Love Island casts first ever ‘blind’ contestant Ron Hall

Jan 10 2023

Ron Hall has been confirmed as Love Island’s first ever partially-sighted contestant. ITV officially announced him yesterday, detailing how the 26-year-old lost his right eye in a footballing accident when younger.

The finance worker from Essex said that: “On meeting me, you’d never know I am blind in one eye. It was the result of a football injury when I was 8; I went in for a header and got kicked in the face.”

“There’s so many people that are worse off than me. And if anything, losing something like that makes you realise that. It’s not hindered me in any shape or form. It’s a good conversation starter I must admit.”

Hall will be following model Tasha Ghouri, 24 who was the first deaf contestant in last summer’s series.

This comes just ahead of Malta’s very own Love Island series coming in 2023. The show will be airing next May on TVM, with auditions open for contestants wishing to participate.

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Rock’N Malta 2023 calendar of events launched

Jan 10 2023

Lordi and Mike and the Mechanics, among others, will hold separate concerts in Malta

The Minister for National Heritage, the Arts and Local Government Owen Bonnici launched the programme of events for Rock’N Malta 2023, a fund managed by Festivals Malta to incentivise artists and promoters to invest in the rock genre and all its subgenres.

Minister Bonnici explained that following a call for applications issued in July 2022, the agency received a very positive response, out of which 20 applicants were successful and will benefit from this fund.

“Since the festival was launched in 2017, Festivals Malta has supported numerous local artists and event organisers in the production of rock concerts and rock subgenres. The festival has not only supported local artists but has also helped organisers host various renowned artists from the international rock scene” Dr Bonnici concluded.

Festivals Malta Chairman Aaron Zahra said that “through the Rock’N Malta Fund, Festivals Malta is investing in the local rock industry, with the aim of helping artists who are starting their musical career, to establish themselves in the sector while reaching new audiences through the international acts that already have a large following locally and internationally. I encourage the public to attend and participate in these events.”

Annabelle Stivala, CEO of Festivals Malta outlined the programme of events which will take place between March and December 2023. She stated that through this fund the Agency is helping the industry evolve and elevate the quality of events produced through the support of local artists and event organisers by alleviating some of the financial burdens that come with producing events.

The Rock’N Malta 2023 programme of events will be as follows:

Lordi – March
Dark Malta – April
Music Playground – Between April and September
Rock the South 10th Edition | A symphonic rock show – May
Kunċert Rock | Gogol Bordello – June
John Lees’ Barclay James Harvest – July
Plaguefest – August
Venti Music Fest | The Creepers – Blues in Malta – September
Rock Wired – October
A Symphonic Rock Show and Choir – November
The Gozo Youth Orchestra – November and December
The Travellers Christmas Concert – December
Mike and the Mechanics | Rock in the Forest | Steven Rothery | Alan Parsons – Dates will be announced later this year.

#MaltaDaily

The original iPhone was announced 16 years ago

Jan 10 2023

The world got its first glimpse at the first iPhone exactly 16 years ago on the 9th of January 2007 as it launched Macworld Expo in San Francisco California.

Steve Jobs stood on stage at Macworld Expo, saying that this will go down in history as the device that would change everything.

Holding the phone, Jobs said that ‘Today, Apple is going to reinvent the phone’, excitedly showing the futuristic design and such display with no physical keyboard.

He famously described the ‌iPhone‌ as an iPod with touch controls, a phone, and a breakthrough internet communications device, three distinct areas that no device at the time managed to tackle all at once.

The original iPhone also came with a 3.5 inch LCD display, a 2-megapixel camera as well as an aluminium and plastic body. The first significant redesign came with the iPhone 4 in 2010.

Fast forward to today, the iPhone lineup has 5 different models: the iPhone SE, iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Plus, iPhone 14 Pro, and iPhone 14 Pro Max.

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Luke Brincat addresses homophobia after Miss Malta cat walk

Jan 10 2023

After showcasing Lumija Swimwear on a Miss Malta catwalk, dancer and model Luke Brincat took to social media to address some of the comments directed at him.

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A post shared by LUKE BRINCAT || Creator (@l_u_ke_)

Luke had revealed that for the first time in is life he’d be walking a catwalk showcasing the local brand’s swimwear.

‘Representing fierce. Representing sexy. Representing chunk. Representing controversy. Representing myself’ he wrote.

However, following some hateful comments, Luke addressed the situation writing: ‘You’d expect homophobia from the men but so far so good… this one’s for the ladies…’

‘Y’all following a beauty pageant that’s promoting world peace – but some of you ladies can’t even keep the peace in a comment section’.

‘Self expression and creativity is not always easy to understand especially in a medieval minded island such as Malta.. so instead of wasting time writing a pointless comment that nobody cares about use that time to upgrade your mindset to 2023.’

Luke, who is also the dance director at DanceLab, thanked all those who supported him for this massive step in his dream.

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