In order to qualify for the next round, the Azure Window has to make it to eleventh place by Tuesday 7th July as only the top 77 voted and officially supported nominees, by category, will be eligible for selection as one of the 28 finalists.

In order to vote, one can click here.

For more information, one can also visit the San Lawrenz website.

Within this context, the Board members endorsed the plans of SmartCity Malta to proceed with the development and financing activity of the entire Phase One, which includes also further office blocks, retail blocks and a residential cluster, all surrounding the lagoon.

In parallel, the Board noted the steady advances in the development of the necessary infrastructural works for the first phase which will enable SmartCity Malta to provide the highest levels of infrastructural services to its prospective business partners, spanning from sustainable utility services to best-of-breed telecommunications services.

Referring to the outcome of the Board meeting, Mr Fareed Abdulrahman, CEO of SmartCity said “We are all keen and impressed by the prospects of SmartCity Malta and are confident that, regardless of all the hurdles that a development of this size needs to go through, SmartCity Malta will be a great success and will encompass the vision of Malta to becoming a Smart Island.”

To date, SmartCity Malta has demolished all the factories in the previous industrial estate, cleaned the site, constructed an administrative block for its operations and in November 2008 commenced the construction of SCM01 which is expected to be handed over to the first business partners in SmartCity Malta in 2010.

Dr Gonzi also argued that previous permits issued by Mepa according to past existing laws, regulations and policies would not be reneged as long as they were based on accurate information. However, where policies were wrong, they would be changed.

The Prime Minister stressed that those who did not qualify for a development permit in the past would not suddenly become eligible.

On the other hand, Labour leader Joseph Muscat requested the Government to guarantee that fuel and gas prices would not rise again at least till the end of this year. He also said that he expected a favourable Budget with the Government giving money back to the people to make up for the increase in the cost of living.

“It is better to leave €10 in the people’s pockets than the Government’s. When the people have money to spend, the economy moves forward, but the government is not realising this,” Dr Muscat said in an interview on One TV.

The government, Dr Muscat said, needed to guarantee energy prices at least in the short term, because the economy needed stability to progress.

Meanwhile, the Health Department said that the condition of those having the virus is improving as time goes by. The four and a half month baby who was being treated at Gozo’s General Hospital was discharged as he recovered well.

A young English woman who was identified as having the AH1N1 virus earlier on Saturday is being kept at hospital for observation.

The Health Department advises all those feeling flu symptoms not to call at the hospital emergency department or clinics but to stay at home and call their doctor, thus preventing the potential spread of the virus.

For more information one can call helpline 21324086 while an information leaflet was published and is available on the DOI website.

As from his weekend, the faithful is to receive Holy Communion by hand only. The decision was taken by the Curia is a response to the outbreak of the AH1N1 virus in Malta.

Rupert Grint, the actor playing the role of Ron Weasley in the Harry Potter movies, is one of the most famous patients of the swine flu virus. Favourite Channel reports.

The AH1N1 virus is not trasmitted by eating pork products but people get infected from other people. Therefore the precautions taken for other types of influenza must be taken also in this case. For more information read the World Health Organisation’s information here.

Malta’s Director General for Health, Dr Ray Busuttil, gives some important information in an interview with Favourite Channel.

Do you like the video news from Favourite Channel in partnership with MaltaMedia News? They are still in beta testing. Your views are welcome. Please send us your comments by clicking here.

The accident happened at about 4 pm as the man was driving downhill towards the roundabout. It seems the accident happened when the car hit the pavement. Luckily, the driver was not seriously injured.

In a report released on Saturday, the group ranks nations using the “Happy Planet Index,” which seeks countries with the most content people. In addition to happiness, the index by the New Economics Foundation considers the ecological footprint and life expectancy of countries.

“Costa Ricans report the highest life satisfaction in the world and have the second-highest average life expectancy of the new world (second to Canada),” the organization said in a statement.

They “also have an ecological footprint that means that the country only narrowly fails to achieve the goal of consuming its fair share of the Earth’s natural resources.”

This year’s survey, which looked at 143 countries, featured Latin American nations in nine of the Top 10 spots. The runner-up was the Dominican Republic, followed by Jamaica, Guatemala and Vietnam. Most developed nations lagged in the study.

Malta ranked in 44th place, just one place behind the Netherlands, which is the highest ranking western and European country in this index.

While Britain ranked 74th, the United States snagged the 114th spot, because of its hefty consumption and massive ecological footprint. The United States was greener and happier 20 years ago than it is today, the report said.

Other populous nations, such as China and India, had a lower index brought on by their vigorous pursuit of growth-based models, the survey suggested.

“As the world faces the triple crunch of deep financial crisis, accelerating climate change and the looming peak in oil production, we desperately need a new compass to guide us,” said Nic Marks, founder of the foundation’s centre for well-being.

Marks urged nations to make a collective global change before “our high-consuming lifestyles plunge us into the chaos of irreversible climate change.”

The report, which was first conducted in 2006, covers 99% of the world population, the statement said.

Maltese craftsmen are building a replica of a Caribbean island with coconut palm trees and white sand in order to create an exotic environment for a party being staged for the commercial.

The director is seeking 200 “cool” boys and girls aged strictly between 25 and 35 years (ID cards will be required for verification).  They must be available between the 20th and 24th July.

The extras must have an outgoing personality and be able to act like they are having lots of fun setting up the “coolest party on the planet” as the storyline is written.

Those interested are to urgently present themselves to Mediterranean Film Studios in Kalkara between Monday 6th and Wednesday 8th between 0900 and 1800 CEST and follow the street signs.

Alternatively those interested may send a recent picture to the following email: commercialcastingmalta@gmail.com. Phone inquiries will strictly not be entertained.

In fifth place one finds The Pub in Valletta. The walls of this simple bar are covered in pictures, newspaper clippings, and impromptu tributes to British actor Oliver Reed who was said to have died just after consuming vast amounts of alcohol there while on location for the movie “Gladiator.” A sign outside the bar reads “Ollie’s Last Pub.”

You can even sit on the seat he was on when he collapsed on 2nd May 1999. The ambulance arrived too late to resuscitate him as they were also engaged in attending to a car crash that occurred simultaneously.

It’s quite macabre to see how much The Pub has established itself as an Oliver Reed shrine. There are scenes from his films on the walls as well as newspaper articles about his final hours and you can even buy a T-Shirt there showing a laughing Reed waving into the camera just shortly before he died.

Bars, pubs, and taverns of the world can hold as much history as any museum and present as much drama as any theatre.

This year it was really very hard to predict the winner of the Men’s Singles. The contenders being, the Maltese Australian Edwin Cotter who came over from Australia to participate at these Championships, the young talented players such as Daniel Bajada, Daniel Vella Fondicaro and Matthew Micallef also favourites and one must also not forget the experienced players such as Claudio Tufigno, Mark Azzoaprdi, Mario Genovese and the winner of the last edition Edward Baldacchino. In the Semifinal of this event Mario Genovese beat Claudio Tufigno, whilst the other semi-final Daniel Bajada had the best of Daniel Vella Fondicaro.

The final was a very interesting encounter with the experienced Mario Genovese beating sixteen year old Daniel Bajada with the score 11-7, 11-9, 11-5, 5-11, 11-6.

The other results are the following:-
Ladies Singles
WINNER Johanna Grech
Runner-up Nadia Bonett

Plate Event
Winner Andrea Portelli
Runner up Mathew Grech

Doubles Event
Winner Edward Baldacchino / Edwin Cotter
Runner-up C. Tufigno / J. Grech

Veterans Event
Winner David Pace
Runner-up Leslie Bajada

The Malta Table Tennis Association will also be organising the Youth National Championships at the University Gym between the 4th & 6th July 2009.

The project, called ‘Prevent Escape’ began in April this year and will run until 2012. It is led by the Norwegian institute for fisheries and Aquaculture SINTEF and is funded under the European 7th Framework Programme.

The project involves eleven partners from Norway, Greece, Spain, Malta, Scotland and Ireland.

Fishupdate.com reported Dr Dave Jackson of the Marine Institute saying that losses due to escapes from fish farms are of immediate concern to the farmers themselves, who are as keen as anyone to find new technologies and ways of working that will reduce escapes to a minimum.

Escapes have been reported for almost all major species farmed across Europe, including Atlantic salmon, sea bream, sea bass, Atlantic cod and rainbow trout. They can occur due to break down of net cages during storms, to wear and tear, to damage caused by large predators and to operational accidents leading to spills of fish during transport and transfer.

‘By carefully studying sea-cages and their immediate surrounding areas, we aim to assess both the technical and operational causes of fish farm escapes,’ says Dr Jackson. ‘We will also try and find out what pre-disposes certain species of fish towards escaping and document the way fish disperse after escape so as to develop and test ways of recapturing them. The results of all this work will also be used to improve the equipment used in fish farming and the way it is operated, so as to minimise the chances of escapes into the future.’

The objectives of the work package are among others to consult with industry and relevant agencies to gather information on methodologies and technologies used; gather available existing information on the extent, size and knowledge of the causes of escapes; conduct detailed assessments of the explicit technical or operational causes of escapes at sea-cage fish farms; establish the total economic cost of escape events; and compile a final report and disseminate results to industry, relevant agencies and the EU.

Source: Fishupdate.com