Malta news: Isle of MTV

Thousands flock to Isle of MTV for another successful concert

Malta played host to international superstars will.i.am, Nelly Furtado, Flo Rida and Eva Simons on Tuesday night as they brought Floriana’s Fosos to life for the Isle of MTV Malta Special 2012. For the sixth consecutive year, music fans came out in their tens of thousands to be part of the biggest event on Malta’s music calendar, and this year’s show didn’t disappoint. From early evening the crowd of more than 50,000 music fans danced, sang, ate ice-cream and were treated to show-stopping performances from some of the biggest names in music from around the world. Warming up the crowd for what was set to be an unforgettable night, electro-dance singer and songwriter Eva Simons got the party started with her unique blend of high energy dance-pop. Belting out tracks including the explosive “I Don’t Like You”, sporting a custom made reflective vest and her trademark fiery hair, Eva Simons showed the crowd exactly why she’s one of the most talked about new names in music. As the sun began to set, Canadian superstar Nelly Furtado took to the stage, wowing the screaming fans with a phenomenal performance. Opening her set with smash hit “Maneater”, followed closely by “Big Hoops”, the debut single from her forthcoming album The Spirit Indestructible, Nelly Furtado was backed by a full rock band and joined by numerous guests throughout her set. Her incredible voice, energetic tracks, old favourites and new hits got the crowd dancing and “Jump” of course got them jumping. Hot on her heels with an unexpectedly wild set of his own, Flo Rida, whose high octane, energy-filled performance included smash hits “In the Ayer” and “Low”, had the crowd going crazy and screaming for more. Singing into a bling-encrusted, winged microphone, Flo Rida literally took off into the crowd – first to hand out roses to the ladies during smash hit “Wild Ones”, then to high five as many people as possible, running almost all the way to the back of the square past thousands of screaming fans and performing the remainder of the chart-topping “Good Feeling” from atop a fence. Also performing “Whistle”, “Club Can’t Handle Me”, Flo Rida was clearly thrilled to be in Malta again.(independent.com.mt) This MTV event is a true  success.

 

Long and difficult EU summit starts today

Today marks the start of what will be a long, exhausting, and bruising battle essentially pitting German-led integrationist pressure against French-led protection of sovereign authority and reluctance to cede immense powers over budgets and tax-and-spend policies to Brussels and a new eurozone finance ministry, proposals that also raise fundamental questions about democratic legitimacy in the EU. Italian premier Mario Monti yesterday spoke about the possibility of the summit lasting all the way to Sunday. He said he would be willing to stay as long as a workable solution for Europe and the euro is found.. In preparation for the summit, Chancellor Angela Merkel went to Paris yesterday to try to strike a Franco-German deal with President François Hollande amid deep-seated differences at what has been described as Europe‘s defining moment. Earlier Angela Merkel spoke to the Bundestag, Germany’s lower house of parliament, about the EU summit. Her comments to the German parliament will be closely scrutinised, after she reportedly ruled out the idea of jointly guaranteed eurozone debt for “as long as I live” at a closed meeting with her coalition partners on Tuesday. With the two key EU countries split for the first time in 30 months of single currency and sovereign debt crisis, José Manuel Barroso, head of the European Commission laid bare the high stakes in play at an EU summit in Brussels as well as the high frictions between Germany and France. Merkel’s first visit to the Élysée Palace under its new occupant has been hastily arranged and came on the eve of what is being billed as a crucial Brussels summit which, apart from the immediate financial dilemmas, is to wrestle with a radical blueprint aimed at turning the 17 countries of the eurozone into a fully- fledged political federation within a decade.(independent.com.mt) The Eu itself is long and difficult.

 

Divers locate wreck of battleship sunk on way to Malta

Divers have located the wreck of an Italian battleship which was sunk by German bombs while it was on its way to Malta to surrender in the Second World War. The Roma, which was the flagship of the Italian fleet, was sunk on September 9, 1943 by two 'glider' bombs. The wreckage was located off  Sardinia after a search lasting several years, the Italian Navy said. It is in a depth of some 1,000 metres about 16 miles off the coast of Sardinia. Admiral Carlo Bergamini and 1,352 crewmen died when the battleship was sunk. It was the Italian Navy's most modern battleship having been launched in June 1942. The ship formed part of the Vittorio Veneto class, heavily armed with nine 15 inch calibre guns. The Roma had sailed in secret (from the Germans) in a group of three Vittorio Venetos class battleships, eight cruisers and eight destroyers. Although their stated intention was to attack Allied ships approaching Salerno, the intention was to sail to Malta following Italy's surrender on September 3, 1943. German intelligence got wind of what was happening and the Italians were bombed using new radio-controlled glider bombs. Allied air cover, which was apparently promised to the Italians, never showed up. Both the battleship Italia and the Roma were damaged, with the latter sinking quickly with heavy loss of life after one of its ammunition magazines was hit.(timesofmalta.com) Perhaps this wreck she teaches us something.