No gangs in local community says police superintendent

Oct 14 2022

Speaking during a Popolin interview, police superintendent Melvyn Camilleri stated that there has been no ‘gangs’ phenomena perceived in Malta.

Camilleri, who is responsible over the Paceville area, revealed that this phenomenon has been observed abroad in various countries, but there have been none detected in Malta so far. Camilleri told the newsroom that police force eyes are wide open for any such behaviour.

He also revealed that from the group violence incidents observed, they have been only one-offs and concerned controlled situations. He said that these gang formations would instil fear were they to form in the local community.

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Is Cartoon Network coming to an end as rumours suggest?

Oct 14 2022

You remember it, don’t you? – late nights on the sofa with your favourite snacks as Samurai Jack slashes through droves of enemies.

30 years of classic cartoons and iconic TV shows, Cartoon Network will officially fold into Warner Bros. Animation and will no longer operate as a standalone network. Or, at least, that’s what some portals are reporting.

The news hit the media stating that, the channel started by Ted Turner in October of 1992, will have $3 billion slashed from the company since David Zaslav took over as CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery.

Since his acquiring of the position, 82 employees from the Warner Bros. TV Groups’ scripted, unscripted and animation divisions were let go on Wednesday.

This was reported by Polygon, which also reported that 43 unfilled positions will be left as such as the company will leave them vacant.

Additionally, the development and product teams of Warner Bros. Animation and Cartoon Network Studios will combine under one division whereas Hanna Barbera Studios Europe will maintain a seperate team.

According to a report from Polygon however, the consolidating of Warner Bros. Animation and Cartoon Network Studios will not affect output or show development, with one Warner Bros. representative confirming that Cartoon Network Studios is still working on multiple projects.

This, coupled with dropping viewership numbers, still sets the fate of Cartoon Network in doubt. It also might mean that many kids won’t grow up without iconic shows like Dexter’s Laboratory or Ed, Edd n Eddy.

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Meet The Götheborg: World’s largest wooden sailing ship docks in Malta today

Oct 14 2022

The Malta Tourism Authority announced it’s support to The Götheborg of Sweden’s first-ever voyage to Malta as part of the ship’s Asian Expedition 2022/2023.

On Friday 14 October 2022 at 12:00hrs, the world’s largest ocean-going wooden sailing ship, and a replica of an 18th century Swedish East India Company ship, Götheborg of Sweden, will arrive in Valletta. Before mooring, the ship will salute the city with a gun salute which will be answered from Valletta’s Saluting Battery.

The Götheborg is on its way to Asia, and Malta is the 12th stopover on the Asia Expedition 2022/2023. The ship will be in Valletta from 14–18 October, will be moored at Valletta Waterfront and will be open to visitors during the stopover.

The Götheborg is the world’s largest ocean-going wooden sailing ship, and a replica of an 18th-century Swedish East India Company ship that sank outside Gothenburg in 1745.

The ship is on a two-year-long expedition, the Asia Expedition 2022/2023. Following in the historic footsteps of the original ship from the 18th century, the purpose of the expedition is for people to be able to sail along and experience sailing an 18th-century ship, for people to visit the ship in ports, and to promote trade relations in Europe and Asia. On each sailing, about 50 members of the public can sail along as deckhands. The professional crew consists of about 20 professional sailors, which means that there are between 70–80 people on board for each sailing leg.

The ship will sail in Europe in 2022, stay in Barcelona during the winter, and continue to Asia in March 2023. In September 2023, the ship will reach the expedition’s end destination Shanghai. The Götheborg left Gothenburg on 8 June 2022 and has since visited Helsingborg, Helsinki, Stockholm, Copenhagen, Oslo, London, Bremerhaven, Lisbon, Málaga, Nice and Monaco. The next stop after Valletta is Barcelona, the last stop on this year’s expedition.

“This is the first time that the ship Götheborg visits Malta and Valletta, and we are already overwhelmed by the warm welcome from the city of Valletta. We are looking forward to beautiful days”, said Kristoffer Bennis, Expedition Director at Götheborg of Sweden.

“As an Authority we are extremely proud to give our support to the first-ever visit of the Götheborg of Sweden in Malta and we are also very pleased that Malta and the Grand Harbour were chosen as one of the port of calls in the Mediterranean for this Asia expedition. Having the Götheborg grace the Grand Harbour over the next few days will definitely bring added value to those tourists who will be in Malta on their holidays, while also serve as a new and unique attraction for the locals,” Carlo Micallef, CEO of MTA added.

“The Malta Tourism Authority has been a proactive driving force in the diversification of the local touristic product. This process includes various niches aimed at targeting high quality maritime attractions to the Maltese Islands. Malta’s biggest footprint is its aquatic surroundings and we will sustain this by introducing an activity dimension aimed at creating a more direct and appreciative fashion with the marine environment,” remarked Minister for Tourism Clayton Bartolo.

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September in Stats: Rainfall, Storms and Heat

Oct 14 2022

September ushered in the first rain showers of the new precipitation year, with the Meteorological Office measuring 59.8 mm of precipitation in Ħal Luqa.

This total was slightly above the 1991-2020 climate norm of 59.2 mm, and was collected over the span of two days on September 22 and 23. Rainfall was accompanied by thunder on these two days, with a third thunderstorm being reported by the Meteorological Office on September 30.

September 22, which accounted for 84 per cent of the month’s total rainfall, was the month’s wettest and gloomiest day. However, having clocked 12.1 hours of sunshine in excess of the monthly norm of 253.1 hours, September was sunnier than expected at this time of year. This can be partly explained by the month’s mean cloud cover of 2.0 oktas, which was lower than the norm of 2.8 oktas.

September was warmer than average, with the month’s mean maximum temperature of 29.5°C exceeding the norm by 0.9°C and the mean minimum temperature surpassing the norm of 21.2°C by 1.5°C. While September’s highest temperature peaked at 32.6°C on the eleventh day, the lowest temperature dipped to 17.0°C as rain showered the islands for the second consecutive day. At 27.9°C, the mean sea surface temperature was higher than the climate norm of 26.1°C.

A mean wind speed of 7.5 knots was maintained in September, making the month slightly windier than the norm. The month’s maximum gust was measured on September 17 at 32 knots, blowing from the Northwest.

Information provided by the Malta International Airport MET Office.

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Photo Source: Erika Kállai (via It-Temp Madwarna FB)