Peppi Azzopardi rules out the return of Xarabank; says “he will not be bought”

Jul 7 2022

In a recent social media reply, outspoken media personality and activist Peppi Azzopardi ruled out the possibility of hit TV programme Xarabank returning to Maltese television.

Addressing a comment that Peppi would still be in national broadcasting if the PN were in government, Azzopardi stated that if the PN were actually elected and told him to bring back the discussion programme, he would refuse. “If you think that I am eager for Xarabank’s return, you are very wrong. Almost every station asked us to bring it back and I refused.”

Azzopardi highlighted the fact that, before Xarabank was axed, he was preparing fellow personality Mark Laurence Zammit to take over but an unnamed entity ‘wanted to shut people up and dictate what [they] do, so they refused.

“I’m proud that I can’t be bought”, Azzopardi said at the end of the comment.

Would you like to Xarabank to return?

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Boris Johnson to resign as Conservative Party leader

Jul 7 2022

Prime Minister Boris Johnson is set to resign as leader of the British Conservative Party, but will continue to lead the nation until Autumn.

This was confirmed by Downing Street sources, who spoke to BBC representatives earlier today. Johnson is expected to address the nation later today.

This move will lead to summer election for Conservative Party leader, which will eventually become the new British prime Minister in October.

Johnson’s political downfall only accelerated with with the infamous ‘Partygate’ scandal and further pressure as a result of his decision to make Chris Pincher Tory vice chief whip. Pincher is currently facing accusations of indecent behaviour which many have stated is not appropriate for his role.

What do you make of this?

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WATCH: Hamrun Spartans head to Armenia for first European match-up in 30 years

Jul 7 2022

The Hamrun Spartans are gearing up for their first European football bout in 30 years as they are set to face Armenian side Alashkert in the UEFA Conference League’s first qualifying round on Thursday afternoon.

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The Spartans began their journey in high spirits at their Malta International Airport before arriving in Yerevan for their much-anticipated match against Alashkert, which will kick off at 5pM.

Coach Branko Nisevic has made a number of significant changes to the squad, with 11 new Spartans announced this season in addition to a revived technical team. Nisevic has stated that he is so far pleased with his players’ efforts, expressing confidence in a positive performance later today.

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“It all starts here”; National Lottery of Malta kicks off with BIG THINGS ahead

Jul 7 2022

In a commemorative event held at the Saluting Battery at the Upper Barakka Gardens, in Valletta, National Lottery plc celebrated the start of the takeover of the national lottery of Malta.

Earlier in the morning National Lottery plc a subsidiary of the IZI Group was granted an exclusive licence to operate the national lottery of Malta which includes the popular games of Lotto and Super5 by the Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) for the next ten years.

In a short speech to commemorate this defining moment for the Group, Mr. Johann Schembri – CEO of National Lottery plc explained how today marks a new era for the national lottery of Malta. ‘Today is culmination of years of work that we have undertaken as a team. I am very grateful to have found a team of people that have put their life on hold to ensure that we deliver a new national lottery service in record time,” commented Mr. Schembri as he thanked the hundreds of employees that form part of the IZI Group.

“We are committed to deliver an innovative, forward-looking and above all a fair and transparent national lottery service, powered by the world’s leading lottery technology company, International Game Technology (IGT). We are also proud and privileged to be the first fully owned Maltese company to operate what essentially is the most important gaming operation in Malta which now allows our Group to take an active role in all the land-based gaming business verticals. Our aspiration is to take the national lottery of Malta to unprecedented levels in line with the highest operating standards found in Europe.”

Mr. Schembri thanked all the stakeholders that were involved in making this project a reality, including the Ministry for the Economy, the Privatisation Unit, the Malta Gaming Authority, and representatives of the Lottery Agents (the Malta Chamber of SMEs, LRU, GLAA), Bank of Valletta plc, and all bondholders for the trust that they have shown in National Lottery plc.

In his address, the Minister of the Economy, European Funds and Arts, Silvio Schembri said that National Lottery plc will be keeping alive the popular and beloved games of Lotto, Super5 and other games, whilst at the same time adhering to strict responsible gaming principles. “I would like to thank the Privatisation Unit who led the whole process as well as the Malta Gaming Authority for the technical assistance so that today we have a new Maltese Lottery operator. Above all I would like to thank and wish the best to National Lottery plc for the next ten years,” said Minister Silvio Schembri.

National Lottery plc is expected to bring several improvements to the existing games, including improved odds for Lotto, the elimination of prize capping, a new Tuesday Lotto draw and larger jackpots for the Super5 game. National Lottery plc will also introduce new games to enrich the current portfolio, including add-ons to the Super5 game (Super5 Plus and Super5-4-3-2-1) and the introduction of a new digit game known as Pick3. The popular game of Keno will be distributed under a new brand name – FastKeno.

National Lottery plc has also managed to acquire the rights to distribute Malta’s most popular sports betting brand – IZIBET which from today will be available through more than 200 points of sale across Malta and Gozo.

National Lottery plc takes over the operation of the national lottery of Malta from Maltco Lotteries today, with the first Lotto draw earmarked for Saturday 9th July 2022 at 20:35hrs, followed by the first ever Tuesday Lotto draw on the 12th July 2022 also at 8.30pm on TVM.

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