The Meteorological Office is forecasting a week of rain and strong winds will wall take us through this weekend to at least Boxing Day. Until last Thursday, the office was predicting a cloudy day on Christmas Day, but this forecast has changed to one of strong winds and isolated showers on 25 December. Thundery showers are expected on Christmas Eve and possible showers are also forecast for Boxing Day. Christmas Day is also expected to be a cold one, as the temperature is forecast to dip to a high of just 11 degrees Celsius, which would make it the coldest day this month. The lowest temperature is forecast to be just seven degrees between Wednesday and Friday. Source link

Din l-Art Ħelwa expressed its deep concern regarding the recent post planning development permission scheduling of Villa St Ignatius. Both Villa St Ignatius and Fort Chambray were granted development permissions prior to their classification in terms of cultural value, raising pertinent questions about the current procedures and practices for protecting Malta’s historic and cultural heritage. While we acknowledge the recent scheduling of Villa St Ignatius with Grade 2 status, it is troubling that such significant historic properties should be subjected to development approvals before their heritage value is formally recognized, the NGO said. This pattern not only undermines the importance of our architectural history but also poses a risk to the preservation of our cultural identity. Furthermore, we are of the opinion that the Villa deserves a Grade 1 status. “In an age where heritage is increasingly at risk from rapid and over development, it is imperative...

Former Minister Clayton Bartolo has been rebuked by the Standards Commissioner for not being forthcoming in his answers during an investigation on a gift cruise given to ITS CEO. The commissioner was ruling on a complaint filed by independent candidate Arnold Cassola. While finding Bartolo not involved in giving a permit for the CEO, Pierre Fenech, to accept a cruise as a gift although this may have been a conflict of interest, Standards Commissioner Joseph Azzopardi remarked that this investigation could have been avoided if Bartlo had provided more comprehensive answers. Bartolo should have himself asked for emails which were later provided by his permanent secretary, and he (Bartolo) should have immediately said that he knew what was taking place and had decided not to intervene. If this had happened, Azzopardi said he would have likely said there was no need for an investigation. Instead, Bartolo chose...

An elderly woman and a two-year-old boy were injured when they were hit be vehicles in two separate accidents on Friday. The first accident took place in Naxxar Road, Birkirkara at 11.30am. A 72-year-old woman from Mosta was hit by a Peugeot 307 driven by a 43-year-old man of Marsascala. Just 15 minutes later, in San Gwann Bosco Street, Sliema, a two-year-old boy was hit by a Suzuki SX4 driven by a 44-year-old man of Mtarfa. Both pedestrians were taken to hospital with grievous injuries. Source link

Kyle Patrick Camilleri Thursday, 19 December 2024, 14:48 Last update: about 18 hours ago The Ministry of Health and Active Ageing has announced that a tender for the expansion and development of the Emergency Department at Mater Dei Hospital has been published. The total cost of this tender amounts to just over €80 million, excluding VAT and the site covers a total area of 7,100m2 and requires an excavated volume of 10,500m3. The Health Ministry said in a statement that the decision to expand on Mater Dei’s facilities was taken to adapt to the increasing demand being exerted onto the Hospital’s emergency services. Over time, the Hospital’s Emergency Department services have adapted with increasing demand by expanding its services beyond its existing physical space, which has caused its own set of challenges. The proposed development is set to transform the present...

Gisèle Pelicot spoke of her “very difficult ordeal” after 51 men were convicted Thursday in the drugging-and-rape trial that riveted France and turned her into an icon, expressing support for other victims whose cases don’t get such attention and “whose stories remain untold.” “I want you to know that we share the same fight,” she said in her first words after the court in the southern French city of Avignon handed down prison sentences ranging from three to 20 years in the shocking case that spurred a national reckoning about the blight of rape culture. Pelicot’s ex-husband, Dominique Pelicot, and all but one of his co-defendants were convicted of sexually assaulting her over a period of nearly a decade after he’d knocked her unconscious by lacing her food and drink with drugs. The other co-defendant was convicted of drugging and raping his own wife with Dominique Pelicot’s help. As campaigners against sexual...

Works have started to add 60 kilometres of new underground cables, through collaboration between Enemalta, Infrastructure Malta, and Transport Malta, the three entities said in a statement Thursday. These new medium-voltage cables “will further strengthen the distribution system in 21 different localities in Malta and Gozo”, the statement said. During a meeting with journalists, the entities explained the ongoing works to continue strengthening the distribution system, as was done throughout the past year. “In the past year, Enemalta continued to work on strengthening the electricity distribution system at various levels. In the first five months of the year, in collaboration with Infrastructure Malta and Transport Malta, we managed to lay more than 82 kilometers of new underground cables,” said Enemalta Executive Chairman, Ing. Ryan Fava. Together with the continuation of the six-year reinforcement plan for the distribution system, these connections will continue to enhance the resilience and...

The Nationalist Party on Thursday expressed its full confidence in John Rizzo and trusts the decisions he makes, including in the present circumstances. The history of our country shows that John Rizzo is a person of unwavering integrity and the highest honesty, the PN said in a statement. John Rizzo has been, and remains, a man of strong character who performs his duties impartially. He now represents the PN on the Permanent Commission against Corruption. It is scandalous that, after being removed from his role as Police Commissioner just a few weeks after the March 2013 election, the Labour Party and its leadership continue to launch highly personal and malicious attacks against Rizzo, the PN said. Only those who do not believe in justice and refuse to fight corruption would attack John Rizzo in the manner the Labour Party is doing, the PN added. The party was...

Wied Inċita, a 20,000 square-metre green space in the heart of the country, is now open for public enjoyment following months of restoration work by Ambjent Malta. This initiative transformed the area into a family-friendly destination and marks the first phase of a larger space planned to open to the public. The project, inaugurated by Minister for the Environment Miriam Dalli, has transformed a previously inaccessible site into a natural park for public use. The land, which was originally allocated to a consortium in 2002 for landscaping purposes, has now been regenerated and returned to the public through an agreement with the new consortium, GEB. Minister Miriam Dalli highlighted that the opening of Wied Inċita fulfills another promise. “In October, we pledged to provide 40,000 square metres of open spaces by the end of this year, and we delivered. Wied Inċita, along with Spencer Gardens, Hospice Gardens,...

Just weeks after the €70,000 phantom consultancy scandal involving Minister Clint Camilleri granting a contract to the wife of former Minister Clayton Bartolo, it has become evident that this was not an isolated incident but part of a repeated pattern of public fund mismanagement by Minister Clint Camilleri, the Nationalist Party said Wednesday. A report by the Auditor General on the Government Accounts for 2023, published a few days ago, revealed that Minister Clint Camilleri spent €18.5 million on a single road project in Nadur, Gozo – over €10 million more than the original estimated budget of €8 million. This expenditure was incurred without any documentation showing where and how these extra funds were spent and without obtaining approval from the Ministry for Finance, the PN said. The conclusions of the NAO’s “Public Accounts 2023 Report” highlight not only a lack of planning and incompetence but also...