In some ways this month's newsletter is a follow-up on the last email you received from aboutmalta.com. I'm referring to the sneak preview we gave you to GozoWeather.com, the latest online service from MaltaMedia. Your feedback is very useful in helping us fine-tune the first weather site from Gozo.

Gozo has a special place in our hearts at aboutmalta.com because some of us are either Gozitan or part-Gozitan. We also know that the same holds true for many of our subscribers. And those who do not have Gozo in their blood, surely enjoy a visit in the summer...be they Maltese, or tourists visiting from abroad.

And now, since it's August, Gozo braces itself for the annual Santa Maria Invasion. Enjoy!

Toni Sant
Consulting Editor, aboutmalta.com

P.S. To subscribe to this newsletter click here.

1. Last Month's Daily News from MaltaMedia
2. Top Picks:
     a. GozoWeather.com
     b. Festa Season in Malta & Gozo
3. This Month in Maltese History
4. Web Tip for August

01 Health Dept. confirms negative side affects of 'fat blockers'
02 Increase in price of diesel, petrol announced
03 NZ auditor-general launches inquiry into Transend's deal with Maltapost
04 Students still without results, Government slams MUT
05 Air Malta chooses Airbus
06 Another arson attack at the University of Malta
07 Man murders wife, then kills himself
08 Cabinet approves electoral law amendments
09 EU dismisses Reuters report about danger to Malta's EU candidacy
10 Customs intercept contraband mobile phones, alcohol
11 Almost half of Trade Fair Exhibitors report drop in sales
12 Boat with over 100 illegal immigrants spotted near Malta
13 Elderly man dies at sea after falling from boat
14 Former Swiss Air top-official to be appointed CEO of Air Malta
15 Deadlock over Public Service collective agreement broken
16 Murdered police officers honoured
17 UHM orders suspension of ambulance drivers' industrial action
18 "We have managed to be persuasive" - Maltese ambassador to the EU
19 Cost of living and inflation slightly down
20 Man of Maltese descent jailed for life in England
21 12 illegal immigrants caught hiding in Bugibba
22 Thousands of liri in jewellery stolen
23 Agriculture, budget and competition seen as main challenge in Malta-EU negotiations
24 Electricity blackout hits Malta and Gozo
25 228 illegal immigrants land in Malta after being rescued by AFM
26 MIA sale agreement signed
27 Demonstration against proposed golf course
28 Marin Hili will be sacked if Labour wins power - Sant
29 Malta closes 24th EU Acquis chapter
30 MIA to introduce new security tariff
31 Norwegian student in hospital suffering from ecstasy overdose

CLICK HERE for the latest daily news from Malta.

a. GOZOWEATHER.COM

The MaltaMedia Online Network has created a new website in collaboration with the Nadur Weather Observatory. It will be launched very soon. All aboutmalta.com newsletter subscribers are invited to preview this new service and send in comments through the website itself. This first online weather service from Gozo compliments MaltaWeather.com, which has been operated as a collaboration between MaltaMedia and the Balzan Malta Weather Station since January 2001.
 

b. FEASTA SEASON IN MALTA & GOZO

The Maltese sky rumbles during the day and lights up at night; church bells toll for hours on end and people flock to the streets and squares of every town and village in Malta and Gozo. It's festa season! This special feature from MaltaMedia is packed with interactive information about the various aspects of the festa season in the Maltese Islands. The feature includes various audio and video webcasts in Maltese about particular celebrations, which stand out in the Maltese calendar of summertime celebrations.

30 YEARS AGO (14 August 1972)
The West-German national airline Lufthansa plans to start regular scheduled air services between West-Germany and Malta.

20 YEARS AGO (6 August 1982)
Portside nameboard of wartime tanker Ohio, from the famous Santa Marija convoy of 1942, is recovered in a store in Balzan by Laurence Aquilina, a former Malta Drydocks ship-fitter, and presented to National War Museum Association.

10 YEARS AGO (2 August 1992)
The foundation stone of a new Franciscan church is laid in Bahar ic-Caghaq.

FAMOUS BIRTHDAYS
  6 August 1916: Dom Mintoff, Politician
11 August 1914: Guze Chetcuti, Poet/Writer/Broadcaster
16 August 1944: Charles "City" Gatt, Musician/Artist
20 August 1917: Mikiel (Kilin) Spiteri, Writer

DEATH ANNIVERSARIES
  1 August 1964: Nosi Ghirlando, Actor, 56
  5 August 1997: Johnny Navarro, Actor, 84
12 August 1996: Oscar Lucas, Jazz Musician/Band Leader, 75
21 August 1986: Harry (Wistin) Born, Writer/Priest/Broadcaster, 76

CLICK HERE for a full list of this month's birthdays, deaths, and events in Maltese history.

Today in Maltese History is produced exclusively for aboutmalta.com by Mario Axiaq.

2 - 4 August
It-Tfal Jigu Bil-Vapuri
This play, based on a novel by Oliver Friggieri, forms part of the calendar of Evenings on Campus. Carmel S Aquilina directs.

6 - 12 August
Iljieli Mediterranji
This week-long cultural festival will be taking place once again at the Opera House Ruins in Valletta. Various performances are staged every evening while art exhibitions can be viewed throughout the day.

10 - 11 August
Classic Wine Festival
One of Malta's leading winemakers is organising a wine festival at the Upper Barrakka Gardens. Visitors will also be able to enjoy the thrilling fireworks of the feast of St. Lawrence in Vittoriosa.

15 August
Heineken Tribu Festival
Now in its second edition, the Heineken Tribu Festival caters for party-goers of all types - whether they prefer dance, pop or rock music. Several foreign acts will be performing during the day-long event.

CLICK HERE for a full calendar of this month's events in Malta and Gozo.