Native Saint

A Maltese priest, Fr George Preca, who founded a society of lay catechists, will become Malta's first native born saint, the Holy See has announced. From Australia's CathNews:

Playfuls reports that thousands of Maltese Catholics are expected in Rome next June to attend the canonisation ceremony of Malta's first native-born saint, who has become known as the "Second Apostle of Malta" after St Paul. Fr Preca died in 1962 at the age of 82. Dun Gorg (Father George), as he was affectionately known, created the Society of Christian Doctrine, also known as MUSEUM, despite initially strong opposition from the local Church hierarchy.

MUSEUM now has branches in six other countries - including Australia, Britain and Peru - and this year celebrates its first centenary. George Preca was declared Blessed by Pope John Paul II, along with two 19th century Maltese, a Benedictine nun and a cleric, during the late pope's second visit to Malta, in May 2001. His canonisation was approved by Pope Benedict in February after a second miracle was attributed to George Preca. It involved a baby boy with severe liver complications recovering in 2001 after a glove used in the exhumation of the priest's body was placed on the child..

Dun Gorg's body is preserved inside a glass urn inside the chapel of MUSEUM's headquarters. Born in Valletta on 12 February 1880, Gorg was the seventh child in a middle-class family of nine. His father, Vincent Preca, was first a merchant and then a sanitary inspector. His mother, Nathalie Ceravolo, was a teacher.

Monument to the internati

Justin Borg Barthet at Neebother says that a proposal by the deputy prime minister to commemorate the 'internati' would be met with outrage anywhere but in Malta. From Neebother:

Daphne unleashes a scathing attack on Tonio Borg's latest mission implausible in this article. Not content with his campaign for the entrenchment of an anti-abortion clause in our Constitution, Malta's Deputy PM now wishes to leave his mark by campaigning for a monument to those interned to Uganda in World War II.

Is our Deputy PM's campaign miles apart from the fascist madman in the video in my previous post? With all due respect to those who suffered injustice at the hands of the colonial government, Tonio Borg is wrong to portray the internati as national heroes. It is symptomatic of his partisan take on history that he sees things that way. He would not consider the internati to be heroes if they were not also former leaders of his party. The internati were not sent to Uganda because they were deemed to be pro-Maltese independence but because they were deemed to be pro-Italian - pro-fascist Italy to be precise (the same fascist Italy that was pro-Nazi and complicit in the holocaust etc). Tonio's campaign would be met with outrage anywhere but in Malta, yet the fact of Malta's partisan polarisation allows a goody-goody Deputy PM to call for a monument to fascism in 2007.

Joining the Euro

Malta's formal application to join the Euro is reported by Busines Week:

.."Tomorrow we will be submitting the application," Maltese Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi told reporters in Brussels. "The reasons are obvious: we have analyzed the situation and the country has been progressing in accordance with the targets that had been set." Cyprus sent in its application on Feb. 13. If the two nations get the all-clear to join the euro area next year, they would become the 14th and 15th of the EU's 27 member states to start using the currency.

The European Commission and the European Central Bank are likely to report by mid-May whether the two economies meet EU rules for euro economies on their budget deficits, debt and inflation. Final decisions from EU leaders and EU finance ministers would then come in June. Malta expects to bring its budget deficit under the 3 percent of gross domestic product limit set by EU budget rules in 2006, currently forecasting 2.6 percent -- down from 10 percent in 2004.
Overall debt will be slower to fall and is due to scrape under a 60 percent of GDP ceiling by 2009. However, that will not necessarily scupper Maltese euro membership plans because the debt is clearly on a downward trend, as required. Maltese officials said they believed the country had met EU targets to lower debt, saying it should be formally cleared of running an "excessive deficit" at around the same time that the EU assesses its euro membership.

EU economists did have some mild criticism for the Maltese government last month, telling it that growth forecasts were optimistic after 2007 and it should do more to spell out how it would control spending and push on with health care reforms. But Malta's euro membership prospects look good. It does not have anything close to the high inflation that derailed Lithuania's bid to join the euro last year. Average price increases in Malta were the lowest in the European Union in December at 0.8 percent. Officials said they expected that trend to continue.

EUObserver: Testing EU debt criteria

Women in media

Women are highly under-represented in Maltese media according to the results of an international study published by the Global Media Monitoring Project (GMMP). Juan Ameen writes:

..On 16 February 2005, 76 countries participating in the Global Media Monitoring Project (GMMP) 2005 project monitored the role and representation of women in almost 13,000 stories in TV, radio and newspapers. It is essential for Malta take part in the GMMP every five years, the report said, “as it plays a crucial part in providing invaluable data for Malta and other countries”..

The University of Malta and the Malta Broadcasting Authority participated in the project because “there is an awareness of the importance of understanding the issues of gender balance in the news and in the media in general”. Furthermore, the report said, there is “an awareness of the need to have access to reliable data”. University lecturer specialising in gender studies Brenda Murphy was the local project coordinator..

..This discrepancy is consistent across all media – TV, radio and newspapers – with female subjects least represented in newspapers, the report said. Across all three media, 62 per cent of women were presenters, 19 per cent were reporters and 17 per cent were subjects. In television, 20 per cent of news subjects were women, 18 per cent in radio and 13 per cent in newspapers. The highest percentage of female news subjects per topic was registered in crime and violence (49 per cent), followed by politics and government (22 per cent)..

..According to the results, women only dominate in the role of presenter on TV and radio and that all three media showed a greater dominance of male journalists. Female journalists were least likely to report on topics in politics and government (0.4 per cent), and most likely to report on health and science (50 per cent). Only 0.7 per cent of monitored news stories challenge gender stereotypes in the media, while 2.2 per cent actually reinforce these stereotypes. The report found that most of the media is stereotypical, depicting women as victims and helpless figures. The overwhelming majority (99 per cent) of news stories monitored did not highlight the issue of gender equality or inequality – stories that did only made up less than one per cent.

''Il colore del sole''

A new novel by Sicilian writer Andrea Camilleri recounts the travels of Caravaggio between Malta and Sicily, from GuidaSicilia:

Sono tante le biografia d'artista intricate e affascinanti tanto quanto (alle volte molto di più) un opera letteraria, e sicuramente un posto d'eccellenza ce l'ha quella di Michelangelo Merisi, detto il Caravaggio, al quale per primo si legò perfettamente la definizione di ''genio e sregolatezza''. Una storia, quella del Caravaggio che da sempre ha ispirato scrittori e registi e che rimane fonte inesauribile di aneddoti e leggende.

A misurarsi con la vita del pittore lombardo, vissuta con un'intensità proverbiale, ci ha provato lo scrittore siciliano Andrea Camilleri, che nel suo ultimo romanzo, intitolato ''Il colore del sole'' (Mondadori; pag.122; 14 euro), arrivato nelle librerie due giorni fa, racconta in un ''noir'', fitto di ombre e di mistero, il periodo trascorso da Caravaggio a Malta e in Sicilia nell'estate del 1607, in fuga da Roma dopo essere stato condannato a morte per l'omicidio di un giovane durante una rissa. .

Il creatore del celeberrimo commissario Salvo Montalbano in questa storia di inizio '600 si diverte ancora una volta con la mimesi linguistica, proponendo stavolta un impasto fittizio che cerca di riproporre la parlata di 400 anni fa. Camilleri si è divertito, inoltre, a ''riempire'', secondo uno stile apocrifo, alcuni buchi nella vita di Caravaggio, e in alcuni tratti ''dell'inchiesta'' sul grande artista, protagonista diventa lui stesso.


Il romanzo è diviso in due parti. Nella prima lo scrittore figura in prima persona come giallista destinatario di sconosciuti manoscritti di Caravaggio: recatosi da Roma a Siracusa per assistere alla rappresentazione di una tragedia classica, allo scrittore capitano curiosi quanto misteriosi eventi. Qualcuno gli infila in tasca un biglietto con un numero da chiamare, ma da una cabina pubblica. Il numero corrisponde ad un utente segreto, per cui non è' possibile ricostruire chi sia il cittadino a cui quel numero telefonico corrisponde. L'Andrea Camilleri scrittore di romanzi gialli non può sottrarsi ad una serie di misteri via via più fitti e inquietanti. Misteri che lo portano a una villa spersa nella più remota campagna dell'entroterra, dove leggerà un diario incredibile, le pagine scritte di suo pugno da Michelangelo Merisi, detto il Caravaggio.

Nella seconda, le tappe, fintamente autobiografiche, del percorso del pittore. La storia, ad esempio, non ci dice perché Caravaggio, rifugiatosi a Malta per sfuggire alle guardie papali, accusato di un omicidio commesso a Roma, ottenga il cavalierato che potrebbe metterlo al sicuro, ma inspiegabilmente viene incarcerato. ''Ho cercato di rendere più verosimili questi scritti apocrifi - ha spiegato ancora lo scrittore - ipotizzando al scrittura di Caravaggio che non era un letterato, e quindi un italiano rozzo ma efficace''.

The Colours of Malta

Rosalba Graglia writes in La Stampa

La rocca al centro del Mediterraneo si accende in questi giorni di colori e sfilate in costume. Oltre ai tradizionali carretti, la danza con le spade che ricorda la fine del Grande Assedio turco del 1565. Ha una passione per la festa, Malta. Le festi dei santi patroni, con la processione, la banda, le luminarie sulle facciate delle chiese barocche, i fuochi d'artificio. E la festa pagana per definizione, il Carnevale. Che non è solo uno dei più antichi d' Europa, ma curiosamente è stato introdotto da un ordine religioso, seppure di monaci-guerrieri: i Cavalieri di Malta, alias Cavalieri di San Giovanni di Gerusalemme, fuggiti da Rodi caduta in mano ai Turchi e arrivati qui. È un Gran Maestro dell'Ordine, Pietro del Ponte, a organizzare nel 1535 la ricostruzione di una finta battaglia, un momento di puro divertimento e «rovesciamento»: il primo festeggiamento carnevalesco che l'isola ricordi.

Cinque anni dopo, quando un'armata cristiana diretta a Tripoli attracca a Malta, è ancora il Gran Maestro Jean de La Valette ad autorizzare la prima festa in maschera. Da allora, le mascherate per il carnevale diventano un appuntamento fisso, con il corollario della parata, la danza con le spade che ricorda la fine del Grande Assedio turco del 1565, del kukkanja, corrispettivo dell'albero della cuccagna nostrano, e delle sfilate di carri, diffuse già nel '700, spesso con il Gran Maestro in persona a guidare il corteo..

..Malta è fittamente abitata, i villaggi sono caos di case cubiste di pietra color miele attorno a una chiesa-capolavoro, e la sabbia lascia più spesso il posto alle scogliere. Ma nasconde il segreto di misteriosi templi megalitici e racconta storie di personaggi intriganti. Immaginari, come Corto Maltese, nato ufficialmente il 10 luglio 1887 proprio a Valletta. E reali, come Caravaggio, arrivato sull'isola giusto 400 anni fa, nel 1607, anche lui un 10 di luglio, in fuga da Roma e da una condanna a morte per omicidio. Restò a Malta poco più di un anno, abbastanza per essere nominato cavaliere e dipingere capolavori, a cominciare dalla Decollazione del Battista.

In attesa che le celebrazioni ufficiali trasformino Valletta in una Caravaggio City si può andare in anteprima sulle tracce del pittore, magari scegliendo come guida insolita l'ultimo libro di Cammilleri. E poi girare per stradine saliscendi e scalinate, tra gli auberges dei cavalieri e i balconi-gallerijas di legno colorato. Scoprire le scenografie barocche e le fortezze sul mare di una città patrimonio dell'Umanità dell'Unesco, ma anche le atmosfere segrete dei triq, le viuzze del centro storico, fra vecchie vinerie, altarini dedicati a San Paolo Naufrago e alla Vergine, e botteghe che sfornano pastizzi caldi (i fagottini di sfoglia ripieni di ricotta e piselli, un'istituzione locale) e l'hobz, il tipico pane maltese.

Voltare le spalle al mare e perdersi nei silenzi di Mdina, l'antica capitale di pietra dorata, tra cortili segreti, conventi e palazzi normanni. Ad aprile riapre uno dei più belli, Palazzo Falson, dopo 5 anni di restauri. Nessuna traccia invece del leggendario Falcone Maltese. Ma quello, come dice Bogart nel film di Huston, è fatto del materiale di cui sono fatti i sogni.

Unhealthy lifestyle

The Maltastar team report on an article by Marie Benoit about 'big fat Maltese men' which appeared in the printed version of The Guardian:

..In an article entitled Why Malta’s men weigh in as Europe’s fattest, the author blames the large amounts of crusty slightly salty bread and the big portions at buffet restaurants “where you can fill your plate with portions verging on the obscene.” The Maltese family lifestyle is also made fun of in Benoit’s article. The picture of large amounts of food in Maltese weddings, christenings, funerals resemble the caricatured Greek lifestyle in the film “My Big Fat Greek Wedding,” but after all, isn’t Greece an another Mediterranean country.

Our delicious pasti have also found a place in the Guardian described as the “generally delicious – and reasonably priced” pastries and cakes. “Who can resist the whirls, twirls and curls made out of cream, almonds and chocolates?”. Marie Benoit’s tongue in cheek portrays Malta as a culinary haven, but then she hits the stark reality the lack of exercise of the Maltese and give’s an example by mentioning the reality TV show Kilò. “Some participants are so overweight, one wonders how they have survived this long,” she says.

She also claims that Maltese men do not walk or work out while saying that they “aren’t in a hurry to comply” with the recent Ministry of Health campaign Caqlaq (Maltese for “Move”) urging Maltese to exercise. All in all men should not be irritated by Benoit’s exposition of Maltese hunks. After all our entire gastronomic environment has the same attractions and effect on the fairer sex. Mediterranean men tend to prefer fuller partners...

George Edwards

UK based Knowledge Management consultant George Edwards lived in Malta as a teenager. He blogs here to share his 'iconoclastic musings' with his readers. From his latest entry:

On the radio this morning a doctor's "leader" was telling the world that the public can be assured, that due to their "Continuing Professional Development" scheme, we can all have faith in our Doctors. The government seems to be convinced.

Well, I have quite a lot of faith in my doctor, but not because of CPD. I have spent large chunks of the last 20 years with professional bodies creating and imposing, often at considerable cost, "CPD schemes" on their members. I'll share a fact; in that time not one professional who has been asked to submit a record of their CPD for scrutiny has ever submitted a record showing they have not "done their CPD".

Some gather together and pass their "CPD logs" around amongst colleagues, some go to conferences, or go to courses that count towards CPD requirements, some read magazines, some go on visits, many just dream up "stuff" and write it down as if t was intentional CPD. All these activities meet the "CPD requirement", but not one of them actually proves the person has have learned anything, or even really "kept up to date".

If your doctor is no good, you have a problem. But CPD, touted as part of the "MOT for doctors" (and I produced an "MOT for managers" about ten years ago) proves absolutely nothing. Real professionals just DO keep up to date - it's instinctive. Any system for recording this - the imposed "CPD scheme" doesn't do anything. As ever, people are confusing the regulation with the intended effect.

Up in Yorkshire we have a saying, "Thou dussn't fatten a pig by weighin it". Our government has never understood that.

House of Cards

Patricia Daniel, a senior lecturer at the Centre for International Development and Training of the University of Wolverhampton, shares her thoughts from a recent visit to Malta:

..On Christmas morning, the internet café is the only open place in town. It is packed with young Africans, skyping home, checking emails, surfing for work or accommodation. One is on his mobile, discussing photographs for a new passport. Another has managed to get a short-term job as an electrician. The majority are economic asylum seekers or refugees. Not all are from Libya itself... a jumping-off point for youth from war-torn Somalia and even from Ghana (probably via Gao in northern Mali, a thriving illegal immigration centre which manages several routes out of West Africa).

Public debate has been facilitated, for example through a four-part series in The Times (Malta) by Martin Scicluna (December 13th-16th 2006). A majority of the Maltese population agree that, while appreciating charitable support for refugees from (Catholic) religious orders, they do not wish this to be used as a wedge to open up the island to illegal immigrants..

..Amnesty International’s EU office warns against ‘the deep divide between Europe’s repressive immigration agenda and Africa’s interest in increasing development and opening up legal channels of immigration.’ In Malta, the non-governmental organisation Moviment Graffitti argues from an anti-capitalist position, against the construction of ‘fortress Europe’ and the fact that ‘free movement of capital around the world is accompanied by restrictions on the free movement of people.’

The island is orderly and hospitable. But a holiday on Malta is a neatly packaged reminder that, while separate ideologies may wax and wane, the god ideology remains, rampant. The entire floor of St John’s Cathedral is tiled with giant tombstones for illustrious knights. The guidebook calls it a unique treasure of heraldic devices. The suit of swords predominates, the black eagle soars and death, grinning, holds up the hour-glass. These are not religious symbols. They are the language of the tarot cards, which, though not harmful in themselves, reveal for us the influences which have not yet passed away, that which has been ordained and which has not yet come to pass. ..

Ireland aids Malta-based refugees

Ten handpicked refugees have arrived in Ireland to ease the pressure on the overburdened island of Malta, writes Conor Ryan in The Irish Examiner:

The unique resettlement process falls under a new European Union agreement to help the island country cope with unrivalled levels of immigration. However, before it became one of the first countries to accept refugees under this pact Ireland laid out strict criteria for what it was willing to take, according to a statement on behalf of the Minister for Justice Michael McDowell.

“Following discussions in March 2006, the Minister agreed that Ireland would accept a maximum of 10 recognised refugees from Malta. “The Maltese authorities referred a number of cases for resettlement and Ireland accepted four family units based on information provided by the Maltese authorities.” The four families are originally from the Ivory Coast, Eritrea and Sri Lanka and after flying in last Wednesday they have been accommodated in the Dublin area. The cost of their transfer was paid for by Ireland..

Ireland is the third country, after Germany and the Netherlands, to welcome refugees under the pact. The selection of refugees and their subsequent transfer took place after lengthy interviews and negotiations with Irish immigration officials. Mr Muscat said the process was very thorough as the Department of Justice’s criteria for granting asylum is stricter than the conditions sought by the United Nations’ refugee agency (UNHCR). “It is not a case of 10 people being selected in a lottery process. This was the result of months of negotiations between the authorities in Ireland, in Malta and the UNHCR offices in both countries...

More from MaltaMedia

Permission to marry

The news that a Maltese Judge has ordered Government officials to issue the appropriate documentation to permit a transsexual woman to get married has attracted interest from the international media. The case involves a woman who had undergone gender reassignment surgery and whose birth certificate should now be changed to reflect her sex as legally female. From Pink News, Europe's largest gay news service:

..Mr. Justice Camilleri has now ordered the director of Public Registry to issue marriage banns and change the name and sex on her birth certificate...The judge also pointed out that nothing in the country's marriage laws would prevent someone who is legally a woman from marrying a man just because of her former gender.

Malta is one of the most socially conservative countries in the EU. 98% of the population are Roman Catholics, and although homosexuality is legal, there remains significant prejudice. The Mediterranean island, a British colony until 1964, has around 400,000 inhabitants and is the smallest EU state in terms of both size and population. In 2000 the government were criticised by gay rights groups for openly homophobic statements criticising EU proposals to treat gay people equally. Only 18% of the population support gay marriage, a December Eurobarometer survey found.

Compact society

The results of a survey conducted among 1,360 middle and senior managers in five European countries suggests that the Maltese live in 'a very compact society':

The survey was conducted by the European Management Association (EMA) among middle and senior managers across Germany, Lithuania, Malta, Spain and the UK. The Malta Institute of Management (MIM), which conducted the survey locally, held a breakfast meeting yesterday to discuss conclusions drawn from the results. Professor Edward Zammit, deputy dean of the University of Malta’s Faculty of Economics, Management and Accountancy, gave a critical analysis of the results, saying it was interesting to note that 81 per cent of the 165 Maltese respondents were female.

“While we might already know certain things by intuition, such surveys are important because they provide insight into present realities, such as globalisation, for example,” Prof. Zammit said. Prof. Zammit said the results revealed that Maltese managers were among the ones who worked most; the findings suggested that managers in the five countries allocated fairly similar proportions of their time to work, family, sport/leisure and rest, but the most noticeable difference was in the length of the average working day.

According to the survey, Maltese managers worked about 9.9 hours per day, ranking second after Germany (10.7 hours), but Malta ranked lower as regards time spent on sport/leisure activities and rest. Maria Pia Chircop, chief executive officer of the Foundation for Human Resources Development (FHRD), pointed out that it would be interesting to look at stress levels registered among women in middle and senior management since the majority of respondents were women and since the survey showed that they dedicated little time to themselves. The survey results also showed that the Maltese give a lot of importance to values like happiness, friendship, fairness, peace and success, but Ms Chircop questioned these values, saying “it is about time we look outwards”...

Spatial relations

With a new design to her blog, Sharon Spiteri of Lost in Thought writes that 'our attitude to asylum seekers and refugees is perfectly reflected in our spatial relations':

..We house them in cut-off areas: Safi, Marsa, Hal Far… and we give them wide berth when we meet them: we don’t sit next to them on a bus, we do not make eye contact, we do not speak to them, we try to pretend they do not exist, we claim to be crowded enough without having to make space for newcomers.

And then there is their living space: of all the empty buildings on the island (and there are many), did we have to earmark an old school stuck in an industrial zone to house an open centre for asylum seekers? One surrounded by an open ditch full of stagnant water and the accompanying stench? One stuck in a space reminiscent of the war zones refugees are fleeing from?

Approaching the Marsa open centre, it struck me that there is little which is open about it, except maybe the open-ended works in progress. The approach is definitely closed and the building is a run-down ruin surrounded by a moat. And then, once inside the building, the crowded conditions make something of a grim joke of the argument that the island is crowded. To understand crowded, one would have to spend a night inside one of the dorms of the open centre.

Little wonder that the one thing on the minds of those asylum seekers and refugees I spoke to was integration. They hardly get to socialise with Maltese people except the ones who work with them and the ones who provide them with services. They are totally segregated. Shades of apartheid?

Joining the euro

Following an application by Cyprus, Malta will submit its formal request for accession to the eurozone in the first two weeks of March:

Malta’s target date to accede to the euro is 1st January 2008. While Parliamentary Secretary Tonio Fenech confirmed Malta will be applying in March, he did not reveal a precise date. Prior to its submission, Malta will have new statistics in hand outlining its progress where the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and inflation are concerned. To qualify to join the eurozone, member states must fulfill the Maastricht convergence criteria applied to the existing euro area members, namely a high degree of price stability, sustainable government finances in terms of both public deficit and public debt levels, a stable exchange rate and convergence in long-term interest rates.

According to the sources, Malta wants to follow euro accession model adopted by Slovenia. This entailed submitting the application in March 2006 and being given the go ahead for adoption by July. Amelia Torres, spokesman for Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Joachim Almunia, said on Tuesday that for Cyprus, Brussels will be trying to emulate the process employed last year in the case of Slovenia. "We now expect that both the Commission and the European Central Bank will analyse the Cypriot application and issue their respective convergence reports by mid-May. These reports will then be discussed by the EU summit in June. The final decision, when the final convergence rate of the currency will also be established, will be taken by the finance ministers," she said. The schedule as explained by the Commission's spokesman indicates that the final decision will be taken at the first Economic and Financial Affairs Council (Ecofin) meeting under the Portuguese presidency, in July.

Uphill all the way

Random Jottings of a Book and Opera Lover has posted some thoughts about Uphill all the Way, a novel partly based in Malta written by Sue Moorcroft:

Transita No 2 this week is Uphill all the Way by Sue Moorcroft I will admit to a bias in its favour before I even turned to the first page as I knew that part of it was set in Malta. Sue Moorcroft grew up in Malta and says that if she can't be there, then the next best thing is to put her characters there. I spent part of my childhood on this wonderful island, only returning for the first time last summer. Though I found parts of Malta a tad dilapidated now, the beaches and the sea were still stunningly beautiful and brought back many happy memories.

The book starts with a shocking tragedy which leads to the death of Judith's lover, Georgio. She feels responsible for this accident and is also blamed by Georgio's family who had never approved of her and their relationship as Georgio was married, though long separated from his wife. In Malta, a Catholic country, divorce was not allowed. Forced by circumstances to return home to England, Judith finds herself in the spare bedroom at her sister's house, with no home, no job and no future.

Her house has been let in her absence to Adam, who she used to have a crush on when she was at school. He is not very co-operative about letting her have her home back but it is clear from the start that there is a mutual attraction which eventually comes to fruition over a period of time when Judith works for him as a photographic assistant. In the meantime time Judith has had to deal with her irascible ex-husband who is jealous of his son Kieran's relationship with her and the fact that he turns to her when he and his girlfriend, Bethan, lose their baby, her sister who leaves her husband and takes refuge with Judith when she eventually moves back into her home, and the news that Georgio, who had been in a coma when she left Malta, has died. As the title of the books says it is Uphill all the Way.

Judith returns to Malta, this time with Adam, to return a family heirloom of Georgio's and also to face her demons and to realise that she was not to blame for the accident, and must learn to forgive herself and continue with her life. There was one passage in this part of the book that caught my eye immediately: "Judith steered him onwards and upwards to one of her favourite spots, the heights of the Upper Baracca Gardens (these are in Valletta). There they stared out over the glinting blue splendour of Grand Harbour........Adam gazed silently over the depths of incredible blue to the church domes and bell towers..." I stood in this exact spot last summer so knew exactly what Adam and Judith were seeing ...I enjoyed this book very much, it brought back happy memories of my childhood in Malta and my visit last year. I also liked Judith. She had to start all over again at the age of 51, the same age I had to do the same and, like her, I found it Uphill all the Way. We both got there in the end.

Sue Moorcroft writes...wishing 'she were in Malta'

Stolen Maltese Falcon

A copy of the Maltese Falcon statuette was stolen over the last days, writes John Koopman in the San Francisco Chronicle:

The busted cabinet doesn't look like much. It's old wood and is stained with the smoke of a thousand cigarettes. A piece of molding on the front dangles from a nail like the hopes and dreams of every tourist who ever fell in love with the foggy city on the Bay. It's the last place anyone ever saw the Maltese Falcon. Except for the weasel who took it.

John Konstin owns the joint. It's been in his family forever, or 40 years. That writer, Dashiell Hammett, used to eat at his place, called John's Grill over on Ellis. When he wrote the book, "The Maltese Falcon," he mentioned the place a couple of times. Said Sam Spade used to eat there. Chops, potatoes and sliced tomatoes, to be exact. And smoked there. So John's Grill is some kind of shrine to Hammett and Sam Spade and "The Maltese Falcon." The book and the movie with that actor, Humphrey Bogart.

Konstin likes the Maltese Falcon so much, he tried to buy it once. The real one. The one from the movie. Which wasn't worth anything, if you saw the flick, but everyone thought it was worth a fortune. "The, uh, stuff that dreams are made of," Spade says at the end of the moving picture show. The real one was made of lead and heavy like the stone you'd tie around a dead man's neck before you tossed him into the bay. They said Bogey dropped it on his toe and limped through the whole picture. The movie people made a couple others, for publicity, out of plaster. This was one of those..

Konstin misses the bird. It's a part of his spirit and soul. He looks at the empty shelves of that old cabinet like he can't believe his eyes. "At first I thought it was a joke, or maybe the waiters were playing a prank," he said, pouring a glass of sparkling water. The kind Spade would have spat on the already-spat-on sidewalk...Konstin showed off the Falcon in a corner cabinet on the second floor. The bird kept company with books. Lots of books. Old books by Hammett himself, and signed. Even a copy of a Herb Caen book. All gone now...Konstin wants the bird and the books back so much he's willing to fork over some cash. $25,000 in cold, hard for whoever brings the stuff back to his joint. "No questions asked," he said...

From BoingBoing: Maltese Falcon swiped

Arms for Iraq plot

Christian Fraser of the BBC reports that an arms trafficking ring foiled by Italian police had a Maltese connection:

Italian police say they have broken up a major arms trafficking ring that was planning to supply thousands of weapons to insurgents in Iraq. They say the group involved had connections in Malta, Russia, Libya and China and some of those arrested were wealthy businessmen working in exports.

This began as a routine drugs investigation. But soon police in the central Umbria region realised they had stumbled across something far more significant. So far they have arrested 16 people - 12 on suspicion of drug dealing but four on allegations they were intending to supply arms. Police from the anti-Mafia unit say they were planning to move 500,000 AK 47 assault rifles and 10 million pieces of ammunition. The weapons, they said, had been sourced in China during what looked like routine business trips.

The coded emails recovered suggest the weapons were to be moved through Libya and on to Iraq. Some of those arrested are wealthy businessmen involved in the export business, though the Italian ministry of defence says they had no permission to move arms. Police in the Umbrian town of Terni, where the arrests were made, said there was a link between the gang and people working for a senior Libyan diplomat. No weapons were confiscated during the enquiry and it is not thought any had yet been sent.

Carnival week

To get into the spirit of Carnival, it is worth having a look at the MaltaMedia special feature about Carnival in Malta and Gozo.

Some hate it; others bear it, while others simply live every day of the year waiting for those five short days, usually in February, when the silliness, the senseless and the idiotic takes over. Carnival is a passion shared by many people, including the Maltese. It has been celebrated in Malta since the arrival of the Knights of St. John in 1535, but some studies even date the first carnival revelry back to the year 1470. Up until 1751, carnival was an activity exclusive to Valletta.

Nowadays, revellers gather in every corner of the islands during the five days preceding Ash Wednesday from Nadur in Gozo to Ghaxiaq in the south of Malta. One thing is for sure, the Maltese have had valid excuses to mark carnival for hundreds of years and the celebrations have come a long way since.

Beyond any doubt the centre of attraction of today's Maltese Carnival are the grand defiles of floats in the streets of Valletta and Floriana. Though the controversy over the restriction imposed by the authorities on the themes that can be represented in floats has marred the past few editions, the celebrations involving these often ingenious devices remain as colourful and popular as ever.

In these pages, the MaltaMedia team takes a look at the difference facets of carnival in Malta - from the spontaneity of the Nadur carnival to the months of hard work involved in creating a float.

More about this year's Carnival celebrations

Online dictionary

A press release about Ian Vella's English Maltese Online Dictionary is published in PR.com:

After the enormous success of the initial English to Maltese dictionary launch, where visitors could easily use the in-built dictionary to automatically search for and translate words from English to Maltese, the author of this highly successful dictionary is now forming a strategic alliance with jcmwebs.net a local web company that will benefit immensely all those keen on learning and using the Maltese language better. Thanks to this alliance a new website www.maltadictionary.com was born.

“We are very excited at the amount of positive feedback we are receiving at the moment,” said Ian Vella, author of the highly successful dictionary. “Users from all around the world are making use of the dictionary site and now thanks to improved technology, faster downloading times and an easier to remember web address we are expecting even more success. We received hundreds of emails from Maltese emigrants in Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom. We are also proud to announce that the long awaited Article submission is being implemented. Anyone can suggest an article about the use of the Maltese language and it will be uploaded on the website for everyone to see,” he continued.

Further to this, other new features are going to be implemented soon like an addition of a forum for discussion. The amount of words in the dictionary has doubled in just three months since it’s launch. An enormous amount of feedback received by users daily is helping the dictionary grow.

Edna's 100th birthday surprise

A remarkable woman had an extra special present on her 100th birthday when her niece travelled from Malta to join in the celebrations, reports The North West Evening Mail:

..Edna Kirkman, who celebrated reaching her century yesterday, was overjoyed to see Dorothy Abela after two years. The pair spent the day together at Combe House Residential Home on Walney, where Mrs Kirkman has lived for over three years. Fellow residents later joined the centenarian for a birthday tea party at the Central Drive home. Mrs Kirkman, who was born in Salford and lived in Manchester, decided to retire to Barrow with her late husband Bill. The couple, who enjoyed walking in the Lake District, lived on Yarlside Road, Roose. The former office worker now enjoys sewing, reading and watching Songs of Praise.

Her niece, Mrs Abela, 69, said: “Edna is a very happy lady who is easily contented. “I think reaching her 100th birthday has kept her going as she had something to aim for. She had a lovely day which she really enjoyed. The home also organised a tea party with a birthday cake which was lovely. She received 60 cards, including one from the Queen. She was absolutely thrilled to bits about that as she is a big fan of the Royal Family.

“Edna has no children but she is very close to her family who are set to visit her at the weekend.” The celebrations will continue on Saturday when family members from Lancashire visit Walney to take Mrs Kirkman out for a birthday meal.

Bridging the gaps

The Maltese do not think of bridges as objects of beauty, writes Norbert Ellul-Vincenti:

So this morning, on one of my usual early walks across the spectacular Valletta Waterfront (much credit there to the builders), I notice that after long months of late re-structuring, the bridge across the new mouth of the inland water has been laid. It is steel, straight and plain. What a fool I was to expect something to feast the eye. This is Malta. We don't go in for bridges of poetry. We just lay the planks across. The result was exactly as I had feared while nursing a glimmer of hope.

Perhaps we should have taken a page from the new Archbishop's book. Mgr Paul Cremona has gone on record as saying that he thinks he is a good bridge-builder. Bridge-builders and fence-menders are experts that greatly benefit society, though it must be admitted that fences may hedge people separately rather than bring them together. They use tact and good-handling to bring people into harmony. But bridge-building is something that we in Malta have not taken much to heart, since we consider the exercise as simply one of getting people and merchandise from one place to another over a drop or ravine. We are crassly utilitarian.

We do not think of bridges as possibly being objects of beauty. The Italians do, the Spanish, the Swiss and the Germans, but not we. The highways of Italy, in particular are remarkable for the number of spectacular and poetic bridges that cross them, or that the roads themselves cross. Simply slapping down a horizontal slab of metal grid or concrete passage never occurs to the Italians as sufficiently beholden to eyes bred on beauty.

Not in Malta. We go for the cheapest and the most humdrum, with the hateful expression that betrays our mediocrity, on our lips or in our thoughts: "Mhux xorta?" (It's all the same). Mhux xorta? is always on our tongue. "Xorta l-ilma bahar," we say, recognising that mediocrity does not get you anywhere beautifully. We require more than zalzett and hobz biz-zejt to exist. We crave beauty. Man does not live by bread alone...

Flights of fancy

Low-cost airlines have opened up Malta's luxurious, laid-back lifestyle to all, writes Laura Latham in the UK Independent:

..Malta's location at the heart of the Mediterranean has guaranteed it a special status. For centuries, the island was fought over by European armies, and it was only given independence by the UK in 1964. It's now seeing an invasion of property buyers taking advantage of its year-round sun, pretty beaches and cosmopolitan culture...After ownership restrictions were relaxed for EU citizens, buyers moved in, snapping up old townhouses, restoration projects and seafront apartments, sparking a development boom and a hike in property prices. "Prices rose 40 per cent over two years," says Anna Farrugia of Harlon Property. "After years of the property market being static, it was too quick." But it didn't stop Malta and its sister island, Gozo, being sought after by those looking for a Med holiday home.

Prices have settled down to appreciation of around 10 per cent, but that may change. "When you get low-cost airlines, you get people buying for investment," says Vanessa Lupi of local agency Frank Salt. "It's also easier for those who buy for their own purposes, since their holiday homes will be more accessible." A programme of new development is bringing a variety of sophisticated accommodation into existence. The residences on the waterfront at Saint Julian and Sliema sell from £100,000 for a one-bedroom apartment without a sea view, but can go up to £500,000 for a frontline pad with three bedrooms, incredible views and often a private yacht mooring..

Gozo has a more rural feel. The island's homes are pretty stone houses with walled gardens and swimming pools, which are very popular with tourists. "Gozo is better value for farmhouses," says Farrugia. "You can find unrestored houses with two bedrooms for £120,000." A restored property of this type would cost more than double that. But Lupi warns: "Gozo doesn't suit everyone because of its aura of tranquillity."...But Lupi discounts fears that Malta will become like overdeveloped Spanish or Portuguese resorts. "Malta and Gozo can't be compared to places like Spain and Portugal. When people buy here, they buy much more than just the property, they buy the lifestyle."

Convergence programme

The European Commission has today published an assessment of Malta's convergence programme which expects a correction of the deficit to below 3% in 2006 and a debt below 60% of GDP in 2009. From the EC website:

Malta submitted a new update of its convergence programme on 7 December 2006, covering the period 2006-2009. The update aims at correcting the excessive deficit by 2006 and further improving its public finances thereafter. The MTO for the budgetary position is a balanced position in structural terms, which is to be reached only after 2009. The structural deficit is expected to improve gradually over the programme period, and the pace of adjustment is broadly in line with the Pact after the correction of the excessive deficit. There are, however, risks of worse-than-targeted budgetary outcomes after 2007 due to the markedly favourable macroeconomic scenario underlying the update's projections. Malta appears to be at medium risk as regards the long-term sustainability of public finances.

Overall, the programme seems consistent with a correction of the excessive deficit by 2006 and the debt ratio seems to be diminishing at a satisfactory pace towards 60% of GDP. Maintaining a budgetary position that is robust to offset possible growth reversals is important especially in light of the recent build-up of external imbalances.

Therefore, the Council should invite Malta to: (i) pursue adequate progress towards the MTO and ensure that the debt-to-GDP ratio is reduced accordingly, while spelling out the budgetary strategy, especially on the expenditure side, with a longer time perspective; and (ii) in view of the level of debt and the projected increase in age-related expenditure, improve the long-term sustainability of public finances by achieving the MTO and making further progress in the design and implementation of the healthcare reform.

Will Kintish

Business trainer Will Kintish, who blogs at Being Kintished, is coming to Malta to lead a seminar convened by MGIMalta next week. From The Times business supplement:

The seminar in Malta will be his first here, having been invited by George Farrugia a director at MGI Finconsult Ltd. "I came across Will in June 2004 while attending an MGI European meeting in Brussels organised by our Brussels office," Mr Farrugia said. At such meetings a day is always reserved for professional development and Will was selected for that year. In our companies we sometimes have to take on many roles. We are accountants but most of us also have to take on the role of employers, marketeers, negotiators, business administrators and so on, roles for which our profession never prepared us. While the best course of action would be to delegate such roles to suitably qualified persons, one must learn as much as one can so as to avoid costly disasters."

Mr Farrugia said that day in Brussels with Will Kintish was a memorable one. "He was serious and humorous at the same time and involved the audience in his presentation through the day. He didn't stop either through the coffee or lunch breaks. Pointing to a group of us having coffee, for example, he tried to explain the message that our personal postures conveyed to outsiders." Mr Kintish has visited Malta on holiday before, he said, but it had taken two years to find a suitable opening in his diary for the seminar. Mr Farrugia was convinced of the need for such an activity.

"Increasing one's confidence when in the presence of strangers is something that we can never have enough of both in our social and professional lives. Therefore, learning how to interpret a room full of strangers, how to join in discussions with such strangers and follow up such new acquaintances for potential business opportunities is a skill that we should learn from a very early age. Personal communication skills and self confidence will, at the end of the day, determine who will succeed and who will fail Mr Farrugia said.

Football anniversary

Malta marks its first ever international football game in style, UEFA.com reports:

It is 50 years this month since Malta made their debut on the international stage against Austria and to mark the occasion the Maltese Football Association has invited the same opposition back to the island. The visit of the UEFA EURO 2008 co-hosts to Ta' Qali on Wednesday is just one of a number of events organised to celebrate Malta's footballing past. However, the main event features the current team and Dusan Fitzel's men head into the game at the National Stadium in confident mood having beaten Hungary in their last qualifier in October, and they are confident of at least avoiding a repeat of Austria's 3-2 victory on 24 February 1957.

This week's friendly, which will be attended by many who played in the original game, has extra special significance for the Schembri family, the most famous dynasty in Maltese football. Striker Andre Schembri scored both goals against Hungary and will be cheering on his team-mates this week, with an ankle injury having ended his own hopes of playing. The 20-year-old is very much the man of the moment in Malta and he sees plenty to be cheerful about. "I do believe Maltese football is progressing, despite Malta being a small football nation," he told uefa.com. "I am very positive about Malta's football future."

Andre's 83-year-old grandfather Salvinu captained Malta in that historic first game against Austria, and shared his memories of the occasion with uefa.com. "I can still remember that match," he said. "We were already down 1-0 by half-time and as team captain I decided to go against our coach's decision to defend for the rest of the match. I told him there was nothing to lose and we would go out with an attacking plan. The final result, was that we scored two goals despite finishing 3-2 losers."

Completing the trio is Andre's father Eric, who made his international debut in a defeat by Libya in 1974, and he also believes football on the island is in good health. "I do see a positive outlook for Maltese football. Facilities are more available when compared to my playing days, and of course there is a lot of pride at seeing our family tradition very much involved in Maltese football, especially with this special milestone."

Vagablond's Malta Musings

Janice Nieder posts an entry about Malta in Vagablond, a blog that discusses 'the best in stylish travel, food, wine & shopping':

Malta is certainly not the easiest spot to travel to. There are no direct flights — although breaking up the trip with an overnight each way in London was quite enjoyable. Particularly if you’re passing through on a weekend a wonderful detour is the stomach-boggling Borough Market under the London Bridge. (Sorry, but I have to interrupt myself here, in case you haven’t been to the Borough Market, you have got to go. It’s like Seattle’s Pike Place Market, married San Francisco’s Ferry Building Market. I swear it’s worth the international commute to do your weekly shopping here..

..And Malta is certainly not the prettiest island we’ve ever seen. The monochromatic landscape is crying out for some bougainvillea, tulips, daffodils…whatever-and the pale yellowy-white bleached stain of the sand-blown limestone architecture that is seen everywhere hardly provides the necessary Pantone panacea…but just wait — after a day or two, your eye and mind becomes accustomed to, even appreciates, the visual softness that provides a such a peaceful, serene feeling.

Malta Musings, Part 2: Where And What?

Malta Song for Europe

Final preparations underway for MaltaSong, by MaltaMediaNews:

Final preparations are underway for Saturday’s MaltaSong for Europe 2007, which will see six semi-finalists going head to head for the first place spot. The six semi-finalists were chosen from a total of 16 on Thursday by a judges panel and televoting. The choice of the song that will take Malta to the qualifying rounds of the Eurovision Song Contest 2007 will be left in the hands of the Maltese public through televoting. The participating tunes are "Whenever" by Kevin Borg, "She Gives Me Wings" by Klinsmann Coleiro, "As Long As You Know" by SCAR, "Vertigo" by Olivia Lewis, "All About A Life" by Pamela and "Starlight" by Trilogy.

Televoting lines will remain active for 30 minutes after festival hosts J Anvill and Stephanie Spiteri declare them open once all artists perform their respective songs. The six songs which made it into the semi-final, as well as the ten other participating entries can be heard on MaltaMedia Online Network's Eurovision website, EurovisionMalta.com. Eurovision fans can appreciate the songs and singers which could potentially be Malta’s salvation for the 2007 Eurovision Song Contest. The audio clips can be heard here. For more detailed information about Malta's participation in the Eurovision Song Contest see EurovisionMalta.com.

Update: Olivia Lewis wins; Toni Sant's special podcast 2007 Malta Song for Europe

Malta exit a sickener for Hendry

Stephen Hendry lost 5-4 to Ali Carter in the quarter-finals of the Malta Cup and then revealed he had been hampered by a severe stomach complaint, reports BBC Sports:

The Scot was diagnosed with a bout of gastroenteritis and only played after an injection from a doctor. Carter now meets Shaun Murphy in the last four after he eased past world champion Graeme Dott 5-2. Ryan Day beat Mark King 5-1 to reach his first ranking semi-final. He faces Peter Ebdon, who beat Ken Doherty 5-3.

Hendry believed a chicken and prawn meal at a nearby Indian restaurant the night before may have caused his stomach upset. I was aware that Stephen wasn't feeling too clever but I knew that he would still be tough to beat. He arrived sweating and feeling weak at the venue and was given special dispensation to play in an open-necked shirt rather than the normally compulsory bow tie. "It's really disappointing," said the seven-time world champion.

"There were times when I thought I wasn't going to be able to play but the injection stopped me feeling quite so bad and I decided to give it a go. "It was difficult to play but there are no excuses. I did well enough to win four frames so I can't really complain about not winning five." It will be Carter's second appearance in the semi-finals of a world ranking event, the first coming at the 1999 Grand Prix in Preston. He said: "I was aware that Stephen wasn't feeling too clever but I knew that he would still be tough to beat. "But I'm pleased I showed the character to come back from 4-3 down."...

Chig's MaltaSong

The World of Chig gives a minute by minute account of the Malta Song for Europe semi-finals:

It's multimedia multi-tasking night here at Chig Mansions. We're watching Maltese TV on t'internet in the lounge (via the link here on ESC Today's page). Malta is having a qualifying round tonight in their quest to choose this year's song for Eurovision, 'Malta Song For Europe 2007'. This is purely to fill a quiet Thursday night's television in Malta before Saturday's final, which will feature only six of tonight's sixteen songs. And boy, do they know how to fill a night's television, as last year's final was about four hours long. We are also trying to cook dinner and will be watching The Bill with the other eye.

I believe Malta may be sitting on the winner of this year's Eurovision in Helsinki. Olivia Lewis's 'Vertigo' is absolutely bloomin' fantastic. and if it's not one of the six songs that Malta picks tonight for Saturday's final, I will weep. It blends Western pop, Middle Eastern sounds that will allow Wogan to declare it has 'the whiff of the souk' without even waiting for Turkey's entry, and flamenco handclaps which should draw in the Southern European votes. Yet, it doesn't sound like the contrived mess that all that would imply. It has a good intro, a fabulous long note and an impactful ending. I adore it, and a look at my last.fm stats reveals that it's the track I have played most on my PC since November! I won't upload it anywhere, as previous ventures in that direction have turned out to be a waste of time, but if you ask me nicely, I will happily e-mail you the MP3. The Schlagerboys are also tuning in for Malta. They've picked the six songs they think should go through to the final. Well, I say six...

20:15. We're five songs into the webcast and I feel like I've zoomed into the 1980s. Is this modern Malta? Padded jackets and soft rock abound so far. Yuk! Bring on Olivia! Bring on the dancey pop!

Now there's some mincey queen singing Blue Suede Shoes and sashaying into the audience! Is this the interval act? ..

20:34. Ooh, we're back on! The female presenter is reading out a list of sponsors. This is soooo Malta. We may have missed the obligatory shot of someone or other arriving by Air Malta.

20:39. The Maltese version of Busted are on now. They're called Klinsmann Coleiro. They have clearly been drinking too much Red Bull as their song is called 'She Gives Me Wings'. The webcast is buffering badly, which makes it sound really out of tune. PC Honey Harman's colleagues still haven't twigged that she's dead.

20:43. The next singer, Julie Pomorski, is in a nightdress, on a swing, with a 1980s perm. Honey's fingerprints have been found at the scene of the drugs bust. Still the plods haven't realised that Zain is bent. Nightie girl is quite badly out of tune, even with no buffering.

20:46. Proving that simplicity is often best, Daniela Delicata (great name) is singing a jaunty little song, while playing a big guitar, à la Nicole. Sun Hill have been briefed that Honey is a high priority misper.

20:50. Malta's version of Cher now, half Cher's age but wearing a cross between a poncho and a flamenco dress. Good voice actually, but the song's too MOR for Eurovision. She's called Pamela, and The Bill's on an ad break.

20:54. Maltese TV's on an ad break too. Buitoni pizzas and Peugeot 207. Ooh blimey! They're back in the studio and the presenters aren't ready. Long silence. Someone brings a lecturn onto the stage. Now the presenters are singing Ruslana's 'Wild Dances', very badly. Smithy has found what we already know will turn out to be Honey's blood on the bridge...