Aircraft involved in incident on Malta Airport’s primary runway

Mar 20 2023

At 12:21 local time, a light aircraft was involved in an indecent on Malta International AIrport’s primary runway, airport communications confirmed.

The airport confirmed that its Rescue and Firefighting Services Team was dispatched to the scene immediately and no injuries were reported.

As investigations are underway to find out the cause of the incident, the primary runway is currently limited to departures while the secondary runway is being used for landings.

Some flights are being impacted because of this, with the airport team and relevant stakeholders working towards resuming normal operations.

‘Malta International Airport would like to apologise for any inconvenience caused.’

#MaltaDaily

Frosties removed from Kellogg’s cereal variety packs

Mar 20 2023

The big four of cereal variety packs have been reduced to a repetitive trio after Kellogg’s ditched Frosties from its variety pack.

Up until this year, and for most of our childhood, cereal lovers packing small boxes for lunch at school could pick from Corn Flakes, Rice Krispies, Coco Pops and Frosties.

But now, the sugary sweet goodness of Frosties will no longer be part of the quartet. The realisation came when a disappointed customer posted a snap of their recent purchase, saying that there wasn’t much variety at all.

The variety pack came with three boxes of Coco Pops, four mini boxes of Rice Krispies and just one box of Corn Flakes. The customer soon got a reply from the cereal giant, confirming that Frosties had been dismissed.

“We can confirm that we have recently taken the decision to remove Frosties from the variety pack,” the food company responded. “Thank you for expressing your thoughts about the change, please be assured that we will pass this sentiment back to our marketing department.”

Frosties is famous for cartoon mascot Tony the Tiger and were reportedly removed due to the high sugar content.

Frosties contains 37g of sugar per 100g, which is more than two-times more the sugar in Coco Pops and four times more than in Corn Flakes and Rice Krispies.

#MaltaDaily

Spring equinox: are day and night equally long today?

Mar 20 2023

The 20th of March, also known as the vernal equinox, marks the beginning of spring in the Northern Hemisphere and autumn in the Southern Hemisphere.

At the equinox, Earth’s two hemispheres are receiving the sun’s rays at equal amounts, with night and day often said to be equal in length.

In fact, the word equinox comes from the Latin words aequus (equal) and nox (night). This point proved to be an essential time keeping tool for our ancestors, leading to mythological stories developing around it.

However, recent scientific developments showed that this is not exactly correct. There are technically 8 more minutes of daylight – at mid-temperate latitudes – on the day of an equinox.

The day when day and night are actually equal is called an equilux. This happens a few to several days after the autumn equinox and a few to several days before the spring equinox.

Much as earliest sunrises and latest sunsets vary with latitude, so the exact date of an equilux varies with latitude. This contrasts to the equinox itself, which is a whole-Earth event and happens at the same instant worldwide.

In fact, at and near the equator, there is no equilux whatsoever, because the daylight period is over 12 hours long every day of the year.

#MaltaDaily

Maltese musician with autism invited to play at international Finland Festival

Mar 20 2023

Alessia Bonnici, a 17 year old pianist on the autism spectrum will be performing in Finland this April at the Access Tampere Next Generation Culture Festival 2023. Moreover, Alessia will also be presenting Ale’s Project, her own music video which she had produced with local artists and practitioners during the Covid-19 pandemic, back in 2021.

Alessia is passionate about music and the arts, a medium that has offered her an alternative, yet powerful way of expression that allows her to experience a way of being in the world that yields countless joys and satisfactions. Music has provided Alessia with a sense of freedom. It has increased her confidence to interact with others and provided added meaning to her life. Music is not merely a part of Alessia’s world, it has transformed her life in an incredible way.

Alessia is a student at the Malta School of Music, currently reading for her Diploma in Piano. She is also following a hybrid A Level course with Trinity Laban Conservatoire in London. Furthermore, Alessia attends Villabianca – Centre for Music & the Arts, a project by The Malta Trust foundation.

At Villabianca, Alessia is provided with additional theoretical support. During her first 8 years at Malta School of Music, Alessia studied with pianist and music therapist Rosetta Debattista, who is now the creative consultant of Villabianca. In 2021, she started being taught repertoire by another celebrated pianist, Gabi Sultana, who is now exposing Alessia to an array of new exciting genres which suit her musical character.

Given her ever-growing musical passion, this festival will provide Alessia a dual opportunity in a pivotal stage of her musical career. Firstly, it will provide her the chance to showcase her musical talent among international professionals interested in the field of diverse musical ability.

These will be able witness the level of playing she has achieved notwithstanding her language and academic challenges. Furthermore, she will also be able to share, alongside her mother Cynthia and Rosetta Debattista, the remarkable work done on Ale’s Project. This project will serve as an encouragement to other professional artists, allowing them to make use of novel and creative ways of expression.

Alessia, Rosetta and Cynthia had a cordial meeting with President Emeritus Marie Louise Coleiro Preca, chair of the Malta Trust Foundation and Dr. Kenneth Vella, the Ambassador of Malta to Finland and Estonia. During this meeting Alessia’s participation in Access Tampere, Next Generation Culture Festival 2023 was discussed. Dr. Vella showed his appreciation for this initiative, stating that already there exists a strong collaboration with Tampere in the sectors of education and sports. This festival, he remarked, will create an avenue of opportunity to start making cultural connections with this vibrant city.

Alessia’s participation with Access Tampere Next Generation Culture Festival 2023 is being kindly supported by the Malta Arts Council and The Malta Trust Foundation. Click here to find out more about Alessia and watch her perform.