Henry’s Progress After Re-Admittance To Hospital

Sep 18 2023

10 year old Henry’s mother Lorinda shared a heartwarming video of her son’s progression after having been readmitted to Mater Dei.

The video shows Henry walking after having undergone medical aid and procedures, ticking off a few milestones along the way.

‘Never underestimate the resilience and strength of a child’, wrote his mother. ‘He pushes slowly through the pain and I’m just in awe.’

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A post shared by Lorinda Mamo (@abirdwithafrenchfry_)

Henry has managed to sleep on his side and reduced the frequency of pain medications. Unfortunately, he hasn’t eaten happily without getting sick in almost a month, but he is ‘here to focus and look at all the wins.’

Immediately after birth, Henry spent six weeks in the NPICU, at Mater Dei, where doctors diagnosed him with Prune Belly Syndrome and Chronic Kidney Disease.

At age 4, Henry’s father donated a kidney to save his son’s life, with Henry’s journey being documented via the Instagram page ‘abirdwithafrenchfry’.

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A post shared by Lorinda Mamo (@abirdwithafrenchfry_)

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Malta With EU’s 2nd Highest Rise In Tourists Staying Overnight

Sep 18 2023

Malta experienced the second highest surge in overnight stays in the first half of the year within the EU, as per a recent Eurostat report.

Compared to the same period last year, the increase exceeded 30%. Only Cyprus surpassed this growth, with a rise of just over 39%.

The report highlighted a robust recovery in the EU tourism industry post the COVID-19 impact, reaching its highest point in the past decade from January to June 2023. During this period, Malta recorded over 4.3 million overnight stays, a significant increase from the previous year’s 3.3 million.

June marked the peak month with 900,000 stays, constituting just over a fifth of the total, albeit with the smallest increase of over 86,000 stays. Notably, March witnessed the most substantial rise, boasting nearly 230,000 more overnight visits compared to the same month in 2022.

Every month showed an increase compared to the previous year. Across the EU, tourist accommodations registered almost 1.2 billion overnight stays from January to June, an uptick of nearly 11 million from the prior year, significantly surpassing 2021’s 400 million.

The National Statistics Office reported a 20% increase in tourists and a 33% surge in spending in Malta in June compared to the same period the previous year, with 294,000 tourists contributing almost €286.5 million to the country’s economy.

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73 Year Old Motorcyclist At Risk Of Dying After Road Crash

Sep 18 2023

A 73 year old man, resident of Imqabba, was taken to Mater Dei Hospital at around 1100hrs after having suffered injuries in Triq il-Belt Valletta, Ħaż-Żebbuġ.

Preliminary investigations showed that a crash had taken place between a Honda CBR motorcycle driven by the victim and a Kia Ceed driven by a 41 year old woman resident of Mellieħa.

The motorcycle driver was given help on site and taken to Mater Dei Hospital via an ambulance. He was later certified to have suffered serious injuries.

An inquiry has been opened as police investigations carry on.

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Robert Abela & Ian Borg Greet US National Security Advisor

Robert Abela & Ian Borg Greet China Foreign Minister Wang Yi

Sep 18 2023

This weekend, Minister for Foreign and European Affairs and Trade Ian Borg had the pleasure to greet China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi at the airport upon his landing for diplomatic discussions with US National Security Advisor to President Joe Biden.

The greeting was followed by a short but frank and extensive discussion on Malta-China as well as EU-China diplomatic relationships.

The two foreign ministers concurred that the only way forward is to continue to advocate for and promote a constructive relationship at all levels.

Minister Ian Borg also had the opportunity to accompany Prime Minister Robert Abela during his meeting with Jake Sullivan, US National Security Advisor to President Joe Biden. During this meeting, Minister Borg held a short discussion with US National Security Advisor on Malta’s current role as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council and about next week’s commitments during the United Nations high level week.

🇲🇹 proudly hosted talks between 🇺🇸 & 🇨🇳. In a meeting with @JakeSullivan46, I underlined the importance of global peace as a fundamental prerequisite for the quality of life of our people. When called upon like these past days, our country will continue to give its part. – RA pic.twitter.com/VDFoIGXcyE

— Robert Abela (@RobertAbela_MT) September 17, 2023

Following these meetings, Minister Ian Borg commented that the Ministry for Foreign and European Affairs and Trade will continue to facilitate open channel of communications in line with its longstanding policy of advocating about the importance to aim for a more just, peaceful, and prosperous future.

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