Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/823875
maltatoday, MONDAY, 15 MAY 2017 News President in appeal for unity on mother's day President to mothers: You must be the ones to bring calm to this Mediterranean attitude we have THE President of the Republic, Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca has called on Maltese mothers to unite the nation during what is shaping up to be a tense and hard fought election campaign. Coleiro Preca was speaking following a mass organised by the Office of the President on the occasion of Mother's Day when she appealed for national unity. "You must be the ones to bring calm to this Mediterranean attitude we have, that results in us trading insults as soon as there is disagree- ment," said the President. She said that a mother was a symbol of unity, love and forgiveness, adding that she considered "Malta to be mother to all of us". "Malta wants us to be united, Malta wants us to respect each other, Malta wants us to treat each other with dignity, and above all, Malta wants us to forgive each other even when we slip up," she said. Coleiro Preca insisted that only when the coun- try is united can it really move ahead. Four injured in Mdina accident FOUR people were taken to Ma- ter Dei Hospital following a traf- fic accident in Mdina early yes- terday morning. According to the police, they were informed that an accident had taken place in Triq l-Infetti at roughly 4.30am. Preliminary investigations indi- cate that a collision took place be- tween two cars – a Citroen Ber- lingo driven by a 66-year old man residing in Mtarfa, and a Vaux- hall Corsa driven by a 26-year old Italian national residing in San Gwann. The Italian driver was accom- panied by two passengers – a 19-year old and a 20-year old fe- male, both of Italian nationality. All persons involved in the ac- cident were taken to Mater Dei Hospital for treatment. The younger of the two passen- gers was certified as having sus- tained serious injuries while the second was certified to have in- juries of a more grievous nature. The case was referred to duty magistrate Donatella Frendo Di- mech who ordered an inquiry. Police investigations are still on- going. Muscat to face off other political leaders at University debate MATTHEW AGIUS A leaders' debate being held at the University of Malta is to go ahead after the event was moved forward by 24 hours to allow for Prime Minister Joseph Muscat's partici- pation. The leaders' debate, hosted by the University of Malta's Debat- ing Union in collaboration with university media organisation 'The Third Eye', will also include Nationalist Party (PN) leader Si- mon Busuttil, Partit Demokratiku (PD) leader Marlene Farrugia and Alternattiva Demokratika (AD) leader Arnold Cassola. The Prime Minister's attend- ance had been in doubt after the proposed date clashed with a State visit by Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and no alternative date could be agreed on. Accord- ing to the Office of the Prime Min- ister, the debating union had been adamant that the date and time of the debate were not up for discus- sion and thus "non-negotiable". "We were presented with a take it or leave it situation," Muscat had said when asked by reporters why he would not be attending. However, in a Facebook post on Sunday, the Debating Union con- firmed that the debate would now be held on Wednesday at 1pm in the Sir Temi Zammit Hall on Campus. In a statement, the PD said it was dismayed at an attempt by the Labour Party to "silence" the party by suggesting that only one leader should represent the Forza Nazzjonali coalition, adding that it looked forward to the opportunity to debate other parties. Joseph Muscat will be attending the debate together with Simon Busuttil, Arnold Cassola and Marlene Farrugia