Small Country Big Problem

Foreign Minister Michael Frendo appeals for help via the pages of the International Herald Tribune:

What is the solution? We can only have a comprehensive plan. We must not close one road for the traffickers and leave "softer" options open. Along with joint patrolling of the west Mediterranean, we must have joint patrolling in the central Mediterranean area. The message to criminal organizations must be that no route will be easy anymore.

The Morocco conference was only a step. The EU- AU Tripoli ministerial conference must follow without delay. The Morocco declaration calls for it to be held this year. All countries must fight international criminal organizations. And international law should be respected. Article 13 of the Cotonou agreement signed by African countries calls for the repatriation of illegal migrants. This must be followed by all nations.

Development assistance is clearly a very important part of the solution to ensure that people retain the hope to make a living for themselves and their families in their own societies. In all this we must retain an unremitting commitment to provide full protection to refugees and persons requiring humanitarian status.

We need urgent action. For the 400,000 citizens of my country crammed in 316 square kilometers, this is truly vital. Malta needs help - now

A similar appeal by Minister Frendo was made in the pages of French Newspaper Le Figaro; From The BBC: Malta Spain migrant crisis deal reached

Bid to solve Malta migrant crisis

According to the BBC, international efforts are under way to resolve a stand-off between Spain and Malta which has left 51 African migrants stranded at sea since Friday:

Malta is refusing to allow a Spanish trawler which picked up the migrants to dock, drawing criticism from the UN. European Union Justice Commissioner Franco Frattini said he had spoken with Spanish, Italian and Maltese ministers. He said the trawler had done a "fantastic" job but that Malta needed help to deal with migration pressures.

The Maltese government is insisting the Eritrean men, women and children on board are Spain's or Libya's concern, since the boat is Spanish and the rescue was made in Libya's search-and-rescue zone. Our plan is to have at our disposal a permanent team of about 250 to 300 people... which will be able to intervene very quickly at the request of a member-state

A Spanish junior foreign minister, Bernardino Leon, said that two Spanish inspectors who boarded the vessel on Tuesday had reported that conditions for the immigrants were beginning to get worrying. The AFP news agency says a pregnant woman and mother and child were temporarily taken off the trawler to receive medical treatment, but were taken back later.

The United Nations refugee agency, UNHCR, has told the Maltese authorities to let the migrants disembark urgently. But the government of Malta says it has no more capacity to deal with illegal immigrants and has been pressing the EU to help. Mr Frattini said the European Union was about to launch a mission to patrol the Mediterranean near Malta, as he announced plans to set up a system for sending rapid reaction border guard teams to countries facing a migration crisis.

He added that the Spanish minister of foreign affairs had proposed a solution to the current standoff, but he said he did not want to predict what the final outcome would be. Almost 1,000 immigrants have landed on Malta, which has a total population of 400,000, since January. Spain, meanwhile, is dealing with its own immigration crisis in the Canary Islands, with some 11,000 African migrants arriving on the island chain so far this year.

More from the BBC: grants stuck in Malta stand-off; UNHCR press release

Update 19-7-06: Boat with 51 Eritreans adrift off Malta coast, Dan Bilefsky writes in the International Herald Tribune

'Mythic Malta'

Jessica Lim describes Malta as a 'strange little island nation with its narrow cobblestone streets, medieval dungeons and baroque palaces' that stirs up romantic notions in the author. From Malaysia's New Straits Times:

For about three hours during hot summer afternoons, Malta shuts down for a nationwide siesta. There are a few Maltese cats guarding their sleeping owners’ front doors and some old men drinking under shady olive trees. But everything else is still, and the fact that you’re standing on 7,000 years of history creeps up on you deliciously. In fact, it wouldn’t seem out of place at all if Russell Crowe himself, clad in that sexy metal skirt that won him an Academy Award in 2000, showed up on a snorting armoured horse shouting, “At my signal, unleash hell!”

You may not have heard of Malta but chances are, you’ve glimpsed parts of it in one of these movies: Gladiator, Troy, The Count of Monte Cristo, Cutthroat Island, Troy, U-571, League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, and Alexander. Even the great original classic Popeye was filmed here. With craggy, unspoiled cliffs and deep blue seas, narrow cobblestone streets lined with towering limestone fortresses dating back to the 1600s, Malta is perfect for movies that need that kind of ancient feel..

There isn’t much colour breaking the monotone landscape of brown shops, brown houses, steep brown streets, brown fields, brown horses and brown, brown bodies tanning on the beach. Every building is made out of the same material — Horlicks-coloured, rectangular limestone slabs, which is Malta’s only natural resource besides salt. To make up for this lack of colour, building owners invest their creative energy frenetically on their door knockers. You’ve never seen anything like it. Ornate kissing fish, lions, eagles, gods and goddesses, snakes and dragons, all fancifully wrought, then burnished to sparkling perfection...

Advertising abortion

Malta Pro-Life advocates can't stop Spanish abortion business from running adverts, writes Steven Ertelt in LifeNews:

The government of Malta has told pro-life advocates that it can't stop a Spain abortion business from running ads there, even though the European nation prohibits abortion. Pro-life advocates have been wanting to keep the ads from appearing in their country. Spanish abortion practitioner Josep Carbonell has been advertising abortions at his Valencia, Spain abortion facility. Moreover, he has been providing controversial free abortions for Maltese women.

Carbonell has said he wants to do abortions at no cost since women living on the island nation can't get abortions there. Government officials say they have no grounds on which to stop the advertisements, since the abortions are not done in Malta. “As long as what he's promoting is happening abroad, there is nothing legally that can be done about it,” a spokesman for Home Affairs Minister Tonio Borg said yesterday, according to Malta Today. “It is morally reprehensible, but nobody can stop him from advertising services he’s offering in other countries.”

Carbonell says Maltese women are undergoing dangerous illegal abortions, which is why he wants to pay for Maltese women to have abortions at his facility. His offer also includes paying for travel expenses for any Malta woman who is under 25 weeks of pregnancy to have an abortion. “I know that by promoting abortion in Malta I am risking going to jail," he said Friday, according to Malta Today. "But I am even ready to go to jail to give Maltese women this right."

Abortion has been controversial in Malta because it is one of a few European nations that make it illegal. In December 2004, the nation's Catholic bishops condemned a United Nation's campaign pushing the pro-life country to overturn its pro-life laws. Maltese bishops criticized a document released by a UN committee urging the nation to consider allowing abortions in cases of rape or incest or supposedly to protect the health of the mother...

Malta Jazz Festival at the Valletta Waterfront

The Valletta Waterfront is gearing up to host the new look Malta Jazz Festival, which this year is taking place between 21st and 23rd July. By MaltaMedia:

..The festival, which has been redesigned to appeal to a wider audience, will feature jazz greats like Percy Jones, Bill Bruford and Tim Garland together with acts such as the Blues Brothers lineup and the Alan Parsons Live Project. Maltese acts will include Noir and Renzo Spiteri.

Throughout the festival, all the outlets along the Valletta Waterfront will remain open to the public offering late night shopping as well as the opportunity to enjoy a meal or a drink at one of the outlets along the water’s edge. Access to the outlets at the Waterfront will be unhindered by the festival, meaning that both festival goers and other patrons will be free to make use of all the facilities available throughout each evening.

Tommy Bruce

Tommy Bruce, a singer who often performed in Malta, died a few days ago. Bruce is mostly known for his 1960 hit,'Ain't Misbehavin'. From the Independent (UK)

The most surprising pop star of 1960 was Tommy Bruce with his revival of "Ain't Misbehavin'", and no one was more surprised by his success than Bruce himself. He had been working at the fruit and vegetable market in Covent Garden and had never considered singing in public..

Bruce recorded a gravelly version of Fats Waller's "Ain't Misbehavin' ", which Mason took to Norrie Paramor, a producer at EMI. Paramor recognised the possibilities of Bruce's distinctive voice. "I was given a recording contract and, when 'Ain't Misbehavin'' crashed into the charts at No 14, I was still working at Covent Garden," Bruce said. "All the papers were coming down to take photos of me loading up spuds and all the fellers were teasing me about it." Ain't Misbehavin' went on to reach No 3.
Bruce later became a smartly dressed entertainer, often performing in Malta and Spain, and he was content being an opening act on oldies shows. He toured with early rock'n'roll stars like Mike Berry, Jess Conrad and Wee Willie Harris. He said..I'm often called a one-hit wonder, but I wasn't really. Still, if they want to say it, I don't worry. It don't mean nothing to me anyway..

In March this year the arts and entertainment charitable trust the Heritage Foundation presented him with a lifetime achievement award. They were kind enough to allow me, as his manager, to make the presentation and I shared the stage with him as he received the applause of an audience of his peers...

'The lost city of Valletta'

Google erases Malta, writes Lester Haines in The Register:

We have some bad news for those readers currently enjoying El Reg on the sunny island of Malta: you don't exist and we have the evidence to, er, prove it...That's right, type "valletta malta" into Google Maps and you'll be directed to the exact location of that historic fortress city, ie, right in the middle of an empty expanse of Med.

It gets worse. Those Maltese who are now rushing down to Google Earth for some sign that they do actually exist will find that, although the service concedes the physical presence of the island, it has decided to offshore the historic fortress city of Valletta to a new subaquatic location about one third of a mile from the coast...

Google Earth

Voyages & Voir

The activities of the Voyages & Voir programme aim to enhance the cultural links and long history that bind Malta and Sicily:

The first part of this activity was a seminar held in Sicily under the Sicily-Malta Interreg programme. Both Maltese and Italian scholars took part. The seminar, held in the Annunziata Church at Palazzolo Acredi, discussed various elements of the links between the two islands. The seminar was introduced by Domenico Nigro, Mayor of the city and Ray Bondin, VRO’s executive coordinator, who also chaired the seminar.

The Maltese speakers were Anthony Bonanno who spoke on the spiral motive in prehistory, Antonio Espinoza Rodriguez who spoke on the voyage of Don Ignazio Saverio Mifsud in 1746 and Emmanuel Magro Conti on the 17th century Maltese boats that travelled between the two islands.

The seminar was concluded by Martin Micallef who spoke on present and future relationships between the two islands. Later this year an exhibition will be held in Siracusa and Palazzolo on the theme. Next year a concluding seminar will be held in Malta and an exhibition at the Maritime Museum in Birgu. A book will also be published next year. The Maltese partners in this programme are Heritage Malta and Valletta Rehabilitation Project of the Resources and Infrastructure Ministry.

Due isole alla vigilia del Grand Tour nel Mediterraneo di domani...by Martin Micallef

Hunters see red

Maltese hunters see red over EU bird ban proposal, EUObserver reports:

The European Parliament's petitions committee has adopted a report backing banning bird hunting in Malta during the spring season, attracting vitriol from the small state's big hunting lobby. "The current derogation should not be renewed," MEPs said, after visiting the Maltese islands for two days in May on surprise inspections and seeing evidence of mass bird carnage, including of endangered species.

Malta obtained a holiday or "derogation" from EU law against spring-time hunting during its EU accession talks, getting a break until 2008 on seven species of finch. The derogation is based on the EU's 1979 "bird directive." "There is too much circumstantial evidence of its abuse. Further derogations would lift the lid on spring hunting in other Mediterranean islands...and the price would be the likely extinction of many migratory bird species," the report added.

The European Parliament will debate the move in plenary later this year, but with about 18,000 licensed hunters in Malta, the hunting lobby makes up 5 percent of the small Mediterranean state's population and carries much clout. The Council of the Federation for Hunting and Conservation in Malta - the FKNK - did not mice its words, saying "The committee's report seems to be full of misconceptions and insults and is totally discriminatory."..

Meanwhile, Maltese wildlife charities welcomed the EU-level support, with BirdLife Malta president Joseph Mangion stating "this is in the interest of the Maltese public...[Malta] has knowingly and persistently infringed community legislation." BirdLife Malta says Maltese hunters kill 1.5 million birds a year and that most Maltese people want to see the practice curbed, but the FKNK says the BirdLife figures are lies, using militant language in the Maltese press...

The power of Waters

Yesterday's Roger Waters concert has lived up to Sabine Cassar-Alpert's high expectations. Writing about her 'rock pilgrimage' to Malta, she cannot restrain her enthusiasm for the rock legend. From Sabine's blog:

..This was certainly one of those concert that I’ll remember for a while. If I thought that the Aussie PF were good… well, the real thing is of course in a different league altogether! I didn’t even miss David Gilmour for a minute, who I used to favour over Roger Waters.

Roger Waters… I can only say I hope to have that kind of power and energy when I’m his age - which means I have to improve dramatically in the coming 16 years! (For those of you who are curious: he’s going to celebrate his 63rd birthday on 6th September!). Roger and his voice were as powerful as ever, and his stage presence hasn’t mellowed a bit!

The show… Pink Floyd through and through! The sound… nothing short of perfect, apart from two small glitches - which were nothing really, but they made us fear that something might not be working as it should. (Apparently the soundcheck had been delayed because of some faulty or missing cable - and knowing that makes you kind of anxious)

The crowd… The official number seems to be 13,000, at least that’s what’s reported in the press. I can’t believe there were over 5,000 more at the Sting gig last month. But then… who cares! The crowd was very, very enthusiastic - it was amazing to see so many young people, a sure sign of how powerful really good music is - and of course my generation’s music was and still is the best!!

And the weather…? Perfect too! Slightly breezy (what a relief after queuing for 2 hours in the blazing sun!) - and not a drop of the promised rain!...Music has an astonishing effect on moods and even energy levels. I had almost decided to pass on the pushing, shoving and bumping that come as an added bonus with a cheap ticket. Well, I’m glad I went for it!...

When playing The Wall, the line "Mother should I trust the Government" was greeted with a chorus of boos, writes Herman Grech; More on Roger Waters
Update: Syd Barrett, Pink Floyd co-founder dies aged 60

Joseph Calleja and the Liverpool connection

The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic travelled to Malta for the 'ground-breaking' Joseph Calleja summer concert this past weekend. Joe Riley writes in the Liverpool Daily Post:

A 3,000-mile round trip in three days to give one concert as the backing band to an emerging operatic superstar. Was it worth it? Yes, say the organisers, most certainly, indicated by a 3,000-strong sell-out audience demanding four encores, while the musicians saw it as an investment in both Liverpool and their own futures.

The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, touring for the first time under the direction of their new and youngest-ever conductor, Vasily Petrenko, found themselves at the centre of a perfect solution to re-ignite their own international profile prior to Capital of Culture, and to provide new EU member Malta with the premiere concert at a rebuilt 18th-century island castle site in Valetta harbour.

The link was provided by the 28-year-old Maltese tenor Joseph Calleja, whose best-selling debut solo albums, conducted by Riccardo Chailly and Welsh National Opera music director Carlo Rizzi, were produced by the Liverpool Phil's incoming orchestra division director Andrew Cornall. Calleja was the youngest vocal artist ever signed to Decca: "We found him when he was auditioning as a stand-in for Pavarotti at the Royal Opera," says Andrew Cornall.

And now, the "Maltese Falcon" as Calleja has been dubbed, was repaying the debt, insisting that the Liverpool Phil play for his big home gig. Nothing was spared: at the last moment, Maltese president Dr Fenech Adami decided it was too good to miss - one reason why the Liverpool musicians had to sight-read the Maltese national anthem from copies hastily gathered at less than 24 hours' notice.

They more than rose to the challenge, adding to the programme some orchestral items, the Prelude to Act 1 of Carmen; the ballet suite from Gounod's Faust, the overture to Bellini's Norma, and most spectacularly, given the bonus of fireworks for a separate saint's day festival across the water, Rossini's William Tell Overture. Fast and furious - but not without challenges: "There were difficulties of hearing the balance in such open-air conditions," said Vasily Petrenko. "It was much harder work than it perhaps seemed. But they liked it, and we liked playing it," added Vasily, who also celebrated his 30th birthday with an impromptu party given by the orchestra. Such was the clamour for tickets and the traffic jams , the concert, under television lights, began 40 minutes late..

Moves are already afoot to bring Joseph Calleja to Liverpool next year, as part of the Phil's own revived summer classical pops. That would be a treat: Calleja makes a wonderful sound. He is an old-fashioned tenor in the style of the late Beniamino Gigli, with all the popular glamour appeal of a Mario Lanza. The Malta concert may not have been performed under ideal conditions (open-air, extraneous noise, high humidity, the odd hunting mosquito), but it was an unqualified public relations success for Liverpool. And it was populist, and none the worse for that...

The Joseph Calleja concert "made us forget the frustration so many of us feel at how downhill we are going..", writes Marisa Micallef

The world cup experience

Italy supporter Erezija watched the final match of the World Cup finals in a Luxembourg bar surrounded by a French crowd:

Mid-dehera t-Taljani jaslu sal-finali tat-tazza tad-dinja kull tnax-il sena. Din l-istatistika tgħid ħafna dwar kemm qed jitgerbeb iż-żmien minn fuqi. Il-bieraħ kienet it-tielet finali li rajt lit-Taljani jilagħbu. Fl-82 kont G'Mangia, fid-dar ta' xi ħbieb tal-ġenituri li kellhom reception tat-televixxin tajjeb (araw hawn dwar ir-reception tat-televixxin fis-snin tmenin). Fin-94 naħseb (nenfasizza l-kelma "naħseb") li kont ir-Renos Bar, Tas-Sliema, mal-ħbieb. M'għandix tifkiriet ċari ta' dak il-werld kapp. U fl-2006 kont it-Tube ġewwa Lussemburgu, l-uniku partitarju "Taljan" ġo bar mimli Franċiżi. Tant hu hekk li xi nies (li dwarhom tkellimt fil-bloggata ta' qabel) ħasbuni Taljan ta' vera u jiena ma ppruvajtx inbiddlilhom il-fehma...

Relive the ups and downs of the World Cup Finals via the pages of 'Werld Kapp', a collective blog by Maltese football enthusiasts; FIFA World Cup Germany: A Maltese Perspective; L-Italja jirbhu wara l-ghoti tal-penaltis; Jacques on Zidane's chestbutt on Materazzi; Bangladesh is divided between Brazil and Argentina fans in similar fashion to the Italy-England loyalty divide in Malta; Malta in festa per l'Italia mundiale

Football divide

Bangladesh is divided between Brazil and Argentina fans much like the Italy-England loyalty divide in Malta. According to this AFP report Brazil and Argentina were engaged in an "unlikely aerial battle in sports-mad Bangladesh as football fever reaches boiling point":

..Skies of cities, towns and villages across the country were this weekend full of Brazilian and Argentine flags as fans displayed loyalty to their favourite teams. "I am a fan of Brazil and Ronaldinho. So I've bought a Brazilian flag for 220 takas (3.1 dollars)," said college student Amirul Islam, who flew the yellow flag over his rooftop at Dania, a suburb south of Dhaka.

An Argentinian sky blue flag was already fluttering on a bamboo pole from the same rooftop. "My cousin Hamid has flown the flag. He is an Argentina fan. I feel sorry for him, there is no Maradona and there will be no World Cup for Argentina," Islam added...Bangladesh has shed its love for cricket with fans buying either the yellow and green flag of Brazil or the sky blue tri-colour of Argentina.

So much is the love for the two teams that at Aminbazar, some 30 kilometres (18 miles) west of the capital, more than 10,000 villagers have been divided into two blocks of fans. Wealthy villagers were offering free biryani, a Bangladeshi delicacy, and free flags to lure people to their block, said Mohammad Hanif, a businessman. "I've flown the biggest Brazilian flag, which I got for 1,000 taka. I will also slaughter a goat during the first match. Whoever comes to watch Brazil's game at my house will get free mutton biryani," he said. "If Brazil wins the Cup, I'll give a feast with a cow, four goats and sweatmeats," he added.

At the village, almost every rooftop is adorned with either of the two flags. Rahamat Ali, a lorry owner, said his heart belonged to Argentina. "I've already bought two goats for a feast for Argentina. It's going to be (Lionel) Messi's World Cup."

Over 200 students of a Dhaka University dormitory Friday night staged a march to show their support for Brazil, hours after more than a hundred Argentina fans held a rally at the premises, witnesses said. "We've set up a common fund to buy Argentinian flags, jerseys and colours to paint flags on walls," said Al Amin, a student of public administration and a Jahurul Haq hall resident who was one of the organisers of the procession.

Easier to fall in love than to get married

Actress Brigitte Nielsen today marries Italian Mattia Dessi, 15 years her junior, at the SAS Radisson Golden Sands in the northern part of Malta. Nielsen is best-known for her marriage to Sylvester Stallone which ended in 1987 and for her numerous films. When speaking to Maltese journalists, I heard her say that Malta is a place where it is easy to fall in love. At other times, she complained about the bureaucratic nature of Maltese marriage. From the Independent:

Speaking to journalists at the hotel early yesterday afternoon, the actress wondered how an Air Malta magazine promoted Malta as a wedding destination when it seemed to be so difficult to get the marriage ceremony performed because of lengthy procedures.

The wedding was postponed by three weeks, during which time other locations were considered, such as Sardinia, Italy, the country of origin of the groom. Ms Nielsen’s love for this “very pretty island” kept her from such a move. “If we really want to get people to marry here, we have to make things simple for everybody,” said Mr Mizzi.

The couple met at a Lugano restaurant where Ms Nielsen “literally fell for Mattia”. Mr Dessi jokingly complained that she did not turn up for their first two dates, while she explained that she was simply playing hard to get. Meanwhile, Ms Nielsen’s dog is still being held in quarantine but hopes run high that it will be released in time for the wedding. Asked about the duration of their stay, the couple could not give a definite reply, because they would like to spend some quality time on the island, especially since it is Mr Dessi’s first visit.

The ceremony will be attended by the bride’s sons, their families and friends. The couple is expected to spend some more days in Malta before leaving for Milan and then Los Angeles. When asked who will win the World Cup Ms Nielsen spontaneously cried “Italia”. She was obviously trying to please her groom-to-be.

The story as reported by the American magazine The People; Nielsen did not turn up for her first two dates

Muncaster's postcard from Malta

Phil Muncaster is in Malta and 'can't stop thinking about work, IT, or indeed, Leyland buses'. From today's edition of IT Week:

..So it’s time for me to go away and relax. For the past week I've been lapping up the sun in Malta, that brave little rock of our once proud Empire, where men are men (in an 1980s poodle perm and designer stubble kinda way), the women are mostly out of my league, and the music is forever set to AOR.

Apart from being the first time I've been abroad and not had to feel embarrassed at being the descendant of colonial ruling class scum, it's also the first time work has made an unplanned, and fairly unwelcome appearance in my holiday. For if you peer past the 1980s replica footie shirts and Union Jacks, there is a lurking IT success story.

The Dubai Internet City, or Smart City, development has transformed a chunk of run-down industrial land in southern Malta into an oasis of ICT firms, or so the marketing spiel goes. Since 2000, Smart City has attracted such big names as Microsoft, Dell and Siemens to its lush green campus, no doubt persuaded by 100 percent tax exemption and the island's useful location as a natural bridge between Europe, the Middle East and Africa..

Well, I thought it was quite interesting, but at the time of writing I have been trying to do anything to avoid the cocky Portuguese football fans and the flag-waving, claxon-sounding Italian chavs (chavinos?) who seem to have invaded the island with the sole purpose of making all us English feel distinctly inferior - and we don't usually need any help in that.

Meanwhile, I have the consolation that though we have been beaten at footie (again), we have achieved glory in the past, typified by this island’s red telephone boxes, its old Leyland buses chugging reliably on, and the pubs on every street corner. Now, if only the locals had a winning football team they could lend us for the next World Cup...

L-Imnarja żmien it-twelid

Immanuel Mifsud celebrates the birth of his new born child Kolja:

Kolja fl-aħħar iltqajna! Konna ilna ħafna nistennewk jien u ommok u fl-aħħar tfaċċajt meta ma konniex qed nistennewk. Kellek tibgħat tgħidilna li ġej ... hekk ftehimna ... imma mid-dehra ta' rasek int ukoll! Insomma, issa l-aqwa li qiegħed hawn, u għalija, flok żmien il-qtil, l-Imnarja żmien it-twelid u l-ħajja.

Hemm skoss pariri li nixtieq nagħtik, Kolja, sbejjaħ. Imma x'jiswa? Missieri kien tani ħafna imma ftit minnhom ħadt. Jien u nqaċċatlek il-kurdun ħassejtni responsabbli: kont qed naqtgħek darba għal dejjem minn ma' ommok, kont qed nagħmel dak li kelli nagħmel, kont qed nagħtik l-aħħar imbutattura lejn id-dinja.

Inħares lejk xi kultant meta tkun mitluf fid-dinja tiegħek li ma teżistix, u narak tinħasad kull ħin bla waqt. Il-qabla tan-nuċċali rqiq qaltli li dak kollu effett tal-ħasda li ħadt malli temmejt il-vjaġġ fil-kapsula. Ma nagħtikx tort li nħsadt daqshekk, għax ħa ngħiduha kif inhi, ma nafx hux lant li tterraq fuq dal-globu. Imma se nieqaf hawn: għamilt wegħda lili nnifsi li l-valenu li xrobt jien ma ngħaddihulekx. (Anki jekk x'aktarx għad jgħaddihulek ħaddieħor.)

Ma' xiex naqbad inxebbhek? Ma' warda? Ma' għasfur li għad irid jagħmel l-ewwel titjira bi ġwenħajh? Ma' mewġa żgħira li taraha ġejja lejk bil-kalma, li tasal fejnek, tmissek u ċċaqilqek bil-ħlewwa? Ma' xiex naqbad inxebbhek?..

Il-qabla tal-malju oħxon qaltli: ara, sur Immanuel, dan l-isbaħ poeżija li għamilt. Imma int mintix poeżija, Kolja. Il-poeżiji mimlijin spirtu imma ma tmisshomx. Ma tistax tmisshom anki jekk imissuk huma. Ara lilek, nista' mmissek, u xi darba, Kolja, għad ninżlu fl-ilma u narak tieħu gost. Il-poeżija ma tagħtix gost, tagħti pjaċir mgħarraq fin-niket

L-Imnarja zmien il-Qtil

St Paul's helping hand

Kurt Farrugia and David Vella, writing in Maltastar, take the cue from Helena Smith's Guardian article to ask whether St Paul can boost Maltese tourism:

Tourism stakeholders are saying that the industry is in dire straights. The government is impotent in front of this situation. But one saint, father of Maltese Christianity St Paul, can save the day for Maltese tourism. Malta, like Greece and other Mediterranean countries, might find in St Paul a perfect saviour to bolster an ailing industry.

The Guardian, on Friday, reported how Greece will try to buttress the country’s top-earning industry by capping a campaign to re-brand Greece as a destination for modern-day pilgrims. Tourism, the main industry in Malta, has been diminishing and on Friday the Malta Hotels and Restaurant Association stated their concern about Malta’s tourism industry. They placed all stakes on low-cost airlines, but little did they know there is a plan B… St Paul.

Greece is already marketing their country as a tourist destination for modern day pilgrims. “Religious tourism is the way forward,” said Temistokles Blaskas, director of tourist facilities at the national tourism organisation, to The Guardian. So why has Malta, the island where churches and religious symbols ornament our streets and spiritual life, not exploited this niche yet?

Next week Greece will be gearing up to boost the Saint. They will start preparing sites along the route where the apostle preached. The Greek drive is part of a wider, EU-funded campaign, which Italy, Malta, Cyprus and the Palestinian authorities have also signed up to..

But is Malta prepared? The island who recalls a St Paul’s shipwreck. The one man who is said has brought Christianity to the island and preached before sailing his way to his death in Rome, is already being exploited marketing-wise by another country for the benefit of tourism. Mr Makarios told The Guardian that EU funds have been earmarked to train young people for the industry, and international tour operator and travel agents will soon be meeting to discuss the creation of a Mediterranean network of religious tourism.

Late Pope John Paul had also travelled on the trail of St Paul and stopped over in Malta. Will Malta take advantage of this to boost its tourism, as Greece and other Mediterranean countries are already doing?

Nappies controversy

European Union leaders absorbed in a 'bizarre controversy over nappies' involving Malta, writes Tobias Buck in yesterday's Financial Times:

The conflict has already taxed some of the European Commission's finest legal minds, required hundreds of hours of internal negotiations and exposed a rare split in the otherwise harmonious 25-strong executive body of the EU...The issue at stake, however, is neither grand economic policy nor a tricky foreign affairs dilemma..

László Kovács, the European Union's tax commissioner, has for months been waiting for his colleagues' clearance to launch a legal challenge against five European countries that he says are applying the wrong rate of value added tax on babies' nappies. Mr Kovács and his advisers argue that nappies are not included on the list of goods exempt from the EU's minimum rate of VAT, currently 15 per cent.

They believe that the countries - the Czech Republic, Portugal, Poland, Hungary and Malta - are in breach of EU law and it is therefore the Commission's duty to launch an infringement case against their governments. Launching such cases - thousands of which come up every year - is normally seen as a routine matter.

But unfortunately for Mr Kovács he is facing a powerful alliance led by Vladimir Spidla, the EU social affairs commissioner, that is bent on thwarting his ambition. According to several officials, Mr Spidla, who hails from the Czech Republic, has secured the support of no fewer than three Commission vice-presidents - Germany's Günter Verheugen, Jacques Barrot from France and Sweden's Margot Wallström - and at least three other commissioners..

Mr Kovács's opponents argue that any move that would result in higher taxes on babies' nappies would send the wrong signal to young Europeans, who are already proving worryingly reluctant to have babies. They also point out that some countries, such as Britain, apply no VAT on babies' nappies at all because of rights negotiated during their entry into the EU. "It is absurd to impose a burden on families, especially since diapers for old people benefit from reduced VAT rates," one official close to Mr Spidla said.

The dispute is the latest in a series of disputes in the EU over VAT and follows earlier stand-offs over such crunch issues as restaurant bills, where France was pressing for a lower rate. But Mr Kovács insists that he has the law on his side. The Commission's powerful legal service opined last week that babies' nappies did not fall under the definition of "medical products", as described in an annexe to a European tax law. But with political sensitivities mounting, it is far from clear whether the lawyers will have the final word.

This subject was first discussed in this article written by yours truly back in April; More from Maltastar

Philosophical discussions

Andrei Grachev, a former adviser to Mikhail Gorbachev, writes about philosophical Bush - Gorbachev exchanges during the Malta summit as he explains how, in his view, the West let Moscow down. From the Herald Tribune:

..To prove to President George H.W. Bush when they met in Malta in December 1989 that he had "crossed the Rubicon" - that he believed the conflict between East and West and the "absurd" confrontation between the USSR and the USA were totally at an end - he not only told Bush that the Soviet Union no longer regarded the United States as its enemy, but, breaking with the long strategic line of Soviet diplomacy, he declared that Moscow looked on the presence of American troops in Europe as a positive contribution toward global stability.

Gorbachev also told me that he and President Bush spent some time in Malta on a separate, almost philosophical discussion of the values on which a new world would be built after the Cold War. But when Bush spoke of the victory of "Western values," Gorbachev argued that he regarded democracy, the primacy of law and human rights not only as Western, but as universal values...

Getting serious

The Maltese government protests the EU's lack of commitment on the issue of illegal immigration problem. From the Gulf Times, Malta complains of poor support on immigrant issue:

Malta complained yesterday about what it said was lack of support from its European Union partners in coping with an unprecedented wave of clandestine immigrants from North Africa. Malta feels that the EU, which it joined two years ago, “lacks real commitment with regard to illegal immigration” to the island and is dealing with Malta with the “mentality of small countries, small problems and this is not acceptable”, Foreign Minister Michael Frendo said in a statement. “All attention is on Spain which is getting assistance and Malta is being left in the lurch,” he said. “The recent landings in Malta in the last 10 days are equivalent, with regard to population density, to over 50,000 illegal immigrants landing in Spain in the same period and the Canaries do not have that level of a problem,” the minister continued.

Brigadier Carmel Vassallo, Malta’s armed forces chief, said the number of clandestine immigrants stood at 1,400 with some 1,300 lodged in army barracks. Nearly 300 clandestine arrivals were escorted ashore last Wednesday at Valletta after their boats were intercepted at sea by Maltese patrol vessels. Malta, formerly a British colonial possession, became independent in 1964. It has since become an important freight trans-shipment point, financial centre and tourist attraction. The republic, in fact an archipelago of seven islands in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, lies directly south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya. Like Italy and Spain, it is a target of immigrants being smuggled into Europe.With 400,000 inhabitants, it is currently the smallest EU member-state in both population and area. – AFP

'la Ue non ci aiuta abbastanza'; Get serious on illegal migration, Bob Geldof tells the EU + Times editorial; From the EUObserver, Malta accuses...

Update 4 july: From the BBC, Malta alarmed by migrant influx

Demand for property

Property price rises in Malta were the highest among EU members in 2004, and the latest figures show that there is no slow down in the Malta housing market this year, with double digit property inflation over the last year. From Newswire:

Property prices on the Mediterranean island of Malta have risen again, and according to overseas property specialists Tribune Properties, there is no end in sight yet to any downturn in the market. Recent government figures showed a sixteen per cent rise in the year to March 2006. Tribune Properties say that the demand for property in Malta remains bouyant from the UK, US, Australian and European mainland markets, and predict a further ten per cent rise in the coming year.

'We normally see a drop off in enquiries a few months before any price levelling' explains Tribune's Managing Director Roger Munns, 'But demand for Malta this year is every bit as strong as 2005 and at the moment we can only see prices going one way in the short term at least - and that's up'. The Malta government is expected to allow developers to utilise more land for building, but Tribune see this as a negative rather than a positive move. 'Malta is an island with a finite amount of land, and while the Malta government view releasing more land for building, and more properties as the answer to increasing property prices, we believe this is the wrong approach', say Tribune, ' and in the end more developments could have an adverse impact on Malta's economy.

Tourism is an important industry for Malta, and tourists aren't impressed by cranes and construction work while they're trying to relax or go to see Malta's historical sights, and if it's a first visit to the island there's an increased chance that it will be their last, losing the Malta holidays industry repeat business.' There has been some discontent on the island about the rising prices of property in Malta, and with less overseas buyers the possibility of prices falling and more islanders being able to get on the property ladder could be welcome news, as today's tourist is often tomorrow's property buyer..

..A new ‘Smart City’ is also being planned which could see Malta competing with the rest of Europe as a business destination for internet and other high-tech companies. English is spoken fluently in Malta, and coupled with relatively low salaries locally it is hoped that inward investment and 5000 new jobs will help the Maltese economy which in turn will boost the property, hotel and holiday markets. 'Malta is at a turning point at the moment', conclude YourMalta, 'and whether the next few years will pave the way for economic prosperity or gloom remains to be seen'.