Off we go again with Rumours Stango Navarra

Published: March 9, 2011 at 6:31pm

At 4.50pm GMT, www.dailymail.co.uk reported as follows:

(…) Karl Stango-Navarra, a journalist based in Valletta, Malta, told Al Jazeera that the three jets are flying in three different directions.
‘One is suggested to be Vienna, the other is supposed to be Athens in Greece, and the other is Cairo, Egypt,’ Stango-Navarra said.

‘Obviously, nobody knows who may be aboard the planes,’ he said. (…)

At 3.44pm CET, www.maltatoday.com.mt, where Karl ‘Stango’ Navarra works, updated its own half-assed story:

One of three private jets belonging to the Gaddafi family was in Malta earlier this morning, airport sources have told MaltaToday.

Al Jazeera this morning reported that three of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi’s private planes had taken off from a military airstrip near Tripoli. At least one of them has landed in the Egyptian capital, Cairo. The other two were directed towards Vienna, while the one departing from Malta has left for Portugal.

MaltaToday has established that the Bombardier Global 5000, callsign 5A-UAC, departed from Malta earlier today. MIA staff said the private jet had already left Malta, but then refused to confirm the time of departure.

The plane was originally scheduled to be on its way to Athens.Meanwhile, timesofmalta.com reports as follows:

Meanwhile, at 1.08pm CET timesofmalta.com had given the details already, but Rumours Stango Navarra and Malta Today were damned if they were going to deviate from their air of mystery and conspiracy by incorporating the details from The Times into their own stories:

Wednesday, 9th March 2011 – 13:08CET

Gonzi meets Libyan under-secretary for international cooperation

The Libyan under-secretary for international cooperation Mohammed Taher Siyala held talks in Malta this morning with Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi, the government announced.

Mr Siyala was on one of three aircraft carrying Gaddafi emissaries which left from Tripoli this morning. The other two went to Cairo and Brussels.

Mr Siyala explained the Libyan government’s position on the recent events.

During the meeting, the Prime Minister reiterated the Maltese government’s position as stated publicly, and insisted that all violence has to stop immediately.

The plane which went to Cairo carried the Libyan deputy defence minister, Abdelrahman al-Zawi, for talks with Egyptian government officials and the Arab League.

Fortunately, the government had the good sense to release the names before Rumours Stango Navarra told Al Jazeera that Aisha is circling overhead again.

Then at 17.19 GMT, Al Jazeera reported:

Karl Stango-Navarra, a journalist based in Valletta, Malta, told Al Jazeera that a delegation of Libyan officials had met senior Maltese officials on Wednesday before continuing to Portugal.

“We have an escalating diplomatic situation where Gaddafi seems to be seeking his friends in the sense of who is closest, both in terms of trade and political ties, so he can can find a solution to the situation,” he said.




28 Comments Comment

  1. Anthony Farrugia says:

    At least Karl Stagno-Navarra got one out of three destinations correct. Par for the course!

  2. Stephen says:

    Errm, Daphne. I think it’s ‘Stagno’ not Stango. Better correct it before the petty brigade get going! Or is it a joke (in which case I missed it I’m sorry.)

    [Daphne – It’s a quote. He’s down like that in Al Jazeera and the Daily Mail.]

    • Anthony Farrugia says:

      Stango Navarra sounds like a bit-player from a spaghetti western by Sergio Leone starring Clint Eastwood.

  3. John Schembri says:

    Dan il-gurnalist ifakkarni fil-gazzetta ta’ qabel il-gwerra: Dottor Brombos.

  4. maryanne says:

    Al Jazeera are playing it safe. They are quoting their source.

  5. Interested Bystander says:

    Will Gaddafi be gone before the next election in two years’ time?

  6. drewsome says:

    Gutter journalism. Which then spawns an orgy of raging/rambling/disturbing/pathetic/bizarre (take your pick) unmoderated comments.

    I must confess to helping to pump up Maltatoday’s site visits, but I just can’t resist the entertainment factor.

  7. Harry Purdie says:

    This guy’s an unguided missile.

  8. davidg says:

    How on earth did Stango-Navarra get to know where the planes were heading? Maybe John Dalli informed him from his connections to the Colonel.

  9. Reporter says:

    La STANGata (The Sting, 1973 movie).

    Our own Karl is mounting a Sting on Al Jazeera.

  10. ciccio2011 says:

    Which is why I prefer to read the classified adverts and the weather rather than Malta Today’s real news.

    • Joanne says:

      Good one.

      I really laughed the first time I heard that commercial on the radio while I was driving back home from work.

      It’s so childish.

  11. Another John says:

    Some of the funniest and brightest comments I have read are in the post above. You certainly have a bright following Daphne, and Baxxter and Ciccio have not put their share in it yet! :)

    • ciccio2011 says:

      Another John, my first comment was “waiting for moderation” while you were writing yours. Now here is another one:
      MaltaToday: Ahbarijiet Stagn-ati. Bid-“delay.”

      • Another John says:

        I hope you (or Baxxter for that matter) won’t bill us for the laughs in the future. Baxxter frequently complains of his predicament and under-employment; about you, I don’t know.

  12. David says:

    Harrowing reports on torture in Libya http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-12695077.

    Besides Libya there are also many other countries where torture is still being practised. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uses_of_torture_in_recent_times

  13. ciccio2011 says:

    Daphne, have you noticed how the engaging term “Obviously” is used to add emphasis to the sentence it precedes: ‘Obviously, nobody knows who may be aboard the planes,’ he said. (…)?

    Makes me ask the question, how was it then that the Al Jazeera Malta-based source saw Aisha Gaddafi aboard a plane that was DENIED landing in Malta?

    [Daphne – And obviously, people do know who was aboard the planes – just not Karl Stango.]

  14. Anthony Farrugia says:

    http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/mar/09/bbc-staff-arrest-torture-libya

    Gaddafi charm offensive with foreign media has gone awry and been exposed for what it really is.

  15. Anthony Farrugia says:

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-12695077

    Gaddafi forces beat up BBC team

  16. Josephine says:

    Does John Dalli still think that scenes have been staged? http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-12695134

  17. Bajd u Laham says:

    I bet my buttocks that most of you used to like this guy when he was the face of NET news. Anything ex-PN – never mind against – is a red dot on your radar. Kill the infidel!

    [Daphne – If most people liked him when he was the face of NET news, he wouldn’t have been asked to leave. And nobody wants your buttocks.]

    • Bajd u Laham says:

      Asked to leave? And I thought that he left on his own accord as a natural result of him preferring Al Jazeera to NET. I’m sure he spent countless, sleepless nights banging his head against the wall trying to figure out which was the better option.

      [Daphne – Ah, yes, so by that reasoning he left Al Jazeera in London because Malta Today in a sh*thole in San Gwann was the better option.]

      • .Angus Black says:

        Explain why all these ‘former’ fired/ disgruntled NET announcers/journalists always find haven within the Labour Party and its allies/affiliations/subsidiaries?

        The LP has become (always was) the junkyard of outdated politicians/radicals and any attempt to portray the “new Labour” as a ‘modern and progressive’ party is just another illusion by master Joseph.

  18. goldie says:

    Karl Stango Navarra is a bad image to Al Jazeera with that weird accent and he always sounds lost for words with all his emm, emm, emm…. his reports are always vague like someone who has not done his homework.

  19. Bajd u Laham says:

    @ .Angus Black
    What you’re referring to as “allies, affiliations and subsidiaries” of the Labour Party are mostly privately-run entities, financed entirely by private persons and If you don’t like their offerings just don’t buy them. Full stop.

    What you should be shocked about – and I’m not holding my breath here – is the fact that a company financed by – and supposedly a representative of – the taxpayer consistently recruits PN die-hards and activists (we are no longer talking of ex’s here) as head of news and prime time political shows. Whoever does not like PBS offerings can also stop watching them, granted, but that doesn’t stop the government from taking their licence and tax money to pay these bigots, does it?

    On a lighter note, what’s with the dot preceding your name might I ask?

    • George Mifsud says:

      @:bajd u laham

      At least your ‘PN diehards’ do not regale us with ‘run rabbit run’ and ‘bongu Malta socjalista’ and the like. The bigot you are referring to must be the one of ‘run rabbit run’ fame who left Dardir Malta to seek pastures new all over the place, and now thinks that it has become an institution.

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