US school no longer permitted to force girls to wear skirts

Jun 16 2022

An American federal court has decided that a private school is violating the constitutional rights of girl students by forcing them to wear a skirt with their uniform.

The founder of the Charter Day School in Leland, North Carolina argued that the skirt requirement for female students was to uphold traditional values and that girls are ‘fragile vessels’ deserving of ‘gentle treatment by boys.’

The 4th US Circuit Court of Appeals in Virginia slammed the skirt requirement, deciding it was unconstitutional on June 14th. The case was brought by three students, challenging the rule and arguing it was rooted in gender stereotypes.

The school however argued that the institution was not a state actor and should not be bound by the Equal Protection Clause, saying ‘we respectfully disagree with the majority’s opinion.’

In Malta, female students are still reportedly given detentions or other penalties should they not wear their uniform properly. Most students only start wearing casual clothes after secondary.

#MaltaDaily

Joseph Mbong joins Israeli Premier League football club Hapoel Ironi Kiryat Shmona F.C.

Jun 16 2022

Joseph Mbong, a local footballer who plays as forward for Hamrun Spartans, has just been selected to join Hapoel Ironi Kiryat Shmona FC, an Israeli Premier League football club.

The older brother of two other local footballers on the island, Mbong went on to represent Malta’s national team.

A product of Hibernians, he joined Hamrun Spartans in 2020. He was a crucial part for the latter team, bringing it back to its former glory and winning the 8th Maltese premier league in their history after 30 years.

Mbong has been attracting many foreign teams in the previous years due to his incredible pitch performances. He became a star for both the club and the country, with Hamrun Spartans saluting the player for his new experience with the Israeli club.

Congratulations and massive good luck Joseph Mbong!

#MaltaDaily

WATCH: Malta braces itself for a summer full of cockroaches

Jun 16 2022

Arnold Sciberras, a.k.a the Exterminator, explained to MaltaDaily that the island better brace itself for a summer full of cockroaches.

He highlighted how the weather conditions have provided the perfect environment for the insects to come out. Due to the cold and rainy weather, cockroaches ‘took it easy’ and will now start to emerge from hibernation.

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Many of them will actually be the larger females looking for a mate, so most cockroach activity will in fact be their version of summer Tinder escapades.

The insects tend to reproduce more during hibernation, meaning that summer 2022 will see a substantial amount of six-legged critters. The cockroaches in question are of the pest variety, and Arnold thus reminds anyone facing cockroach issues that he is there to solve the problem.

#MaltaDaily

Spider-Man and James Bond at the top of Malta’s cinema box office 2021

Jun 16 2022

According to the National Statistics Office, ‘No Time To Die’ and ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’, along with ‘Fast & Furious 9’, were the most popular films on the Maltese Islands.

The films amounted to 11.9%, 9.3% and 5.2% of total admissions respectively, as cinemas in Malta and Gozo projected 358 film titles last year and registered 269,763 admissions.

A total of six cinema establishments, two of them in Gozo, showed films on 25 screens and had a capacity of 1,633. 358 film titles and 21,297 screenings were exhibited, totalling an average of 59 screenings per film.

Maltese productions, many short films rather than feature films, had 11,938 admissions and a total gross box office of €87,176. Meanwhile, foreign productions including event cinema, had 257,825 admissions and a total gross box office of €1,881,087.

28.2% of films shown in cinemas were rated age 15, whereas 18.2% were rated 12A. 4.2% of films were rated 18. Cinemas also saw the employment of an average of 77 people in 2021, 79.2% of whom worked part-time.

#MaltaDaily