30,000 candles to light up Ċittadella for 2023 edition of Lejl Imkebbes

May 11 2023

Minister for Gozo Clint Camilleri announced that the event ‘Lejl Imkebbes’ in Ċittadella will be held once again in Rabat, Għawdex on Saturday 20th May from 1900hrs onward.

The Minister said that the event is one sought after by many as 30,000 candles of various shapes will be lighting up the streets of the city and creating a beautiful atmosphere for all to visit.

‘The island of Gozo has become synonymous with cultural activities of a high level’ said the minister. ‘Such events attract both locals and tourists alike to visit the medieval site of Ċittadella.’

Quinton Scerri, one of the organisers of the event, said that there will be various artists installing a number of artefacts made out of wax in three different zones of the city.

Apart from this, historical re—enactments, free entry to Museums, the opening up of public interest locations, live entertainment and activities for kids will also add to the atmosphere.

The event will also be joined by local singer and songwriter Aidan, who will be holding a live concert and bringing some of his biggest hits to the event.

Aidan will be accompanied by other artists, from singers to dancers to musicians, throughout the whole event, making sure that those visiting can expect an entertaining schedule throughout.

This free-of-charge event is being held in collaboration with the Directive for Cultural Heritage within the Gozo Ministry. The Minister concluded by urging everyone to visit the event.

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Should Malta send a Eurovision entry in Maltese?

May 11 2023

A post uploaded to local Facebook page ‘Are You Being Served? (Malta & Gozo) Original’ pointed out that every song sent to Eurovision 2023 which used the native language qualified to the final.

The poster, Anthony James Grech, uploaded a chart of the first semifinal songs, highlighting the songs which used their native language and how all of them qualified.

Eurovision in Maltese

These included Serbia, Portugal, Croatia, Romania, Czech Republic and Finland. Grech wrote that it is time that Malta sends a song which uses the language, saying that we should be proud that such a tiny nation has its own language.

‘Maybe it won’t make a difference due to televising but at least we would have tried’ he concluded.

This is not the first time this concern was raised, apart from the usual debate as to whether Malta should continue bothering with the contest. This year’s representative however, The Busker, urged future contestants to keep trying no matter the results.

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UK welcomes first baby born from DNA of 3 people

May 11 2023

The first baby in the UK created with the DNA from three different people has just been born after groundbreaking IVF procedures were carried out to prevent children from inheriting incurable diseases.

The treatment is known as mitochondrial donation treatment, and uses tissue from the eggs of healthy female doctors to create IVF embryos that are essentially free of any harmful mutations that can be hereditary.

Due to the embryos combining sperm and egg from biological parents with mitochondria from the donor’s egg, the baby is born with genetic material from the donor apart from the usual mother and father.

99.8% of the DNA still comes from the mother and father, but they have become known as ‘three-parent babies’ nonetheless.

This is not the first time such a baby was born. In 2016, a US doctor announced the world’s first MDT birth after having treated a Jordanian woman who carried mitochondrial mutations that could cause a fatal condition known as Leigh syndrome.

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Two separate road accidents see four people hospitalised

May 11 2023

Yesterday, at around 1600hrs, police were informed of a traffic accident which had taken place in Triq l-Imqabba, Siġġiewi.

Police convened immediately on site and found that a 68-year-old man resident of the same locality had lost control of his Toyota Starlet and crashed into a wall.

A medical team was called on site and took him to Mater Dei Hospital. He was later certified as having suffered grievous injuries.

Later, at around 1915hrs, police were informed of another accident, this time in Triq Sir Anthony Mamo, Birkirkara.

Convening on site, preliminary investigations found that a car crash had taken place between a Volkswagen Golf driven by a 30-year-old woman resident of Imqabba and a Peugeot 208 driven by a 25-year-old French man resident of Mellieħa.

Riding passenger in the Peugeot were three men, aged 27, 25 and 21, and a 19 year old woman, all of French nationality and residents of Mellieħa.

A medical team was called onto the site, taking the 30-year-old woman and the 25 and 19 year old passengers to Mater Dei.

The 25-year-old was certified as having suffered serious injuries, the 19 year old sustained grievous injuries and the woman suffered only light injuries. An inquiry has been opened and investigations are ongoing.

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