Flimkien ghal-Ambjent Ahjar has said that it fully supports residents from Birzebbugia and much further afield who are calling for the full preservation of the Razzett Tal-Papa in Birzebbugia. The Tal-Papa farm is not just a remarkable example of vernacular architecture, but also of great historical significance to the area as a farming community on this spot is mentioned in 1517 documents that pre-dates the knights' arrival in Malta. Besides other sixteenth century references, in his 1647 publication 'Della Descrittione di Malta', Gan Francisk Abela, the first Maltese historian, mentioned the Tal-Papa community as one of the first in the area. Read more...

A commemorative concert on the occassion of 'Jum Ghawdex' was held by the Mnarja Band of Nadur on Sunday evening at Independence Square, Victoria. Jum Ghawdex commemorates the uprising of the Gozitans led by Archpriest Saver Cassar in 1798. The activity, which was organised by the Ministry for Gozo's Cultural Council, was presided over by the Hon. Giovanna Debono, Minister for Gozo.

A commemorative ceremony was held on the occasion of 'Jum it-Tragedja' of 30 October 1948 at the Zewwieqa area in Mgarr, Gozo on Sunday the 29th of October. The 1948 tragedy caused 23 men to lose their lives in the channel between the two islands when the vessel they were travelling gave way to the turbulent sea and was overturned. The commemorative event included a mass followed with the placing of wreaths at the monument which was set up by the Ministry for Gozo in this area. The Hon. Giovanna Debono, Minister for Gozo, presided at the event.

The Ministry for Gozo is again offering a series of courses aimed at enhancing human resources skills on Gozo, thus increasing employability and employment prospects on the island. The courses, in Literacy and Numeracy, and in Agriculture, are 75% co-financed by the European Union through the European Social Fund under the Structural Funds Programme for Malta 2004-2006. The courses, coordinated by the University Gozo Centre, will seek to improve the basic skills of illiterate/quasi illiterate persons in Gozo through the provision of four courses, namely Basic English, Basic Maltese, Basic Numeracy and Basic Reading and Writing Skills. Each course will consist of 80 hours of tuition and will be delivered between mid-November and the end of February 2008. Read more...

Starting tomorrow, elderly people holding the 'Karta Anzjan' can travel free of charge on Gozo Ferries throughout the year. This has been made possible due to the relaunching of the scheme 'Imorru Ghawdex', and is based on Gozo Channel's success and projected record profits for this year. IT and Investments Minister Austin Gatt announced that Gozo Channel's financial situation has significantly improved, since the company is making profits generated from higher travelling fees, an increase in passengers and controlling overheads. Due to these initiatives, Gozo Channel will be investing Lm230,000, which amounts to 33 per cent of its operational profits, towards Gozo's economy. Profits totalled Lm750,000 this year, as opposed to Lm282,000 generated last year and following major losses up until 2004. Read more...

Following the success of Nostalgias of Malta, Fondazzjoni Patrimonju Malti has now launched Nostalgias of Gozo, Images from the 1880's to the 1930's. This unique collection of photographic records of Gozo's past has once again been edited by the indefatigable Giovanni Bonello, a key contributor to both Patrimonju publications as well as Treasures of Malta, Malta's premier cultural magazine. The book was launched on Saturday at the Conference Hall within the Ministry for Gozo. The guest speaker was Mr Franco Masini, the well known Gozitan personality. Also present was the Hon Minister Giovanna Debono, Patrimonju's most prolific author Judge Giovanni Bonello, as well as Mr. Maurice de Giorgio, Chairman of Fondazzjoni Patrimonju Malti. Read more...

Nadur was one of 10 European towns and regions that received the European Destinations of Excellence Award (Eden) for Best Emerging Rural Destination, a pilot project that is co-funded by the European Commission. The awards ceremony took place on Friday in the Algarve, Portugal, as part of the European Tourism Forum (ETF) 2007, focused on Sustainable Management of European Destinations to which more than 500 delegates from all over Europe attended. The Vice President of the European Commission Gunter Verheugen presented the award to the Mayor of Nadur, Chris Said. Read more...

Alternattiva Demokratika - The Green Party has encouraged the government to change the present surcharge mechanism which it described as "calculator politics". The party is instead proposing a system by which the rate of surcharge will vary according to usage and efficiency. The Greens are insisting that their proposal, unlike Labour's, is cost neutral to government and therefore affordable. In his opening statement Chairperson Dr. Harry Vassallo stated that "government and opposition are both wrong on the way the increasing cost of energy is being tackled. Government has yet not understood the polluter pays principle and insists on charging a uniform rate of surcharge. Although this system is designed to recover the increasing cost of fuel, by applying one rate of surcharge it that does not act sufficiently as an inducement to get people to be more efficient. On the other hand we are faced with Labour's economically unaffordable and environementally irresponsible "bulk discount" of 50%. This proposal goes contrary to the polluter pays principle and will unfairly subsidise the heaviest users, using taxes paid by those who are making an effort to be energy efficient." Read more...

GO Plus is offering what it described as unbeatable broadband Internet packages to its new customers. Customers who switch to GO Plus broadband Internet will get a one time top up of up to 60 GB of extra downloads and one free month of service on a wide range of broadband Internet packages starting from as low as Lm 5.95. This special offer also includes free activation and use of modem. "Subscribers who switch to GO Plus not only benefit from the fastest Internet speeds but also get Extra Download Limits at no additional cost. The one-time, free Data Traffic Threshold (DTT) upgrade included in the special offer packages comprises 60 extra GB on all 30GB accounts at 6Mbps download speed, 50 extra GB on all 22GB accounts at 6Mbps speed, 40 extra GB on all 22 GB at 4Mbps speed , 35 extra GB on all 16 GB accounts at 4Mbps speed, 30 extra GB on all 5 GB accounts at 4 Mbps speed and an additional 20extra GB on all 2GB accounts at 2Mbps speed," said Gordon Dimech, Director for GO Plus residential Segment. Read more...

Due to the occasion of Heart Day, Flora Pro-Activ has organized a series of seminars that included Professor Alex Manche giving a lecture about the subject of heart problems. Also with him there would have been a dietician with valuable suggestions. On Sunday the 21st of October I happened to be walking past our local council office in Sannat and in their noticeboard window I saw a small advert about this, on an A5 piece of paper the size of 8x6 inches, for Monday the 22nd of October, at the Ta' Cenc hotel. The following morning I phoned to see if they had any places available, only to be told that this particular seminar had been cancelled due to hardly any bookings by members of the public. Read more...