Malta might get its largest shopping mall in Ghaxaq

Jul 6 2021

An undeveloped field in Ghaxaq and an adjacent scrapyard could be converted into one of Malta’s largest shopping malls. An area of over two football pitches at 16,000 square metres could become the hub of shoppers as the site owned by Joe Cassar’s Trihills Heavy Industry Ltd. is in the process of being acquired by Alex Zammit’s Southpark Ltd. New zoning parameters for large-scale commercial development along the ‘Tal-Barrani Road’ are being sought.

The proposed development comes with outside catering areas, a two-storey underground carpark and ground and first floor level for commercial level for commercial outlets. The site is however designated as an area of containment, limiting development to industrial and commercial uses that cannot be located in urban areas.

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Photo Source: DW

Almost all UK lockdown restrictions to end on July 19th

Jul 6 2021

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson confirmed that almost all lockdown restrictions will end on July 19th. England’s appropriately (albeit possibly premature) ‘Freedom Day’ was pushed back from June 21st in light of the Delta variant becoming more prominent. Johnson stated that the push back was done in order to analyse the effectiveness of the vaccine. July 19th will see the end to masks in public settings and the 1m social distancing.

People will also no longer be expected to work from home, nightclubs can reopen doors and people will no longer need COVID passports for events. Prior to the set date, four tests have to be passed beforehand, these looking at vaccine rollout, its effectiveness, hospital admissions and variant data. July 12th will see the test results reviewed in order to deem the lockdown easing.

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Photo Source: Reuters

Maltese rapper Eddie Fresco gets first 1 million streams on single track

Jul 5 2021

Local rapper Eddie Fresco has announced how his track Cigarettes has just received 1,000,200 streams. Fresco took to Instagram to announce the massive milestone, thanking everyone for the love and support. ’18 year old me would be proud right now’ exclaimed the wordsmith in the caption.

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A post shared by Eddie Fresco (@215eddie)

The 215 Collective rapper has been making musical waves, with his tracks capturing everything from the dance-inducing Hip Hop we all love to the introspective and philosophical tunes we love bobbing our heads to. ‘A Soul For Mine 2’ has everything fans of rap and Hip Hop can ever ask for, so its not just ‘Cigarettes’ that’s getting all the love.

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Photo Source: @215eddie IG

Jeff Bezos steps down as Amazon CEO today

Jul 5 2021

Jeff Bezos steps down as Amazon boss on Monday – 27 years after he founded the company. Bezos himself has become known for some particular approaches to work and business, with many ex/workers from Amazon revealing what goes down in Amazon boardrooms. Some think that Bezos’ principles are exactly what is wrong with Big Tech. ‘Customer obsession’ has become a staple of any Amazon/Jeff Bezos/Big Tech conversation.

For Bezos, making the customer happy at any cost is the priority. Profit was a long term aspiration, even though this has led to the accumulation of several critics. An article published last month claimed to have revealed how Bezos paid no tax in 2007 and 2011. This is just one story relating to other claims of monopolistic behaviour and ruthlessness.

On the flip side, many who worked with the richest man alive stated that this characterisation isn’t very accurate. Bezos is very much portrayed as a business visionary who created a work philosophy which resulted in the creation of a company worth around $1.8trn.

Bezos allegedly likes small teams (calling this the two-pizza rule), hates powerpoint presentations and tries to avoid dominant personalities getting too much say on projects. Another principle of Bezos states that leaders should not compromise for the sake of social cohesion. Some workers still however reported to have felt as cogs-in-a-machine and being constantly monitored.

The retirement comes as Bezos is set to take a space flight on July 20th aboard the New Shepard. The rocket ship was made by his space company, Blue Origin. Mark Bezos, Jeff’s younger brother, is set to join the trip. Multiple petitions have been signed to try and keep the richest man alive from coming back down to Earth. If that does not speak of the many feelings people have about the former Amazon CEO, nothing will.

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