WATCH: Pope Francis arrives in Malta for long-awaited visit

Apr 2 2022

After being postponed due to COVID-19 safety protocol, the head of the Catholic Church Pope Francis has finally touched base in Malta. The Pope’s first official visit was first set for May 31st 2020 and was later postponed due to the COVID-19 situation at that time.

In October 2021, Prime Minister Robert Abela confirmed that the Pope will be visiting Malta in the first months of 2022. Apostolic Nuncio for Malta Mons. Alessandro D’Errico stated that “The Pope accepted the invitation of the President of the Republic of Malta, of the civil authorities and the Catholic Church the country. His holiness Pope Francis will make an apostolic journey to Malta from the 2nd to the 3rd of April 2022.”

Pope Francis was welcomed by President of Malta George Vella, Prime Minister Robert Abela and their families, the Armed Forces of Malta and a number of other state dignitaries.

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Zoya Attard becomes Malta’s youngest current mayor after Azzopardi Tanti makes Cabinet

Apr 2 2022

A 22-year-old European Studies graduate from the University of Malta has just become Malta’s youngest current mayor after former Pieta’ mayor Keith Azzopardi Tanti was appointed Parliamentary Secretary for Youth, Research and Innovation in Robert Abela’s Cabinet.

The young politician’s first foray into politics was back in 2019, where she took her first step within the Pieta’ Local Council as a Labour Party candidate. She currently works for Labour MEP Cyrus Engerer who, in a recent Facebook post, praised her 15 months of work within his Malta office for showing capability, energy, enthusiasm and strong socialist values. Anthony Camilleri will replace Attard as Vice Mayor.

Attard’s predecessor Keith Azzopardi Tanti had to step down after becoming one of the Labour Party’s major success stories at this year’s general election. He was first elected Pieta’ mayor back in 2013, then again in 2019 and has secured a spot in Robert Abela’s Cabinet. This was Azzopardi Tanti’s first general election performance, where he was elected on the First District with the greatest amount of votes with 3,774 first count votes.

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The World Cup groups have officially been drawn

Apr 1 2022

The 2022 Qatar World Cup is nearing closer and closer, as the groups of the tournament have officially been drawn. For the first time ever the World Cup will be held in the winter, that is why the group stage draw had to be postponed a couple of months from it’s usual date in early December.

The draw has consistently offered up many exciting matchups throughout the years and unsurprisingly the 2022 group stage draw didn’t disappoint. The event was held in the capital city of Qatar, Doha, and featured past football stars including Tim Cahill, Cafu and Carli Llyod.

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The first group drawn included the hosts Qatar, South American dark horses Ecuador, African champions Senegal and experienced European side Holland. Senegal and the Netherlands are undoubtedly the favourites to get out of the group but don’t discount Ecuador and Qatar. Ecuador surprised most fans by qualifying for the World Cup whilst Qatar are not the weak team many people expected, winning the Asian Cup back in 2019.

The most political group of the World Cup has to be group B. Euros finalists England were drawn against USA, Iran and one of Ukraine, Scotland and Wales. England will be once again happy with their group whilst all the remaining countries will be awaiting a fierce battle to get out of the group.

Groups C and D are the most low-key groups drawn. Group C includes Argentina, Mexico, Saudi Arabia and Poland whilst Group D will feature World Champions France, Denmark, Tunisia and one of Costa Rica and New Zealand. Many fans will be wondering if France will be the victims of the champions curse and fail to make it out of their group.

Group F saw two European heavyweights in Spain and Germany drawn against each other. The other two teams drawn were Morocco and one of the UAE, Australia and Peru. The next group, Group E has the potential to be one of the most exciting groups according to some football fans. The group also includes two European powers in Belgium and Croatia but their opponents Japan and Canada are being touted as possible dark horses for the tournament.

Bizarrely Brazil were again drawn against Switzerland and Serbia just like the 2018 World Cup. Last time the 4th team was Costa Rica but this time it will Cameroon taking their place in the group. Brazil will be hoping for a repeat of the 2018 group stage, where they easily got out of the group.

The last group drawn is being touted as the group of death. Group H will include Portugal, Ukraine, Korea Republic and Ghana. All 4 teams have a good history when it comes to qualifying for the knockout stages of the World Cup and all 4 will be hoping for exactly that. It has to be said that the underdogs to qualify will be Korea Republic and Ghana.

The first game of the tournament between hosts Qatar and Ecuador will take place on the 21st of November 2022.

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Netflix announces a Spy Kids remake on 21st anniversary

Apr 1 2022

Spy Kids is getting an official remake, Netflix has confirmed. The streaming giant has marked the 21st anniversary of the famous spy comedy by revealing that a reboot is being planned for the franchise.

The original director, Robert Rodriguez, will be back to lead the making of the film, bringing back some good nostalgia to our screens.

Netflix tweeted out saying that the 21st anniversary of the beloved action comedy feels like the perfect time to reveal that Rodriguez will write, direct and produce a reimagining of the beloved franchise.

A brand new family of spies will be introduced for this remake, with the announcement coming after Deadline reported the news of how the director was reimagining the 2001 movie in January 2021.

No plot details have been uncovered so far, but the remake is set to revolve around the activities of a multicultural family.

The original film starred Antonio Banderas and Carla Gugino as a married spy couple who then rely on their kids Juni and Carmen Cortez to rescue them. It is unknown if any of the original stars will be returning for the remake.

The original film was a massive surprise hit, going on to spawn three sequels, grossing more than $500 million globally and earning cult status among 2000s kids.

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