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5 days ago | 
timesofmalta.com | James Cummings |Matthew Bonanno
Updated 6pmA shark spotted in the sea off Sliema in a video shared on Friday sparked debate over whether it was a great white or a blue shark. The footage shows a fin breaking the surface of the water, with the body of the shark visible below the surface in parts of the video. The video was uploaded on Friday afternoon with the person who posted it saying it was shot close to 1926 La Plage Beachclub in Tigne. A suspected Great White Shark was spotted on Friday. Video: Nikolche Nestoroski /Facebook.
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Jan 7, 2025 | 
timesofmalta.com | James Cummings
Environmental activists and the Opposition have expressed their shock at former Planning Authority CEO Johann Buttiġieġ’s reappointment, describing him as "back from the skip of history” and bad news for conservation efforts. Developers and architects, meanwhile, called on Buttiġieġ to spearhead "much-needed reforms" of planning policies and procedures.
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Dec 10, 2024 | 
timesofmalta.com | James Cummings
Malta has joined several other European countries in suspending the processing of asylum applications for Syrians, after the downfall of former president Bashar al-Assad. The announcement from the Home Affairs Ministry follows similar moves from Germany, Greece and the UK. According to the president of the NGO Syrian Solidarity in Malta the Syrian population in the country soared from a few hundred before civil conflict in 2011 to around 6,500 by 2022.
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Dec 8, 2024 | 
timesofmalta.com | James Cummings
The Russian foreign minister’s controversial speech at a meeting in Malta last Thursday was described by diplomatic sources as “posturing” against a backdrop of unease among the Russian delegation. Sergey Lavrov made international headlines when he used his appearance at the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Ministerial Council in Ta’ Qali to launch into a tirade of anti-West rhetoric, as he faced condemnation and walkouts because of the Ukraine war.
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Dec 6, 2024 | 
timesofmalta.com | James Cummings
As the second and final day of the OSCE Ministerial Council drew to a close, Foreign Minister Ian Borg paid tribute to Malta’s work as chair of the organisation over the past year.
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Dec 6, 2024 | 
timesofmalta.com | James Cummings
The OSCE announced Friday it had agreed on a new leadership package covering the organisation’s top four posts. The announcement came on the second and final day of the organisation’s annual ministerial council meeting being held in Malta. Feridun Sinirlioğlu from Türkiye was announced as OSCE Secretary General while Maria Telalian of Greece was named as Director of the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights.
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Dec 5, 2024 | 
timesofmalta.com | James Cummings
The assassination of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia remains a “stark reminder” to strengthen journalism, the foreign minister told an OSCE event on Thursday. Addressing an event on media freedom, Foreign Minister Ian Borg called journalism a “vital pillar of democracy” while warning it was under threat across the region. "My country knows all too well that the threats to media freedom and the safety of journalists are among the greatest threats to democracy,” he said.
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Dec 5, 2024 | 
timesofmalta.com | James Cummings
Foreign Minister Ian Borg has dismissed a tirade of anti-Western sentiment from Russia’s foreign minister at the opening of today’s OSCE conference, insisting the group would “not be intimidated” by Russia. Asked to respond to Foreign Minister Lavrov’s comments that Western countries were risking a “hot war” with Russia while pushing its “neo-colonial hegemony”, Borg said he was neither surprised nor intimidated. “We are not surprised by Lavrov’s comments.
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Dec 5, 2024 | 
timesofmalta.com | James Cummings
Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov used his opening remarks at an OSCE conference in Malta to deliver an anti-West tirade, potentially dashing any hopes of constructive dialogue as Russia keeps pounding Ukraine. Speaking during the ministerial conference in Malta, his first visit to an EU state since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Lavrov said: "The Helsinki principles are just empty words to NATO and EU...
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Dec 5, 2024 | 
timesofmalta.com | James Cummings
Foreign ministers arriving for the OSCE conference in Ta' Qali this morning had strong words for Russia, with many saying they intend to avoid Sergey Lavrov altogether. “I will not be sitting at a table with Mr Lavrov,” Polish Foreign Affairs Minister Radosław Sikorski said of his Russian counterpart. “Mr Lavrov is coming here to lie about the Russian invasion and what Russia is doing in Ukraine.
