Maltese Canadians

Writing in the Toronto Sun, Mike Strobel speaks to the Maltese community in Canada. Strobel is on the jury for the Miss Malta of Canada competition:

Very prime real estate. Once crossroads of the world. Odds are your ancestors trod its sun-kissed soil. "We have been invaded by everyone," says Antoinette Buttigieg, whose daughter Holly is the current Miss Malta...In World War II. Malta was pounded flat by German and Italian bombers, but the islanders held fast. "One tiny bright flame in the darkness," said Roosevelt. .

They are quiet. I cannot remember the last Maltese protest march. There are no Maltese gangs. But they do not hide. You can meet a Maltese day or night, in the Malta Village, on Dundas St. W., near the Junction. Antoinette and Charles Buttigieg own Malta Bake Shop. They feed me fine pastizzi, the national cheese/meat pastry. .

Other useful things about Malta I learn in the Village: The Maltese have their own ornate style of balcony; Their boat, n luzzu, is a sort of brightly painted dory; Buses are like Cuban cars, 1940s relics lovingly maintained; The Maltese mutt? Thought to originate in Asia, it was brought to Malta by traders bound for Europe; The Maltese Falcon? Humphrey Bogart's golden bird is myth. But in 1530, the Holy Roman Emperor rented out Malta in exchange for a symbolic falcon to The Knights..

For one, Paul and fellow knights roam downtown Toronto at Christmas, giving turkeys to the poor. Cathy was once Miss Fan Club, one of four societies in the Village. Malta is big on clubs. And soccer. And church. Maltese, many now moved to the suburbs, still flock to St. Paul the Apostle, on Dundas. Morning Mass is in the mother tongue, but otherwise it is hard to pick a Maltese out of a crowd. They can pass for Greek or Lebanese or Italian. Their accent seems a blend of all three. They speak English, thanks to British rule to 1964, and have a superb school system back home.

So they have fit in, since the first came in the 1920s. No fuss, no muss. Heads down, go to work. A quiet, charming company of knights and ladies. And I get to help pick their queen.

Mediterranean frontline

Malta is now on Europe's new Mediterranean frontline for African emigrants, writes Mike Donkin for BBC News:

In Malta's historic harbour a grey marine patrol ship cuts through the brightly painted tourist craft to land what has become a routine - and tragic - human cargo. Huddled, damp and exhausted on deck are 21 Somali emigrants plucked from a leaky open boat after a grim voyage from Libya. They are among nearly 1,700 emigrants from Africa who have been rescued off Malta's shores so far this year. Another 1,800 came last year. Malta - tiny and densely populated - is now on Europe's new Mediterranean frontline for African emigrants. It just cannot cope and is pressing fellow EU nations to help..

..It's a world away from Malta's preferred image as a Mediterranean sunspot. In the capital, Valletta, the horse and carriage drivers ply their trade and the pavement cafes are full of mostly British holidaymakers tucking into ice creams and sweet pastries. These visitors are welcome. They make up the thickest slice of the Maltese economy. But for most Maltese residents - like Joseph Agius, who is in the tourist trade - the other unsought influx is not..

Malta's government says the tiny island simply cannot cope and its new and powerful ally, the European Union, must help. Malta wants to see joint sea patrols and to get funds to deal with the emigrants, Deputy Interior Minister Louis Galea tells me. Most importantly, larger, richer EU nations should give homes to most of those whom an accident of geography brings to these shores. "Malta is perhaps the most densely populated piece of rock on planet Earth. We have meagre resources to deal with these problems," Mr Galea says. "It is therefore important that more EU states come up with concrete co-operation by taking more of the illegal immigrants. They may arrive in Malta, but in fact they want to settle in the European Union not Malta."...

Final stages of the Malta Journalism Awards

This blog is a finalist for the 16th edition of the Malta Journalism Awards in two categories: Cultural Journalism and E-Journalism. The finalists were announced last night at Villa Parisio, home of the Strickland Foundation in Lija. In the Cultural Journalism category the competition is with Lino Bugeja of The Sunday Times and Alvin Scicluna of TVM. My fellow finalists in the E-Journalism category are Domenic Aquilina of UEFA.com and Mona Farrugia for planetmona.com. Martin Debattista, MaltaMedia's Editor-in-Chief, is also a finalist for the Print Features category of these awards organised by The Malta Institute of Journalists via his work for The Times of Malta. Maltamedia won the E-journalism awards in 2003 and 2005.

Call for UN help

Foreign Minister Michael Frendo used his speech to the United Nations General Assembly to call for help in dealing with illegal immigration. Other foreign ministers stressed the need for multilateralism 'in dealing with problems that transcend national borders'. From UPI:

..He told the U.N. General Assembly Monday mass illegal immigration from Africa to Europe is causing real hardship for countries such as Malta and asked members of the world organization to help shoulder the financial burden. Frendo said Malta and other arrival countries also needed to tackle criminal groups "taking advantage of the aspirations of human beings who have lost all hope."

He called on the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees to assist with resettlement of refugees, noting that Malta had the second highest number of asylum applications last year in the European Union. "No country can tackle such an overwhelming phenomenon on its own," Frendo told the opening of the second and last week of the assembly's annual general debate.

"Illegal immigration needs a holistic approach internationally, stretching from combating criminal organizations, particularly in the countries of origin and of transit, from the strengthening of border control, to the promotion of good governance, economic development and the rule of law, to the resettlement of refugees and persons with humanitarian status," he said. The foreign minister also sought help in returning illegal immigrants to their countries of origin and transit and their reintegration into society.

Read full speech here

Terror link

In his memoir that is being serialised by the London Times and reported widely in the international media, General Musharraf of Pakistan reveals that Malta was one of the airports with 'lax security' that was meant to be used as part of a major terror plot in 2002. From The Times UK:

The revelation comes from General Musharraf’s memoir, In the Line of Fire, which begins serialisation in The Times today and will further embarrass the White House at a time when relations between the US and Pakistan are already strained. General Musharraf claimed last week that the Bush Administration threatened to bomb Pakistan “back to the Stone Age” if did not co-operate with the US after the 9/11 attacks..

..Among the suspects surrendered to the US was Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged architect of the 9/11 operation and many other terror plots in the UK, including a planned attack on Heathrow airport, the plot never came to fruition. General Musharraf does not explain why his intelligence chiefs only questioned al-Qaeda’s alleged operational mastermind for three days before handing him over to the CIA when he was allegedly responsible for so many attacks inside Pakistan and he alone knew the identities of the key figures in Osama bin Laden’s network.

General Musharraf says that in the Heathrow plot in 2002 Mohammed planned to use flights leaving European airports belonging to the national airlines of the Czech Republic, Croatia, Poland, Romania, the Slovak Republic and Malta because of their lax security. The signal for the hijackers to seize the plane was when the “fasten seat belt” sign was turned on as the aircraft was coming into land at Heathrow. Al-Qaeda had picked European Muslims, including a number of white converts, to fly the aircraft into terminal buildings and fuel dumps at London’s main airport...

More by David Vella in Maltastar

Return of Bla Agenda

Norman Hamilton's popular Bla Agenda chat show has been running for twelve years on ONE TV hosting over 1,700 personalities. It will resume on October 7 with the following guests: Mons. Lawrence Gatt, Director at the Dar tal-Providenza, broadcaster Simone Cini, the new chairman at the Malta Tourism Authority Sam Mifsud, and Dr Michael Vella Haber, managing director of One Productions. Norman Hamilton is a charismatic veteran broadcaster who trained with Terry Wogan in the sixties. Not afraid to speak his mind, these are his views on political broadcasting as told to MaltaToday:

It is evident that the TV medium has been hijacked by the establishment. This is bad for democracy. In the democratic countries of the west it has been the tradition with journalists to fill the role of guardians of public morals, focusing mainly on the performance of the government of the day. This role has been the duty and the privilege of the press since the French Revolution. In totalitarian countries a free press was an oxymoron. In Malta today we are witnessing the gagging of the free press with a massive exercise in covert manipulation. We have TV programmes masquerading as a vox-pop contribution to the national debate. We have subtle propaganda underlying a whole array of seemingly innocent programming. I am happy to say I am no party to such a parody of democracy and democratic freedom of the press. I produce and present a TV programme which lives up to its name – Bla Agenda. It is a programme that definitely has no hidden agenda or agendas. I am equally glad that the station which beams the programme has never intimated a wish that would go contrary to my idea of what a family programme should be. I would like to see others taking my example. It would certainly help to reduce what you correctly call “the overwhelming presence” of politics in broadcasting.

Small, intimate and sleepy

Writing in the today's Sunday Independent UK edition, travel writer Jon Bowd looks back on a visit to Gozo and reflects on good food, Ayurvedic massages, prenatal R&R and divine intervention:

"Sit, sit," said the waiter, ushering us to a corner of the terrace and sending his colleagues away for linen. Within seconds a new table was being squeezed in between the other diners. The couple next to us were shifted along, even though they were in the process of choosing their dinner from a plate groaning with raw fish that included a huge waving lobster. The staff were all smiles as they chatted with Laura, asking her how she was feeling and patting her belly. Even though it was still over four months to the birth, our baby was the most popular customer in the restaurant.

My wife and I had chosen to spend our last holiday before the birth of our first child in Gozo. We'd been burning the candle at both ends in the run up to the new arrival, and Laura was almost at the point where she couldn't fly, so this sleepy little rock seemed perfect. All we wanted was some relaxation with a bit of sea and sun thrown in - Ibiza would have to wait for another year.

Even before our VIP treatment in the restaurant, the holiday had got off to a good start. The villa that would be home for our first week was beautiful. It sat on the edge of a deep gorge and had clear views over a valley, the island's capital city and its tallest man-made structure, the huge cathedral in the village of Xewkija. To put things in perspective, Gozo has a permanent population of around 40,000, with its capital city, Victoria, home to 6,500. Xewkija has just over 3,000 residents, yet in the early 1970s the villagers decided that their church wasn't big enough and so built a new one. The result is the Rotunda, a structure with one of the largest domes in Europe and a nave big enough to seat 4,000. And we could see it from our swimming pool..

..The building itself follows the island's architectural traditions - tons of perfectly crafted limestone and improbably high ceilings - but it is in an annexe that Ta'Pinu's fascinating history is revealed. The walls are covered with bizarre items - a child's back brace, crutches, combat medals, motorbike helmets - each accompanied by a touching, and often funny, letter from the grateful whose prayers were answered. The tales range from the death-defying, like that of the Maltese security guard at the World Trade Center who was guided to safety on 11 September by a statue of the Virgin he brought with him from Ta'Pinu - to the more everyday - such as the story of the woman whose grandson swallowed a marble, which now sits in a glass case with her thanks for saving him from surgery...

Anecdotes

Natalino Fenech discusses two new books by historian Guido Lanfranco published by Wise Owl, "Drawwiet u Hajja mill-Istorja ta' Malta" and "Loghob, Taqbil u Gugarelli tat-Tfal Maltin":

In the first book, Drawwiet u Hajja mill-Istorja ta' Malta, Mr Lanfranco tackles Church-related folklore and litters his accounts with both anecdotal and in-depth historical information. Some of what Mr Lanfranco writes about would easily have made headlines if they happened in the present day. A horse taken on stage at the Royal Opera House during a performance of the opera Nabucco in 1852 died of fright from the noise of a thunderbolt. Closer to the present, five cows died on a farm in Marsaxlokk in 1976 when the farm was struck by lightning.

In 1876, while the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh were being greeted on their arrival in Malta, lightning struck the flagpole at St Elmo, breaking it in two. The book dwells on subjects as diverse as ghosts, stone statues and the teaching of doctrine in Malta...His keen eye for detail gives rise to interesting anecdotes. Chairs in churches were made out of beech wood with seats fashioned from a rope-like material. Bugs used to breed in them and since they were fond of heat, it did not take them long to crawl into people's clothing - the insect bites led to some unpleasant itching! Mr Lanfranco also recounts some of his experiences as a child during the war.

Children are at the centre of the other book, Loghob, Taqbil u Gugarelli tat-Tfal Maltin - games, toys and rhymes for children. The book is bound to bring about some feelings of nostalgia among those in their 50s and 60s for the games they used to play and the rudimentary toys they played with. For today's youngsters, for whom computer games and electronic gadgetry have replaced makeshift toys, the book will provide a glimpse of how yesteryear's children played with virtually anything they could lay their hands on. Many of the games were competitive, involving catching each other or throwing things to win a few hazelnuts or sweets...

Folklore from aboutmalta.com

EU ministers clash over illegal migrants

The International Herald Tribune continues to report on the illegal immigration issue and how European justice ministers clashed today over how to solve the crisis in the Mediterranean. Dan Bilefsky reports on how EU member states are arguing over who should provide the finances:

..More than 23,000 migrants have flooded into the Canary Islands of Spain so far this year, and more than 6,000 have reached Malta since 2002 - the per-capita equivalent of a million new people arriving in Germany. Addressing the officials at the start of a two-day meeting in Tampere, Finland, Spain's justice minister, Juan Fernando López Aguilar, appealed to the European Union to provide money and reinforcements for joint EU patrols of the Mediterranean sea and Africa's Atlantic coast. So far, the 25 countries of the EU have contributed two patrol boats, one airplane and a handful of experts.

"We want money, resources, means, determination and the consciousness that this is a reality which is going to accompany us along the first third of the 21st century," López Aguilar said. But his call for a collective approach to the migration crisis - echoed by Malta, Greece and Italy - was drowned out by sniping from other member states...

Ward Sixty6

Ward Sixty6, a Maltese film produced by Cathleen Tanti and Angelique Muller, has won the 4th edition of the Mediterranean Short Film Festival 2006 held in Tangier, Morocco. From MaltaMedia:

The Mediterranean Short Film Festival 2006 of Tangier was held under the patronage of King Mohammed VI. The judging panel was headed by a number of internationally acclaimed film directors who viewed the film on Friday and selected the Maltese entry from among 36 other short films in competition from around the Mediterranean. The audience included well known actors, producers, and directors from the Moroccan film and media Industry.

Running for a length of 14 minutes, Ward Sixty6 was produced by the duo in March 2005, and featured local actors like Miriam Galea and Slavko Vukanovic. Aleksandar Bundalo, the sound engineer on the film set up marvelously the eerie sounds of Spooky Monkey and Tsezar along with the narration of local actress Marie-Claire Camilleri.

The same film was also awarded the Best Maltese Entry in The Golden Knight Film Festival in November 2005, and was also screened in Girls On Film - Female Artists’ Festival in March 2006 in Manchester. Ward Sixty6 will also be screened later on this year in the Kurtz Film Festival in Germany

Romania after Malta

Former Romanian foreign affairs minister Adrian Nastase has published a political biography in two volumes titled ‘Romania after Malta’, covering the period of his term of office that followed the Malta Summit of 1989. Nine O'Clock, Romania's English language newspaper reports:

The two volumes encompass the period from June 28 to December 31, 1990, underlined by the international consequences of the events on June 13-15 in Romania, by the crises following invasion of Kuwait by Iraq, the reunification of Germany, and developments in the former USSR. The book also contains analyses of the reasons of Ceausescu’s fall, of the consequences of the way in which Romania had chosen to leave totalitarianism behind, backed by transcripts, interviews, documents of the Foreign Affairs Ministry, speeches of various international personalities. The book will be launched Thursday at 4 PM at the Titulescu European Foundation, 47, Kiseleff Street.

The immigration effort

EU pledges more money to Spain, Italy, Malta to fight illegal immigration from Africa. From the International Herald Tribune:

The European Commission on Tuesday pledged €3.28 million (US$4.15 million) to Spain, Italy and Malta to help stem the flow of illegal immigrants from Africa, and asked EU member nations to contribute more money to the effort. The new funds will be used to strengthen the first aid and reception centers for illegal immigrants in the Canary Islands, for maritime surveillance of Malta and the Italian island of Lampedusa, and for the improvement of living conditions for illegal immigrants, the EU's executive office said.

Earlier this month, EU air and sea patrols began operating around Spain's Canary Islands and along Africa's west coast Friday. The surveillance patrols are to be deployed for up to nine weeks as part of a plan to enhance control over waters off West Africa and stop ships heading for Europe. The patrols, including Finnish and Italian aircraft, Portuguese and Italian boats and Spanish vessels and helicopters, monitor waters off Mauritania and Senegal — key departure points for Africans, often crowded into small boats, making the trip to the Spanish-held Canary Islands in hopes of getting a foothold in Europe.

Thousands of people try to reach Europe through Spain, Italy or Malta each year, often setting off from Mauritania, Moroccan-controlled Western Sahara or Libya. Many die during the dangerous crossing. Those intercepted are kept in holding centers for up to 40 days, and then repatriated or released.

The European Commission Press Release

Current trends in journalism

My media notebook in today's Maltastar is dedicated to a seminar dealing with current trends in journalism that I am presently attending. The 1st Euro Med Journalism Institute, with participants from 25 countries in the region, is convened by the Greek Association for Atlantic & European Co-operation and the Fund for American Studies and was launched today in Andros, an island of the Greek archipelago, the most northerly of the Cyclades. Andros is half the size of Malta with a population of around 5000.

The seminar leader is Professor Rachel Yould, the editor- in-chief of the Oxford International Review, an influential publication run by scholars based at Oxford University. She is the author of “Beyond the American Fortress: Understanding Homeland Security in the Information Age” and, as a journalist, covered conflicts in Asia for USA Today and San Francisco Chronicle. The following notes are based on the proceedings of the seminar’s opening session moderated this morning by Professor Yould:

- There are four things that make a free press – a) representing the market place of ideas present in society. b) The ability of journalists not just to convey information but also to put things into context. c) Holding those in power accountable. d) Being rigorous about ethics.

- Journalists need to understand what makes an impact on the public and make sure that the audience is equipped to critically digest what is reported. Over-simplification should be avoided whenever possible.

- In terms of access to information, journalists should gang together against those who want to suppress information. The level of accountability decreases when there is a high level of suppression of information.

- A writer can never be completely objective but should always strive for balance enabling readers to make up their own mind. It is not always easy to distinguish between presenting opinions and the reporting of facts. Still, there is a recognisable ‘magic wall’ between reporting and pure commentary.

- Some ‘sources’ used by journalists may have their own agenda creating rumours and benefiting from them. Journalists should reveal the process and be transparent about the type of sources used allowing readers the opportunity to interpret the information presented.

- The legal implications may vary between countries but it is not ethical to record conversations without prior notice. The press wants to be trusted and practitioners should say in the beginning when they are recording a phone call.

- Journalists should not just be driven by events and actions without looking what is behind them. People need to know what stories are out there and what the alternative viewpoints to them are.

- Blogs and the new media have revolutionised the world of journalism allowing higher public participation in the dissemination of news contributing to more open societies in the process.

- Having only propaganda viewpoints expressed in a politically polarised society does not necessarily constitute a free press.

The 1st Euro Med Journalism Institute is also being attended by the following Maltese participants who are sponsored by the Malta Institute of Journalists: Darren Zammit Lupi (The Times), Julia Farrugia (ONE News) and Anthony Gatt (ONE News).

Malta address could save O’Brien €300m

The decision by Denis O’Brien to have a residence in Malta makes perfect sense in tax-planning terms according to tax experts, from Ireland's Sunday Business Post Online:

The decision by Denis O’Brien to have a residence in Malta makes perfect sense in tax-planning terms, according to tax experts. In a company filing for technology firm Norkom, O’Brien’s address was listed as Flat 60, Suite F, Tigne Street, Sliema, Malta. The move appears to be tax-related as O’Brien prepares to float his mobile phone company on the New York stock exchange..

O’Brien avoided a €50 million Irish capital gains tax bill by bringing shares he held in Esat with him when he moved from Ireland to Portugal. Having built up his $1.5 billion Digicel shareholding while a resident of Portugal, he would not be in a position to avoid a massive tax bill in Portugal in the same way.

‘‘It is the next logical step for him to base himself somewhere else. It wouldn’t so much be a matter of how much time he spends in Malta, as ensuring that he doesn’t spend too much time in Portugal, if he wanted to avoid getting hit with Portuguese capital gains tax,” one tax expert said.

More from MaltaMedia News

Wake up call to the world

The Summit of the Non Aligned Movement which groups 118 countries is meeting this weekend in Cuba. Malta was a member of the NAM until it withdrew in 2004 following membership of the European Union. In his address to NAM leaders, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan said that the world must solve the problems of the Middle East:

Mr Annan told the Non-Aligned Movement in Cuba that the war in Lebanon had been a wake up call to the world. He also urged leaders to respect human rights, to end oppression and to honour press freedom. The summit was opened by Cuba's acting leader Raul Castro, in the absence of his sick brother, Fidel..

The UN chief said the Lebanon crisis had made nations "more and more convinced of the need to deal with the root causes of the problem" in the Middle East. "The daily violence we are witnessing in Iraq and Afghanistan provides a powerful reminder that, without judicious intervention on the political front, the slide to anarchy and civil war becomes inexorable."..."We need governments of the south to fulfil their obligations to their people at home," Mr Annan said.

The leaders of more than 50 developing countries have gathered in Cuba for the summit, which brings together 118 nations - nearly two-thirds of the UN's members - including many developing countries, for an alternative forum of debate...

Against NAM; In favour of NAM; NAM secretariat; NAM 1984 meeting in Malta

'Ireland's loss is Malta's gain'

Colm Keena, Public Affairs Correspondent of The Irish Times reports on leading business millionaire Denis O'Brien who has taken up an address in Malta to pay "no tax on assets or income not brought into the jurisdiction":

..The move comes as Mr O'Brien is preparing for the flotation of his Caribbean telecoms company, Digicel, on the New York Stock Exchange, a deal that could net him up to €1.5 billion. A spokesman for Mr O'Brien said he had no comment to make on the use of the new address. Mr O'Brien has homes in Portugal, Dublin and Thomastown, Co Kilkenny.

Mr O'Brien moved his tax residency to Portugal in the period prior to the sale of his Irish business, Esat Telecom, to BT in 2000, which netted him more than €300 million but on which he did not pay capital gains tax. At the time a provision in the tax treaty between Portugal and Ireland meant he could not be levied with Irish capital gains tax. In a filing to the Companies Registration Office in March, giving notice that he had taken up a directorship of a technology company, the Norkom Group, Mr O'Brien's "residential address" was given as Flat 6/60, Suite F, Tigne Street, Sliema, Malta.

According to international tax consultants Henley & Partners, Malta "is one of the most attractive locations in Europe for tax-advantaged private residence. "There is no tax on worldwide income or assets, so the permanent resident's global income, when kept outside Malta, is not taxed in any way." To qualify, persons have to buy or rent a property with a certain minimum value, and visit Malta at least once in the first 12 months of holding the status.

"A permanent resident enjoys a privileged tax status while at the same time benefiting from Malta's wide network of double taxation treaties. As long as the resident abides by the rules of the permit, the permanent resident need not spend any particular time actually residing in Malta," according to Henley.

'Ireland's loss is Malta's gain'

The end of news agents

A systems specialist who works in Valletta blogs at Pangs of Irreality. In this piece, the writer discusses the advantages of online magazines:

I used to love browsing magazine displays, such as one might find at the Luqa International Airport, and I must have spent literally hours of my life comparing different issues before buying that all important weekly fix of (mostly computer- or Sci Fi-related) reading material.

Financial constraints - read as the house mortgage and a not-marginal increase in the cost of living - meant that the number of magazines I bought started to decrease, at first very gradually, down to a couple of publications which I used to considered as ‘essential’. Today I can fairly say that I haven’t bought a magazine in months. But do I miss buying all those glossy numbers?

Yesterday we happened to go to Bay Street for the evening. Such an outing will always invariably involve a trip to Chaucer’s, the establishment’s own answer to an Island dominated by Agenda Bookshops. And of course, after perusing the collection of books available for sale, I eventually drifted to the magazine section.

And as I looked at the various titles on offer, it occurred to me that I would be crazy to buy any more magazines, for the simple reason that most of it was already available to me, online and (mostly) free! Indeed, the online content is even more valuable because the very nature of a magazine means that any information it may contain is probably outdated anyway!

So yes, a magazine may be more practical to carry around than a laptop. But then again I do not think that, as long as information and content is freely available on the net, I will ever need to buy another one.

Malta's Chinese Wall

A walk along the British built Victoria lines in central Malta is rewarded with some 'stunning panoramic views', writes Dirk Averesch for Deutsche Presse Agentur:

It was here though that the British chose to built a prominent line of fortifications which came to be known as the Victoria Lines, a fascinating historical legacy which practically divides Malta into a northern and a southern half. The fortified strongpoints along its route were quickly rendered obsolete in military terms, but today a walk along this defensive line is rewarded with some stunning panoramic views..

What was once the capital of Malta towers above the surrounding countryside - the foothills of the Dingli plateau which tumble into the deep blue sea in the southwest in a series of precipitous white cliffs. The crest of the ridge can be seen well from here along with a hint of the fortifications which lines the natural escarpment. The Victoria Lines follow a span known as the Great Fault for some 12 kilometres.

The British initially erected three sturdy forts along the route and by 1897 these were joined together by a continuous infantry wall. To mark the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria the same year the fortifications were named after the English sovereign. The defences were designed to protect the north of the island from invasion, but as it turned out, never a shot was fired here in battle and by 1907 the Victoria Lines had lost their military significance and were abandoned to nature

A central section of the entrenchment known as the Dwejra line has survived the ravages of time and weather particularly well and it has been on the list of UNESCO World Heritage sites since 1998. Walkers should be warned though that there is little respite here from the intense rays of the sun - in the five-metre deep trench which runs alongside the massive sandstone masonry the way through the shade afforded is barred by the numerous peach and fig trees which thrive there.

Here and there the defensive line gives way to the shallow fortified bridges or stop walls which mark the valleys - the overall impression of the Victoria Lines is of a scaled-down version of the Great Wall of China...

Victoria Lines - Unesco World Heritage; MEPA and the Victoria Lines

Employment failures

According to the 2005 edition of the EU Labour Force Survey, Malta's employment rate is among the lowest in the European Union and the island has a serious problem in getting women into the labour market. From Euractiv:

In spite of accelerated growth, the EU economy has missed the Lisbon agenda's mid-term goal in terms of employment and is unlikely to meet the overall targets, new figures by Eurostat indicate. In 2000, as part of the so-called Lisbon strategy to stimulate growth and employment, European leaders set themselves the long-term goal of reaching, by 2010, a 70% total employment rate and a 60% female employment rate.

According to the 2005 edition of the EU Labour Force Survey, the employment rate in the 25 EU countries grew from 63.3% to 63.8% between 2004 and 2005. Although this growth was the highest since the launch of the Lisbon strategy in the spring of 2000, it was insufficient to reach the mid-term target of a 67% employment rate, which was agreed by the 2001 Stockholm Council. Statistical extrapolations suggest that, under an optimistic scenario, the mid-term target may be reached only in 2010, when, under the Lisbon strategy, the employment rate should be 70%. Conservative estimates predict that the 2010 rate may only be 65%.

As was the case in past years, Denmark (75.9%), the Netherlands (73.2%), Sweden (72.5%) and the UK (71.7%) were the countries with the highest employment rates, (but they were outperformed by non-EU countries Iceland (83.8%) and Switzerland (77.2%)). The lowest employment rates were in Poland (52.8%) and Malta (53.9%), in candidate country Croatia (54.8%) and in Bulgaria (55.9%)..

Many of the countries at the lower end of the scale have particular problems bringing women into jobs. In Malta, little more than a third of women have jobs; in Italy, only around 45%. Countries with low employment rates also tend to be more manufacturing-oriented and to have weak services sectors. In Poland, only 53.4% work in the services sector; in Romania, the figure is only 37.3%. Within the whole EU, 67.6% work in services and in the most competitive countries, the rate is 75% to 80%.

Relaunch of the Lisbon strategy; More by MaltaMedia, Mark Beunderman and Afred Grixti

Tragic Aero Grand Prix

The news of the death of Swedish aerobatic champion Gábor Varga during the Aero Grand Prix aerial race in Malta was reported widely in the international media. Justin Wastnage writes in Flight Global News:

The second stage of the Aero GP Grand Prix aerobatic flying race taking place in Malta over the weekend was cancelled following the collision of two of the aircraft involved leading to the death of Swedish aerobatics champion Gábor Varga. Organisers cancelled yesterday's second day of racing due to an accident that took place between two aircraft as the race commenced over Marsamxetto harbour in the Maltese capital Valletta.

Aero GP has issued a statement of condolence to the family of Varga, who was killed in the first lap of the aerial race. The other pilot, Irishman Eddie Goggins, parachuted to safety and both were taken to St Luke’s hospital in the G’Mangia district. "All associated with Aero GP express their heartfelt condolences to the family of the pilot," the organisers say.

The incident occurred between Varga's Yakolev Yak-55 and Goggin's Extra 200 on the first race lap shortly after 12:00. Aero GP says due to investigation by the local authorities into the "complex circumstances regarding this tragic event, it is not yet possible to give more information as to the exact cause of the accident."

Maltese daily, the Times of Malta, reports that both aircraft were in a climbing turn when the Yak-55 lost altitude and the Extra 200 clipped its tail, slicing off the empennage. Varga's aircraft fell into the Mediterranean Sea, and Goggins baled out seconds later. The Aero GP, which started last year in Slovenia and tours locations around the world for two-day meets, includes an air race, one-on-one dogfights and target bombing and flying duels. Varga was in the Guinness Book of Records for performing 256 aerobatic loops in one hour and was known as the 'wild one'.

Watch the plane collision here via NBC; The story on Aero News; How the Swedish media reported Varga's tragic death: Anders Munck reports for AftonBladet; Lena Gunnars and Anna Wahlgren write in Expressen

Mixed reactions for Ryanair

There were mixed reactions over the past week to reports that low cost airline operator, Ryanair, will commence operations from Malta, writes Julian Zarb in Travel Video News:

..Ryanair’s plan is to launch, on a year round basis, a daily service from London Luton starting on October 31, 2006, a three times weekly service from Pisa also starting on October 31, 2006 and a three times weekly service from Dublin starting on February 9, 2007.

“Ryanair is very pleased to respond to the call by the Maltese government to start routes to and from Malta International Airport (MIA). We have been encouraging the Maltese government to promote the advent of low cost airlines as a solution to the declining tourism industry,” Ryanair deputy chief executive Michael Cawley said. “The provision of a long-term, low cost regime at MIA is crucial to the success of low fares airlines and we welcome the initiatives by the Government to effectively reduce this cost over the long term.”

He also said: “We believe this proposal is the start of a new era for Maltese tourism. The decline, which has been evident in their visitor numbers for some time, will now reverse and that success can be built upon with more growth, which Ryanair is quite prepared to provide to Malta from its various bases throughout Europe in the coming years..

However, not everyone is impressed by Ryanair’s latest move. Malta Labour Party spokesperson Evarist Bartolo was quoted as saying: “These were too few to inject tourism with a new lease of life.” Certainly, many in the industry here feel the potential for a different type of tourist profile for the islands, but, above all, there remains the issue of providing a desirable product and service based on those unique value propositions, which are present in the characteristics and culture of all Maltese-- hospitality, diversity and patrimony or heritage.

Famous last words from Gozo

Now, these 3 days really just flew by! I’m looking at the end of my weekend stint on Wired Temples with one eye crying, the other laughing… I was looking forward to it ever since Robert had come up with this idea several months ago. Even so, it's not easy to find something to say on a daily basis, and especially if there are people actually waiting for it!

I was surprised to see two comments today... people are sooo comment-lazy! Or is it cowardice? Jacques René Zammit mentioned for the record that there are, indeed, bloggers from Gozo; but what seem to be missing are people in Gozo, blogging about stuff that's going on (or not) in Gozo. I don't know whether that's really down to ignorance, laziness or fear of repercussions. Which, perhaps, is a well-grounded fear in such a tiny community. I am guilty of falling for that to some extent too. When I wrote my novel, Angelina's Ghost, I often considered the consequences of describing certain stuff - and let it be. At the time it could have hurt me badly, even though it would perhaps made more interesting reading. The next time, however, I shall not make that mistake again, and that's a promise I made to myself!

Anyways... it's been fun writing on WT, but I'll happily return my metaphorical key to Robert and go back to my own, rather more insignificant blog, where I can always come up with silly excuses for skipping a post! Would be nice to see you pop in there sometime.

See ya!

Silent Gozitans

The proper though not quickest method to obtain the basis for delicious sauces and soups is to cook bones. This process may take anything from four to eight hours, until the last particle of flavour has been boiled out of all the crevices of an animal’s or other’s skeletal bits and pieces.

And that is exactly how my head feels this morning. I can almost sense every single nook and cranny of my brain, which has been simmering on a low heat since I woke up a few hours ago. The essence I was hoping to extract: my last blog post on Wired Temples! Oh well, the first 104 words are out now, if not of much substance so far.

The usually more than helpful internet does not give much inspiration when it comes to Malta’s sister island. A google search on ‘Gozo’ showers you with all imaginable accommodation left, right and centre; narrowing it down to ‘Gozo blog’ amazingly throws my own blog at me in first place, followed by various travel reports by mainly foreign and a few Maltese bloggers. Our little island’s inhabitants remain suspiciously absent.

Are there any bloggers in Gozo at all? That’s a rhetorical question, by the way. I think it’s safe to say there aren’t any (but if I’m in the wrong, why don’t you drop me a line?).

Gozitans shy away from expressing their opinion in public. Exceptions are a few, albeit prolific, letter writers in the local press, who notoriously keep harping on their respective pet subjects; I actually used to be one of those. One of my favourite games while reading the letters pages, is guessing a particular author by the letter’s headline – more often than not, I win!

It has always been my opinion that Gozo does not get enough media coverage. I thought it was a blessing when the Times of Malta started its monthly supplement called Gozo Times in 2003, to which I contributed on a pretty regular basis. Sadly the supplement was put to rest in 2006; one of the reasons for its demise was the unwillingness of the Gozitans themselves to participate in it. What a pity!

When I started blogging early this year I didn’t expect at first to continue on a regular basis. But almost from the beginning and much to my surprise, the blog was hit daily by quite a few people. (Thanks to Robert, by the way, who plugged it immediately after my very first post!) The rest is history, as they say.

Making your – and consequently Gozo’s – voice heard by means of a blog is so darn easy. To create a basic site it hardly takes more than knowledge of typing and saving a letter on a pc. It’s free. It’s therapeutic and satisfying. And you can do it in complete anonymity, if that’s your wish. So why don’t you…?

Through e-mail, I have lent a hand to a few people (all residing abroad, by the way) to get their blog up and running. I’d be happy to help you too, if you drop me a line at scassaralpert@yahoo.com.

Maltese on Gozo

I spent this morning collecting some impressions of Maltese bloggers who were drawn to Calypso’s island this summer. I’m surprised but happy to say that most appear to be in agreement with the letter ‘Dreaming of Gozo’, which I quoted yesterday – and which struck me as tongue-in-cheek rather than sincere. Perhaps I need some time off the island to re-discover its charm??

• For Reesa, who visited at the end of July, “it was 3 days of bliss,” and she speaks highly of Gozo’s service, food and even shopping opportunities on her blog. Her conclusion: “Can't wait to go back. After we save up again.”
  
  
• Coemgen and his friends chose the same weekend; unfortunately, for them, the bliss factor apparently remained buried under a string of lowlights. These included ending up “in a studio flat suitable for 1-2 persons, not for 6!” and non-existent nightlife (“there is nowhere to go and have fun after 11pm”) as well as an apparent lack of breakfast opportunities on the morning after the Qala feast.
  
  
• For Fengy (beloved moderator of Malta Forums) Gozo was a place to fall in love with, even if she and her family came only for one day. In spite of being ripped off with a miniature portion of king prawns at a Marsalforn restaurant, she concludes: ‘What a great place to bring your kids up’, I thought. And this idea grew on me. I don't think I'd mind living in Gozo if push came to shove.”
  
  
• More recently, Jessica, a talented photographer and fellow German who is now living in Malta, visited Gozo a few days ago for a “mini vacation” and has only kind words for the island: “As soon as you reach the shores it becomes apparent that this place has kept its charm and beauty of the old days.”

I intended to include one more opinion, but unfortunately Darryn has been designing and re-designing his blog for many weeks, which obviously resulted in his post on Gozo to vanish in some black cyberspace hole. I recall him bemoaning the fact that Gozo had become too expensive, when compared to other destinations abroad. Well, what a coincidence: I also found it was cheaper to spend a week’s holiday in Tunisia, when compared to a stay in Malta.

The topic ‘value for money’ in connection with Gozo, appears sporadically in the local press. In one recent letter to the Times of Malta (unfortunately not recent enough to be still online), a Maltese gentleman demanded rather bluntly: Gozitans ought to lower their prices if they want to keep visitors from Malta coming. Excellent idea. Coming to think of it, let’s go for it and extend such scheme to the whole of Malta! After all, Gozitans need weekend breaks, too. There’s a little snag, though: where would all these people stay once the last hotels and restaurants close their doors due to bankruptcy?

Tourism in Gozo

In May 2002, the Times of Malta was the vehicle for my public writing debut. Driven by white-hot anger that was caused by frustration in my job dealing with holiday accommodation, I had sent one of those disgruntled letters to the editor, which was given prominent space on the opinion page. (You can read it here as it is not available on the Times’ website.)

The phenomenon of rearing cranes, concrete-mixers and all the other paraphernalia of construction works constantly forced me to face hopping mad holidaymakers, who had to be shuffled from one accommodation to another, sometimes even more than once, so as to enable them to eventually enjoy their deserved vacation.

Fast forward to 2006; have things changed? Oh yes, they have! Instead of one crane per three-minute drive, you’ll count three or four now. The actual number of construction sites, albeit without a crane at the moment, is a multiple of that. Motorists find themselves stuck on secondary roads that were never intended to deal with the amount of traffic which the summer season brings, because main roads are closed for re-construction.

Is it really necessary to plan for major works to commence at the start of the holiday season? Although it’s been a long time since I was here as a tourist, I don’t fail to see the island from a visitor’s point of view. And apart from that, I hear travellers commenting and find it hard to believe that those comments are audible for my ears only!

A week ago I came across a letter to the editor of the Malta Independent. Entitled “Dreaming of Gozo”, Alfred Grech paints a painfully idyllic picture of the island, painful because it reminds us of how it used to be. It doesn’t become totally clear whether Mr Grech’s tongue was firmly tucked in his cheek when he wrote,

"I make a point of speaking with tourists and they all find Gozo charming and clean. Yes, it’s clean because the Gozitans are proud of their gem and they treat it as such.

"There are so many beautiful churches and sceneries. A trip to the Citadel is not only good to help you lose weight, it also gives you the satisfaction of a magnificent view. Xlendi and Marsalforn lost some of their old charm because of the buildings that have been erected but when I close my eyes, I can still visualise the Xlendi and Marsalforn I once knew.

…

"Gozo is beautiful from west to east, from north to south and everything in between. The quaint villages and the picturesque little bays put a satisfying smile on everyone’s face. The people of Gozo are as nice as their island and I love their Gozitan accent."

Gozo is not cheap when compared to other European destinations, but after all, we are seeking the “quality tourist”. However, the equation cannot work out if we don’t offer “quality” in return!

In my humble opinion, major building works should simply not be allowed to be carried out during the tourist season anywhere on Gozo. The fact that some entrepreneur blissfully and knowingly ruins someone’s stay by cutting stones right next to a holiday home is proof enough that commonsense is not widely spread in this island – especially in view of the probability that the same entrepreneur will want to rent out his property in years to come!

I am certain that somewhere down the road there’s going to be one construction site too many. And that’s where the bug will stop: no amount of branding exercises and brand managers will prevent bad word-of-mouth advertising by disappointed visitors!

This is Gozo calling...

First of all, thanks are in order to Toni Sant and Robert Micallef, for giving me this opportunity of a little wider readership for a weekend, before returning to my 20 to 30 hits a day ramblings that make up my own blog.

I feel that Gozo deserves and needs all the attention it can get, and this is a great way of giving it some. In that respect, I’ll refrain from telling you all about our cat’s antics and my miscellaneous miseries whose cause, more often than not, is the weather. Promise!

So, you want to know what life in Gozo looks like from the viewpoint of a foreigner living here. It might disappoint you that I don’t differ much from the rest of the Gozitans. After all, my perspective is the same as that of everyone else.

As a tourist, I marvelled at the laid-back Gozitan way of life. But what is a virtue in special circumstances, such as a relaxing holiday, becomes a nightmare when you depend on third persons for a particular task, for example a plumber, a carpenter or a car mechanic. Nobody will ever refuse work or give you a realistic time frame for works – and stick to it. “Call me tomorrow,” you’re told. Alas, tomorrow never quite turns out to be the day you think it would. “Next week” or “next month” both have similar connotations.

Strangely enough, many of them (though not all!) use the same antics when it comes to getting paid. In spite of several reminders from our side, we are always awaiting some bill or other for works that were completed a year, even two years ago. In the meantime, while carrying around the uncomfortable knowledge of bills waiting to be paid, you’re often left clueless just how much the damage is going to be in terms of money!

On the other hand and only at first glance in strange contrast to what I just said, if you are in employment in the private sector you are certainly expected to give that little bit more than you are able to – no matter where that limit happens to be. A rather committed worker is most likely burnt out before retirement age. Nowhere is the advice, “if you want something done, give it to a busy person,” followed more diligently than in Gozo!

You might ask, “What is she still doing here if everything is doom and gloom?” Well, first of all, I condensed several negative observations in the space of one short article, and if I had to fight all of the above in the space of, say, a week, I probably would consider escape. At the end of the day, however, life in Gozo still gives you a fair return for what you invest in it. Raising your children in relative safety, for example. Then there are activities like sipping a gin & tonic at water’s edge in Xlendi, enjoying a countryside picnic in complete solitude or even just sitting with a coffee and a book in my own garden… all those “little things” that make it worthwhile for me to be living in Gozo!

Sabine Cassar-Alpert to guest blog

I would like to introduce Sabine Cassar-Alpert, a German author who will be a guest blogger here between tomorrow and Sunday. Apart from being one of the most prolific bloggers, Sabine is the author of the recently published novel Angelina's Ghost.

Sabine was born in Berlin and moved permanently to Gozo in 1984. She now concentrates on her professional writing and is also a regular contributor to the Malta Independent’s First Magazine. It is a pleasure to welcome Sabine to these pages and I hope you enjoy her unique perspective of life in the middle of the Mediterranean.

Safest places

Travel author Laura McKenzie reveals the top five safest travel destinations in the world in order of ranking: Monte Carlo, New Zealand, Malta, Switzerland and Singapore. From PRNewswire:

1. Monte Carlo -- With a police force that numbers about one officer for every one hundred residents and a twenty-four hour video surveillance system that spans the entire principality, the whole country is secure.This is the type of place where you can feel safe strolling along the streets on your own and if you decide to stop for a bite on your walk, you're in luck. Since Monaco caters to the wealthy, Monte Carlo's food is not only hygienic, but is some of the finest in the world.

2. New Zealand -- This country is an adventurer's paradise. While you can risk your life on the bungee jumps and speed boats, you don't have to concern yourself with personal safety on its hiking trails or city streets. Even if you do suffer from an extreme sport incident, rest assured that you'll receive excellent medical assistance throughout New Zealand.

3. Malta -- Malta has had no modern day terrorist threats and its crime rate is very low, which isn't surprising when you discover that Malta's police force is one of the oldest in the world. In fact, I normally don't recommend visitors to walk down narrow alleys, but in Malta, the pristine alleyways are safe to explore. Plus, they're the perfect place to take terrific photos.

4. Switzerland -- Switzerland not only has a low crime rate, but an excellent program for the victim of a crime, in which they can receive medical, psychological, social, financial and legal assistance. Switzerland also offers clean and attractive cities and towns with perfect alpine vistas.

5. Singapore -- This small island is known throughout the world for its swift and sometimes harsh penalties. The upside though is that Singapore is extremely safe. Not only is its justice system is impressive, it's one of the cleanest places in the world. It's also one of the most modern, with clean water, with an extremely efficient infrastructure and world class dining experiences and superb hotels. In fact, many of the hotels have their own doctors on call twenty-four hours a day in case of an emergency.

via Maltastar

200 years of news online

Google is launching the Google News Archive Search allowing users to explore existing digitised newspaper articles spanning the last 200 years. From BBC News:

..People using the search are shown results from both free and subscription-based news outlets. Partners in the project include the websites of US newspaper the New York Times and the Guardian from the UK. Other sources include news aggregators, websites which collect and display news stories from multiple sources. "The goal here is to be able to explore history as it unfolded," said Anurag Acharya, an engineer at Google and one of the team behind the project. It's fascinating to see how people's attitudes and emotions have changed through time."..

The company is also expanding into areas other than search. In August it announced plans to offer consumers the chance to download and print classic novels free of charge. "I'm strongly in favour of the democratisation of access to historical documents, but also cautious about how much information Google now controls," said Professor Roy Rosenzeig, a historian from the Center for History and New Media at George Mason University in the US. He says that increasingly the model of how we access information and what information we have access to is changing, as public archives such as libraries are replaced by private companies. But, he says, he is "extremely excited" about Google's latest offering. "As a scholar and historian I want as much information as possible, accessible to as many people as possible at the least cost, and the extent to which Google is doing that is compelling."

Match Preview: Turkey vs Malta

My prediction for tonight's Euro 2008 match against Turkey is not as optimistic as this writer's in Goal.com:

..Malta is trying to make a name for itself as a footballing entity and despite getting off to a bad start against Bosnia, the team is capable of causing an upset within group C. The notion of national ‘whipping boy’ sides has been laid to rest, and Maltese forward Agius claims that his team performs better against stronger opposition; his claim is backed by draws against competent teams such as Croatia and Bulgaria. The team is thus presented with an opportunity in the shape of Turkey, whose form has not been awe-inspiring as of late and in the absence of Turkish fans, the Maltese have a good chance of coming away from Wednesdays’ game with at least a point.

Coach Dusan Fitzel singled out Jamie Pace, Michael Mifsud, and Brian Said as the players who gave the most positive performances against Bosnia. He has made clear that there might be some tailoring made for the Turkey game despite having a small squad to work with. George Mallia will be unavailable for selection due to other commitments. The coach is likely to field a defensive team, probably in a 4-5-1 formation, and hope to exploit an exposed Turkish defence. Malta’s attacks against Bosnia came as a result of rough defence and direct passing and the new coach will look to build on these areas of success. .

No one can really be sure what Terim is thinking at the best of times, his full national team squad having numerous omissions that weren’t expected. Fans will be hoping he’s got his head screwed on right, and that he’s prepared a balance of experience and youth that will see Turkey re-emerge on the national stage; but if his plans go awry the Maltese could grab an important result, and the Turks could consume themselves in a self-destructive media frenzy...

According to this news piece from Turkey, the Maltese defense will tonight face five Turkish centre forwards; More from Turkish daily News/Reuters

Cohesion first

Britain should emulate the tough Maltese stance on immigration, says Neil Clark in The First Post, an online daily magazine:

One sure sign that your country is a fully-paid up member of the EU is when boatloads of illegal immigrants start heading for your shores. It's certainly been the experience of Malta, the small Mediterranean island which acceded to the EU in 2004...For its uncompromising stance, the Maltese government was criticised by the UN refugee agency and pressure groups representing the interests of refugees. But it did exactly the right thing.

Malta is one of the most cohesive societies in Europe, and enjoys low levels of crime. There is a real sense of community and the family unit is strong. A large influx of African migrants, with different faiths and cultures, could easily endanger social cohesion. In addition, Malta is already crowded enough: after Bangladesh, it is the most densely populated country on earth. The Maltese government's refusal to admit the Eritreans gained domestic support from across the political spectrum.

In the end, Malta allowed one pregnant woman and her child ashore from the boat; the other migrants were flown to Spain and Morocco. By standing up to the international do-gooders, Malta has sent out a clear signal that it will put the interests of its own people first. Is John Reid's "new-look" immigration service a sign that Britain is - at long last - considering doing the same? Fat chance.

Neil Clark, a UK based journalist and writer blogs here