Times of Malta
Andrea Calleja was moments from death after being injured in an obstacle course
- Title
- Andrea Calleja was moments from death after being injured in an obstacle course
- Runtime
- 10:10
- Date posted
- 4 years ago
- Description
- This video was originally published on: February 1, 2023
A gym instructor who suffered serious spinal cord injuries during an obstacle course race has described the moment he realised he could not move and was drowning in a shallow pool of muddy water.
Andrea Calleja, 31, was left almost completely paralysed after taking part in The Grid challenge in Għajn Tuffieħa, last October, and has been undergoing rehabilitation in hospital ever since.
Speaking for the first time about the incident and his road to recovery, Andrea told Times of Malta that he was seconds away from death.
“I began to swallow water mixed with mud as my body refused to budge. I was like a starfish in the water, and I was literally drowning,” he said.
“I remember thinking to myself: ‘Oh God, please don’t let me go like this. Don’t let me die drowning’.”
Andrea had been competing in the popular race with his girlfriend, Kare...
- Title
- Transport minister discusses solutions, timelines at Times of Malta event
- Runtime
- 2:42:30
- Date posted
- 4 years ago
- Description
- Video originally published on February 22, 2023.
The government does not presently have an “appetite” to penalise private car use to encourage more people to use public transport, Aaron Farrugia said on Wednesday.
The Transport Minister was addressing a Times of Malta event titled The Road to Reliable Public Transport.
Fellow panellist and economist Marie Briguglio hit back at Farrugia's claim, saying that with such an attitude, the government was taking off the table all the best solutions to downsizing car use.
Fielding questions, Farrugia said "the government is presently not interested in creating financial burdens as a disincentivising measure, particularly as people are facing challenges created by the pandemic, inflation and high energy prices.
“There may have been the opportunity to implement such measures in the past and I’m not saying they’re off the table forever, but presently, we’re not going to...
- Title
- What happens to the homeless people shelters can’t handle?
- Runtime
- 6:14
- Date posted
- 4 years ago
- Description
- Originally published February 24, 2023
Joseph Muscat never knows where he will sleep at night – it could be the airport or a bench in a public garden.
More recently he is sleeping in a tent he was gifted and which he carries around on a makeshift trolley he made out of a pushchair frame.
This trolley is where he keeps his belongings: the insulin he self-injects five times a day because he has Type 1 diabetes and a car battery which he built into the trolley frame to charge the mobile phone he bought after begging for money.
But Joseph, 39, is tired of this life.
He has been living on the streets on and off for four years, except for some “breaks” he had when he was living in homeless shelters, in prison or hospital.
But now he is turned away from shelters because he has caused trouble there.
“No one knows what to do with me,” he says.
Read the full story here: https://bit.l...
- Title
- Students speak to astronaut in historic Maltese first
- Runtime
- 3:28
- Date posted
- 4 years ago
- Description
- Video originally published on February 15, 2023
Students from Stella Maris College were able to ask an astronaut questions as he flew past the island aboard the International Space Station (ISS) on Wednesday afternoon, a first in Maltese history.
Daniel Grech, 12, the first Maltese student whose question was beamed through the stratosphere and into the ears of American astronaut Joshua Cassada, was over the moon at his accomplishment.
“It feels absolutely incredible,” Daniel said as he described the experience that he “cannot put into words.”
“[Science] has been a passion for me since I was five, maybe even six, and the moment the opportunity presented itself, I couldn’t say no,” he said as he attempted to control his excitement.
Daniel asked Cassada what astronauts eat on the ISS as they hurtle at a rough speed of 27,500 kilometres per hour around the Earth.
“I’m about to have some pasta...
- Title
- Diver cleared of causing diving buddy’s death recalls the trauma
- Runtime
- 13:16
- Date posted
- 4 years ago
- Description
- In November, Arthur Castillo, a diver with 12 years’ experience, was convicted of the involuntary manslaughter of Christine Gauci, his long-time diving buddy. The court of appeal has now cleared him. Castillo tells Giulia Magri how Gauci’s tragic death changed everything.
Walking through Castillo’s makeshift diving studio in Naxxar, which he dubs his ‘man-cave’, it is hard to ignore his meticulous attention to detail.
What was once a garage, is now home to wet suits hanging from the ceiling, oxygen gas tanks in every nook and crook, wooden frames containing pictures of Castillo during different dives and his diving certificates and, at the back of the room, a spacious work desk with tools.
Full story here https://bit.ly/3EG6VIY
- Title
- ‘I was buried up to my waist in rubble’ says farmer after fireworks blast
- Runtime
- 4:19
- Date posted
- 4 years ago
- Description
- This video was originally published on February 3, 2023
A farmer has told of getting buried waist-deep in rubble and praying for the strength to pull himself out after the Kirkop fireworks factory exploded next to his field last November.
“I regained consciousness after a few seconds and I could see the fiery explosion [above me],” Eugenio Bugeja, 64, told Times of Malta yesterday.
“I prayed to Santa Katerina to give me strength to remove the rubble and see my grandchildren again,” the Żurrieq native and St Catherine devotee said.
“An unnatural strength helped me pull myself out.”
Bugeja was tending to his chickens and rabbits when the San Ġużepp fireworks factory on Triq Ħal Far was rocked by a series of explosions on November 26 at around 7am.
The blasts killed Leonard Camilleri, 64, a keen fireworks enthusiast who had served as the factory’s licensee for several years.
The ex...
- Title
- The 86-year-old on a mission to fix Malta’s pavements
- Runtime
- 3:15
- Date posted
- 4 years ago
- Description
- Jenny Psaila is fed up.
The 86-year-old recently bought a mobility scooter to help her navigate her way through St Julian’s and Sliema despite her advancing years.
But her frustration is mounting as she keeps on bumping into tables and chairs, hitting cracks and having to drive alongside traffic in areas where there is no pavement at all.
Instead of accepting her circumstances, she has come forward to highlight the situation facing anyone who relies on mobility aids and hoping something would be done to fix the problem.
“Ouch,” Jenny says, as she drives over the fifth bump in the road while demonstrating her daily challenges to Times of Malta.
“Driving the scooter in Malta is uncomfortable, to say the least… very uncomfortable.”
The vibrations and jolts caused by the unevenness of the pavements sometimes lead to pains, especially in her neck.
Jenny relies on her scooter to retain an...
- Title
- 'Imagine looking for one person in a collapsed 14-storey building'
- Runtime
- 10:15
- Date posted
- 4 years ago
- Description
- Two CPD officials who spent a week looking for earthquake survivors in Malatya, Turkey speak about their experience.
- Title
- Joseph Portelli says he'll keep trying to play for Ħamrun Spartans
- Runtime
- 18:48
- Date posted
- 4 years ago
- Description
- This video was originally published on February 6, 2023
Ħamrun Spartans president Joseph Portelli is bowing down to the Malta Football Association’s decision not to register him as a player – for now.
But he is adamant he will not give up on his “dream” of playing in the premier league and intends to pursue it “for as long as necessary”.
“I will keep trying, even if I’m 60,” he told Times of Malta in an interview a few hours after the MFA’s decision came out.
The controversial 45-year-old construction magnate handed in his resignation as Ħamrun president last month to register as a player for his own club...
Read the full story here: https://bit.ly/3x1OjPd
- Title
- What does Ħamrun think about Joseph Portelli playing for the Spartans?
- Runtime
- 2:33
- Date posted
- 4 years ago
- Description
- This video was originally published on January 28, 2023
If Joseph Portelli is to kit up as a Ħamrun Spartans player and join the reigning football champions on the pitch, he should play as a striker.
That appears to be the consensus among Spartans fans, who by and large see nothing wrong with Portelli swapping the boardroom for lockerroom.
Times of Malta spoke to Ħamrun locals on Friday morning, to see what they make of Portelli’s desire to become a Spartans player.
Portelli, a business tycoon who took over the Spartans in 2021, tendered his resignation as club president this week and wants to register himself as a player, with the intention of joining the players on the pitch on the final day of the season.
Read the full story here: https://bit.ly/3X6dtXG
- Title
- Lino Cauchi’s brother – ‘We don’t want vengeance, we want justice’
- Runtime
- 11:08
- Date posted
- 4 years ago
- Description
- This video was originally published on February 9, 2023
“There are definitely people who have information, who were close to certain people and who know what happened,” Joe Cauchi says.
“I don’t think there is a valid reason why they should speak up now. It’s not in their interest as they might lose the millions they accumulated. But others might make them speak.”
The murder of his younger brother, Lino, remains unsolved.
Last month, Lino Cauchi’s heirs were awarded €615,000 in compensation for breach of rights. Through their lawyers Dr Peter and Elena Fenech, they had filed constitutional proceedings and a court found that there was a grave shortcoming by the police who repeatedly failed to open a magisterial inquiry in the aftermath of Cauchi’s disappearance – on February 15, 1982.
The family is now calling on the police to reopen investigations because they believe that someone out there knows the ...
- Title
- Pelin Kaya's mother - ‘I couldn’t see her, but I could hear her voice’
- Runtime
- 6:03
- Date posted
- 4 years ago
- Description
- This video was originally published on 7 February, 2023.
The grieving mother of Pelin Kaya, the young woman murdered on her birthday, recalled how she could hear her daughter’s voice when she visited the Gżira site where a driver rammed into her last month.
“I couldn’t see her, but I could hear her voice. She was telling me: ‘mum what are you doing here?’ It’s very heavy’,” Çiçek Kaya said.
The mother spoke to Times of Malta on Monday, hours after she and other family members attended court to hear the first sitting of the compilation of evidence against Jeremie Camilleri.
Read the full story here: https://bit.ly/3I6lCae
- Title
- Pelin Kaya's colleagues recall murder victim as 'a true friend'
- Runtime
- 2:42
- Date posted
- 4 years ago
- Description
- This video was originally published on January 30, 2023
Colleagues of Pelin Kaya, the Turkish woman murdered on her birthday in Gżira earlier this month, joined her grieving family in court on Monday as the case against her alleged killer began.
“I miss her voice, she had such a calming voice and I know that everybody misses her so much at work,” her colleague Vincenzo told reporters on Monday.
Vincenzo worked with Kaya at a Birkirkara furniture store and was among work colleagues to join family members for Monday's court case.
“We want everybody to know we loved her. She was not just a colleague but a true friend," he said.
Read the full story here: https://bit.ly/3HOjanE
- Title
- Murder victim's family speak of pain
- Runtime
- 1:43
- Date posted
- 4 years ago
- Description
- This video was originally released on January 19, 2023
The heartbroken family of Pelin Kaya have spoken of their grief and anger after a man was charged with the 30-year-old Turkish woman's murder.
Kaya was killed on her birthday when a car driven by Jeremie Camilleri ploughed into her. as she walked along Testaferrata Street in the early hours of Wednesday.
Through a translator, her uncle Aykan Ceylan and her sister Derya Kaya issued a brief statement outside court after Camilleri denied a litany of charges.
Read the full story here: https://bit.ly/3HGGgfJ
- Title
- Project Green CEO says no matter where you live, you’ll have a public open space
- Runtime
- 17:02
- Date posted
- 4 years ago
- Description
- This video was originally published on January 29, 2023
The government is looking into buying or renting private land to transform into open, public spaces, Project Green chief Steve Ellul said.
The initiative is part of the new agency’s seven-year plan to invest €700 million to create green urban spaces.
The project would see the government acquire privately owned land that is within the development zone but has not yet been developed, and open it up for the public.
In an interview with Times of Malta, the 37-year-old financial analyst and newly appointed CEO said the agency is in the stage of drafting clear guidelines for the new policy and is determined to see it through.
Full story here: https://bit.ly/3Hlm5Ux
- Title
- Marsa residents forced to walk for seven minutes just to cross the road
- Runtime
- 3:08
- Date posted
- 4 years ago
- Description
- Read the full story here: https://bit.ly/3wIKTRk
This video was originally published on: January 25, 2023
A number of Marsa residents are furious after a pedestrian crossing in their neighbourhood was blocked off, forcing them to take a seven-minute walk just to get to the other side of the road.
The Transport Ministry has defended its decision to close access to the Marsa crossing, arguing it is a safer option, albeit inconvenient.
The pedestrian crossing, which is situated on the Marsa-Ħamrun bypass, was fully operational and complete with traffic lights up until a few months ago and was the only convenient way for residents to get from one side of Marsa, across the busy road, to the other side.
White road markings that used to delineate the pedestrian crossing are still visible.
But the residents, most of whom are elderly, say the crossing was blocked off by crash barriers and iron mesh during the Marsa-...
- Title
- An interview with Transport Minister Aaron Farrugia
- Runtime
- 34:10
- Date posted
- 4 years ago
- Description
- Transport and Infrastructure Minister Aaron Farrugia sat down with Mark Laurence Zammit to discuss his plans to tackle traffic, road deaths and infrastructural work.
This video was originally published on January 24, 2023
Read the full story here: https://bit.ly/3jpk01R
- Title
- The Carmelo Fino case and ‘a broken system’
- Runtime
- 21:32
- Date posted
- 4 years ago
- Description
- Read the full story here: https://bit.ly/3WRsHAt
Pace insists the healthcare system is broken, not patient-centred enough, waiting times at the accident and emergency department and at healthcare centres are swelling and no government has managed to fix it yet.
And on top of that, the system is suffering a nurse haemorrhage because of dire working conditions.
“Nurses run the hospitals, and aside from taking care of patients, they are expected to fix bed shortage, find ways to get medication when it’s out of stock, worry about toilet paper running out in the bathrooms and everything in between,” Pace said.
“Some of them don’t take leave, work 12-hour shifts with no breaks, and they are now threatened with suspension and prosecution if something goes wrong. No wonder scores of nurses are leaving the public health service.”
- Title
- Miriam Dalli should be next health minister – MUMN boss Paul Pace
- Runtime
- 5:17
- Date posted
- 4 years ago
- Description
- Read the full story here: https://bit.ly/3WRsHAt
Miriam Dalli would be the ideal next health minister, specifically because she is not a health professional, according to the Malta Union of Midwives and Nurses (MUMN) president.
Paul Pace claimed the best health ministers in the country’s history were people who were detached from the healthcare profession, because they had no pressures to help their own colleagues when taking decisions.
“I believe it’s time we have a woman minister and someone who will not be influenced by doctors, nurses or consultants,” Pace told Times of Malta.
“It’s the prime minister’s prerogative, of course, but in my view, the ideal replacement would be Miriam Dalli. I don’t see anyone as efficient and as capable as her to tackle the system’s problems.”
He said three of the best health ministers were Louis Galea, Konrad Mizzi and John Dalli, and they were not health professional...
- Title
- Restoration of 67-metre tower and spire nears completion
- Runtime
- 4:00
- Date posted
- 4 years ago
- Description
- Builders and architects discovered decades-old time capsules hidden behind stone blocks as they restored Malta’s tallest historical building.
One of them is a small cigarette packet that used to belong to one of the construction workers. It was a way for builders to leave a proud legacy for future generations. The 67-metre tower and spire of the St Paul’s Anglican Pro-Cathedral that majestically adorns the Valletta skyline has gone through a six-year mammoth restoration that is nearing completion.
Times of Malta climbed to the topmost tip of the tower with two of the architects overseeing the restoration, who disclosed some surprises that the restorers had found along the way.
One of the more pleasant surprises was a time capsule – an old cigarette packet manufactured by one of the major British tobacco companies at the time.
The architects believe the packet was opened by a builder who wrote the initials of his name, his surnam...
- Title
- Leontine talks about her ordeal with cancer
- Runtime
- 5:45
- Date posted
- 4 years ago
- Description
- This video was originally published on December 25, 2022
Singer Leontine Camilleri has revealed how she was diagnosed with cancer on Christmas Eve last year and feared that she would not be alive to celebrate the season again.
The popular performer has opened up for the first time about her diagnosis and the impact it had on her family.
Even though a recent scan showed she is clear, she is still undergoing regular treatment.
“I was alone when I found out,” she told Times of Malta. “It was a hospital appointment to get the results of some tests and I told my husband there was no need for him to come with me.
“I did not expect that news. It was shocking. I felt like Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz in the tornado: time stopped and I felt suspended.”
Read the full story here: https://bit.ly/3Z8cEQb
- Title
- Boy, 7, waiting years for device that would allow him to 'speak' to family
- Runtime
- 2:46
- Date posted
- 4 years ago
- Description
- This video was originally published on December 30, 2022.
A seven-year-old boy who can't speak has been waiting for more than four years to be assessed by a government unit so that he can acquire a device that would allow him to communicate to his parents and friends.
The unit, which is the only channel through which he can acquire the device, is understaffed, causing waiting lists that go back years and leaving many children waiting endlessly for their turn.
The government is finding it hard to beef up the staff because not many professionals are qualified or willing enough to fill the vacancies at the Access to Communication and Technology Unit.
George Micallef was born with a rare condition which, among other things, poses learning difficulties. Due to his condition, George is non-verbal, meaning that, at seven years old, he cannot say a single word.
“Not even mum or dad,” his father, Joseph told Times of Malta at ...
- Title
- Two passionate activists have a conversation about a legal amendment that is dividing a nation.
- Runtime
- 41:39
- Date posted
- 4 years ago
- Description
- This video was originally published on December 19, 2022.
As the abortion debate reaches boiling point, two of Malta's most passionate and informed activists met for a Times of Malta debate about the issue, and it was not a calm exchange.
Social policy academic Andrea Dibben believes the bill currently before parliament is a step forward but not enough, while journalist Peppi Azzopardi thinks it is an excuse to introduce abortion in Malta.
The Bill will remove criminal liability for doctors and women when a pregnancy is terminated by medical intervention when the woman's life or health are at risk.
The discussion focused mostly on how the word "health" in the bill could, and should, be interpreted.
Prime Minister Robert Abela has said that the government is willing to consider different wording, as long as the principles of the bill remain untouched.
Parliament is due to vote on the second reading of the ...
- Title
- Abused and forgotten: the women erased from Maltese history - Paulina Dembska is not the only one
- Runtime
- 6:29
- Date posted
- 4 years ago
- Description
- New research by Vanessa Buhagiar sheds light on centuries of gender-based violence cases, ignored by the history books.
Read the full story: https://bit.ly/3OEHmv4
Video first published on January 30, 2022.
- Title
- When 2,000 children celebrated Christmas on a British aircraft carrier
- Runtime
- 3:47
- Date posted
- 4 years ago
- Description
- When the captain of HMS Ark Royal received urgent orders to sail out of the Grand Harbour soon after Christmas Day of 1960, the message was kept under wraps because the aircraft carrier was hosting a children’s party.
The party continued without mishap with the aircraft carrier quietly slipping out of the harbour at night after some 2,000 children and several top officials had safely disembarked.
The aircraft carrier had sailed to Malta specifically for the children’s party, with the innovative setting being proposed by author and broadcaster Frans Said to an RAF Air Officer Commanding.
Read the full story here: https://bit.ly/39zESOE
Video first published on December 26, 2021.
- Title
- Cyclist lucky to survive crash urges respect for road users
- Runtime
- 4:32
- Date posted
- 4 years ago
- Description
- Read the full story here: https://bit.ly/3PwAq3Y
A cyclist has called for more care and respect to be shown to road users after he was nearly killed when his bike hit a newly built “ramp” outside a construction site on a poorly lit road last month.
A once fit and independent Joe Bonello is now housebound, using a walking aid and in pain from a broken shoulder and hip, after being flung off his bike by the obstruction around which there were no warning signs.
He considers himself lucky to be alive.
“I lived to tell the story and I’m determined to walk again, but in the meantime my life has been put on hold because of someone’s negligence and lack of respect for other road users,” Bonello, 41, told Times of Malta.
The accident occurred on November 23 at around 6pm, when Bonello was cycling in the airport area.
“I cycled up Ħal Far Road and turned to the left, making my way towards the Kirkop tunn...
- Title
- People in Paola share their views on plans to increase fines
- Runtime
- 2:34
- Date posted
- 4 years ago
- Description
- Read the full story here: https://bit.ly/3YqicVY
- Title
- Three siblings whose father killed their mother open up about that family tragedy
- Runtime
- 14:17
- Date posted
- 4 years ago
- Description
- Read the full story here : https://bit.ly/3W16KOU
Jane* reflects on that fateful morning 13 years ago when she learnt the devastating news: her father had assaulted her mother with a kitchen knife as she stepped off the bus on her way back home, killing her in a pool of blood.
“Had I been there, maybe he would not have killed her. Maybe he would have felt sorry for me…. I could have been with her,” says Jane, now aged 25.
On that day, Jane, aged 10 and her sister, 11, asked their mother if one of them could join her at work that day.
Shortly before their father assaulted their mother with a butchers’ knife, he ran into their then 12-year-old brother, who was on his way to his aunt, and asked if their mother had gone to work that day.
“He was my father. He asked and I said ‘yes’,” the brother, Mike*, now 26, says.
His youngest sister Debbie*, now 23, adds: “We never imagined our father woul...
- Title
- Law forces couple to register their child under the woman’s abusive ex
- Runtime
- 5:07
- Date posted
- 4 years ago
- Description
- Read the story here: https://bit.ly/3VQL6wp
A nine-month-old baby remains stateless due to a legal loophole that is forcing the mother to choose between making a false declaration and registering the child under the name of her abusive ex-husband, or not registering the infant.
The legal loophole – that is impacting the registration of other babies – was flagged by a Maltese mother who has been battling to register her child under the rightful biological father but is being blocked from doing so.
Maltese law presumes that a child conceived in wedlock is the child of both spouses. Lara*, who has been estranged from her husband for four years, had a baby from her partner nine months ago. By then she had not yet obtained a separation as her ex-husband refused to sign the required documentation.
Despite a DNA test that proves the mother’s partner is the infant’s biological father, she is effectively being held hostage by her ex-hu...
- Title
- Valletta's spice shop Tal-Ħwawar to close after 135 years
- Runtime
- 3:56
- Date posted
- 4 years ago
- Description
- Valletta’s long-standing little corner spice shop will be closing down after 135 years due to the “takeover” of catering establishments that left no space for tradition, snuffing out an era and another icon of the capital city.
Selling a wide range of herbs and spices since 1888, multi-generational family-run George Zammit Tal-Ħwawar, as it is known, on St John’s Street corner with St Paul’s, was “suffocated” out of the city, according to its third-generation owner.
Johann Farrugia, still busy behind the counter after 47 long years – buried in bags of strong flavours and aromas he has grown immune to, said he would be out by the end of January as the store had reached a “point of no return” more than a century after it was founded by his father’s uncle.
“Restaurants, cafés and wine bars have taken over Valletta and you feel there is no space for you,” he said.
- Title
- Mediterraneo insists dolphin tricks 'not cruelty, it’s all natural'
- Runtime
- 10:01
- Date posted
- 4 years ago
- Description
- Title
- Minister Jo Etienne Abela slams MUMN directive that has 'paralysed' health system
- Runtime
- 12:56
- Date posted
- 4 years ago
- Description
- Read the full story here: https://bit.ly/3UcoXHz
The story began last June, when St Vincent de Paul dementia resident Carmelo Fino, 83, disappeared, never to be found alive again.
The minister ordered an independent inquiry led by retired judge Geoffrey Valenzia, which found that four security officers, two carers and a nurse failed to do their job properly the night Fino disappeared.
Fino left the facility at 3am that night, but the inquiry found that when the morning shift staff found him missing, the night shift nurse misguided his superiors, telling them he had last seen Fino sleeping in his bed at 5:30am, leading the authorities to look at CCTV footage from then onwards.
When they did not see Fino leaving the facility at any point after that time, they figured he must still be wandering around the premises, consequently spending the entire morning searching for the old man within the facility.
It was not until the af...
- Title
- Black Friday 2022 Vox Pop
- Runtime
- 3:27
- Date posted
- 4 years ago
- Description
- Title
- ‘A van carrying olives killed my wife... the driver needs to come forward'
- Runtime
- 7:53
- Date posted
- 4 years ago
- Description
- The husband of a woman who died when her motorcycle skidded on spilt olives last month believes that the causes of all traffic accidents should be made public if we are to learn from past mistakes.
“People should know how accidents happened. Had I not published the photos [of spilt olives on the road] there would have been a big question mark and the public would not know what happened and why in my wife’s case. We need to know what happened so we can learn from it,” Aldo Lombardi said.
Aldo lost his “wife and best friend” Marie Claire Lombardi on October 22. She died when she lost control of her motorbike and fell at a roundabout on Mdina Road, Rabat, on her way home after work at about 5.30pm. She was the 20th road fatality of the year.
Under the Maltese system, whenever there is a traffic fatality a magisterial inquiry is held. The inquiry can lead to a person being charged in court months or years later – but the conclusions of th...
- Title
- Bernice Cassar told friend she ‘wanted to cry’ night before murder
- Runtime
- 9:46
- Date posted
- 4 years ago
- Description
- The night before she was shot dead, femicide victim Bernice Cassar told her friend and colleague that she was feeling down and scared.
“We were speaking at 10.30pm on Monday night. Bernice told me she was feeling down and wanted to cry. She asked me to take her to the police headquarters to pick up another police report she had filed against her husband.
“I told her that of course I would... But the following morning I did not take her anywhere. Instead, on my way driving to work I saw her body covered by a white sheet after he had shot her,” her friend and colleague told Times of Malta.
- Title
- This 'Reverse Vending Machine' turns empty bottles into money
- Runtime
- 3:46
- Date posted
- 4 years ago
- Description
- Read the full story here: https://timesofmalta.com/articles/view/watch-50000-containers-deposited-first-day-bottle-refund-scheme.994740
Some 50,000 bottles and containers were deposited in the first day of a new scheme to encourage recycling and cut plastic waste, according to its operator.
The Beverage Container Refund Scheme (BCRS) sees people having to pay 10c more for drinks in the shops and reclaim the money if they return their containers to be recycled.
Some 320 Reverse Vending Machines were switched on across Malta to collect the single-use drink containers. BCRS said the machines collected 50,000 by 4pm and issued over 8,100 vouchers.
"As soon as the machines went live late last night, within minutes, people were already using the machines," a spokesperson said.
- Title
- Secret tunnels, crypts, shelters, train station hidden under Valletta
- Runtime
- 4:58
- Date posted
- 4 years ago
- Description
- read the full story here: https://bit.ly/3tuDzaq
It would have been unbecoming of the Inquisitor of Malta to be seen at the Manoel Theatre, so rumour has it he would be escorted along an underground tunnel from his Vittoriosa palace to a spot just under the theatre.
There, he would sit on an armchair that can nowadays be found at the San Anton Gardens and listen to the performance incognito.
But until that tunnel is located, this folk tale will remain just that – a folk tale, unlike the documented Chapel of Bones, which, architect Edward Said believes remains buried not far from the remains of the Nibbia chapel, dedicated to Our Lady of Mercy, in Valletta.
- Title
- Robert Abela on corruption, construction and abortion
- Runtime
- 56:38
- Date posted
- 4 years ago
- Description
- 00:00 First Interview with Times of Malta
00:44 Corruption
11:35 Declaration of assets
12:58 Christian Borg
14:25 Revolving doors
19:55 Economic growth
23:30 Cabinet performance
24:56 Tax cuts
27:55 Traffic and transport
31:48 Construction
38:56 Abortion
49:16 Cannabis
50:44 Hate comments on Daphne Caruana Galizia
53:33 Choosing a president
Prime Minister Robert Abela talked about everything from corruption and construction to abortion, Daphne Caruana Galizia and Joseph Muscat in his first interview with Times of Malta since he became prime minister nearly three years ago.
During the 50-minute interview, to be published on Sunday in Times of Malta, Abela came clean about the ‘mystery’ rent listed in his declaration of assets.
He disclosed the amount of rent he was charging per month, the duration of the rental agreement, t...
- Title
- 11-year-old swims across Gozo channel to raise awareness on plastic pollution
- Runtime
- 1:57
- Date posted
- 4 years ago
- Description
- An 11-year-old boy swam 7km from Ċirkewwa to Gozo's Mġarr ix-Xini in just over two hours on Tuesday, and hardly looked tired at the end of it.
Liam Daly calmly checked his watch, looked out at the crystal clear sea, and made the sign of the cross before diving into the water to start the swim from South Quay of Ċirkewwa to Gozo.
He made the crossing in two hours and 5 minutes joined by ultra-athlete Fabio Spiteri and swimmer Pia Grech.
The young Gozitan, a Shamrock Stars athlete and Year 8 National Sports School student, embarked on the challenge to raise awareness about plastic pollution of the seas.
He is no newcomer in swimming across the channel.
Three years ago, at just eight years old, Liam swam between Comino and Gozo in under an hour.
In 2020, he swam across the channel in just over two hours and is unofficially regarded as the youngest swimmer to swim that distance.
Last year, h...
- Title
- Former minister urges PL to carry out a 'soul-searching' exercise
- Runtime
- 21:06
- Date posted
- 4 years ago
- Description
- Read the full story here: https://bit.ly/3FafTzh
Prime Minister Robert Abela should have marked the anniversary of Daphne Caruana Galizia’s assassination with a clear gesture to help heal the nation, according to former Labour minister Evarist Bartolo.
The government must recognise Caruana Galizia’s contribution to expose abuse and corruption and acknowledge it with a clear gesture understood by all, the political veteran said.
The move would be a great step forward in healing the wounds of a nation known to sweep its uncomfortable past under the historical carpet, he said in an interview with Times of Malta.
- Title
- Budget 2023 at-a-glance
- Runtime
- 4:34
- Date posted
- 4 years ago
- Description
- Finance Minister Clyde Caruana unveiled the government's budget for 2023 on Monday night.
A pledge to invest €600 million to cushion increases in energy and cereal prices dominated the headline measures, which were mostly focused on low-income earners, pensioners and workers battling to keep up with the rising cost of living.
Here are the key budget 2023 measures, broken down by theme: https://bit.ly/3TUmlOY
- Title
- The key moments in Daphne Caruana Galizia's murder saga
- Runtime
- 14:06
- Date posted
- 4 years ago
- Description
- It started with a furious blast. But as the country’s ears still rang from the dreadful sound of that explosion on October 16, 2017, a series of events had been set in motion.
Now, five years from the killing of Malta’s most controversial writer, have we learnt any lessons? Has this killing served as a coming-of-age moment? Was it a transition into a higher democratic maturity? Or are we destined to repeat the same mistakes?
Joseph Muscat’s administration held on to power for nearly two years after Daphne Caruana Galizia was murdered.
He argued his government had ensured that her killers would be brought to justice, but it was under his watch that a journalist had been killed in the first place. And as journalists started to piece together links between those allegedly behind the killing and Auberge de Castille, Muscat’s office eventually came crashing down.
Once the undisputed centre of all government power, Muscat was ...
- Title
- Did Malta learn anything from Daphne’s murder? People think not
- Runtime
- 5:08
- Date posted
- 4 years ago
- Description
- Read the full story here: https://bit.ly/3MDuMLV
Sunday marks five years since Daphne Caruana Galizia was assassinated, and Malta is quite a different country now from what it was back then.
Or is it?
We headed to Valletta to see what people made of that murder and its impact.
While some older people were willing to stop and share their opinion, almost all young and middle-aged professionals refused to comment.
Some had the patience to stop and listen to the question, but once they realised the question was about Daphne Caruana Galizia’s case, they said they preferred not to comment and walked away.
- Title
- Paceville: How dangerous is it?
- Runtime
- 5:30
- Date posted
- 4 years ago
- Description
- People may think Paceville is progressively descending into a lawless jungle of crime and violent fights but the police there say the nightlife hub is, in fact, much more peaceful than what people think.
Times of Malta recently joined the police for a night out in Paceville to find out to what extent the perceived anarchy is real.
“We are called to stop fights, yes, but the situation is nowhere near as bad as people think it is,” police inspector Jonathan Ransley said, as he walked with his officers from the St Julian’s police station to Paceville and stationed them in strategic spots to be ready for action.
Read the full story here: https://bit.ly/3MohQJH
- Title
- Inside the Marsa project: The massive infrastructure project riddled with problems
- Runtime
- 4:55
- Date posted
- 4 years ago
- Description
- Read the full story here: https://bit.ly/3C68CNs
A months-long investigation into the Marsa Junction project has resulted in claims of corruption, deception and a "low" bid to secure the €40 million contract to build its flyovers.
Its unusual nature has also attracted the eye of prosecutors at the European Public Prosecutor’s Office , which is now understood to be investigating the EU-funded project.
Yorgen Fenech, who is under arrest as he awaits trial for journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia’s murder, was promised €2 million in success fees by Turkish construction firm Ayhanlar Yol Asfaltlama, in exchange for using his contacts to help the failing company secure the Marsa tender.
According to the success fee agreement, seen by Times of Malta, Fenech’s role was to act as a “consultant”, introducing Ayhanlar to “key stakeholders”, and seeing their bid through the tendering process.
The way the agreement...
- Title
- 75% of drivers sampled were overspeeding
- Runtime
- 2:41
- Date posted
- 4 years ago
- Description
- A speed test exercise on several key roads across Malta has found that the vast majority of vehicles were speeding over the limit established by law.
Using a speed gun, Times of Malta took a total of 120 measurements at six locations: three arterial roads, a road construction area, a country road, and a residential street.
A total of 90 vehicles were found to be speeding, while 30 vehicles were found to be driving at or under the speed limit. A speed gun, calibrated before the exercise, was used to measure vehicle velocity.
Read the full story here: https://bit.ly/3BDRxKA
- Title
- ‘Bolt Patrol’ collects wayward scooters, even from cliffs and rooftops
- Runtime
- 3:44
- Date posted
- 4 years ago
- Description
- Kristian Kobescak is no longer shocked at the places where people discard scooters.
“We have found them underneath cliffs and on rooftops,” he says.
On average, his team moves 350 scooters every day.
He has set up Bolt Patrol, a group of employees of the mobility company who roam the streets in central Malta looking for badly parked e-scooters and moving them out of harm’s way.
The take-up of e-scooters has been a roaring success for the operator in the country since they were introduced three years ago, with an estimated 3,000 now gliding around the streets each day.
But while they are considered a cheap and eco-friendly urban transport to many, they are an anti-social, pavement-blocking danger to others.
Unlike other EU places, such as Seville, which has specific parking bays for e-scooters alongside e-bicycles, riders are expected to park their hired e-scooter neatly at the end of the journey.
...
- Title
- 'I am Tumas Fenech’s son, but his family refuses a DNA test'
- Runtime
- 11:58
- Date posted
- 4 years ago
- Description
- Victor Buttigieg, who claims to be the son of the late Tumas Fenech, one of Malta’s richest men, wants the magnate’s children to undergo a DNA test with him, to establish the identity of his real father once and for all.
Buttigieg, who is now 50, is speaking out for the first time in an interview with Times of Malta, explaining how a court battle to establish whether he is, indeed, Fenech’s son, continues to hit legal stumbling blocks.
Business tycoon Tumas Fenech died in 1999, leaving a multi-million empire, and Buttigieg believes he owns a hefty share of it – a slice as large as Fenech’s children have inherited – because Fenech died without leaving a will.
Read the full story here: https://bit.ly/3Shculx
- Title
- This Swedish woman learnt fluent Maltese in just 16 months
- Runtime
- 2:51
- Date posted
- 4 years ago
- Description
- A Swedish woman who learnt fluent Maltese in just 16 months is looking into how bilingual islanders use the two official languages in different contexts and how this links to their memory, attention and decision-making.
Jessica Schulz, a Swedish national, moved to Malta with her family in 2008, aged just 14. Throughout the four years she spent here, she did not pick up the language and only managed to learn it properly once she moved to the UK to further her studies.
Read the full story here: https://bit.ly/3vBKeBj
Video first published on January 17, 2022.
- Title
- Maltese patriot's diary exposes the real cost of the French blockade
- Runtime
- 3:12
- Date posted
- 4 years ago
- Description
- Read the full story here: https://bit.ly/3qt6JoO
For over 200 years, the story of the Maltese civil war that cost more lives than the 1565 Great Siege and the Second World War combined, has been recounted through the eyes of the French or the English.
But that is all set to change as the diary of a Maltese patriot and legendary Birkirkara hero Vincenzo Borg, recently acquired by Heritage Malta, is being transcribed and made available online for all to read.
The man, known as Ċensu Braret, led Birkirkara residents in battle against the French and their Maltese supporters between 1798 and 1800.
