Maltese commentary should be provided for World Cup says local sports journalist

Nov 22 2022

Local sports journalist and commentator Christian Micallef took to social media to propose that TVM should provide Maltese community for the 2022 World Cup.

Micallef said that he is pained to see the national station making such a big effort to cover the World Cup but at the same time not providing commentary in Maltese.

‘The number might be low, but there are colleagues in TVM who are able to provide commentary for these matches. If the national TV station is showing these matches for Maltese spectators, then it needs to give the opportunity for commentators who use our native language.’

‘I don’t think there exists a country in the world which acquires the exclusive rights for this tournament, but does not provide commentary with the native language.’

#MaltaDaily

People are only just learning how to pronounce Qatar

Nov 22 2022

Well, it had to take the literal launch of the World Cup in the country for people to realise how to actually spell the word ‘Qatar.’

Running from November 20th to the 18th of December, Qatar will be hosting the 22nd FIFA World Cup for the first time. This did not come with its backlash however, with many pointing out various scandals and issues surrounding this year’s tournament.

And as people tune in, many are taking to twitter and other social media platforms to express their utter disbelief at how the name of the country is pronounced.

Executive director of the Alif Institute Mouna Abdulhamid explains that the Arabic word for Qatar actually only has three letters: qāf, ṭā and rā. These are Romanized to q,t and r respectively.

Unfortunately, none of them have a close English equivalent, making pronunciation extra tricky. Of course, for us Maltese, it’s not that hard given the proximity to the Arabic language that Maltese has.

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Japan fans clean up rubbish in World Cup stadium after matches

Nov 22 2022

Japan football supporters have received the admiration of football fans worldwide after they were filmed and photographed staying behind to clean up the rubbish at the World Cup stadium.

Japan haven’t played yet as they kick off their campaign this Sunday when they play against Costa Rica.

However, this did not stop the Japanese football supporters to attend the opening tournament between Qatar an Ecuador on Sunday.

Following a spectacular 2-0 win for Ecuador, the Japanese spectators decided to stick around to ensure that the football stands had been cleared of litter. This caught the attention of influencer Omar Farooq.

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He went on to capture footage showing the fans donning Japanese football shirts, flags and costumes whilst filling up rubbish bags left behind by other supporters.

Omar said: “Someone convince me that this is normal. The Japanese fans decided to clean the stadium. It’s not even their match!

The Japanese told Farooq that the Japanese never leave rubbish behind us because they respect the place. This is not the first place this has happened, when in 2018, they did the same at the Rostov Arena.

#MaltaDaily

Ministers & MPs address domestic violence in Malta following Paola murder

Nov 22 2022

Nationalist Party MP Darren Carabott took to social media to highlight the inefficiency of dealing with domestic abuse cases given the sudden murder of Bernice Cassar.

Carabott, impacted with the terrifying case of the shooting which took the life of a 40-year-old mother, wished to reflect about the inefficiency of dealing with domestic abuse cases in the court of law.

‘A week ago I witnessed a court sitting pertaining to domestic abuse wherein the next sitting was scheduled for the 15th of May of 2024. What does this mean?’

He said this implies two options: that either a victim will be left to fear for their life for two whole years or that an innocent person is being wrongly accused and has to also wait for two years to clear their name.

‘These cases are also traumatic for the children and grandparents/relatives involved’.

Carabott highlighted another related problem – that, in a growing population, Malta has 2,152 police officers. ‘This number remained stationary for the past 8 years’ and this is contributing to the fact that domestic abuse will be given lesser priority as resources are stretched thin due to other crimes.

‘Just because you use the words ‘domestic violence’, this problem will not be solved. Show us with facts that you want to solve it.’

He went on to give his condolences to Bernice’s loved ones and excused society for not being able to help her when she needed most.

Paola murder victim had court-issued protection order, Minister reveals

Earlier today, Home Affairs Minister Byron Camilleri revealed that an inquiry will look into whether any state entities failed 40-year-old murder victim Bernice Cassar, who was a victim of alleged domestic violence.

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Cassar was shot dead near the Corradino industrial estate in Paola on Tuesday morning. The Malta Police Force has since initiated a delicate operation to arrest the lead subject.

In a public address, Minister Camilleri stated that the police had investigated reports of alleged domestic violence against the victim, eventually pressing charges against the lead victim.

Despite the report being filed in May, the criminal case will be heard in November 2023. Following discussions with Justice Minister Jonathan Attard, the the two ministers decided to appoint Geoffrey Valencia, a retired judge, to analyse the case and any possible shortcomings.

#MaltaDaily