A Police spokesman has said that a bomb threat has been received causing the evacuation of a number of people from passenger ferries in the ports of Mgarr and Cirkewwa. The Police and Army Bomb Squad are currently in the process of searching the ferries with sniffer dogs. At 2.30 pm this afternoon an anonymous call was made to Victoria Police Station advising that there was a bomb on board the Gozo Channel Ferries. Police and Bomb Disposal Personnel arrived immediately and a search was started on the MV Malita at Cirkewwa and the MV Ta' Pinu at Mgarr, Gozo Channel employees having evacuated both vessels. At 4.45 pm the MV Malita was cleared by the Bomb Disposal Personnel and it resumed service at 5.30 pm. Inspections on MV Ta' Pinu are still ongoing and it ... Read more...

The Victoria International Arts Festival Foundation in collaboration with the Archpriest Joseph Farrugia and the Collegiate Chapter of St George's Basilica, Victoria, will hold a concert of Maltese Baroque music at the Basilica in Victoria on Saturday at 8 p.m. in honour of Bishop Mgr Mario Grech. Mgr Grech will be on his official pastoral visit to the parish of St George, starting on Friday and ending on Sunday. During his visit he will also take canonical possession as Dean of the Collegiate Chapter in urbe. The concert will feature works by Giuseppe Balzano, namely the cantatas Adiuro Vos and Veni propera, and other sacred pieces. The Laudate Pueri choir of the basilica, soloists and the Baroque ensemble will be under the direction of Joseph Vella. Entrance is free and patrons are kindly requested to be seated 15 minutes prior the start of ... Read more...

The Carnival will be held over two weekends instead of one this year, in a bid to turn the event into an added tourist attraction for Gozo. The Gozo Carnival 2006 will kick off on Friday 17 February and come to an end on Tuesday 28. The programme is structured to coordinate all the Carnival activities that normally take place in different villages in Gozo during this time of year. This has been possible due to the collaboration that the organising committee at the Gozo Ministry found in several local councils in Gozo, who agreed to shift their programme accordingly for one regional Gozo Carnival to take place. New regulations have been adopted for Gozo Carnival 2006 including the points-eligibility of participants in all competition categories resulting in the awarding of possibly higher prizes to the best entries according to ... Read more...

The Moviment Missjunarju Gesu fil-Proxxmu managed to raise an impressive Lm557,765 last year, of which Lm509,765 were donated to missions in Brazil, Kenya, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Pakistan and Tanzania. Thanks to the donations, thousands of ailing children were provided with food and medicine, while several others started attending school, the movement's director Fr Gorg Grima said. Homes for the poor were opened in Brazil's Pernambuco, Sao Francisco and San Louis. In the city of Manjare in Ethiopia, the movement constructed a school for the Gumuz tribe and a school and a convent in Bulbulam, Ethiopia. The projects were being carried out with the assistance of the Reaching Out group. Fr Grima underlined the need for more help this year as his movement proceeds with the construction of a school in Nekemte and a kindergarten school in Shasinda, both in Ethiopia. The biggest project, ... Read more...

Several hundred children and their families filled the sports centre in Victoria yesterday to celebrate the consecration of Mgr Mario Grech as Bishop of Gozo. The Festa Familja was one of a programme of events organised by the organising committee to mark the consecration of the bishop and several folk groups took part in the celebrations. The Qalb tad-Deheb award from the Cana Movement, which is presented to a family that in the past year displayed particular courage in the face of difficult moments, went to the Debono family from Nadur.

A total of 475 Maltese and Gozitan farmers, who produce tomatoes for processing, are benefiting from financial government assistance of Lm542,563. Of the total amount, the EU is giving farmers Lm114,797, while the government has distributed Lm427,765, with the help of SMPPMA - the Special Market Policy Programme for Maltese Agriculture. The parliamentary secretary responsible for agriculture and fisheries, Francis Agius, said the government wanted the sector to continue to progress and become more competitive. This financial assistance, like all other subsidies for farmers, is not taxable, he said. Dr Agius said that as a result of negotiations and continuous efforts, Maltese agriculture was one of the sectors that was being most assisted by the EU and the government.

I have the impression that the government is very adept at keeping the inhabitants of Gozo (I cannot vouch for Malta) totally in the dark as far as sensitive projects are concerned. After my brief TV exposure on the recent Lou Bondì programme on Ta' Cenc, I was horrified when several people approached me in Victoria and Gharb to tell me that they had seen me on TV and to ask me how I, as a foreigner, knew what was happening and they didn't! They had heard rumours about the golf course, but they were all unaware and appalled to discover that a couple of hotels and over 100 villas and bungalows were also planned and that the golf course was secondary. How is this possible? Do the local people of this island count for nothing? Are they regarded as second-class ... Read more...

I grew up in Sannat, where the plateau and Ta' Cenc cliffs and the surrounding countryside and paths have always been present in my life. I have been trying to visualise what Ta' Cenc might look like in 10 years' time. Even just the thought of how the skyline might look like makes we wince. There is no point in trying to discuss the economic advantages that the proposed development might bring to the village and to Gozo. Whatever advantages there might be, these are definitely offset by the loss of Ta Cenc as a historical and natural treasure for us and future generations. I cannot, or rather I do not want to, imagine this part of the Gozitan countryside built up like any other Mediterranean resort, no matter how luxurious it might be. I had always taken it for granted that ... Read more...

Moviment Graffitti reiterated its position in favour of the conservation of the natural habitats characterized by rare and endemic species, especially the unique vegetation as well as the historical sites found at Ta? Cenc. Moviment Graffitti is ?adamantly against the proposed development of 67 villas, 49 bungalows, a hotel and a golf course as this would mean the destruction of the 146 hectare area. Tourists have been attracted to the place for years because of its natural beauty. Foreign visitors, mostly British and Americans, who chose to settle in Sannat, confirm that Ta? Cenc?s beauty was what attracted them to settle there. Promotion of the site to tourists visiting the island should be done, with the creation of guided walks led by naturalists, to get to know how zoologically and botanically rich the area is.? Moviment Graffitti stated, ?The best way to ... Read more...

Alternattiva Demokratika welcomed the statement issued by the major Maltese environmental non governmental organisations namely, Din l-Art Helwa, Birdlife Malta, Nature Trust, Ramblers Association and Friends of the Earth wherein they expressed their disagreement about the type and scale of development proposed for Ta? Cenc as well as voicing their opposition to any golf course in the area. Mark Causon, AD spokesman on the Environment and Rural Affairs, said: ?Objections to this type of unsustainable development, which is posing a danger not only to the traditional character associated with Gozo but is also a threat to long-term employment in the tourism sector on the island, have been voiced not only by a large number of Gozitans, Maltese and foreign citizens residing both in Malta and abroad but also by the major environmental non-governmental organisations, which have followed suit and similarly taken ... Read more...