Empty houses

Darren Barefoot discusses empty houses in Malta:

One of the hot topics among locals here on Malta is the building boom. They often speak about how there’s too much supply for the current demand. And, indeed, there seem to be new houses and small apartment blocks going up at the edges of many villages, even on Gozo. Often the construction is happening next to a couple new but vacant buildings. A recent article in The Malta Times describes the scope of the issue..

That’s 53,000 empty residences on an island with about 400,000 people. The article goes on to say that Greece and Portugal are actually worse off. What’s the cause? One reason, apparently, is that there’s no property tax in Malta. So it doesn’t cost owners anything to simply leave their properties alone. I suspect there are many cases of Maltese people living abroad whose parents have died and left them (often unwanted) property on the islands.

Surviving tornado strikes

A crew competing in the Rolex Middle Sea Race had a lucky escape as their yacht was hit by a tornado off the coast of Sicily, from CNN:

The 10-strong crew aboard Air Malta Falcon the Air Malta-sponsored Beneteau 40.7 -- one of only 15 boats to have completed the race -- survived after being hit by ferocious winds.

The yacht's skipper Martin Scicluna recounted the horrifying experience: "We saw it coming , we saw it getting closer, closer and closer, There was nothing we could do about it so we put up a small sail so we had control of the boat. When it hit we were as prepared as we could have been and just rode it out. It was unbelievable - 70kts of wind and hail.

"Yes, it was fairly scary and wasn't particularly enjoyable. The only thing we could do was ride it, we just went through the beam of it. When we were hit we just had to try to survive. The whole ordeal lasted about 12 minutes. I even sent Matthew, my 15-year-old son, below to get the hacksaw because I feared the mast coming down. We needed to be prepared to chop it away if that had happened."

Fortunately Team Air Malta Falcon got through the worst of it without scathe and Scicluna said he was incredibly impressed with the boat. "The boat was amazing, we had no damage whatsoever. I would never have believed that this boat could have survived such an ordeal." Despite the horrendous conditions Team Air Malta Falcon crossed the finish line back in Malta in fifth overall in their division.

Affordable energy

A maltastar report on the need for an alternative energy policy was picked up by the Tehran Times, Iran's international daily:

Malta urgently needs a holistic energy policy which is an affordable, ensures an adequate energy supply, causes the least harm to the environment and is a national policy which transcends the partisan divide. This, in a nutshell, was the message given by Labor’s two deputy leaders, Charles Mangion and Michael Falzon, when they addressed a seminar entitled Towards an Energy Plan for Malta which was organized by the Labor Youth Forum (FZL).

Mangion said that the energy policy must be based on a holistic long term plan which has clear objectives backed by a program to finance it. Mangion emphasized that the policy must not belong to just one political party but must be a national policy owned by the whole country which safeguards the present energy needs of the country and as well as the interests of future generations..

Michael Falzon began by pointing out that over the past years many policies for the energy sector were drawn up but hardly any of them, if any at all, were put into effect with the desired results. Falzon maintained that the aim for Malta in the energy sector is to ensure an adequate supply at a reasonable price while ensuring that this causes the least possible harm to the environment. The Labor deputy leader for party affairs emphasized that Malta needs to take up the use of alternative forms of energy seriously and moves from words to concrete action on this issue...

Friendship on a small island - Part 2

Writing in the Liverpool Daily Post, Peter Elson talks to Nicholas Borg and walks around Malta's historical streets:

Bobbing around this amazing watery expanse, edged by its towering buildings, in a traditional Maltese gondola (or dghajsa), you appreciate why the Maltese are so proud of its World Heritage Site status. “Valletta is the Mediterranean’s largest natural harbour and therefore much-coveted by every power seeking to rule the trade routes. That’s why we have the second greatest number of historical sites after Rome,” says Nicholas Borg, seasoned Malta tourism expert and general manager of Malta’s premier Corinthia St Gorg Hotel, at St Julians.

While the Arabs tolerated the island’s devotion to Roman Catholicism, the Napoleonic French occupiers did not. Maltese leaders welcomed the Royal Naval takeover in 1800, and the island became a vital staging post for Britain’s links to its empire east of Suez. Its courageous support of Britain during the siege of WWII was commemorated by King George VI awarding the island the GC in 1942. “For decades, Malta was the first- choice destination for British people wanting a sun and beach holiday abroad, especially as 90% of Maltese speak English,” says Nicholas. “We also drive on the left – actually, it’s usually in the middle of the road, but apart from that, Malta remains a safe place to be,” he jokes.

Another era is represented by motorcades of past British car marques: Ford Zodiacs, Morris Oxfords and Triumph Heralds chug about, preserved by the dry atmosphere. Ancient fume-belching Bedford coaches form the bus network’s backbone. “With so many rivals for the traditional beach holidays, we should promote our historical and cultural wealth. We also have some of the best diving sites with marine life teeming around the many ship and WWII aircraft wrecks.

“Malta has the oldest freestanding structure in the world, il-Ggantija megalithic temple, in Gozo, dating from before 3,500 BC, which is older than Stonehenge or the Pyramids,” says Nicholas. “The biggest remnants are from the time of the Knights, such as the eight auberges, or lavish hostelries. Valletta’s baroque churches are an artistic experience themselves, but this style is everywhere.”

From where we’re talking at the Corinthia St Gorg Hotel, he points out the 150-year-old Kursaal Palace, now a casino, across St George’s Bay, with a Knights’ 1617 watchtower behind. In the other direction are castle defences. Malta is the EU’s smallest member state, but the island’s abundant heritage matches most other countries’ appeal.

Friendship on a small island - Part 1

Peter Elson of the Liverpool Daily Post compares Malta to an open air museum:

On A balmy summer evening in the small, but lively Maltese resort of St Julians, I wandered around the crowded streets, filled with many locals and holidaymakers, all out to enjoy themselves. The throng was drawn towards music wafting through the hot night air and soon I stood on the rim of a spacious open-air dance floor.

Maltese of all ages and both sexes had come dancing to the strains of Blame It On The Bossa Nova and La Vida Loca. Strictly speaking, standards varied, but the enthusiasm was indisputable. The friendliness I encountered at the dance on this Mediterranean island, set between southern Europe and north Africa, set the welcoming tone for my visit.

Long-drawn together through shared history during the British Empire, these two great seafaring island nations of Malta and Great Britain remain affectionately close, in spite of a somewhat painful parting after independence in 1964. Described as one big open-air museum, the Maltese islands’ fascinating past is visible today. Malta and its islands of Gozo and Comino chart some 7,000 years of history.

Almost every vista is closed by a handsome (and usually large) baroque, domed church in the island’s ubiquitous and attractive buff-coloured limestone. Situated at the Mediterranean’s crossroads, Malta was successively colonised by the top dogs: Phoenicians, Carthaginians and Romans (when St Paul was shipwrecked here in AD60). Later Arabs introduced citrus fruits, cotton and irrigation systems.

Arabs and British bequeathed ornamental gardens to relieve the island’s aridity. Both races also contributed courtyard buildings and fine neo-classical properties, adding to heritage like Valletta’s 1732 Manoel Theatre. Valletta dates from 1530, when the island became home to the military-religious Order of St John, dubbed the Knights of Malta. The Knights created the fabulous fortified city on Malta’s magnificent natural harbour, named after their Grand Master Jean de la Valette...

The Psychedelic Teabag

The photographer, creator of the The Psychedelic Teabag blog, recounts the first hours in Malta:

..It was 10pm at night and on opening of the plane doors, its was so obvious that I was abroad, it was warmer than it has been all summer over here in the UK. You could really tell who was from the UK on that aircraft as cries of “yes, warm weather!” rang through Malta’s airport. I think the Maltese guy that I had been speaking to on the plane who refused to believe how bad our summer really had been because he had just enjoyed a lovely week in London then relised just how bad it had been. We were like prisoners released!..

..Then it was into a taxi and away to the hotel, the taxi sped through the streets in a manner that in this country would of got you immediately picked up for just about every driving offence going. I think one member of the party summed it up when he said that the plane journey was fine (they are not an experienced flyer) it was the taxi ride at the end that was the scary bit! Speed limit was 24mph and taxi was doing nearer 70mph and weaving in and out more times than shuttle at a Yorkshire cotten mill!

We arrived at the hotel, to be faced with more problems certain vital paperwork could not be found by this point I had, had enough luckily it was quickly found and we headed up to out rooms dumped our cases then headed downstairs for a much needed glass or two of the local plonk, which incidently is dirt cheap!

Photos of Malta

Frendo or Fernandez?

Malta's Foreign Minister phones Benazir, from The Frontier Post in Lahore, Pakistan:

Michael Fernandez foreign minister of Malta called on Ms Benazir Bhutto's office to condemn the October 18 bombing of the rally and express sympathy over the loss of innocent lives. According to PPP Media Office here, Michael Fernadez in a telephonic conversation also said that they were relieved that Ms Bhutto was safe and remained unhurt. He said that they had moved resolution in a meeting of foreign ministers of the European Union condemning the bomb blasts.

Failed civil servant

The deft hand of poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge in compiling famous prose was not apparent when it came to his role as a civil servant in Malta, from The Express & Echo in Exeter:

In fact, Coleridge, from Ottery St Mary, and one of the nation's most-revered poets, was a devious and incompetent administrator during his spell as a civil servant in Malta, shortly before the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805, it has been disclosed. The revelation follows two years of painstaking work, helped by archives from the period by university professor Barry Hough to mark the 235th anniversary of the poet's birth.

He set out to make public the little-known fact that while in Malta in the post as the British Government's Public Servant, Coleridge's time there was blighted by incompetence and ineffectiveness. In Samuel Taylor Coleridge1804-5 his ability to run things in the far-off Mediterranean has been called into question.

Professor Hough and colleagues discovered the archives, hitherto thought to have been destroyed in the 1870s, which painted an illuminating picture of the poet's time there. "The British administration after the French left was, at that time, blighted with mistakes and ineptitude and Coleridge was a part of it," said Mr Hough.

Digitising Malta

The Malta Study Center of the Hill Museum & Manuscript Library announces that it will resume manuscript preservation work in Malta:

On Oct. 23, Dr. Theresa M. Vann, The Joseph S. Micallef Curator of the Malta Study Center, will sign a contract with Mr. Charles J. Farrugia, national archivist of Malta, to digitize the Magna Curia Castellaniae collection held in the Banca Giuratale, Mdina. The event will be under the patronage of the Hon. Dr. Louis Galea, minister of Education, Youth and Employment.

The Magna Curia Castellaniae is the archives of the central law court of the Knights of Malta. This court had jurisdiction over civil and criminal cases on the islands of Malta and Gozo. The archives consist of 1,411 volumes plus various registers and indexes, dating from 1543 until 1798. They are a tremendous source of information for the social and economic history of the Maltese people under the administration of the Knights of Malta.

The Malta Study Center of the Hill Museum & Manuscript Library has already microfilmed the Archives of the Knights of Malta, held in the National Library of Malta. The archives date back to the 12th century, and are an important source for the history of crusading warfare and Mediterranean culture. In 1988, the Library wanted to microfilm the Magna Curia Castellaniae as part of the project, but the archives were housed in a different place and the estimated costs were too high.

“Now the time is right,” said Vann. “We have just successfully completed an NEH Challenge Grant to endow the Center, which means that we can budget for on-going preservation work. HMML has switched to digital technology, which is more economical and gives faster results than microfilming. Malta has a very rich archival heritage, which comparatively few people outside the country know about. I hope that this is just the start, and that more opportunities will occur to both preserve and provide access to Malta’s history.”...

Life is elsewhere

The Malta Chronicle is a blog created by Benelux based Maltese liberals with a view to observe, monitor and comment about the upcoming general elections. In this piece, David Friggieri runs through the political media:

..Then you’ve got the Wenzu Mintoffs and the Toni Abelas, the Joe Brincats and the Berta Sullivans. And relaxed Harry. But you can’t be too harsh on him for trying to keep up with the Mangions and the Zammit Dimechs. No NET, No Super One, No Party. Political spiel morning, day and night. (And we haven’t even mentioned Il-Mument and Kullhadd, In-Nazzjon and L-Orizzont. And It-Torca). Politics from the horse’s mouth 24/7.

Independent newspapers turned into campaign billboards for the political class, week in week out. The sound of politicians, ex-politicians and party apparatchiks thinking for you. About EVERYTHING. Anything that’s worth something must go through the political crusher: Eurovision singers and dancers, Coventry city strikers and local businessmen. Political cannibalism at its best. Opinion as propaganda. The constant dull throb of columnist-politicians and columnist-apparatchiks CRYING OUT FOR ATTENTION. I write a column, therefore I am (especially if I put a little friendly photo at the top).

Portrait of the politician as opinion writer. Look at us! We’re everywhere! We care, we will bring about change, we have delivered, the other guys don’t even have a clue, we know what’s good for you, we’re still here and always will be. Sant can’t be trusted (and didn’t kiss the cross). Gonzi’s a liar (and can’t take a joke). The Nationalists are arrogant. Labour can’t govern. This is our message of hope. The Good News. Follow us into the Promised Land. Life as eternal election campaign.

Secret criticism of Bonaparte

Letter critical of Bonaparte written in secrecy to Minister of the Marine:

Malta without a supply of provisions—with very little money—a sale of national property that cannot possibly take place for some time—and an immense population, which was wholly supported by the Order(3). The supplies from France will not, I imagine, be very abundant; those from Egypt are not yet in a state of forwardness:--and yet the possession of the island, in a military point of view, is of the utmost importance..

How deficient in foresight are we all in the wishes which we form! I had half an inclination to remain Commissary for some time at Malta; but when I saw that, for the first year at least, that port could neither receive from France nor from Egypt such supplies as would render a residence there tolerable, and that a numerous population would suffer, at least, for a time, the agonies of passing from an organization, imperfect without doubt, but long established, to one differing from it in every respect:

-When I saw all this, I said to myself, “let somebody else be a witness to these dreadful distresses, and let me try my fortune at Alexandria.” There I had every thing to do, and every thing to suffer, both from the climate and the troops—and I clung more closely than ever to the fleet, determined to follow its destiny. I have often turned my eyes towards France, towards my friends, but have never regretted the sacrifices I made in quitting Malta. Adieu, my dear Bruix, be happy, and realize your wishes for the re-establishment of the marine. Accept these assurances of my affectionate and unceasing attachment...

Suha denial

Arafat widow denies Gaddafi paid for home, from The Khaleej Times in Dubai:

Suha Arafat, the widow of former Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, has denied international press reports that she is living in Malta in a residence bought for her by Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.Ms Arafat told Malta’s leading daily The Times: “There would have been nothing wrong had Col. Gaddafi done something of the sort, but it is just not the case.” She also dismissed the idea that she was being protected by Libyan guards.

The London-based Al Quds Al Arabi newspaper had reported Wednesday that Gaddafi had purchased a 1.5 million dollar residence in Valletta for Ms Arafat and even assigned a security detail of three guards to protect her and her 13-year-old daughter Zahwa. “These sort of stories are simply attempts at character assassination and it’s really terrible when you’re a widow to have to fight these lies,” she said.

Last August, Ms Arafat was in the headlines after Tunisian authorities mysteriously stripped her of her citizenship. She had been living in Tunisia ver since her husband died in 2004. She then went to Malta.Asked whether she had been in contact with the Libyan leader, she said she has kept in touch with all leaders and heads of state who were friends of her late husband.

For the time being, at least, the new arrangement in Malta seems to suit her just fine. The place is “great”, she emphasised, praising the peace and democracy enjoyed in the smallest EU state.

Abortion on board

Maltese overwhelmingly reject Dutch abortion ship - Gomperts press conference in Malta limited to invited media only...did not answer question asking if she had an abortion, by Hilary White from LifesiteNews in Canada:

..Gomperts told media that her particular aim was promoting the RU-486 “abortion tablets” that she claimed are safer than giving birth. “Many women do not know of the existence of medical [chemical] abortion and that's one of my goals in Malta, to make them aware that if they can obtain the medicine they can do it safely themselves in the first nine weeks,” she said. Dr. Gomperts claimed that “a small number” of Maltese women had contacted her privately to arrange abortions on her ship..

..Gomperts’ visit was organized by Dr. Emmy Bezzina, Malta’s most prominent abortion activist whose fringe political party, the Alpha Liberal Party, promotes abortion and divorce, positions strongly opposed by a majority of Maltese who remain strongly faithful to their Catholic religious heritage in the face of secularizing pressure..

Dr Gomperts, who has two children, dismissed the existence of post-abortion syndrome, and told the press that being a mother has only strengthened her support for abortion. Employing a long used abortion slogan familiar to pro-life advocates around the world, she said, “Every child has a right to be a wanted child.” She said that having children of her own has “made my conscience stronger about the immense importance of voluntary motherhood.”...Asked if she had ever had an abortion herself, the 41 year-old Dr. Gomperts’ hesitation surprised the Times reporter Ariadne Massa who called the response “unexpectedly punctuated by moments of silence”...

3-month deadline

In one of several infringement procedures, the EU has given Malta a 3-month deadline to open oil market, from The IHT:

The European Commission gave Malta three months to open up its oil market to competition or face legal action at the EU's high court. When Malta joined the European Union in 2004 it committed to adjusting the state monopoly controlling the import, storage and wholesale of petroleum products within two years to prevent discrimination against companies from other EU countries.

The EU's executive body said Malta recently had passed legislation allowing fuel trading licenses to be granted to companies other than state-owned Enemalta, but had not implemented all the necessary measures. "I want to be sure that Malta completes this process," EU Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes said. "If not, we will have to refer Malta to the European Court of Justice."

Malta home for Arafat family

Gaddafi buys Suha Arafat 1 million euro home in Malta according to Isreal's Ynetnews:

Libya's leader Muammar Gaddafi has purchased a home on the island of Malta for Suha Arafat, the widow of late Palestinian Chairman Yasser Arafat, the London-based al-Quds al-Arabi newspaper reported Wednesday morning. According to the report Gaddafi has decided to care for all of Suha Arafat's needs after she and her daughter were recently expelled from

Palestinian sources in Ramallah told the newspaper that the house, which is located in Valletta, one of the Maltese capital's most prestigious neighborhoods, is valued at one million euros. Sources also reported that the Libyan leader sent his son, Saif al-Islam, to oversee the purchase of the house and to provide all Arafat's security needs in coordination with the Maltese government. Meanwhile, three bodyguards have been appointed to protect Suha and her 13-year-old daughter Zahwa.

Arafat left Tunisia several months ago where she had been residing even before the death of her husband. Two months ago the Tunisian press reported that the local authorities had revoked her citizenship; however the reason was not given. The Tunisian press reported that the reason behind the expulsion of Arafat and her daughter was an argument that broke out between herself and her business associates in various projects she was involved in, and that her intention to move to Malta had been made at the time.

Following her expulsion, the Libyan leader spoke with Arafat and decided to take responsibility for her and to provide her and her daughter with all their needs. Gaddafi even instructed the Libyan embassy in Malta to find temporary accommodation for the Arafats at one of the luxury hotels in the capital until their new home is ready.

Budget idiot's guide

Jacques reacts to the budget with his Idiot’s Guide to Reacting to the Budget:

J’accuse do some thinking for you so that you can venture into the world better armed. Here’s the deal: Yesterday evening while you were having your little wind-down pint after a day at work this geezer in a black suit looking very much like Tommy Lee Jones (but a tad less slick) spent the best of two and a half ours telling your compatriots what a great country this is to live in. He was also busy telling us all what an even greater country it will become over the next few years - provided you will vote back the Tommy Lee Jones lookalike for another term that is.

While aforementioned geeyer waxed lyrical about the managerial competence of his entourage and on how Malta is being rocketed into the High Society of modern nations, geezer number two sat poker faced and toupeed across the chamber trying to convey a cocktail of looks that ranged from (a) the mildly uninterested to (b) the “Isn’t this all so yaeningly predictable?” to (c) Jeez this guy really does not know his shit and y’all need me and my toupee to get you out of this misery with some proper neo-socialist projects.

At approximately the same time another geezer sat expectantly (but not much) massaging his furrowed brow and smiling patronisingly at every budget measure that was announced. Dressed in his “I am Aun San Suu Kyi’s Doppelganger” t-shirt he sipped on his Martini Bianco quietly ticking off all the budget measures that woz being ripped off the grand plan that he could call his own.

Dimas blog chat

To mark the first international Blog Action Day - dedicated to environmental issues – European Commissioner Stavros Dimas is holding an internet chat on his blog tomorrow Monday between 1400 and 1700 Brussels time:

The goal of international Blog Action Day is to achieve mass participation in addressing environmental problems by getting bloggers around the world to post entries on environmental issues that day. More than 9,000 blog sites have signed up!

This is an excellent initiative that will help to raise public awareness of the serious environmental challenges we face and to involve citizens in Europe and the rest of the world in contributing to solutions. These are also the aims of my blog.

The environment has become a pressing concern for many, so this internet chat is a great opportunity for us to communicate directly on an issue of strong mutual interest. I hope many of you will take part. The working languages will be English, French, German and Greek. I look forward to chatting with you on Monday!

Read the chat here

Last day

Andrew Galea reflects on his last day of his trip to Malta:

Well the best was yet to come. Louis told me that today the president of Malta was paying a visit to the club. Yes the president, as in the George W Bush equivalent (well the Maltese president is much cooler). Apparently he is from the area and once a year has morning tea at the club and today was the day! Sure enough a cavalcade turns up shortly afterwards and out steps the president of Malta! Whilst he had security guards etc it was nothing like the APEC summit so I got a good look at him. It came as no surprise when Edwin told me he knew the president personally however when he said he would arrange a photo for me with him I was pretty excited!

I mean I was blown away! Here were all these dignitaries and I was going to get a photo with the president of Malta wearing jeans and a t-shirt. Man what a blast this was. I have shown the photo to as many locals as I can find this afternoon and they have all been blown away by it. So there you have it, Andrew from Greystanes shook hands and had a photo with the president of Malta. We spent a few hours at the club before Louis told me we were going to pick up his wife Lina and have lunch at a restaurant owned by her brothers in St Julians..

My evening consisted of gathering around the family table of my uncle Leo and aunty Julie's house, sharing 2 plates of pastizzi and playing a few games of Scrabble. It was a fitting end to my holiday here in Malta, because whilst I have enjoyed so many aspects of my time here, including falling in love with the country and its people, the one thing that has stood it apart from every trip I have ever had before in my life has been the time I have spent with my extended families. It has made me reflect on my family back home and how grateful I am that my family plays such significant part in my life.

..My time here has drawn to a close. Hard to place into words how much I have enjoyed the experience. I knew this day would come and I am looking forward to returning home and continuing life's journey. Well this is me signing off from my journal and a wonderful month spent on the Mediterranean islands of Malta and Sicily. I needed this holiday, and whilst travelling on your own is sometimes a poor reflection on the social state of the individual (ummm…I have friends…honest!) I don’t think I would have enjoyed it anywhere near as much any other way. At least not at this point in my life. There are a lot of things I have realised and learned on this holiday that I want to take and keep with me when I return to Australia.

I hope you have enjoyed sharing this journey with me via my journal and I am eternally grateful for the wonderful comments many of you have sent to me about it. Those comments are what gave me the push and the inspiration to write something each day, and now I have a detailed and insightful log of my travels. Something I will cherish for all my days remaining...

Partnership with Kaiserslautern

Universities of Malta and Kaiserslautern to collaborate on marine software engineering, from Cordis News:

The Universities of Kaiserslautern and Malta have signed an agreement which will boost collaboration in the field of software engineering for maritime applications. The Memorandum of Understanding outlining the details of the one-year partnership was signed in September, when a high ranking Maltese delegation visited the German town.

The Fraunhofer Institute for Experimental Software Engineering (IESE) was one of the driving forces behind the Maltese dignitaries' visit and will contribute to the project with its expertise in embedded systems, development processes and empirical analyses. 'I am sure that this collaboration will result in important impulses, which will reach far beyond improvements in the development of complex software systems in maritime navigation,' said the institute's Executive Director, Professor Dieter Rombach.

The first task for the Fraunhofer Institute will be to take stock of the systems and software currently in use in maritime navigation. This will enable the researchers to obtain a good understanding of what is required. The collaboration also covers education, and jointly organised courses in both nautical and software engineering skills are planned. Here the University of Kaiserslautern will contribute with its experience of organising information technology (IT) training for graduates from other departments.

Malta stop-over for the Queen

According to an official Buckingham Palace announcement, Queen Elisabeth is due to make a short stop-over in Malta on 20 November on her way to the CHOGM Commonwealth summit in Uganda. From United Business Media:

The Queen, accompanied by The Duke of Edinburgh, will visit Malta and continue to Uganda for a State Visit followed by the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) during the period Tuesday, 20th November to Saturday, 24th November. This visit will include the Opening Ceremony of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting on Friday, 23rd November, and other events linked to CHOGM.

A meeting of the Commonwealth Heads of Government is normally held once every two years. Since 1997, The Queen attends the opening ceremony, but not the sessions; HM is normally present in the host country at the time of the conference. The Queen has a private meeting with Commonwealth countries' leaders whom she has not yet met during their term of office, hosts a dinner for the heads of the CHOGM delegations, and also attends a reception during the conference period...

The official programme

Virtual bridges:

How the euro and technology are changing an island economy, from The Economist:

In the marinas of Malta there is much talk of gleaming new yachts snapped up by buyers with wads of cash and little interest in sailing. The Maltese lira will disappear in January, when the tiny Mediterranean archipelago joins the euro area. Many Maltese have savings stashed under mattresses and are scared of attracting the taxman's attention if they go to the bank to convert them to euros. Several tax amnesties have yielded little in the way of deposits. Instead, Maltese seem to be rushing to spend their hidden lire on big-ticket items while they still can.

The government is hoping the euro will transport Malta's economy to a bright future based on services. The dwindling of Britain's military presence over the 1970s withered the islands' old fortress economy. With great effort, the authorities lured some manufacturing, including textile factories, microchip plants, and presses that print banknotes. But textiles are drifting off to China and other parts of Asia, and chip foundries might follow, forcing Malta's manufacturers to move upmarket. Increasingly Maltese firms, such as makers of high-quality wooden furniture, are finding that their products are competitive around Europe. Bordeaux's newest posh hotel has doors made in Malta.

Malta is also discovering that in an increasingly virtual world, being an island is no longer an obstacle to providing services, especially in finance and computing. In the late 1980s the government tried building a typical offshore financial-centre, complete with tax sheltering and secrecy. But that got in the way of another Maltese aim—to join the European Union. So the country changed tack and aimed for integration into Europe, with a financial sector that passed all European tests for onshore probity...

Old UK trucks in Malta.

More "far-flung" classic Brit wagons from Biglorryblog:

The 'Old British trucks in far-flung corners of the Globe" theme shows no sign of dying out and Biglorryblog is grateful to Trevor Wood for this magnificent line-up of Great British oldies but goodies at Valleta docks in Malta. He tells me: "Not sure if they're waiting to unload or unload." Either way, where else would you get two ERFs, an Atki and AEC (now that is rare bird) and what looks to BLB like a Leyland Freighter all in one picture?...

'Miracles don't happen'

Writing in the Animal Rights Blog, Kenneth Cassar discusses recent events and says 'animals are unique individuals':

Kenneth Zammit Tabona writes an article in today's The Times which deals on the recent spate of illegal hunting (and shooting in the face of a ranger), and the recent abduction of non-human animals from Razzett tal-Hbiberija. I have already given my opinion on most of the article's contents in my previous blog entries, so I will limit myself on commenting on things that were not mentioned previously by other correspondents.

Mr Zammit Tabona writes: "Let me once again make myself clear. I am against illegal and not legal hunting, however if abuse is allowed to happen unchecked I am afraid that it will be inevitable that the entire hunting community will be tarred with the same brush". Unfortunately, Mr Zammit Tabona fails to recognize that all hunting is abuse, irrespective of whether it is legal or not, for the simple fact that hunting unnecessarily deprives life to sentient animals who have a right to live. I doubt that Mr Zammit Tabona would condone the shooting of stray dogs if the practice was made legal. Most probably he would feel outraged. Now, what makes the shooting of a stray dog cruel and the shooting of an equally sentient bird not?

In this case, both animals do not form part of what some environmentalists call "endangered species". What makes the shooting of dogs clearly wrong is that, apart from bringing upon the dog unnecessary suffering, it deprives the dog of his life. What makes it any different in the case of a "common" bird? And what makes it any different in the case of a cow, pig, chicken, etc, for that matter? All unnecessary killing is abuse..

First of all, to say that "man must respect them (non-human animals) and use them in a sustainable way" is self-contradictory. To use any individual without consent, especially if one kills someone else simply because there are several others of the victim's kind, is to treat that someone as a replaceable object. Every animal is a unique individual. To treat someone as an object, and treat that someone according to the arbitrary value you place on him or her, is to treat that someone disrespectfully. Each animal values his or her life, and that's all that should matter. If "man" must respect non-human animals, then "man" should not use non-human animals as if they were replaceable objects...

Targeting Malta

Abortion ship operator heads to Pro-Life Malta to promote abortions, by Steven Ertelt in LifeNews.com in Canada:

The head of the pro-abortion group that operates the abortion ship that has targeted the people of Ireland, Portugal and Poland is heading to Malta, one of the few European nations that makes abortion illegal. Rebecca Gomperts will visit the island nation on Wednesday to deliver a speech advocating legal abortions.

Gomperts is the director of Women on Waves, the pro-abortion organization that has taken its converted tugboat to international waters outside pro-life nations to give women the dangerous RU 486 abortion drug. Her speech, “The Right to a Dignified Motherhood: The Crucial Abortion Issue," is intended to persuade Maltese citizens to want to remove the nation from the list of three -- including Ireland and Poland -- that prohibit abortions.

The speech will take place at the Castille Hotel, according to the Malta Independent newspaper, and moderator Emmy Bezzina says she hopes the talk will "generate a positive discussion on the subject." Pro-life advocates from the group Gift of Life say they plan on protesting the event, especially if information on how to obtain abortions is distributed.

Gomperts previously told the newspaper Malta could wind up as the next country slated for a visit from the abortion ship. "Malta is definitely one of the countries on our list, although we have no definite decision as yet and as such cannot exclude or confirm traveling to Malta," she said. "We would, however, really like to come to Malta as we have already campaigned in the other European States where abortion was or is illegal."...

People are more important

Dr Katrine Camilleri, a controversial human rights lawyer who was recently awarded the Nansen Award by UNHCR in recognition of her dedicated work helping refugees, discusses Europe's migration policy. She says that the fact that Europe receives large numbers of migrants cannot justify treatment that falls below internationally recognised human rights standards. From The Guardian Comment:

Although modern-day migrants decide to leave their homeland, this all too often implies an almost total loss of power over their lives and futures, now shaped by forces over which they have no control. They are at the mercy of the elements and, possibly more frightening, of the powers that be, whose main concern, it seems, is to keep them out. It matters little that a significant proportion of them may need international protection, that they will face serious harm if sent back home. The individual needs of the migrants are all but forgotten as states focus on protecting their borders.

All too often, particularly during the summer, migrants are left stranded, making desperate calls from sinking boats, clinging to tuna pens or crowded on board the vessel that rescued them from certain death, while states wrangle over who should accept them. Those who make it to our shores are often forgotten, held for months in over-crowded detention centres with poor services, while they await the outcome of their asylum applications.

In an attempt to coordinate border control more effectively and avoid "humanitarian tragedies" Frontex, the EU border agency, conducted patrols off Malta and Spain last summer. During the first phase of the Nautilus II operation off Malta alone, more than a thousand lives were saved and more than 700 illegal immigrants were intercepted. The Hera III mission off Spain reportedly intercepted a further 1,500 illegal immigrants trying to reach southern Europe.

These statistics beg the question: what happened to the migrants intercepted? Where any sent back to their point of departure? If so, was any effort made to determine whether they were in need of international protection before they were refused access to EU territory? Were they forced to turn back to a place where they could obtain protection if they needed it? Listening to the testimonies of asylum seekers in Malta's detention centres, one cannot but be concerned about the fate of any migrants forced to turn back...

College Confidential

College Confidential in the US discusses a trip to Malta:

I did some googling. Sign me up to go there! I usually try to seek out the "negatives" in travel recommendations--on the Lonely Planet site, there was a link on the "tips" that was titled Warnings and Dangers. When I saw things like "public busses don't have doors" and "the stores close early and it gets too quiet".... It looks like an awesome destination. I'm anxious to hear from some CC'ers with real experience there. Having his program pay for the trip makes it sound pretty darned tempting. I found the US State Dept website which essentially said it was a safe destination..

Suggest he read a new novel, "The Religion", I don't remember the author, but it was published this summer, if there is any way to get it. Or google the history of Malta, it is something. He should the church of St. John in Valetta if at all possible. It might be the most startling church I have ever seen in Europe. A piece of trivia, in the movie of a few years ago of The Count of Monte Cristo, there is a scene in the evil customs officer's office where an outdoor background is visible through a window behind the actor. The background is the Grand Harbor in Valetta. It is so distinctive that you can recognize it in that sliver of a scene..

The only thing I know even remotely negative about Malta is that they are having a small problem with illegal immigration from Africa. It's not anything a kid visiting is probably going to have a problem with. My mother has been on a cruise and was only there for a day but was completely impressed with the people, the island, and the beauty. (And she don't impress easy!)

I researched it a lot when we were playing with the idea of finding an island somewhere on which to retire. It's a peaceful place with a fascinating history and twisty streets that promise mystery. Utterly different from anything we have in the States. I wanna go!...

Malta in Gadling

Last laugh

'Jokers' has the last laugh in Malta, from Inter Game Online:

Operator Jokers continues to lead the amusement market in Malta and Gozo with its redemption machines and amusement games.

There are now over 200 games in the company’s flagship 1,280sq.m family entertainment centre in Malta. The venue attracts 4,000 people a day during weekends and an average of 2,000 per day during the week.

The whole industry in Malta is set to change in January when the island changes its currency to the euro. Malta's amusement industry, keen to keep a one coin, one game policy, has a choice of using a 50c coin or a €1 coin for a game. The latter will increase the game price by 56 per cent while using a 50c coin will decrease income per play by 12 per cent.

Some operators believe that a price increase will add to the problems that the amusement industry has seen in the past few years, while others feel that the price per game needs to be increased to reflect the need for Malta's amusement industry to be able to afford more new technology.

'Attach the people'

Writing in the Napoleon's Egypt blog, David L Boyle posts a letter written by Napoleon giving instructions about Malta - with translator's notes:

From: Copies of original letters from the army of General Bonaparte in Egypt, intercepted by the fleet under the command of Admiral Lord Nelson. With an
English translation (London, J. Wright, 1798-1800, 3 vols.), vol. 1, pp.175-176.

Head Quarters, Cairo (4th Fructidor), August 21. BONAPARTE, Commander in Chief, to the General of Division, VAUBOIS, at Malta.

THERE is an absolute necessity, Citizen General, for your supplying Admiral Villeneuve with every thing necessary (Whether provisions, troops, or seamen), to enable him to fit out the two sail of the line, and the two frigates which he has with him.

Our communications are extremely difficult. I have received no letters from you. I have too much confidence in your zeal, however, to doubt for a moment that the fortifications of Malta are in the best condition, or that you will not make use of all the means in your power to attach the people(1) to us, and to expedite all the intelligence which may reach you from France.

BONAPARTE.

Read the translator's notes

Fresh questions on Lockerbie

Honest man in a web of secrecy, chief reporter Lucy Adams writes in the The Herald:

It was a winter's night in 1988. Tony Gauci was getting ready to close up Mary's House, his rather drab shop on Tower Road in Sliema, Malta. At about 6.30pm, a stranger entered the shop and bought a list of items so long and unlikely for conditions on the Mediterranean island that it became etched in Mr Gauci's memory.

From his recollection, when interviewed by the police nine months later, it was a rainy night in early December. His brother Paul, with whom he ran the store, was absent as he was watching football. The Christmas lights were not yet up. The customer's purchases included a baby sleepsuit, a tweed jacket and an umbrella. The charred remnants of these items were later found to have been inside a brown hardshell Samsonite suitcase that contained the bomb which blew up over Lockerbie on December 21, 1988, killing 270 people.

When PanAm flight 103 exploded, the impact was such that the British Geological Survey registered a seismic event measuring 1.6 on the Richter scale. Debris was strewn along an 81-mile corridor of Scottish countryside. Working out who was responsible was not going to be easy. But it had to be worked out. This was the biggest case ever dealt with by Scottish police forces and the worst terrorist atrocity on mainland Britain.

Officers believed if they could trace the clothes from the suitcase they would find their man and, once they linked the items to Mary's House, they began to feel optimistic. Eighteen years on, that optimism seems like a false dawn. Tony Gauci is, according to those who know him, a simple and honest Maltese shopkeeper whose only passion is for his racing pigeons. Unwittingly, he became caught up in one of the most controversial trials of the century..

The trial court referred to Mr Gauci as an "important witness" and said his identification of the Libyan as the clothes purchaser "should be treated as a highly important element in this case". Despite the inconsistencies in his 19 different statements to the police, even the appeal court described Mr Gauci as reliable. However, during the three-year investigation by the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission, new evidence came to light which indicated that four days before an ID parade at which he picked out Megrahi, Mr Gauci saw a photograph of the Libyan in a magazine article linking him to the bombing...

'Mosquito' not for sale

Coventry City insist that Sky Blues leading scorer Michael Mifsud is not for sale. From The Coventry Telegraph:

The Maltese international chalked up his sixth goal of the season against Charlton on Saturday. It followed his two strikes against Manchester United, which alerted the national media to his skills. But weekend reports suggesting City will ask £1.5 million for the 'Mosquito' have been laughed off by the assistant manager. "He's not for sale," said Flowers who joked that the figures suggested might be enough to pay for one of his legs.

"No one is for sale because we are trying to build a team here. "We haven't spent all summer every single day trying to find players to come in to start selling people off. "It would be counter productive and, if anything, we want to add. "We have done our homework and if things drop into place with the finances we know who we want. "But we are not looking to sell at all."

Casa Rocca Piccola

Writing in Sur, the newspaper for Southern Spain, David Garson shares his views about Malta. In this extract he visits Casa Rocca Piccola in Valletta:

One of the most interesting places to visit in the capital is the Casa Rocca Piccola at 74, Republic street. It is still the lived-in home of a noble Maltese family with a history going back over 400 years. It was named after the first owner, Don Pietro La Rocca, who was an Admiral of the Order of St. John.

Afterwards it became the home for a succession of Italian aristocrats until finally it was sold to a Maltese nobleman in the latter half of the 18th century. What you will be privileged to see is the home of the 9th Marquis de Piro and his charming English born wife Frances, the Marchioness. They have four children and it is quite possible that one or more members of the family will be there to show you around! There are various items of memorabilia to be seen, not necessarily having any artistic merit but merely contributing to the overall picture of a lived-in home, albeit a grand one! The basement area is now used to house a collectionshares his views of costumes. Still to be seen are two intact bomb shelters, deep underground, which were used by the members of the family during the continuous bombing raids of the last world war.

There is a splendid marble staircase to climb when viewing the eight principal rooms and dominating the top landing is the imposing family coat of arms carved out of wood by the Maltese artist Edward Pirotta. Although the Palace has its own chapel, there is in the library a beautiful black lacquered portable chapel. When closed it disguises its true function but when opened it becomes a proper chapel with a tabernacle, relics and “the sign of the cross”. It is decorated with paintings of exotic birds and flora. In olden days portable chapels were easily taken to the country home of the nobility and also moved readily into a bedroom so that a child could be baptised immediately after birth and in the presence of the mother.

The Manoel Theatre, in the same street as the Casa Rocca Piccola, is one of Europe's oldest and best preserved theatres, dating back to the beginning of the 18th century. Today it is the official Maltese National Theatre and attracts many international stars of the musical and acting world as well as leading opera and ballet companies and well-known orchestras...