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EDUKAZZJONI

Malta is spending too much on university students, and not getting enough university graduates in return, a study by the European Commission has revealed.

MaltaToday midweek 18.2.2009

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TURIZMU

Qiegħdin f’riċessjoni turistika.

Robert Arrigo

ILLUM 22.2.2009

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DEMOKRAZIJA

Dikjarazzjoni ta’ Austin Gatt fil-Kabinett urtat lil numru kbir ta’ Membri Parlamentari Nazzjonalista. Gatt, li hu magħruf għall-istil tiegħu kif jitkellem mingħajr ma kelma joqgħod jomgħodha, waqt laqgħa tal-Kabinett instema’ jikkummenta li “hawn ġew m’hawnx post għad-demokrazija.”

ILLUM 25.1.2009

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POLITIKA

Only 8.7% of the Maltese said they were satisfied with the government's performance at present. As many as 80.3% said they are not satisfied, while the remaining 11% did not commit themselves.

The Sunday Times 11.6.2006

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XOGHOL

The number of people employed on a full-time basis dropped by 1,109 between February and March when compared to the same period last year but an increase of 279 part-timers was reported, the National Statistics Office said.

timesofmalta.com 3.9.2010

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PARTIT NAZZJONALISTA

The former deputy mayor of Siġġiewi was yesterday charged with defrauding six people of €50,000 by promising them jobs at the Freeport. Norbert Farrugia, 38, together with a woman, Carmela Zammit, 44, allegedly told a number of people that they were close friends of the Prime Minister and promised them jobs at the Freeport. They would then ask for payment from the victims for medical insurance and specialised training, allegedly swindling them out of €50,000 in the process. The pair were remanded in custody after pleading not guilty. Mr Farrugia was elected to the post of deputy mayor on the Nationalist ticket and resigned four to six months ago for “personal reasons”, according to the council. Ms Zammit was also charged with relapsing after receiving a suspended jail term in November last year and a conditional discharge two years ago, in both cases for fraud. Police Inspector Ivan Cilia prosecuted. Lawyer Noel Cuschieri appeared for both Mr Farrugia and Mr Zammit.

The Times 9.1.2009

A meeting of the Nationalist Party’s parliamentary group held yesterday morning turned out to be a full-scale confrontation with the Prime Minister over the plans for the extension of St John’s Museum.

The Malta Independent on Sunday 1.2.2009

These are difficult times for the party in government. Nothing seems to be going its way. Right from the time it won the general election by just a whisker, the going has been uphill all the time, as shown by the results of the European Parliament and local council elections in June. Party leader and Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi appears to be losing some of the political pull he had in the first years of his election as leader and a number of his colleagues in Cabinet appear to be suffering from the wear-and-tear syndrome. In short, the party's popularity appears to be taking a battering and the outlook does not look encouraging as it struggles to cope with loads of old and new difficulties in so many areas of life in the country.

Editorjal, The Times 19.9.2009

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EKONOMIJA

Malta entered an official recession at the close of last year, provisional figures issued by the National Statistics Office yesterday showed. The statistics also showed the delayed toll the global economic crisis and recession is having on Malta, with the country having entered into a recession three months after the eurozone and the European Union.

The Malta Independent 12.3.2009

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PENSJONIJIET

Over three-quarters of the Maltese population aged 16 and over - 76.7% - are against raising the official retirement age from the present 61 to 65; only 8.3% agree; 13% were indifferent. Only 35% are convinced that a reform of the state pension system is needed; 20% are neutral on the issue; 31.7% were not at all sure about the need of reform, while the remaining 13.3% did not express an opinion. Regarding the second pillar - another essential component of the reform as announced by the Prime Minister, Dr Gonzi, recently - only 26.3% were in full agreement; 29.3% are indifferent, while another 36% said they were not sure about the whole idea; 8.3% did not commit themselves.

The Sunday Times 19.3.2006

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IMMIGRANTI ILLEGALI

A UNHCR delegation was shocked on Thursday to find 11 men cooped up in a tiny, dark and unventilated room at the Lyster Barracks detention centre after allegedly trying to escape. The officials from the United Nations High Commission for Refugees visited the detention centre while they were in Malta in connection with the 51 migrants who were stranded on a Spanish trawler. Paolo Artini and Neil Falzon said they were “shocked” to see how the men, of various African nationalities, were accommodated. Mr Artini, who was clearly livid, told Maltese and foreign journalists later that the room was no bigger than three metres by two-and-a-half metres and had no windows or light source. “The psychological stress on these men is incredible. I've never seen anything like it,” the Spanish official said. The detainees told the UNHCR that they had been locked up for between three and five days. One of them allegedly even tried to commit suicide but was stopped by the other detainees. The immigrants were not told for how long they would be locked up, the UN officials claimed, calling on the government to scrap the detention system altogether and instead set up a more modern system of open centres. The impression that this is a routine punishment. They even have to urinate in a plastic bottle using a funnel as they cannot go to the toilet whenever they like,” Mr Falzon said.

The Sunday Times 23.7.2006

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GHOLI TAL-HAJJA

The majority of respondents, 48 per cent, said they are finding it difficult to pay all their bills at the end of the month.

MISCO survey

The Times 6.5.2006

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SAHHA

There is a disaster in the health sector, Mr (Gejtu - UHM) Vella added, and if John Dalli has too big a ministry, the prime minister must downsize it for him.

The Malta Independent 10.9.2009

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INDUSTRIJA

According to the latest FOI Industry Trends Survey, manufacturing demand continued to decline in November as order books hit their lowest levels in 16 months. As a result, production is expected to decline significantly in the following three months. In this scenario, industrial confidence for the month deteriorated significantly. The survey also registers a further increase in the number of firms predicting a fall in selling prices, and a marked deterioration in employment expectations. … Consumer goods manufacturers have yet again suffered a decline in total and export order book levels. … Industrial confidence for intermediate producing firms deteriorated significantly in November, resulting in the worst performance among the three main industrial groupings. Indeed, industrial confidence for the sector has been in negative territory since last August to reach its lowest levels ever registered. This reflects deterioration in total and export order books and a high level of stocks of finished products. The three-month outlook for the sector remains strongly pessimistic as production expectations scaled back substantially for the second consecutive month, shifting into negative territory with a large majority of firms expecting production to fall. At the same time, the survey shows a very negative outlook for selling prices and employment in the sector.

The Sunday Times 24.12.2006

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UNJONI EWROPEA

Five years after EU membership, and only 37.2% think Malta is faring better than it was before membership. This is what emerges from MaltaToday’s latest survey, which also revealed another third of respondents think the country is actually faring worse, while 19% have seen no change at all.

MaltaToday 3.5.2009

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AMBJENT

The Environment Minister, who himself claimed only three years ago that all that was needed was to make better use of the existing zones as there was enough land there for the next twenty years, should hang his head in shame. “Vote George: Get Lorry: Get Lost” will be his epitaph. With politicians like these, we will never rise above being a Second World country.

Martin Scicluna, Vice President Din l-Art Helwa

Vigilo Magazine, October 2006.

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QAGHDA TAL-MALTIN

Why are so many of us feeling so grumpy about our current financial wellbeing?

Editorjal, The Times 17.12.2009

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KUMMERC

M’hemm l-ebda ndikazzjoni statistika li turi li l-profitti tas-sidien tan-negozji kibru fl-ahhar snin. Anzi ras ghall-ras il-figuri juru li l-profitti naqsu.

GRTU Stqarrija ghall-Istampa 11.1.2008 ref: 506/08

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KORRUZZJONI

In a sworn affidavit, Jo Said recounted how Nationalist MP David Agius had admitted to him “that corruption runs deep in the Nationalist Party and the government.” Mr Said met Mr Agius at his behest on 17 January morning at Saracino’s in Attard square after they had met on a TV programme. On that day Mr Agius confessed to Mr Said that “corruption runs deep in the Nationalist Party and the government.” Mr Said asked him whether he would leave this matter on his conscience and told him that he would become corrupt by hiding away corruption.

The Times 5.2.2008

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RELAZZJONIJIET MA’ PAJJIZI BARRANIN

Malta struck a somewhat dubious friendship this week with Eritrea – a country with no recognisable rule of law or respect for human rights, known for torturing dissidents, holding thousands of prisoners of conscience incommunicado, outlawing opposition parties, and imprisoning members of religious groups, journalists and citizens attempting to evade forced military conscription. The country has also been censored on numerous occasions by both the United Kingdom and the United States over arbitrary detentions and gross human rights violations by the government, military and police. A rather long-winded press release from the government this week announced Malta had established diplomatic relations with Eritrea, citing that the two countries “looked forward to a closer and fruitful relationship”. The terms of such a friendship however, are as dubious as their past relationship.

The Malta Independent 28.12.2008

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INFLAZZJONI

While most of the continent's inflation is sliding, Malta's rate continued to climb hitting the five per cent mark in December - the highest it has been for several years.

The Times 16.1.2009

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SMART CITY

SmartCity Malta chief executive Fareed Abdulrahman said last week that he expected many jobs at the 360,000 square metre SmartCity Malta development to be filled by expats from outside Malta.

The Malta Independent on Sunday 8.3.2009

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FAQAR

Eurostat said that in Malta, 16,000 were 'severely materially deprived. Such people could not pay rent/mortgage or utility bills, keep their home adequately warm or face unexpected expenses. They also could not afford to eat meat, fish or protein equivalent every second day and cannot afford a car, washing machine, colour TV or telephone.

timesofmalta.com 13.12.2010 – 17:43CET

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L-ESTENZJONI TAL-POWER STATION TA’ DELIMARA

However much the government tries to fend off the strong criticism being levelled at the way a Danish company was contracted to supply new generation plant for the extension of the Delimara power station, the hard fact remains there is much in the Auditor General's report that raises concern over the award of the contract.

Editorjal, The Times 29.4.2010