Local 12-year-old female footballer captains Barcelona FC Youth Academy team

Jul 6 2022

The achievements of local women in football are well beyond noteworthy at this point as they continuously prove to everyone that there is some serious skill, talent and passion to go around.

And one such talent is Nina-Lee Naudi, who has ended up captaining her first team at Barcelona FC at just 12-years-old.

Naudi currently trains with Swieqi United and it’s her goal to become a professional footballer. After an intense training camp at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester City, she was soon on the pitch at the Nou Camp.

And as her time at the academy was drawing to a close, she went on to lead her very own squad on match day and show everyone exactly all the skills she had picked up.

Praise for Nina-Lee has been mounting, setting her up to be yet another Maltese football starlet which will makes waves even internationally.

#MaltaDaily

Unemployment at its lowest level in 10 years in Malta

Jul 6 2022

The number of people which registered for work last May was less than half what it was in the same month in 2021, marking the lowest in a decade.

According to official figures by the National Statistics Office, 961 people were officially looking for a job n May. This is compared to 2,001 in the same month in 2021.

Unemployment has reportedly decreased across all age groups for both men and women, with the former accounting for 7.1% of those registering.

This comes despite employer organisations calling out a labour shortage as they urge the government to ease paperwork associated with foreign worker engagement.

#MaltaDaily

Why are some cinemas banning latest Minions and suits trend?

Jul 6 2022

Sometimes, an idea – or in this case, a meme – takes hold of social media, and the latest one has seen large groups of mainly teenage boys going to the cinema in suits to watch ‘Minions: The Rise of Gru.’

The TikTok trend is called #gentleminions, and it involves wearing smart attire whilst attending showings in cinemas of the latest Illumination animated release.

@tristanmicallef

Despicable 😈🍌

♬ original sound – Tristan Micallef

The trend is mainly prominent on TikTok, with videos of the simple, fun and bizarre meme racking up millions of views as different groups give it their own spin. The participants could be seen lining up to hand their tickets, buying bananas prior to the film and cheering wildly when the title card or a cute minion moment plays.

@ig.jj_masarati8

Minions rise of alphas #gentleminions

♬ original sound – JJ

However, some cinemas have taken to banning any group of young movie-goers from showing up in droves donning the classy dress-up.

And the reason could be very straight-forward: some groups are causing a bit of a ruckus. There have been complaints of individuals yelling at the screen and throwing popcorn at each other. The only cinema in Guernsey in fact had to cancel any screenings of the film due to vandalism.

@lyndon.c

Despicable af 🍌 #fyp #minions #riseofgru #cineplex #gentleman

♬ original sound – billh

Meanwhile, the trend was endorsed by Universal Pictures, who tweeted out: ‘we see you and we love you’ to all those trying it out. This, despite the calls for refunds and complaints as the meme continues to market the movie.

@jamesnormandy

Cannot be stopped 🍌 #minions #fyp #gentleminions #riseofgru #cinema

♬ Rich Minion – Yeat

In conclusion, the trend in-and-of-itself is not offensive nor harmful, but teens trying it out are encouraged to be respectful of other theatregoers…as their attire is prone to suggest.

#MaltaDaily

Traffic pollution and jams costing Malta €400 million per year

Jul 6 2022

The European Commission revealed in a new report that from traffic pollution, whether it be noise or aerial, as well as congestion, Malta is losing around €400 million per year.

The commission revealed that the external costs of transport amount to around 3.6% of the island’s gross domestic product (GDP).

What’s worrying is that the figure is also on the rise, confirming similar concerns which were raised by previous studies such as a UOM 2015 research. Back then, the issue was costing Malta around €274 million.

Still, the University study predicted the costs to reach around €300 million by 2020. The report highlighted Malta’s dependence on road mobility, inefficient road networks and a preference for private transport as the main perpetrators.

The study emphasised the lack of ‘soft mobility infrastructure’ such as pavements and cycling lanes, which discourage the use of alternative modes of transport. To tackle the issue, the study said that improving public transport would have to take place.

Malta is also struggling to achieve environmentally sustainable economic growth and mobility. This means reducing traffic congestion and decarbonising transport. The high volume of generated construction and demolition also poses challenges.

#MaltaDaily