Ex-Soldier Who Lost Limbs To Sepsis Should Get State Aid, Says MP

Jan 5 2024

Nationalist Party MP Alex Borg has motioned a parliamentary question to ask what the criteria are to get state aid for cases like that of Shawn Mifsud – a 37 year old ex-soldier who lost his arms and legs due to sepsis last summer.

With him and his wife Graziana working to raise €200,000 to acquire bionic arms and prosthetic legs, the PN MP said in a public statement that the state should, in such cases, intervene to give the necessary support.

‘As we know, Shawn is an optimist and has a lot of courage but he deserves to have prosthetic arms and legs to function’, wrote Borg.

‘Apart from the help I know you will all offer, and encourage you to continue offering, we need a serious discussion which would see such families given aid by the state and even from organisations managed by the state effectively and efficiently.’

‘I have put forth a parliamentary question to see what the criteria one needs to fulfil for such cases to be state supported. I will see to it that if these criteria need to change, they are changed to today’s realities.’

People wishing to support can do so here:

Graziana Mifsud

IBAN no: MT13 VALL 2201 3000
0000 5001 1233 201
BOV mobile to mobile: 79327955

#MaltaDaily

6 Public & National Holidays To Fall On Weekends In 2024

Jan 5 2024

Still got holiday blues? Do you already need a break from the office? Well, here’s your hush hush guide to which holidays will be falling when this year.

National Holidays

Freedom Day – Sunday 31st March
Sette Giugno – Friday 7th June
Victory Day – Sunday 8th September
Independence Day – Saturday 21st September
Republic Day – Friday 13th December

Public Holidays

New Year’s Day – Monday 1st January
Feast of St Paul’s Shipwreck – Saturday 10th February
Feast of St Joseph – Tuesday 19th March
Good Friday – Friday 29th March
Worker’s Day – Wednesday 1st May
Feast of St Peter and St Paul – Saturday 29th June
Feast of the Assumption – Thursday 15th August
Feast of the Immaculate Conception – Sunday 8th December
Christmas Day – Wednesday 25th December

In the upcoming year of 2024, a total of six significant national holidays in Malta will coincide with weekends.

This necessitates employers compensating for the “lost” days of rest by adding them to their employees’ leave entitlement.

The feasts of patron saint Paul (10th February), saints Peter and Paul (29th June), and Independence Day (21st September) will all fall on a Saturday, whereas Freedom Day (31st March) aligns with Easter Sunday, pushing Good Friday to the 29th of March.

Similarly, Victory Day (8th September) and the Immaculate Conception (8th December) both fall on a Sunday.

Maltese labor law dictates that if a national or public holiday occurs on a Saturday or Sunday, workers are entitled to an additional day of vacation leave, supplementing their annual leave entitlement for that particular year.

In 2024, you’ll also get two more extended weekends due to the Sette Giugno commemoration (7th June) and Republic Day (13th December), both falling on a Friday. New Year’s Day was the sole holiday falling on a Monday for this year.

#MaltaDaily

Guinea Pigs Abandoned Near Gozo Pond Rescued

Jan 5 2024

A Facebook user took to social media to call out an anonymous guinea pig owner (or owners) who decided to abandon a number of guinea pigs in Gozo’s Għadira San Rafflu.

Morgan explained that she and two others spent the last few days catching the abandoned animals, managing to rescue 7 but spotting others unfortunately killed by dogs.

Saying that they are safe and set to be re-homed, they were very difficult to catch due to them extremely stressed.

‘It takes a lot of time and effort, and we shouldn’t have to do it. If you have an inmate that you can no longer keep, a simple Facebook post in a few local animal loving groups and you would be surprised how easy it is to find new homes’, they urged.

Guinea pigs are not native wild animals in Malta and, the user said, ‘it is extremely irresponsible to let them loose in the wild, especially as they breed like crazy.’

#MaltaDaily

Art Teacher Convicted Of Abusing Student Has Warrant Withdrawn

Jan 4 2024

Carmel Agius, an art teacher from Fgura, convicted of sexually abusing a 12-year-old student during art lessons in 2018, has been banned from the teaching profession.

Agius, jailed in February last year for groping at least one pupil, appealed the verdict, but his appeal was rejected, confirming a two-year jail sentence.

Education Minister Clifton Grima withdrew Agius’s teaching warrant, placing him on the sex offenders register.

The court, while rejecting a publication ban on Agius’s name, prohibited the disclosure of the state school and the victim’s identity. The victim, testifying before Magistrate Claire Stafrace Zammit, recounted the abuse during a canvas project, revealing Agius’s inappropriate touching.

The mother filed a police report, leading to an investigation that involved over 50 of Agius’s art school students. Agius faces separate criminal proceedings for incidents at his private art studio, and Police Inspector John Spiteri is prosecuting the case.

#MaltaDaily