Eurovision fever is here with Destiny just a week away from the nation’s hopeful strutting her stuff on the rehearsal stage wearing a hot-pink tasselled outfit and thigh-high boots.

Her look has been the main topic of conversation in Malta today and has elicited very, very strong emotions. The look was loved and hated in equal measures, with some commenting about how the dress was a perfect representation of the song’s empowering message, though others felt it looked tacky and cheap. 

Many commented about the fact that her knee-high boots started to fall unevenly during the performance and that she did not look comfortable in the outfit. Others remarked on the fringe of her cowgirl-inspired top.

Malta has been top of the Eurovision odds for months now, climbing well above Switzerland and France in recent days. But barely hours after Destiny’s first rehearsal, France suddenly caught up and is now tipped to beat Malta. It seems things have evened out now, meaning that it’s all to play for.

Destiny will sing in the first semi-final on Tuesday and most likely at the final on Saturday where she could just take home the crown.

2. Maltese Army Staff Sergeant Had Romantic Relationship With Drug Kingpin When He Was Murdered

Lovin Malta revealed that an army staff sergeant who had contacts within Malta’s secret service was in an intimate romantic relationship with a notorious drug kingpin at the time of his murder in 2015.

Sergeant Carmen Pace has been identified as the unnamed “female companion” who was present when Raymond Caruana was murdered outside his San Blas residence in Haz-Żebbuġ on 20th March 2015.

A total of 30 rounds had been fired. A burnt car with an assault rifle was found in Rabat days later. At the time of his death, he was believed to be one of Malta’s high-profile criminals.

Documents show that the sergeant was actually promoted to staff sergeant a few months after the murder. Commander of the Armed Forces, Brigadier Jeffrey Curmi, was aware of the relationship. 

They claim that the staff sergeant was a crucial tool for Caruana, who evaded arrest despite his position among the top echelons of the Maltese criminal underworld.

She was allowed to retire in 2018 and is now the recipient of a taxpayer-funded pension.

Sources also detailed a serious misdemeanour from the staff sergeant in question in 2011 while Pace was working in the Malta Security Services. They were reluctant to divulge further – however, she was removed after major issues were discovered among the top brass of the army and security service officials at the time.

Pace was removed from the MSS because of these suspicions but was allowed to return to the AFM.

3. Disturbing Footage Of Maltese Student Sexually Harassing Female Educator Leads To Investigation

Shocking footage of a young Maltese student verbally abusing a teacher in a crude and sexual manner led to the Education Minister calling for “every disciplinary measure” to be taken by authorities.

The video, which has been going viral again recently after appearing on TikTok but was originally released back in 2017, is filmed by a male student while he seems to be in a classroom with the educator and other students.

The video begins with the student shown with a massive grin on his face, saying he was just trying to take a photo but instead took a video, before quickly turning the camera onto the female educator in the room.

Giggling, he then proceeds to spew out line after line of explicit sexual content, saying what he would do to the woman, how he would ejaculate on her, describing her intimate areas, and other crude suggestions as other students laugh nearby.

The video had first been investigated in 2017, with the Cybercrime Unit having taken disciplinary steps back then. However, with a new investigation launched with the backing of the Education Ministry, the student in the video may soon be facing new consequences.

4. Sliema Apartment CCTV Captures The Moment Two Would-Be Robbers Realised They’re Being Filmed

Footage of two men trying to break into a couple’s Sliema apartment but getting foiled by their CCTV camera went viral last week after being published by Lovin Malta.

The footage, which was taken at around 9:30am, shows two men clearly searching for something on an apartment floor before one of them points at a particular brown door.

As they’re speaking outside the door, one of the men notices that a camera is on and filming them. With his mask pulled down to his chin, one man can be seen staring into the camera for a few seconds before retreating.

Another clip showed the two men whispering to each other in Georgian, with their conversation translated to Lovin Malta by someone who speaks the language.   

“He/she is at home,” one of the robbers said, to which his accomplice asks why the homeowner didn’t follow them down the stairs.

One of the robbers then returns to the camera and informs his accomplice that the device is indeed a camera.

“Are you kidding me?” one of the two men can be heard saying. “Let’s go knock on the door now.”

The two men can then be seen climbing up the staircase, pretending to climb the stairs to the next floor. However, their bodies are clearly visible on the stairs. Three minutes late, one of the robbers can be seen returning to the camera,  appearing to take a photo of it and muttering that “there’s no internet here”.

Police are investigating the footage.

5. Malta’s Mask Rules Under The Microscope With Government Announcing Easing Of Restrictions

From one mask to another. With Malta powering through an impressive vaccination campaign, many in the country have been raising more and more questions over measures imposing the wearing of masks in public. 

Many in Malta have been left confused by murky regulations, after authorities said that one cannot remove their mask if they were standing in water, but only during the act of swimming, leading to various questions from the public.

However, Deputy Prime Minister Chris Fearne has confirmed that this regulation will no longer be in effect from June among a host of other restrictions that will be lifted.

Meanwhile, Lovin Malta has published a series of videos of overzealous police officers enforcing the rules for the most minor of infractions. 

Still, Lovin Malta reported how an inaccuracy in the way legal notices governing the various COVID-19 measures implemented by the government could see thousands who have been fined, walk away without paying a cent.

The issue revolves around the use of the word “penalty” in these legal notices. While the term is perfectly understandable to anyone with a basic grasp of the English language, the term is not one contemplated by Maltese criminal law. 

This fact was successfully used by Jacob Magri, a paralegal at Azzopardi, Borg & Associates, in overturning a fine dished out to a client of his, who broke an order for mandatory quarantine and was subsequently fined.  

6. Qawra Rape Victim: ‘Sergeant Entered My Bedroom High On Drugs After Saying He Produced Porn’

Detailed court testimony has emerged shedding more light on the shocking sexual abuse incident that occurred in Qawra last month involving police sergeant Glen Carabott.

Carabott has been accused of raping a woman who called the police for assistance after her home in Qawra had been robbed. Carabott has pled not guilty to the charges against him but has tested positive for cocaine since the incident.

A court heard how on 17th April,  Carabott appeared at the victim’s apartment in Qawra alone. The victim said Carabott appeared to be high on some form of drug, and started touching himself in a sexual manner after complimenting her looks.

Eventually, she headed into her bedroom to retrieve some papers with details on the items that had been stolen from her. However, as she was bending over for the papers, she saw Carabott enter the room and close the door behind him.

The victim said she had been sexually abused throughout her life and “knew what was coming next”, with the superintendent saying in court: “She said she knows that once a man starts off, he will only stop when he is finished.”

She said she wanted to get it over and done with as soon as possible, so without being threatened or told to, she decided to perform oral sex on Carabott.

This is when he pulled out his phone and began filming the act. Soon after, they ended up on her bed. At this point, she told Carabott that she has a Sexually Transmitted Infection (STI) and preferred if they stopped.

“Sir, I have been abused many times,” she told Carabott – however, according to the victim, each time she used the word “sir” he only became more excited.

The victim is currently in hospital on a separate matter and will testify at a later date.

7. Maltese Woman Left Aggrieved And Confused As Major Cash Withdrawal Attempt Gets BOV Suspicious

Lilian Chetcuti Riolo was left with a bitter taste in the mouth after coming face to face with Bank of Valletta’s cash withdrawal control regulations.

Chetcuti Riolo, an online personality who is well-known for her cultural tours of Malta, said she initially tried to transfer €14,000 to an IBAN number for a car purchase but this request was refused.

She then tried to withdraw €10,000 as a gift but was asked for more substantial evidence than the logbooks she presented as proof the cars changed ownership.

Chetcuti Riolo then tried to withdraw €5,000 for her husband to buy car parts, then €2,000, and then €1,000, but the bank’s staff had grown suspicious by that point because she “was changing her version of events”.

In fact, she said a bank cashier warned her superior that if she were to withdraw €5,000 that day, she might come back the next day to withdraw another €5,000.

Police were eventually called in to escort Chetcuti Riolo out of the bank.

Contacted for comment, BOV said it’s obliged by law to ensure that all banking transactions, including cash withdrawals, are legitimate and compliant with Anti Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Regulations. 

A new law prohibits cash transactions worth €10,000 or more when carrying out transactions involving property and other high-value items. The Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit is in the process of setting up a new Cash Restriction Unit to monitor the market and enforce this law. 

However, Chetcuti Riolo argued that she should have a right to access her own money without the bank asking questions about what she intends to spend it on.

8. Maltese Man Detained In Libya

A Maltese man has been missing for more than a month in Libya and is believed to be detained by authorities in the country. 

Jesmond Vella, who has been living in Libya for eight years, was first reported missing on 5th April 2021. It is believed that he was arrested on suspicion of human smuggling and drug trafficking.

His partner is begging Maltese authorities to take action and bring him home. There exist fears that Vella could have suffered a severe beating and Libyan authorities are reluctant to present him to the family or Maltese officials.

However, authorities are yet to positively identify Vella with the Libyan authorities reluctant to provide Maltese officials from the Embassy with a face to face visit with Vella. 

Vella has not yet been formally charged with any crimes.

What issue do you think deserves more attention?