Emma Muscat to perform in Vatican for annual Christmas Eve Concert

Dec 24 2021

Singer Emma Muscat will be taking the stage at the Vatican to perform in this year’s Christmas Eve Concert. It is an event held annually and will be aired on Canale 5 on Friday 24th December at 9:20pm.

Muscat rose to prominence in Italy as a star on Canale 5 programme Amici, a popular talent show hosted by presenter Maria De Filippi.

Muscat will be joining the ranks of notable performers such as Enrico Ruggeri, Rita Pavone, Ian Anderson, 2Cellos, Shaggy and Ana Mena.

The 29th edition of the concert, it will be hosted by Federica Panicucci and will be aired again on Christmas Day at 1:40pm.

#MaltaDaily

Photo Source: Emma Muscat FB, Wanted in Rome

955 new COVID cases registered – third record in 3 days

Dec 24 2021

955 new cases of COVID-19 were registered in the past 24 hours in Malta – meaning this is the third daily case record broken in just three days.

This brings up the total amount of active cases in Malta to a whopping 4,469, with 473 total deaths registered on the island.

The daily case record was upped two days ago when Malta hit 582 daily cases, then again yesterday at 733. Yesterday also saw the arrival of the first two Omicron cases in Malta.

Despite the rise in cases, the hospitalisation rate remains fairly stable, with 70 patients currently being treated in Mater Dei, 5 of whom being in the ITU.

Till yesterday, 1,027,903 vaccine doses were administer, 184,929 of which were booster doses. The booster shot, health officials are advising, will be the means to curb the spike in cases and hospitalisations.

#MaltaDaily

Photo Source: Sahha FB

Tourism Minister sustainably wraps his Christmas gifts with used magazines

Dec 24 2021

Tourism Minister Clayton Bartolo’s decision to wrap his Christmas presents with second hand magazines was commended by many for the eco-friendly approach.

Bartolo posted photos of himself giving presents in aid of Dr Lydia Abela’s ‘Rigal b’Imhabba’ campaign, and the wrapping concealing the items was noted by many, including Greenie.mt.

The ‘Rigal b’Imhabba’ initiative will see many vulnerable kids receiving presents this Christmas to celebrate the festive season. Hundreds of gifts were given out to those in need, showing the full capacity of the Maltese to come together to help the community.

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A post shared by Greenie Malta (@greenie.mt)

The environmental service confirmed with the Minister that these were in fact second hand magazines as Bartolo chose the green approach to celebrate this Christmas.

He told the organisation that through this act, he hopes to inspire to do the same and be mindful of sustainability and environmental concerns this Christmas.

#MaltaDaily

Photo Source: Greenie.mt IG, Clayton Bartolo FB, Lydia Abela FB

Gender pay gap increases by 4% in Malta among high income earners

Dec 24 2021

Women in highly paid jobs are more likely to get paid less than male counterparts in Malta across all Eu countries, new research shows.A study by the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions found that, as opposed to the general trend in the EU, the gender pay gap increased by 4.4% in Malta between 2010 and 2019.

In Malta, the lowest gender pay gap was found amongst those who have a low to mid pay (8%) and the highest among those with the highest pay at 16%. If one looks at the EU, the gender pay gap narrowed considerably over the last ten yeas. It was fairly stable between 2010 and 2014 (15.8% and 15.7% respectively) and then fell in recent years to 14.1% in 2019.

The sharpest reduction was noted in Luxembourg and Cyprus, where the gap was narrowed by well over 7%, and Estonia and Romania where it narrowed by 6 percentage points. Conversely, it widened in one-third of countries, especially in Slovenia where it increased by 7 points, Croatia and Latvia at 6 points, and finally Malta and Poland with 4 points.

The study notes how ‘not only women are less likely to be working in well paid jobs, but even when they occupy these well-paid jobs, they are disproportionately impacted by gender pay differentials.’

#MaltaDaily