February 2023 was one of the wettest with 70% of winter rainfall

Mar 23 2023

The meteorological winter produced 70%, or 257.4mm, of rainfall during a wetter than average February.

The Meteorological Office revealed that, with 181mm of rainfall measured, last February went down on the records as one of the wettest Februaries the Maltese Islands ever experienced.

The ninth day of the month was the wettest as over double the amount of rain befell the Maltese Islands. On the 9th of February, 140.4mm of precipitation were measured in Luqa as Storm Helios battered the islands.

The day was also the month’s gloomiest, together with the 7th day, with no sunshine recorded.

The Office was prompted to extend the strong wind warning for the following day, as the 10th of February saw the strongest wind gust of 49 knots. February was generally calmer than expected, with the wind speed averaging at 7.9 knots rather the monthly climactic norm of 9.4 knots.

Carnival Weekend also went ahead as the weather stabilised. The month’s sunniest day, ‘bathed in 9.1 hours sunshine’, fell on the final day of Carnival festivities.

The temperature peaked at 18.8 degrees Celsius on the morrow, while the lowest temperature was registered six days into the month at 5.3 degrees Celsius.

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New €53 million AFM vessel P71 inaugurated

Mar 23 2023

Through an investment of €53 million, a brand new vessel for the Armed Forces of Malta (AFM) has been inaugurated.

The P71 will, said Home Affairs Minister Byron Camilleri, give new capacities to the Armed Forces of Malta. ‘This is the biggest investment which ever took place into Malta’s security’ revealed the Minister.

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MEP Alex Agius Saliba hits out at lack of Maltese interpreters

Mar 23 2023

MEP Alex Agius Saliba hit out at the lack of action to assigning Maltese interpreters during a meeting of the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs.

Starting a speech in Maltese about discrimination, Agius Saliba was cut short after he was informed that there was no adequate interpretation for those in the room who do not speak Maltese.

The MEP said that this issue has been raised continuously for a number of years by Maltese representatives and that it is completely unacceptable that this issue has not been fully addressed.

“It is totally unacceptable that I cannot speak, as my colleagues do, in an official language of the European Union,” the MEP said.

‘It is an insult to me that I have to I address a fellow Maltese (European Commission, Equality Commissioner Helena Dalli) in English because Maltese is being teated as inferior language in the European Parliament’ he wrote on social media.

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No one reported injured after double-decker bus caught fire in Mġarr

Mar 23 2023

No injuries have been reported after a double decker bus caught fire in Mġarr yesterday.

The bus caught fire at around 1630hrs, with police and civil protection department convening on site to address the situation.

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Investigations are still ongoing into what caused the fire, which saw a massive black plume of smoke emerging from the vehicle.

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Source: Alessia Azzopardi