Why not both life and money?
I would like to comment on the little value the Maltese government has placed on the life of its Maltese citizens.
I am a retired advanced life support paramedic specialising in disaster medicine for almost 30 years in Australia.
Every day, I never gave up on life. For example: having to do CPR on a patient in cardiac arrest in the back of a moving ambulance for three hours before we arrived at the hospital and this was in an Australian summer and the patient survived.
The 221 extra deaths in this country since the airport opened has sickened me. For Malta to have only a net increase of 15 per cent in tourism this is madness.
When Robert Abela delivered his Labour leadership victory speech almost a year ago, he gave his word that mistakes of the past would not happen again. He seemed to be suggesting a change from a previous administration that ignored claims of corruption. Over the subsequent year, his vow would be tested, often by stories and secrets revealed by Times of Malta journalists. News editor
Diana Cacciottolo looks back on some of the key stories Times of Malta exposed in 2020.
Yorgen Fenech Photo: Mark Zammit Cordina
1. Jobs for the boys, part one
Within days of becoming prime minister, Abela announced the resignation of controversial police chief, Lawrence Cutajar, who failed to investigate top government officials or follow up on financial crime during his tenure. But Times of Malta revealed that he was then handed a government contract for his “expertise in public safety and logistics”. The contract was only terminated when Times of Malta published another, more serious revelation
The historic national theatre’s packed January calendar offers an artistic and cultural kick-start to 2021.
Teatru Manoel has announced a new programme of events set to take place at the historic Valletta venue throughout January 2021.
From family-friendly events under the popular Toi Toi Programme to the highly anticipated Valletta Baroque Festival, the January calendar at the national theatre promises a strong start to the new year for Malta’s cultural and artistic community.
“Teatru Manoel is thrilled to announce the launch of a diverse and exhilarating programme this January,” says Teatru Manoel CEO, Massimo Zammit. “It has undoubtedly been a challenging year for everyone and therefore we would like to provide our audience some relief from their stresses through artistic creativity and innovation.”
It was a record-setting year for
Times of Malta, as Malta’s number one news site climbed into the world’s top 3,500 websites.
Those numbers were reflected in the attention given to individual articles, many of which were read by several tens of thousands of people.
Live blogs of major court sessions - think Joseph Muscat or Keith Schembri as witnesses - captivated audiences, as did our days-long coverage of COVID-19 developments and our rolling coverage of Robert Abela’s dominant victory in the Labour Party leadership race.
Elsewhere in politics Economy Minister Silvio Schembri’s shock “foreigners will go back to their countries” speech in parliament attracted huge interest, and readers also lapped up news that Adrian Delia had lost an important confidence vote within the PN.
Real support
I was very satisfied to read in the Times of Malta (December 12) the good news about a pilot project aimed at supporting expectant parents during and after pregnancy. The programme is designed to fit principally the particular needs of pregnant women and offer help to those with signs of anxiety or depression. Fathers will also be screened as they too can be subject to the same issues.
The screening and much-required guidance and support will be given during the expecting mother’s visits to hospital and even after birth, until the baby is between five and six weeks old, with home visits by a midwife.