Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1545999
5 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 29 JULY 2026 NEWS boathouse, the power cuts broke the fridge my ribeye steak and my will to live. No really, I mean this. You want me to be vulnerable and honest? I lost my ribeye steak. Do you understand the effect that has on a girl when she's on the first day of her period? Is this what you needed to hear?" "What do you think about how the government is han- dling…" She cut me out. "The gov- ernment?!" Jolene interrupted, without a second of hesita- tion. "I think the government is fucking stupid. It does not require much wisdom to un- derstand that this happened last summer, and the summer before that, and the one before it. As a leader, your job is to an- ticipate what's gonna happen before it does. So, if you know something is going to happen, and you know your people are going to suffer, why not do something?" Her bottle of Excel slammed back down on the wooden ta- ble and she leaned back into her chair. "Why do you think the gov- ernment doesn't do anything?" "They don't want the best for Malta," she said. "I don't think so… I mean, everyone knows that, right?" One of the brothers, the el- der one, who owns the steel container, walked up to us and asked if we wanted anything else from the bar. We resigned ourselves to one drink for the night. It was a Monday, after all. "I'm locking up, but you can hang around if you want," he said. So, we did, and he switched off the lights and the Michael Jackson. It was dark again. A few days before, Prime Minister Robert Abela pointed to the number of boats being purchased as evidence that reg- ular Maltese people are really feeling the country's wealth. People have money in their pockets, he argued. Just look at all the boats. "Look in front of us," Jo told me, pointing out to sea. "Look at all the boats, that's what we swim in. I went swimming in it yesterday. It's oil." "Let them buy boats!" "It's not particularly the gov- ernment's fault, but still." "Of course, it is," I said. "Who the hell else can change it if not them?" The little girl dusted off her feet from the sand and took her spot on the back of her brother's motorcycle. She put on a helmet twice the size of her head and grabbed onto her brother. She smiled and waved goodbye. So did he. "Have you heard about Ma- noel Island?" I asked. "The padel courts?" "Apart from that," I scoffed. "Next, they're gonna announce a tender so the ocean there becomes a yacht marina. You know, like the one in Msida." "That's great. It's just what I needed, another yacht marina. I'm so glad the government is finally gonna make that hap- pen. I'm so glad it's anticipat- ing the country's needs and building another yacht marina. While I'm being grateful, Mal- tese people also really needed 30 padel courts. I really don't know how we lived without them!" "The government just needed another place to play with each other's balls." I stole that joke from a friend of mine. A fellow journalist, and a good one at that. "The padel courts made me sad, but hearing about a yacht marina… that really…" "What about Kalanka?" Jo said. "What happened?" "Hotel." "Seriously?" Jo nodded. "If you go there right now, all you'll find is a massive 'Fuck You' sign and a hotel under construction." I gulped down the rest of my drink. "You know what, man?" I said, leaning back and looking out at the sea again. "I wonder how long it'll take for people to start setting shit on fire." "That'll never happen," Jolene remarked. "It's in our DNA to be submissive, controlled, dominated… What's the word I'm looking for?" "Raped?" I suggested. "No, like, in a political sense." "Politically raped?" "No!" she laughed. "What did the British do?" "Colonised!" "Yes, exactly. Maltese people have always been colonised, so we just accept it. We'll never be angry enough to change it, we're just getting angry enough to leave. I feel that way… That makes me sound like a hypo- crite, and I hate it, because I love Malta. But it's beyond our control now. The only solution is to leave, and that's the scar- iest part, because if all Maltese people leave, who will be left to defend Malta?" Both our drinks had finished. That was the sign. She stood up and started walking. I grabbed the cup, the can, and what was left of her cigarette, then threw them into a trashcan. You can see the stars from that part of Marsaskala. I met her by the stairs. "But you know what, man?" I said, as we climbed back up to the street, "As long as the num- bers say the country is getting richer, people will throw away anything." "How much money is worth destroying a nation?" I took a taxi home at around 2am. The power was still out. Man denied bail after pleading not guilty to grievously injuring woman A 46-year-old man from Rabat pleaded not guilty after being charged with grievously injuring a woman during an alleged domestic incident. The alleged assault took place between 10pm and 11pm on 26 July at a resi- dence in Rabat. The prosecution alleged he assaulted the victim, causing her grievous inju- ries, and is also charging him with slightly injuring the victim. He is further accused of committing the offences while being a re- cidivist. The prosecution was led by AG lawyer Krista Spi- teri Lucas together with Inspector Carlos Cordi- na. The defence requested bail. However, the prosecu- tion objected, arguing the seriousness of the charges alone justified the refusal of bail. It also pointed out that both the accused and the victim live in Rabat, rais- ing concerns the accused could attempt to contact or influence the victim be- fore she testifies in court. The court upheld the prosecution's objections, denied bail, and issued a protection order in favour of the victim. JAELLE BORG jborg@mediatoday.com.mt At least 50 injured as 7.1-magnitude earthquake strikes southern Japan A 7.1-magnitude earthquake struck southern Japan on Tuesday, injuring at least 50 people and leaving around 40,000 homes without elec- tricity. The earthquake hit Ku- mamoto Prefecture on the southern island of Ky- ushu, prompting more than 150,000 people to be instructed to be evacuated while officials assessed the extent of the damage. Local media also reported that shoppers were trapped inside a damaged shopping centre. Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said the earth- quake had caused fires and damaged roads, bridges and buildings. Officials urged people to stay away from the coastline and remain alert to the risk of landslides and strong af- tershocks. The Japan Meteorological Agency issued a temporary tsunami advisory for coastal areas around the Ariake and Yatsushiro seas. It was lifted within two hours. Reporting by Eva Brannon