Lovin Malta

Team England's trip to Malta ahead of tomorrow's Euro qualifier match is off to a rocky start... and that was before the players even got off the plane 👀 In a photo currently going viral on social media, the Air Horizon plane which brought the squad to the islands could be seen grounded on an old taxiway after it reportedly took a wrong turn off the main runway after landing 😬 In fact, it seems like the news conference which was waiting for the England team on the ground was pushed by at least an hour as the players had to wait on-board for the aircraft to be towed back onto the runway 😳 One question comes to mind - was Grealish navigating? 😅 Tag someone who needs to check this out 👇

Evening view ✨ • 📹// @didafarah • Tag us in your photos and videos using #lovinmalta or @lovinmalta for a feature 🇲🇹

In celebration of World Blood Donor Day yesterday, an Indian national, author and current Maltese resident Asif Ali was not approved to donate blood – and took to social media to deride what he described as an “immature, senseless and discriminatory statement from the organisers of blood donation camp”. “I received the invitation from my organisation, I registered for it, I gave my name, number and fixed a time to go there” said Asif, “and then I took some time out from work to go there and donate blood”. When he arrived, Asif alleges that he was asked where he was from. When he responded with the name of the organisation employing him, he was asked, “which country?” “I said ‘India’. They answered, ‘I’m sorry, you can’t donate your blood here’.” According to Asif’s account, when he told employees that he had been in Malta for over a year, in case they were refusing his donation based on thinking he had travelled recently, they responded, “but you were born in India, right?” Because his answer was yes, they replied, “So we can’t take your blood.” This Bulubel blood drive was organised by Teva Malta, in collaboration with Blood Donation Malta. Though Teva had an instrumental role in promoting the event and raising awareness, General Manager Patrick Cachia told Lovin Malta that “it is not up to Teva Malta who can donate blood or not but it is up to the Blood Donation Team to decide”. “The team in the Blood Donation Unit refuse donations from both nationals and non-nationals due to a number of set criteria, i.e. low blood pressure, fever, rashes, travel, etc. This happens regularly.” Though Teva did not exercise any decision making power over who could or could not donate blood, they confirmed there had been “an Indian employee from another company that was not approved” and directed Lovin Malta to Blood Donation Malta for further clarifications. Lovin Malta contacted Blood Donation Malta about this incident, but did not receive a response in time for the publication of this article. Read the full article by Pawlu Caruana on Lovin Malta 📲

Gareth Southgate's chosen squad for England's match against Malta tomorrow is officially on the way to the islands... and yes, Grealish has finally stopped partying and is still alive ✈️😅 It's a big one for Malta tomorrow, but can the islands achieve a positive result ahead of the current Euro Qualifiers group leaders? ⚽️🤔 Sound off in the comments below and tag someone who needs to check this out 👇

Reusing instead of disposing is the way forward and The Body Shop has now joined the mission to reduce waste by adding refilling stations at 400 of their stores including the Plaza and Pama stores in Malta. Get squeaky-clean head-to-toe and cut down on wasteful packaging. The Body Shop has expanded our line-up so you can fill up on haircare, shower gels and handwashes from their best-loved ranges. Product availability varies by store, so pop to your nearest refill store to see which goodies are available. You could buff that body with a luscious lather of Almond Milk, Shea, Moringa, British Rose, Pink Grapefruit or Strawberry shower gel. Give love to your locks with shampoo and conditioner from the iconic Ginger and Shea ranges now available at The Body Shop stores located at The Plaza and Pama Shopping Mall.

Females in Malta are less likely than males to claim that they have supervisory skills and more likely to believe they are able to assist the public and clients. Both sexes are equally likely to claim to have leadership skills. A preliminary report, published by the National Statistics Office, collected data to compile the latest Malta Skills Survey. The survey is based on data collected in 2022, and it found that perhaps the most dominant skillset in our society, perhaps unsurprisingly, is basic computer literacy. 79% of female respondents, and 75% of male respondents, describe themselves as having basic computer skills. In terms of supervising a team or group, the proportion of people who claim to have that skillset is generally lower, and males surveyed tended to have more belief in their ability to supervise than did female respondents. Just below half – 49% – of males claimed to have supervisory skills, while 40% of females claimed the same. Interestingly, though, while females tended to be slightly less likely to claim they have strong supervisory skills, 42% of female respondents said they were skilful in assisting the public and clients, while just 31% of males said they were skilful at rendering such assistance. In light of the fact that females surveyed were so much less likely to claim to have supervisory skills – the finding that 36% of males, and 36% of females, claimed to be good at “leading and motivating” is somewhat perplexing. The most common languages understood by the Maltese population, in descending order, are English, Maltese and Italian. The survey found that 96% of respondents understand English, 90.4% understand Maltese, and 62% understand Italian – showing that despite our past, and though it is close, of our two national languages, English is your best bet when trying to communicate with the broadest possible audience. This is consistent across age ranges. Read the full article by Pawlu Caruana on Lovin Malta & let us know what you make of the results in the comments below 👇

If you've been complaining about Malta not being hot and sunny enough, you're in luck - this weekend will see temperatures climbing higher than they were these past couple of days, eventually hitting apparent temperatures of over 30°C by Sunday 👀 While the weather for the first half of June has been unseasonably cloudy and at times even straight-up rainy and thundery, it looks like the very last weekend before summer 2023 officially kicks off on Tuesday is promising a warm teaser of what's to come, with highs budging up, lows not making it under 20°C, and dangerously sunny UV Indexes of 10 on both Saturday and Sunday 🌞 Meanwhile, tomorrow will kick the weekend off on a windy note, with Force 5 and even 6 Majjistral winds blowing the apparent temperature down to just over the mid 20s. But it seems like this time round, the fresh respite won't last too long, with Sunday seeing a negligible Force 2 breeze from the south 🥵 What do you make of this weekend's forecast? Sound off in the comments below and tag someone who needs to check this out! 👇

As the Ċensu Moran Health Centre project is reaching a close, some residents are commenting on the impact this enormous building has created on the neighbourhood. “It has replaced the the boċċi club and the garden,” independent candidate Arnold Cassola told Lovin Malta. “It is built in front of Pace Grasso (a football ground) which is falling apart instead of being built on it with a proper underground car park underneath.” “They got rid of the garden since there is there is too much fresh air around there,” he quipped sarcastically. Criticism was vociferous of way the building has been constructed. “It’s obvious you don’t live here or you wouldn’t speak like that,” said a resident to someone defending the building on the grounds that it is a hospital. “An ugly building which will choke the neighbourhood because it hasn’t been done properly with the excuse of the landfill in Pace Grasso.” “Whatever it is this is not done at all. So because it’s the government they can block a road. Is it possible that they couldn’t find a more adequate place to build this clinic? I wonder if you had your house facing this wall whether you would have tolerated this monstrosity!” commented another resident. “It’s true that it’s well needed but I’m sure something could have been done with that blank wall,” an aesthetically minded commenter chimed in. “It needed a bit of design that says: It’s true the building is oversized, but it is beautiful.” Another suggested a nice mural on its walls. The health centre is badly needed to alleviate the pressure on Mater Dei and will act as an emergency centre for the South. However, careful town planning is essential especially with large buildings in densely populated areas. What do you make of this building? Article by Mario Borg

Just when you thought footballing’s GOAT couldn’t get any more unstoppable, @leomessi has just gone and broken the record for his fastest goal ever, scoring less than a minute and a half into today’s match 🤯🐐 Argentina are currently playing Australia in a friendly exhibition match which is being organised in Beijing (with China stepping in to offer financial help for the match to happen). But with 79 seconds on the clock, Messi wasted no time in leaving his mark on the match, opening the scoring after Fernandez won the ball in midfield 🇦🇷 With the second half currently underway, Argentina is still 1-0 ahead ⚽ What do you make of Messi’s current form? Sound off in the comments below and tag someone who needs to check this out! 👇🏽

Malta’s footballing future looks bright, with two separate youth teams from the @juventus_academy_malta making it to finals of a worldwide competition to fight for first and third place! 🇲🇹🙌🏽 It’s been an incredible run for the two teams at the third edition of the Juventus Academy World Cup, with the Maltese players winning most of their matches in Turin against the teams from five direction continents. In fact, on team has managed to go undefeated for the whole run 🤯 The 2012 team registered four victories and two defeats, with some notable wins including a 6-1 domination against Columbia and an exciting 6-3 victory over Australia. This team will now be playing in one final match this afternoon with the chance of finishing third in their category 👏🏽 Meanwhile, the 2013/14 team managed to go one step further, completely dominating their match-ups and managing to score a whopping 20 goals across six matches. Malta trashed Bogota 7-2, and even secured very comfortable 4-0 wins against Sydney and Cyprus. They only drew once in a tense 1-1 match against Chile, but by then it was already enough for the Maltese team to make it to the finals, where they could very well end up winning it all! ✨ Both finals will be played today at 5pm in Juventus’ Training Centre in Turin’s Continassa, but whatever result they manage to achieve, we’re already so incredibly proud of Malta’s Juventus Academy team! 😍

At least 78 people have drowned in a tragic incident involving a sinking refugee boat close to Greece’s shoreline. “We are witnessing one of the biggest tragedies in the Mediterranean and the numbers announced by the authorities are devastating,” Gianluca Rocco, IOM (International Office of Migration) of Greece Chief of Mission, said. A rescue operation was set in motion yesterday morning by the Greek authorities, who have thus far rescued 104 individuals. 79 bodies have been retrieved, “but the death toll is likely to rise”, the UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees) stated in a press release. Hundreds are still missing,”speculation is rife that as many as 600 people were onboard but that has not been confirmed. The ship is under the water. It has sunk,” said one Greek official. Nearly all of the victims were men from Afghanistan and Pakistan. The vessel was travelling from Libya to Italy, and was spotted about 50 miles from Pyrgos. Following the incident, Greece’s government announced a period of three days for national mourning in remembrance of the tragedy. “This situation reinforces the urgency for concrete, comprehensive action from States to save lives at sea and reduce perilous journeys by expanding safe and regular pathways to migration,” Rocco expressed. A UNHCR team has reached the town of Kalamata, where the survivors have been taken, with the purpose of evaluating their requirements and providing assistance to both the survivors and the local authorities. They also supplied them with food. “IOM’s Missing Migrants Project has documented at least 26,924 deaths in the Mediterranean since 2014,” the press release read. “UNHCR and IOM call on States to cooperate to increase safe pathways and ensure coordinated search and rescue at sea, while working together on finding collective solutions, to avoid the needless loss of more lives.” What do you make of this tragedy? Should more be done to safeguard migrants’ lives? Article by @kira_markss

Elevist Wellness in Naxxar is blending the power of Pilates with the principles and practices of physiotherapy. Achieve your fitness potential and focus on curing pain and chronic conditions with Laura and her colleagues at @elevist_mt 🌿 They will empower you to be as active as possible: put your best foot forward to lead your best life. 🫶🏻