Times of Malta
‘Overcrowded, filthy, noisy’ Comino disappoints tourists
- Title
- ‘Overcrowded, filthy, noisy’ Comino disappoints tourists
- Runtime
- 3:25
- Date posted
- 4 years ago
- Description
- Tourists visiting Comino recently for what they thought would be a blissful day in the sun were shocked when they arrived at the Blue Lagoon to find a sea of umbrellas and incessant noise from nearby kiosks.
Upon arrival, tourists were this year not only met with scores of deckchairs by the water’s edge but loud music was already blasting before the first boats had even started to arrive.
To make matters worse, a pungent smell of fried food wafted out from the large kiosks selling burgers, hotdogs and other fast foods.
Times of Malta spoke to 18 tourists, with 14 of them saying they had a problem with the state of the island often portrayed as a haven for bathers.
One French tourist said she was heading back to Malta after spending just one hour on Comino because the beach was “overcrowded and filthy”.
At one point, the woman felt irked to the point that she complained about the situation to a police officer station...
- Title
- 'I was diagnosed with Parkinson's at 50. This is how I deal with it.'
- Runtime
- 5:02
- Date posted
- 4 years ago
- Description
- There is still no cure for Parkinson's Disease. But that does not mean nothing can keep it in check.
Meet the Maltese people who are using boxing to punch back at their illness.
Read the full story: https://bit.ly/3Kp6Bz3
Video first published on April 11, 2022
- Title
- X Factor Malta winner Ryan Hili and his bittersweet birthday
- Runtime
- 17:51
- Date posted
- 4 years ago
- Description
- X Factor Malta winner Ryan Hili was celebrating his mother's birthday when his father grew seriously ill.
"We were preparing to go out for her birthday and we ended up rushing him to hospital instead,” he said. “Several other complications arose in the weeks that followed and his health deteriorated completely.
"A month later, he died. It was my birthday."
Out of that tragedy, Ryan's singing career was born.
Read the full story: https://bit.ly/3Kv1w7E
Video first published on February 18, 2022
- Title
- Journey of a Special Olympics athlete who overcame 15 years of drug addiction
- Runtime
- 2:52
- Date posted
- 4 years ago
- Description
- Read the full story here: https://bit.ly/3wZCZnt
At 39, Marlon Apap suffered a stroke after 15 years of using drugs, leaving the left side of his body paralysed.
Five years later, he has bagged two gold medals at the Special Olympics games.
Drugs have become his worst enemy, he told Times of Malta. Now he is focused on his remaining health and on perfecting his bocce skills.
- Title
- The murder that changed the Malta Police Force
- Runtime
- 4:27
- Date posted
- 4 years ago
- Description
- Toninu Aquilina's death led to a radical overhaul of criminal justice in Malta.
Read the full story here: https://bit.ly/3HkzGe5
- Title
- St Philip’s owner blames vandals, police for access to patient records
- Runtime
- 15:14
- Date posted
- 4 years ago
- Description
- Read the full story here: https://bit.ly/3a4bCzK
St Philip’s hospital owner Frank Portelli has blamed vandals and the police for the thousands of patients’ medical records that were left accessible to the public inside the closed building.
“When it was closed, the hospital was securely locked and left perfectly intact. Patients’ medical records were locked away safely in the basement and there were no human organs anywhere,” he told Times of Malta in an interview.
See what we found when we explored the abandoned hospital - https://youtu.be/swtDkDLSVCw
- Title
- St Philip's Hospital: from medical facility to playground for vandals
- Runtime
- 10:21
- Date posted
- 4 years ago
- Description
- Read the full story here: https://bit.ly/3a4bCzK
The Santa Venera hospital has recently become a haven for vandals and daredevils who seem to have broken in repeatedly and smashed the place up, leaving most of the entrances wide open and accessible for the public to wander inside.
One room contains the medical documents of the patients that were treated there, most of which have clearly been opened and dispersed all over the place.
Times of Malta visited the premises and can confirm there are pre-operation documents, ECG test results, ultrasounds and entire patients’ files lying around, containing thousands of medical records with names and details.
See what hospital owner Frank Portelli told us when we asked him about the state of St Philip's - https://youtu.be/I5qRIZIoxQ0
- Title
- When Rescuers Become The Rescued
- Runtime
- 3:15
- Date posted
- 4 years ago
- Description
- Rescue officers Mark Zammit and Sandro Muscat knew that a brewing storm would mean a busy day of rescues. But they never fathomed they would end up being rescued themselves.
This is the story of their crazy November 25, 2021.
Read the full story: https://bit.ly/3vSsYa1
Video first published on November 30, 2021
- Title
- Tables and chairs swamp Marsascala pavements as residents object
- Runtime
- 2:04
- Date posted
- 4 years ago
- Description
- Read the full story here: https://bit.ly/3NCfIh3
Marsascala residents have decried the way restaurants are taking pavements away from pedestrians, often illegally, making them difficult to navigate especially for those with pushchairs or mobility issues.
An exercise carried out by the Marsascala Residents Network and Times of Malta shows that several outlets along the promenade have taken up all the available space in front of them.
- Title
- Commonwealth War Graves
- Runtime
- 4:12
- Date posted
- 4 years ago
- Description
- Read the full story here: https://bit.ly/3NvZENE
- Title
- Bernard Grech one year after his election
- Runtime
- 30:32
- Date posted
- 4 years ago
- Description
- One year into his term as PN leader, Bernard Grech and his party remain the distinct underdogs of Maltese politics.
He spoke to Bertrand Borg about the party’s view of big business and development, the changes he’d like to see in Malta’s political system and why he thinks a PN electoral victory would be an FATF gamechanger.
This video was first published on October 3, 2021.
- Title
- Christian Peregin on quitting Lovin Malta to enter PN politics
- Runtime
- 23:54
- Date posted
- 4 years ago
- Description
- Christian Peregin has announced he will be quitting Lovin Malta, the media company he co-founded in 2016, to work for the Nationalist Party as its electoral campaign manager. He spoke to Jacob Borg about his plans.
Read the full story here: https://bit.ly/3EXNxWA
This video was first published on July 25, 2021.
- Title
- How can this climate crisis be solved, and what is the EU's role in doing that?
- Runtime
- 1:33:01
- Date posted
- 4 years ago
- Description
- A second webinar will be held on Tuesday, May 17 at 11am. To register, visit https://bit.ly/3wy3A9J
How can this climate crisis be solved, and what is the EU's role in doing that?
Join Times of Malta journalist Mark Laurence Zammit as he speaks to a panel of six experts about the most pressing issue of our time.
- Title
- Cars, beef, planes, rubbish… the great bid to save Earth
- Runtime
- 2:06
- Date posted
- 4 years ago
- Description
- Read the full story here: https://bit.ly/3MnFYLS
Register to the next webinar here: https://bit.ly/39oAzpc
Series of webinars will focus on ways to rescue planet from climate change.
The planet is increasingly becoming impossible for humanity to live on, but some solutions to climate change may be even more complex than the problem itself.
Why is it that people do not seem to care enough about the climate catastrophe? Is it even possible to reverse such a complex phenomenon? Saving the planet requires millions of people to change their lives, maybe even to eat less meat and use planes less often. Is humanity up for that?
Would it make more sense to eradicate world hunger before trying to save the planet? Why do some researchers believe that the Green Deal should be dubbed the ‘Blue Green Deal’?
Why does the EU fund road projects that take up agricultural land needed to produce food? Are electric cars the best wa...
- Title
- Joseph Portelli: 'Malta needs 100 more years of construction'
- Runtime
- 38:17
- Date posted
- 4 years ago
- Description
- Joseph Portelli keeps a very low profile but his name is very synonymous with the construction sector.
In this exclusive Times of Malta interview, he discusses construction, money, his relationship with politicians and Ħamrun Spartans. And he does it while sitting atop Mercury Towers, the highest building in Malta and his most ambitious project yet.
Read the full story here: https://bit.ly/3LRjWAI
Video first published on September 19, 2021.
- Title
- Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky's speech to Malta.
- Runtime
- 12:26
- Date posted
- 4 years ago
- Description
- Read the full story here: https://bit.ly/3L8FrvH
He urged the country to 'stop the privilege' granted to rich Russians through its passport scheme and equated Ukraine's resistance of Russia to Malta's resistance in WWII.
- Title
- Pro-choice activists are using Malta's traffic to get the word out
- Runtime
- 2:54
- Date posted
- 4 years ago
- Description
- Activists from the pro-choice NGO Doctors for Choice Malta, have taken to the streets to spread their message in a unique manner. Holding a yellow banner reading 'Maltese women need abortion too', the activists stood in a traffic hotspot to spread their message to drivers stuck in Monday-morning traffic.
Christine Amaira speaks to Prof Isabel Stabile about abortion in Malta and why she decided to spread her message this way.
Read the full story here: https://bit.ly/3sqbalB
- Title
- When the Spitfires made it to Malta
- Runtime
- 3:07
- Date posted
- 4 years ago
- Description
- In 1942, besieged and battered island-fortress Malta, was struggling to keep up with the constant air attacks of Axis powers. Attempts to provide Malta with air power either failed or proved insufficient. But on the 10th of May, thanks to a fresh supply of Spitfires, Malta started turning things around - and eventually went on the offense.
Ray Polidano speaks to Sarah Carabott about the trying events that led to the day dubbed 'the glorious 10th of May'.
- Title
- Kevin Cutajar and Oliver Scicluna on their time in politics
- Runtime
- 13:12
- Date posted
- 4 years ago
- Description
- Kevin Cutajar and Oliver Scicluna both have a physical disability. Both were MPs in Malta's parliament. But in the March 2022 general election, neither got elected and they are now outside Maltese politics. They speak to Christine Amaira about their time in politics in light of their disability.
Read the full story here: https://bit.ly/3wgp5Mo
- Title
- The man responsible for prisoners' welfare
- Runtime
- 21:14
- Date posted
- 4 years ago
- Description
- Chris Siegersma is a psychiatric nurse who was appointed Commissioner for the Welfare and Development of Prisoners last December.
He set up an office inside Malta's prison, where he prefers to work, and where he welcomed Mark Laurence Zammit to speak about what needs to change at Corradino Correctional Facility.
Read the full story here: https://bit.ly/3MSCfpv
- Title
- Maltese man trapped in Ukraine
- Runtime
- 9:25
- Date posted
- 4 years ago
- Description
- The sound of explosions interrupted an interview with a Maltese man living in a besieged Ukrainian city on Monday morning.
"Listen, listen, they're dropping bombs right now, can you hear them?" Martin Ellul Mercer asks in a slightly broken voice, as he craned his neck to look towards a window in his home.
"They are likely being dropped from planes about five or six kilometres away from here. That is the sound of what we are going through every day."
Ellul Mercer, a retired physiotherapist, has been living in Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, since April 2021. It is located just 40 kilometres from the Russian border, having moved there to live with his wife, a Ukrainian national.
Read the full story here: https://bit.ly/3ye2r9V
This video first appeared February 28, 2022.
- Title
- This is how Gozo's Azure Window collapsed
- Runtime
- 7:40
- Date posted
- 4 years ago
- Description
- For decades, millions of tourists and Maltese people visited the Dwejra Azure Window, which served as a backdrop to photos, commercial promotions and films.
But on that early stormy morning on March 8 five years ago, there is no witness who saw it collapse. The collapse of the massive rock structure left everyone shocked and perplexed when it disappeared into the sea, destroying quite possibly Malta’s most famous landmark.
For five years, mystery shrouded what happened on that day. But now, Professor Joseph Caruana, John Wood and other scientists have published a three-year study which for the first time uncovers, with scientific precision, how the Azure Window collapsed.
Read the full story here: https://timesofmalta.com/articles/view/this-is-how-the-azure-window-collapsed.951730
- Title
- Inside a Maltese World War II shelter
- Runtime
- 3:45
- Date posted
- 4 years ago
- Description
- Beneath a town square in Sliema lies a pristine - and rather large - World War II shelter.
We went in to take a look, accompanied by Superintendent of Cultural Heritage Kurt Farrugia.
Read the full story here: https://bit.ly/3KsfhUG
This video was first published on June 26, 2021.
- Title
- 80 minutes with Malta's former prime minister Joseph Muscat
- Runtime
- 1:21:16
- Date posted
- 4 years ago
- Description
- In a wide-ranging interview with Times of Malta's editor-in-chief Herman Grech, former prime minister Joseph Muscat speaks about his legacy, corruption and the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia.
He is interviewed for the first time on camera since a public inquiry into the murder found the state should shoulder responsibility.
This interview was first published on August 23, 2021.
Read the full story: https://bit.ly/3Lx3o0L
- Title
- Heart doctor Albert Fenech was found dead with ECG leads on his chest
- Runtime
- 11:18
- Date posted
- 4 years ago
- Description
- Cardiac surgeon Albert Fenech was found dead in his home with ECG leads still attached to his chest, his family have revealed as they opened up about his life and death to Times of Malta.
They believe he felt symptoms of a heart attack and tried to perform an ECG test on himself but could not finish it before the attack killed him.
“It is tragic and ironic that he saved so many lives of people who were in that same situation but wasn’t able to save himself when it happened to him,” his older sister Priscilla said.
Professor Fenech, one of Malta’s top cardiologists and a former MP, died on December 28, 2021 aged 70.
Read full story here: https://bit.ly/3rXrAC0
This video was first published on January 30, 2022.
- Title
- Bernard Grech speaks about the PN’s heavy election defeat
- Runtime
- 12:18
- Date posted
- 4 years ago
- Description
- In his first interview since its heavy defeat in Malta's 2022 general election, Nationalist Party leader Bernard Grech speaks to Jacob Borg about leading the PN, the party’s woes and Jason Azzopardi…
Read the full story: https://bit.ly/3s03whO
This video was first published on April 24, 2022
- Title
- Maltese man in Romania opens hotel to Ukrainians
- Runtime
- 7:53
- Date posted
- 4 years ago
- Description
- A Maltese man has opened the Romanian hotel he administers to hundreds of exhausted Ukrainian refugees fleeing Russia’s invading forces.
Read the full story: https://bit.ly/3Lw74A4
This video was first published on March 6, 2022
- Title
- The advert that almost cost Emil his life
- Runtime
- 5:29
- Date posted
- 4 years ago
- Description
- Emil responded to an online post advertising a pair of speakers. The horrific events that ensued almost cost him his life.
- Title
- Stories of war from Ukrainians in Malta
- Runtime
- 5:59
- Date posted
- 4 years ago
- Description
- Read the full story here: https://timesofmalta.com/articles/view/we-speak-to-him-every-day-to-make-sure-hes-still-alive.949297
Ukrainians hosted by the Kenup Foundation open up about war and the anxiety they are suffering while their fathers and husbands stay behind in their homeland to fight. Story by Mark Laurence Zammit
Ukrainians living in Malta have spoken about the horrific bombings that forced them to flee their country and their constant worries about relatives left behind, some of whom are fighting on the front lines.
Sixteen-year-old Ilya Kolesnikov came to Malta with his mother, but his father, a Ukrainian army general, stayed behind to fight for his country.
“When I remember all those times I played football with my father, it breaks my heart. I just want to be able to go back to that,” Ilya told Times of Malta, sobbing.
“We speak to him every day to make sure he’s still alive. But we never know what m...
- Title
- Of hooded penitents, evil eye and other Easter traditions
- Runtime
- 3:23
- Date posted
- 4 years ago
- Description
- Read the story here: https://timesofmalta.com/articles/view/watch-of-hooded-penitents-evil-eye-and-other-easter-traditions.948748
The return of Easter celebrations this year has brought joy for devotees following a two-year hiatus caused by COVID, as well as quirky traditions – such as the hooded penitents dragging wooden crosses down the streets on Good Friday.
Several such traditions, some of which were forgotten or modified along the years, have luckily been documented by writers and photographers.
Among these is the replacement of joyous bell ringing with the monotonous Lenten wooden clappers (ċuqlajta) on Maundy Thursday and Good Friday, something that has not only been documented on film but also audibly recorded for posterity.
The sound of the clapper is, in fact, among over 5,000 catalogued recordings of bells chiming in various feasts, seasons and other events throughout the year, collected by Rayden Mizzi, who recently do...
- Title
- Evarist Bartolo: a lifetime in Maltese politics
- Runtime
- 36:41
- Date posted
- 4 years ago
- Description
- Evarist Bartolo contested eight elections and was elected in seven of them. Now, after a political career that stretched for decades, he is bowing out.
Mark Laurence Zammit sat down with him to discuss the highs, the lows and could-have-beens.
Read the full story here: https://timesofmalta.com/articles/view/evarist-bartolo-i-used-to-tell-joseph-muscat-we-cannot-go-on-this.947212
0:00 Introduction
0:15 Failing to get elected
2:52 Clientelism in Maltese politics
5:53 Joseph Muscat, Keith Schembri, Konrad Mizzi
10:25 The Daphne Inquiry
11:20 Corruption in Malta
16:00 Public broadcasting
18:40 Construction and planning
20:36 Migration
24:40 Conflict in Libya
26:33 Malta’s neutrality
27:28 Regrets in politics
31:04 Best memories in politics
31:58 The PN
33:44 Presidential ambitions
35:34 Advice for Ian Borg
- Title
- Why have piles of rubble been dumped in the Miżieb woodland?
- Runtime
- 2:45
- Date posted
- 4 years ago
- Description
- Around two football pitches' worth of land has been covered in construction debris, including metal rods and quarry waste. Why?
This video was first published in January 2022.
- Title
- Billboards, all across Malta. Who is paying for them?
- Runtime
- 2:53
- Date posted
- 4 years ago
- Description
- There seems to be a billboard at every roundabout these days.
Claire Caruana took a drive around some of Malta's main roads, to work out just how many of them are being paid by your taxes.
This video was first published in February 2022.
- Title
- When Maltese Were Kicked Out of Their Own Country
- Runtime
- 4:18
- Date posted
- 4 years ago
- Description
- On February 13, 1942, a group of 42 intellectuals were locked in the hold of the HMS Breconshire and taken to Cairo and then concentration camps in Uganda.
Their crime? Being considered by the British to be anti-colonial.
Full story - https://bit.ly/3sDytb4
Video published on February 13, 2022.
- Title
- Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca on Times Talk
- Runtime
- 11:17
- Date posted
- 9 years ago
- Description
- Malta President Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca interviewed by Times of Malta online editor Herman Grech for Times Talk.
- Title
- Brad Birkenfeld on Times Talk
- Runtime
- 9:09
- Date posted
- 9 years ago
- Description
- American whistleblower Brad Birkenfeld whose disclosures to the United States government led to a massive fraud investigation against Swiss bank UBS speaks to Times of Malta journalist Bertrand Borg for Times Talk.
Brad Birkenfield is the author of Lucifer's Banker: The Untold Story of How I Destroyed Swiss Bank Secrecy.
- Title
- Alan Deidun on Times Talk
- Runtime
- 11:09
- Date posted
- 9 years ago
- Description
- Environmentalist Alan Deidun speaks to Kurt Sansone on Times Talk for Times of Malta.
- Title
- Saviour Formosa on Times Talk
- Runtime
- 11:59
- Date posted
- 9 years ago
- Description
- Malta criminologist Saviour Formosa speaks to Times of Malta's senior journalist Bertrand Borg on Times Talk.
- Title
- Chris Moon on Times Talk
- Runtime
- 12:44
- Date posted
- 9 years ago
- Description
- Motivational speaker, first amputee ultra-runner Chris Moon speaks to Times of Malta's online editor Herman Grech on Times Talk.
- Title
- Claudia Faniello on Times Talk
- Runtime
- 9:42
- Date posted
- 9 years ago
- Description
- Malta's 2017 Eurovision representative Claudia Faniello interviewed by Kurt Sansone for Times of Malta's Times Talk.
- Title
- Peppi Azzopardi on Times Talk
- Runtime
- 11:54
- Date posted
- 9 years ago
- Description
- Xarabank presenter Peppi Azzopardi speaks to Times of Malta online editor Herman Grech on Times Talk.
- Title
- Chris Cardona on Times Talk
- Runtime
- 11:04
- Date posted
- 9 years ago
- Description
- Malta Economy Minister Chris Cardona speaks to Times of Malta's Bertrand Borg on Times Talk.
- Title
- Adrian Delia on Times Talk
- Runtime
- 11:54
- Date posted
- 10 years ago
- Description
- Birkirkara FC president Adrian Delia talks to Times of Malta journalist Bertrand Borg on Times Talk. January 2017.
- Title
- Glenn Bedingfield on Times Talk
- Runtime
- 13:21
- Date posted
- 10 years ago
- Description
- Malta government's communications aide Glenn Bedingfield speaks to Times of Malta's online editor Herman Grech on Times Talk.
- Title
- Trading political insults - where should one draw the line?
- Runtime
- 0:21
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- Personal attacks and insults are on the increase. To attack political rivals, politicians and commentators are taking their discourse and posts to unprecedented levels. At which point does such criticism – be it through public statements or on the social media - become unacceptable? What impact is such discourse having on society?
Tune in to TVM on Tuesday at 10.05pm and join the conversation.
- Title
- #TimesTalk on climate change
- Runtime
- 0:20
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- Following one of the driest winters on record, #TimesTalk discusses climate change this coming Tuesday. Are we prepared for it?
Tune in to TVM at 10.05pm to join the conversation.
#Malta #environment
- Title
- Should terminally ill prisoners be shown mercy?
- Runtime
- 0:18
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- A terminally ill prisoner has not been granted clemency. Should such prisoners be shown mercy by the authorities? Tune in to #TimesTalk on Tuesday on TVM at 10.05pm and join the conversation.
- Title
- #TIMES talk goes to prison
- Runtime
- 1:05
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- Should prisoners be given a second chance? Are they themselves afraid of life outside the prison gates? Here's what a couple of them had to say.
Tune in to Times Talk tonight on TVM at 6.45pm and join the conversation.
- Title
- Gentlemen's clubs - #TIMES talk
- Runtime
- 0:41
- Date posted
- 11 years ago
- Description
- "Stripping down to my underwear is the same as lying on a beach in a bikini".
Do you agree?
Tune in to #TIMES talk tonight at 6.45pm and join the conversation.
- Title
- MOAS' work out at sea
- Runtime
- 2:25
- Date posted
- 12 years ago
- Description
- MOAS co-owner Regina Catrambone talks about their work out at sea this summer and cooperation with Medicin Sans Frontier.
