Jeremy Norman

Saturday

Jeremy Norman

Daphne Galizia’s brutal killing and Malta’s dark secret

From our UK edition

Malta is, by and large, a safe country where people don't lock their doors. This month's car bombing, in which Daphne Caruana Galizia was murdered, has forced me to reconsider the benign opinion of the island I know and love. The dark echoes of Belfast during the Troubles, where personal and political opponents often met a violent end are difficult to ignore. Galizia's assassination has worrying echoes for the whole of Europe. No one can yet say who killed Galizia, but there is little doubt that her fearless journalism made her many enemies over the years. Malta's Prime Minister, Joseph Muscat, has vowed to hunt down those responsible.

Thursday

Jeremy Norman

Catalonia deserves independence as much as any other state

From our UK edition

Few, if any, commentators have seen fit to discuss the wider issue and the underlying morality from first principles. The instant reaction in all quarters has been to back Spain over the plucky little Catalans. The principle of national self-determination was laid down by Woodrow Wilson after the First World War and accepted by the colonial powers who unwound their empires, if somewhat reluctantly, over the next half-century. Both the League of Nations and the United Nations were founded partly to advocate for this principal. In the case of Kosovo we actually attacked Serbia for refusing the Kosovans this basic human right. What is so different about Catalonia and the Kurds of Iraq?

Thursday

Jeremy Norman

The Knights of Malta must understand that they are a religious order – not a country

From our UK edition

There are some strange goings-on in Rome at the moment. Two of the world’s smallest sovereign states, both headquartered there, are having a spat over who is in control. The head of the Knights of Malta, the former Guards officer now Grand Master, Fra’ Matthew Festing has announced he will step down. He has been obliged to do so by his oath of loyalty to the Pope. Their clash of wills arose after he refused to co-operate with a papal commission of enquiry. The dispute came about when a senior official of the Sovereign Military order of Malta (The Knights of Malta), the Grand Chancellor Albrecht Freiherr von Boeselager, was forced out under protest. He was instructed to resign by Festing. He initially refused to go, but was reminded of his oath of obedience – so he went.

Thursday

Jeremy Norman

Mystery on Mount Athos

From our UK edition

I have just returned from one of the world’s most secretive states. I had to apply for a visa a month beforehand and send in a copy of my passport. There is no way into this place by road; you have to arrive on an authorised boat and a policeman checks your visa against your passport before you board. Private boats must keep well offshore and may not land. The visa is valid for only three nights; you have to book each night in advance and may not spend more than one night in the same place. Only ten visas are granted a day. Women have always been forbidden here — this rule remains strictly in force. A secretive body of Elders governs here and all citizens are bound to total obedience.