Police ill equipped to measure new moderate Valletta music levels

Aug 10 2022

Former Foreign Affairs Minister Evarist Bartolo took to Facebook this morning to highlight the issues Valletta residents are facing as bars continue to play music until 1am, with no measure on what ‘moderation’ actually means.

The former minister said that residents who live on the streets where music is given a green light to be played until 1am have started to dread the coming of the weekend.

Establishments in around nine of the most popular streets in Valletta were given the go-ahead by law in June to play music outdoors until 1am.

Bartolo said that whilst music tends to be moderate between Monday and Thursday, it starts to get out of control come Friday up until Sunday. Residents, Bartolo was informed, had informed the police.

However, efforts by the law enforcement were in vain. The police informed residents that music is allowed until 1am and that ‘we don’t know what moderate volume means.’

‘Right now there are only two of us – we cannot do anything. Is this right’ Bartolo asked, quoting the police. Complaints about this new law have been piling up over the months, with many fearing that Valletta could become yet another Paceville.

Speaking about the law, Tourism Minister Clayton Bartolo said that whilst he backs it, a compromise will have to be found.

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Jurassic World cast and director in Malta as more footage unveiled

Aug 10 2022

Universal Pictures just announced in Malta the Extended Edition of Jurassic World: Dominion – with 14 more minutes of never-before-seen footage onscreen.

This announcement was done during a Global Entertainment Event in Malta. More footage of Malta can also be seen in the Extended Edition of Jurassic World: Dominion.

The blockbuster film, featuring Malta as the island itself, generated over $950 million in global ticket sales and topped the box-office charts in 72 global markets around the world during its release.

Entertainment media and journalists from the US, UK, France, Germany and other regions in Europe have flocked to Malta to explore and learn more about Malta’s locations and experience in Jurassic World: Dominion.

Two of the film’s main stars, Bryce Dallas Howard and DeWanda Wise are also participating in this event in Malta together with director Colin Trevorrow, who has returned to Malta yet again following his attendance at this years’ inaugural Malta Film Awards in January.

Malta Film Commissioner Johann Grech welcomed Universal Pictures’ Global Entertainment Event, remarking that Malta is becoming a real player on the world stage.

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Malta airport regains 86.3% pre-pandemic traffic in July

Aug 10 2022

As the tourism sector revitalises itself following the advent of COVID-19, July 2022 yielded very positive results for Malta International Airport as it recovered 86.3% of pre-pandemic traffic.

This translates to around 689,145 passengers travelling through the airport, with MIA saying on Tuesday that July seat capacity was at 85% of 2019 levels. The seat load factor increased by 1.2%.

The airport also revealed that last month’s seat load factor, at 88.3%, was the highest Malta airport registered in July since 2016. The seat load factor (SLF) measures the seat occupancy on flights to and from Malta.

Italy topped the list once again, followed by the UK, France, Germany and Spain. The Italian market registered a small increase of 3% over July 2019, whereas the French market saw a massive jump of 41% compared to July 2019.

July’s results kicked up year-to-date traffic through the MIA up to more than 3 million passenger movements. This figure translates to a recovery of 75% of pre-pandemic levels.

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Photo Source: Rene Rossignaud (Malta International Airport).

Rector of St Albert the Great College warns MUT members about comments on social media

Aug 10 2022

Rector of St Albert the Great College, Fr.Aaron Zahra, has warned the MUT and its members to be careful as to what they comment on social media about him and other priests and staff of the college after the highly controversial dismissal of headmaster Mario Mallia.

In a statement by the MUT, they confirmed that the rector had warned MUT president Marco Bonnici that he will involve the police if the derogatory comments by MUT members continue on Facebook.

This comes after a number of negative comments surfaced under Zahra’s post notifying the public that vacancies for heads of school, primary and secondary schools have been issued. Despite many offering criticism as to why Zahra had not waited for the final tribunal judgement before finding a replacement for Mallia. Other comments however were harsher in their approach, prompting the statement by the rector.

MUT also confirmed that rector has sent legal letters to all members of staff who took part in the protest. As of right now the case of Mario Mallia’s dismissal is in front of the Industrial Tribunal after the union opened the case.

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