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14 injured in suspected Jerusalem 'terror attack'

February 5, 2020, 9:33 pm
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Fourteen people were injured at a popular night spot in central Jerusalem after being struck by a vehicle on Thursday, in an incident Israeli police are investigating as a terror attack. The driver "fled the scene" following the early morning attack at Jerusalem's First Station, an historic rail stop that now hosts bars, shops and restaurants, police spokesman Micky Rosenfled said.  "Police are searching for the vehicle," he added. "The incident is being investigated as a terror attack." Among the 14 victims, one was left in critical condition, another had "moderate" injuries, while 12 others were wounded lightly, Israel's Magen David emergency medical service said on Twitter.  The United Hatzalah medical emergency volunteers said in a statement that due to the nature of the incident, some at the scene "were suffering from emotional or psychological shock". There was no immediate indication as to the motivation of the possible attack, but Palestinians have carried out sporadic car-rammings on Israeli targets.  The incident also comes amid heightened tension between Israel and the Palestinians following the release of US President Donald Trump's controversial Middle East...
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Announcements - February 6, 2020

February 5, 2020, 9:46 pm
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Obituaries CUTAJAR. On February 4, at Gozo General Hospital, FRANCIS ex-PC433, of Victoria, Gozo, aged 82, passed away peacefully comforted by the rites of Holy Church and surrounded by his family. He will surely be missed by his wife Doris, his children Josann and her husband John, Celine, Marthese and her husband Emmanuel, Frank and his wife Rachel, Domenic and his wife Ritienne, his grandchildren Arama, Martha, Therese, Hannah, Daniel, Francesca, Michaela, Isaac and Elly, his carer Eduardo, other relatives and friends. The funeral cortège leaves Gozo General Hospital, tomorrow, Friday, February 7, at 3.30pm, for Sannat parish church, where Mass præsente cadavere will be said at 4pm, followed by interment in the family grave at Sannat cemetery. Lord, grant him eternal rest. PARASCANDALO. On February 5, at Casa Antonia, JOSEPH of Balzan, aged 87, comforted by the rites of Holy Church. He leaves to mourn his loss his devoted wife Mary, his sons Raymond and his wife Margaret, Gino and his wife Marion, and his daughter Marthese and her husband Luke, his grandchildren Andrea and her husband Adam, Daniel and his wife Mariella, Keith, Natalia and her husband Mark, Neil and his wife...
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The truth behind the art of Edgar Degas

February 5, 2020, 9:47 pm
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Spazju Kreattiv is tomorrow showing Degas: Passion for Perfection, a documentary about the famous French artist and his works as part of the Exhibition on Screen series. The documentary, directed by David Bickerstaff, takes viewers from the streets of Paris to the heart of a superb exhibition at the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge, England, whose extensive collection of Degas’s works is the most representative in Britain. [attach id=831772 size="medium" align="right" type="image"]Edgar Degas’s painting In a Café (The Absinthe Drinker), c. 1875.[/attach] With exclusive access to view rare and diverse works, the documentary tells the story of Degas’s pursuit for perfection through both experimentations with new techniques and lessons learnt from studying his previous masters. Sometimes frustrated by his own failings, Degas was consumed by obsessive principles and failing eyesight but his determination to capture everyday life was evident in every mark he made. Never fully satisfied, many of Degas’s drawings and sculptures were kept in private during his lifetime but are now recognised as the most beautifully detailed and expressive works in the modern era. Using written accounts...
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Maltese emigrant suffers life-changing injuries in Canada

February 5, 2020, 9:50 pm
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Matthew and Tania Mallia with their daughters Sienna and Sophie.

A fund-raising campaign has been launched to help a 36-year-old Maltese man who suffered life-changing injuries in a serious accident in Canada. Matthew Mallia, who emigrated to Canada together with his family when he was six, was taking his young daughters to a class when he was involved in a collision with a truck. As a result, the border officer from Ontario suffered a traumatic brain injury, a leg amputation above the knee, seven broken ribs and three broken thoracic vertebrae. Damage to a nerve has also left him unable to open his left eye, or see single vision, and, at this point, the prognosis for his vision is unknown. His Malta-based cousin, who is in close contact with the family, said that while Matthew was in an enormous amount of pain, he was in stable condition and had already started rehabilitation. The biggest cause of concern is the brain injury, he told Times of Malta. A lot is unknown right now about his condition and what kind of support he will need in the coming months and years. “Although he doesn’t have a problem recognising people, there are gaps in his memory and there is still a lot of uncertainty about how this injury will affect him in the future,”...
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The judge and Owen Bonnici - Ranier Fsadni

February 5, 2020, 9:56 pm
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The Prime Minister urged journalists to read all of the 115-page court judgment that found Owen Bonnici guilty, when justice minister, of systemically breaching the right to free expression. So I braved the lot. Reader, Bonnici’s critics have been going easy on him. The case is Manuel Delia’s against Bonnici. On Bonnici’s direct orders, the State cleared – several hundred times – the flowers and candles at the memorial to Daphne Caruana Galizia, situated at the foot of the Great Siege monument. [attach id=831808 size="medium" align="right" type="image"]A mock ‘monument’ saluting for Owen Bonnici in the wake of a court judgment finding him guilty of breaching human rights was erected outside the Education Ministry by rule of law group Repubblika. Photo: Mark Zammit Cordina[/attach] The judge, Joseph Zammit McKeon, considers every angle and a mountain of European case law. He finds no justification for the State’s actions. The justifications actually given were spurious, while the violations of free expression were grave. Moreover, the judge finds Bonnici guilty of more than just systemic breaches of human rights. There are details in the judgment that are worth highlighting for...
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Book prize should be awarded - Mark Sammut

February 5, 2020, 10:05 pm
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The Prize for the Best Novel was not given because none of the entries made the cut, according to the judges.

I deeply respect Kevin Saliba’s professional integrity: it is abundantly clear that he puts his heart and soul into his translations of difficult literary texts into Maltese. But my unstinted respect does not deter me from disagreeing with the approach of the latest National Book Festival jury, of which Saliba was the member who publicly defended the decision not to award the prize for the Best Novel because none of the entries made the cut. The jury seems to have expected Fernando Pessoa and were instead presented potboilers. I think the jury was wrong, at least in part. This wasn’t a Nobel Prize jury; it had to decide to whom to award Malta’s National Book Prize. Malta is tiny. If we’re lucky, we produce one international-standard author in a generation. (That’s what the five-million-strong Sicilians managed to achieve: three internationally-recognised authors – Pirandello, Sciascia, Camilleri – in three generations.) The rest will be forgettable. Not because they don’t try their best (as the jury seems to have implied) but because of demographics. Just like we (luckily) get only single-digit incidences of rare diseases, so do we (unluckily) get only single-digit occurrences...
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Premier League clubs vote for longer summer transfer window

February 6, 2020, 4:50 am
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Premier League clubs voted on Thursday to move the closing date of the summer transfer window to bring it into line with the rest of Europe. At Thursday’s shareholders’ meeting the clubs voted to revert to the traditional date at the end of August or early September after two seasons when the window closed on the eve of the campaign. This year’s summer window will close at 1600 GMT on Tuesday, September 1 as August 31 is a public holiday. A Premier League statement read: “At a shareholders’ meeting today, Premier League clubs voted to adopt a change to the summer transfer window closing date for season 2020/21. “This will move the closing date back to the traditional point at the end of August/early September. “The 2020 closing date will therefore be 17:00 BST (1600 GMT) on 1 September. “Clubs agreed after discussing the topic at length at previous shareholders’ meetings.”  
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US astronaut returns to Earth after longest mission by a woman

February 6, 2020, 4:56 am
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NASA astronaut Christina Koch rests in a chair shortly after landing in a remote area outside the town of Dzhezkazgan (Zhezkazgan), Kazakhstan.

NASA's Christina Koch returned to Earth safely on Thursday after  shattering the spaceflight record for female astronauts with a stay of almost 11 months aboard the International Space Station. Koch touched down at 0912 GMT on the Kazakh steppe after 328 days in space, along with Luca Parmitano of the European Space Agency and Alexander Skvortsov of the Russian space agency. Koch was shown seated and smiling broadly after being extracted from the Soyuz descent module in the Roscosmos space agency's video footage from the landing site. "I am so overwhelmed and happy right now," said Koch, who blasted off on March 14 last year.   Parmitano pumped his fists in the air after being lifted into his chair while Skvortsov was shown eating an apple. Local Kazakhs on horseback were among those to witness the capsule landing in the snow-covered steppe as support crews gathered around the three astronauts, NASA commentator Rob Navias said. "I've never seen this," Navias exclaimed, reporting that the men stopped to chat with engineering personnel.  Koch, a 41-year-old Michigan-born engineer, on December 28 last year beat the previous record for a single spaceflight by a woman of 289 days,...
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Kristy Debono resigns in second major departure in the PN

February 6, 2020, 5:02 am
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Kristy Debono at a general council meeting last year.

Kristy Debono has resigned from her post as president of the Nationalist Party General Council, the second senior official to resign after that of deputy leader Robert Arrigo. Ms Debono was one of the strongest backers of embattled party leader Adrian Delia and had been facing a wave of criticism, the latest being for not reporting regularly for work at the Malta Gaming Authority, where she is employed. Last year she was strongly criticised for having had a meeting with Yorgen Fenech to seek a sponsorship for a political activity. Mr Fenech had at the time already been identified as the owner of secret Dubai company 17 Black. A few months later he was accused of being an accomplice in the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia. Ms Debono announced her resignation in a Facebook post on a day of open rebellion against Dr Delia, with a majority of MPs calling for his resignation. The spark was a parliamentary group meeting on Wednesday when MPs discussed an exit strategy for Dr Delia. He told the MPs he would consider their views, but minutes later told journalists he would stay on as party leader. In her resignation announcement, on Facebook, Ms Debono said she had decided to step down...
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No takers for Indonesia's 'pluck a tyre off the croc' contest

February 6, 2020, 5:10 am
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Indonesia has called off a contest offering a cash reward to anyone brave enough to remove a motorbike tyre stuck around the neck of a giant crocodile. Authorities in Palu, capital of Central Sulawesi, said no would-be crocodile wrangler stepped forward to take up the challenge of removing the unwanted necklace from the four-metre reptile. The contest was rolled out last month, but made headlines again last week when an unspecified reward was offered. [attach id=832411 type="video"][/attach] The local conservation agency offered few details about the reward - or how outsiders might pull off the dangerous task - but its chief said the money would come out of his own pocket Conservationists who fear the croc is being slowly strangled have been trying - and failing - for years to find a way to untangle the beast. Rumours circulated that popular TV personality Panji the Explorer - Indonesia's answer to late Australian "Crocodile Hunter" Steve Irwin - was keen for another shot after a failed attempt two years ago. Officials said a team from the environment ministry will now redouble efforts to free the croc from its rubber stranglehold. "The contest has been cancelled," said Central...
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Woman caught with heroin in luggage at airport charged

February 6, 2020, 5:28 am
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A suspect drug-trafficker was remanded in custody following her arraignment on Thursday after she was arrested at Malta International Airport carrying almost 1.5 kilos of heroin in her luggage. The 31-year-old woman, of African nationality, whose name was banned under court order, pleaded not guilty to conspiring to import and procure the drug as well as to being in possession of heroin in circumstances indicating the drug was not for her personal use.  The woman, who works in hairdressing, was arrested as she was entering Malta The drug was in her luggage. No request for bail was made at the arraignment stage and the woman was remanded in custody.  The court, presided over by magistrate Astrid May Grima, upheld two requests by the prosecution, banning the accused’s name from publication and issuing a freezing order upon all assets, both movable and immovable, of the woman, except for a minimal annual allowance in terms of law.  Inspector Kevin Pulis prosecuted. Lawyer Benjamin Valenzia was legal aid counsel. 
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Carnival 2020 launched 

February 6, 2020, 5:44 am
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This year’s edition of the traditional carnival was launched on Thursday by Festivals Malta director Annabelle Stivala. In a press conference on Thursday afternoon, the agency launched a more expanded edition of Il-Karnival ta Malta, which will be held between February 21 and 25.  Addressing the media, Ms Stivala said this year’s edition of the festival had a bigger roster of events and a wider selection of collaborative partners.  The carnival would this year include an expanded section of Company D, which celebrates traditional Maltese carnival costumes popularised in the 1980s. Festivals Malta also involved local digital arts students, who submitted designs to be used as the carnival’s official poster.  Valletta Cultural Agency chair Jason Micallef said that the expanded scope of the traditional carnival was just part of the successful legacy of the Valleta 2018 foundation, and it was imperative for cultural agencies to continue to improve and strive for excellence.  Mr Micallef announced that a carnival party, featuring Dj duo Tenishia, would be held around the Triton Fountain on February 22 and 23. Tenishia’s Dj set will be streamed to international audiences.  Culture...
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PN reform chief Louis Galea demands ‘new leadership team’

February 6, 2020, 5:55 am
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Louis Galea (left) with embattled PN leader Adrian Delia.

PN reform chief Louis Galea has called on the party’s executive committee president to choose a "new leadership team" within the shortest time possible.  In a letter to embattled PN leader Adrian Delia, Dr Galea said over the past two months his push for reforms had been met with “resistance, ambivalence and foot dragging”.  The former minister was brought in to steer reforms within the party after Dr Delia survived a confidence vote last year.  He said the party’s general council had given a deadline for these reforms to be discussed and decided by the end of last month. Dr Galea's call follows another by the majority of the Nationalist Parliamentary group members who called on Dr Delia to consider his position. Dr Delia dismissed that call saying that “diversionary tactics” should not shift the Opposition’s focus away from the government.  Later Robert Arrigo said he would be resigning from deputy leader, while Kristy Debono resigned from her post as president of the Nationalist Party General Council Dr Galea said he has gone about introducing these reforms with patience, prudence, diplomacy and respect.  He said this was done in the interest of both the party and the county,...
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Turkey avalanches leave over 40 dead

February 6, 2020, 6:34 am
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The death toll from two avalanches in eastern Turkey rose to 41 on Thursday, the government's disaster management agency said, as rescue teams continued a difficult search for two missing people.  Five were killed in the first avalanche in Van province bordering Iran on Tuesday, only for rescuers to be hit by a second avalanche the following day.  Three more bodies were recovered Thursday, the DHA news agency said, with the AFAD disaster agency saying a total of 84 people had been injured in the twin avalanches. Rescue efforts continued despite adverse weather conditions that caused transport problems. Authorities have banned civilian access to the scene, DHA reported.  Last month, the eastern province of Elazig was hit by a powerful 6.7-magnitude earthquake that killed 41 people and injured more than 1,600 others. A 2009 avalanche in the northeastern province of Gumushane killed 11 climbers in the Zigana mountains.
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The Busker back with new single

February 6, 2020, 6:49 am
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The Busker will soon be launching their first release of the year, Miles Away. The single, which will be released on February 14, will be the last off their second album Ladies and Gentlemen, which was awarded best album at the 2019 Lovin Music Awards. Miles Away is a spiritual track which draws its inspiration from the iconic George Harrison. The lyrics of the song revolve around Plato's theory of the two souls, where he believed that every being’s soul was once split into two. Mankind's purpose on earth is to find the other half of their soul, then becoming one. The video Miles Away wasn't going to be just an ordinary music video for the band. Their ambition was to take it a step further and release a cinematic short film – and that's exactly what they did. They collaborated with filmmaker Francesca Mercieca who wrote, directed and designed the whole production. [attach id=832303 size="large" align="left" type="image"][/attach] In the video, the main protagonist Edith persists on a mission between sea and sky, day after day puzzling nostalgia together. Andrew, a disoriented ferry worker roams across her path and traces his own puzzle pieces along the way. Unconditionally, this...
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Motorist cleared of trying to run over Gżira councillor

February 6, 2020, 6:57 am
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A motorist accused of trying to run over a Gżira councillor on a street just off The Strand one afternoon almost two years ago was let off the hook on the strength of footage which did not support the prosecution’s case.  Ivan Stivala, a 41-year-old contractor, was facing charges of attempted grievous bodily harm, reckless driving, insulting and threatening the alleged victim beyond the limits of provocation as well as not being fully in control when driving.  The councillor, Jeremy Cardona, had filed a police report claiming that the “ruthless” driver, whom he identified, had revved up and swerved his vehicle, almost hitting him as he was walking along The Strand in Gżira, corner with Triq Belvedere on May 30, 2018. The alleged victim had later testified how he had been about to cross the street when he stopped, hesitantly, upon catching sight of an approaching Toyota pickup, not quite sure whether the driver would stop.  As the man at the wheel signalled to the pedestrian to cross, the latter had done so but soon had to take to his heels to avoid being run over by the driver, who allegedly reversed, shouting swear words and insults out of the window.  “Thank God I ran because...
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Church commission calls on government to publish Gozo tunnel studies

February 6, 2020, 7:53 am
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The Church's environment commission is again calling on the government to publish studies on alternatives to the planned Malta-Gozo tunnel, saying without it the “tunnel is not justified”.  In a report on Thursday, the Environment Commission (KA) said that while it noted that the government had issued a call for the building of the tunnel, it was disappointed that the studies carried out on the project had not yet been published.  “The KA believes that there exists no sound and reliable information in the public domain which could help one make a good analysis of the possible alternatives which would truly improve accessibility between the islands,” the report reads.  The commission also expected that a cost-benefit analysis of the various alternative options needs to be carried out and be published “in its entirety”.  Such options could include a fast ferry service, an additional ship for Gozo Channel line, a completely new fleet for Gozo Channel Co. Ltd and an underground rail system, it said. “The tunnel is being presented as the sole solution for improved accessibility. The strategy to present a project as the sole solution to address a particular issue was used years ago...
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Joy-rider denies injuring four in traffic accident

February 6, 2020, 7:55 am
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A man was granted bail after pleading not guilty to injuring four people when he lost control of a car he was driving without a licence or insurance cover crashing into another car. Justin Degabriele, 21, from Tarxien, denied driving his Toyota recklessly and dangerously and with seriously injuring two people and slightly injuring another two when he lost control of his car and crashed into a car carrying the four victims.  The incident happened on January 30 at 9pm in Cospicua.  Before Magistrate Caroline Farrugia Frendo, Mr Degabriele pleaded not guilty to the charges brought against him and was granted bail against a €200 deposit and a personal guarantee of €10,000. He was also ordered to sign the bail book twice a week.  Police Inspector Eman Hayman prosecuted while lawyers Franco Debono and Amadeus Cachia appeared for Mr Degabriele. 
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President Vella cancels Nationalist MP meeting amid leadership crisis

February 6, 2020, 7:59 am
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Nationalist Party MPs summoned by President George Vella amid a leadership crisis have been told the meeting is cancelled in a day of chaos for the Opposition party.  It comes after the majority of PN MPs called on Adrian Delia to consider his position and the man charged with reforming the party has already called on a new leadership team to be installed.  In the latest event during a day of drama, President Vella took the unprecedented step of summoning MPs to San Anton Palace, Times of Malta has learnt.  However, one MP on his way to the meeting received a phone call from the Office of the President, informing him that it had been cancelled. It is not clear why. Asked about the cancelled meeting, a spokesperson for the Office of the President said: "The president is acting according to the provisions of the constitution." Under the Constitution, the Head of State of State may remove the leader of the Opposition if whoever occupies this role no longer commands the support of the majority of the Opposition MPs. Article 90 (4) of the Constitution says: “If in the judgement of the President, a member of the House of Representatives other than the Leader of the Opposition, has...
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Google Maps marks 15-year milestone with new features

February 6, 2020, 8:13 am
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Google Maps has marked 15 years on the road with the rollout of new features for the popular mobile app which has helped move navigation into the digital age. The tech giant is celebrating the occasion with a new look and product updates, vice president of product Dane Glasgow said in a blog post on Thursday. Google has dominated the market for navigation apps in recent years but the latest updates appear aimed at staying ahead of challengers including from Apple, which recently revamped its own maps application. The Google Maps "explore" tab offers reviews and details regarding restaurants, shops, theatres and other venues, taking advantage of location-sensing capabilities in smartphones. A "commute" tab in the Maps application promises to deliver efficient routes to or from work whether people are driving or using public transit. Google has more than one billion monthly active users for its app, and has mapped more than 220 countries and territories and offers live traffic updates in 171 countries. The app has also been a target for disinformation, and Google said it took down some three million fake business profiles entered by users in 2018 alone. Last year, Google added a...
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