A Shocking Murder, The Departure Of Heroes And COVID-19’s Threat To Education: Check Out The Biggest Stories In Malta This Week

Malta was rocked by the murder of Paulina Dembska, a 29-year-old Polish student, in Sliema. 

Dembska’s body was discovered in the Independence Gardens at 6.30am on 2nd January. TVM, the national broadcaster, said Dembska’s body had signs of sexual assault and serious injury. 

The sole suspect – Abner Aquilina, a 20-year-old man from Zejtun, was arrested later that morning. 

Aquilina’s arrest took place moments after having entered the Balluta Church. There, Aquilina caused a ruckus that saw him tread near the altar and even overturning the seats within the church hall.

Investigations are currently ongoing. However, Aquilina, who has a history of mental illness, has since been admitted into Mount Carmel Hospital, with sources revealing to Lovin Malta that he declared to officers that he was a ‘soldier from God’ who was taking orders from a higher cause.

2. A hero’s departure

Malta was forced to bid farewell to one of its greatest medical pioneers, Professor Albert Fenech. 

Fenech, a cardiologist and former nationalist MP, was found dead in his home after having passed from natural causes at age 70. He was credited with having co-founded the Cardiology department alongside Alex Manche in 2007, and even performed the first operation there: an angiogram. 

Without question, Fenech was an inspiration to the future generations of medical professionals; one whose devotion to his work saw his efforts transcend past those expected of a doctor, but whose gentleness and kindness will be forever remembered. 

3. COVID-19 and its threat to school’s reopening

With COVID-19 numbers skyrocketing over the past few days, Education Minister Clifton Grima is still reluctant to re-shift education to online platforms. The situation presents a double-edged sword that sees the impairment of the delivery of education on one end and potential health risks – immediate and large scale – on the other. 

Grima, who was recently appointed to the role, maintained that schools should be among the last – if not the last – sectors to shut down their physical delivery. For doing so greatly affects the development of children. A notion maintained by the World Health Organisation.

Still, schools have had a slight delay in reopening and will now reopen on its doors on 10th January. 

4. David Thake’s unpaid VAT bill

Nationalist MP David Thake admitted to having owed € 270,000 amounting to pending VAT dues. The pending VAT bill came from a company, Vanilla Telecoms, of which Thake is the company’s chairperson and sole shareholder. 

Thake has approached the Standards Commissioner, so as to determine whether said actions – of which he personally confirmed – compromised his position as a nationalist MP.  

With pressure mounting on the nationalist MP over what action is to be taken in light of this discovery, Malta still lies in wait. However, Thake did state that the payment is to be affected in the coming days. 

5. Puttinu Cares Founder Victor Calvagna continues to fight for his life

An evening run took a sinister turn when one among them became a victim of a road traffic accident on 29th December. 

The victim, Victor Calvagna, a paediatric cancer doctor, and founder of Puttinu cares, was in critical condition following the accident. 

With the entire country rallying in prayer behind a man who devoted his life towards helping others, Malta was soon hit with the news that Calvagna’s condition was far too severe to treat.

“Whatever the outcome, miraculous or not, that man lying in that hospital bed was, is and will forever be our hero, my dad, a husband, a grandfather, a father-in-law, an uncle, a brother, a colleague, friend, athlete, a professional and one of the greatest people we have all had the privilege to know and love,” Calvagna’s daughter said.

6. F Living triumphs as the best Maltese TV channel

F Living, a TV-station run by Karl and Romina Bonaci, was declared the Best Maltese TV channel by 3.3 % of respondents following the Broadcasting Authority’s latest survey. The news came as a surprise since the private station, which is currently manned by a handful of staff, edged past TVMnews+, which achieved a rating of 2.9 %. 

F Living focuses mainly on news and current events but also includes coverage on sports, culture and art.

Minister Carmelo Abela stated that PBS should serve as a platform for the talented and creative to ‘produce high-quality content. In pledging to allocate € 30 million to PBS over a five-year period, could this change loom on the horizon? 

7. Netflix Actress’ holiday turns sour

Actress and British resident Ameerah Falzon, 19, and her mother Serena, 49, were arrested following an incident in a Gentleman’s club in Paceville. The incident saw the pair insult police officers, refuse to wear a mask in public and disobey direct orders from the police, as reported MaltaToday. 

Footage of the disturbance was caught by police constables’ body cameras. 

Having pleaded guilty in the courts, Ameera and Serena were issued a nine-month prison sentence, suspended by 18 months. Additionally, both were fined € 1100 each; an unexpected outcome to their holiday in Malta.  

8. Cold stares from the former Prime Minister

Sharing the same flight with Malta’s former Prime Minister, Joseph Muscat, presented the perfect opportunity for Justin Borg-Barthet, a lecturer at the University of Aberdeen, to flash a photo of Daphne Caruana Galizia. 

“We thought it only right,” said Borg-Barthet. Interestingly, Muscat and his wife’s only response to the action was to shout “prosit”, whilst engaging in cold stares from across the carousel as the couple awaited the arrival of their luggage.

News of the incident stemmed from a tweet that went viral, having also been shared by Daphne Caruana Galizia’s sons. 

Muscat denied claims of having shouted at the man, rather, he postulated that such an action was carried out in an effort to incite an unsavoury reaction from the former Prime Minister.

What do you think of this week’s top stories?