September is a historically significant month for Malta. On the 8th of September 1565 Ottoman forces retreated from Malta following defeat at the hands of the Maltese and the Knights of St John in the Great Siege. On the same day, but in 1943 during the Second World War, Fascist Italy surrendered to the Allies and the Italian Fleet came to anchor at St. Paul's Bay. September is also related to the Maltese insurrection against the French, beginning on the 2nd of September 1798 and ending in victory for Malta and its British ally on the 5th of September 1800. And it was on 21 September 1964 that Malta acquired independence from Britain.

Outside Malta, September has come to mark the most horrendous terrorist attack in the United States. To mark the fourth anniversary since September 11, 2001, the MaltaMedia Online Network is offered as series of podcasts featuring the webcasts we produced following the 9/11 attacks. This is the world's first podcasting series in Maltese; it gives us great pride to offer this service to podcast listeners worldwide.

I have written about podcasting in general and about our 9/11 series on my blog. If you listen to any of our podcasts, please let us know what you think. We're planning other podcasts from the MaltaMedia Online Network in the coming months.

Toni Sant
Consulting Editor, aboutmalta.com

P.S. To subscribe to this newsletter just contact us.

1. Last Month's Daily News from MaltaMedia
2. Top Picks:
     a. Lanċa Ġejja u Oħra Sejra: Malta and its migrations
     b. Pierre J. Mejlak's Blog
3. This Month in Maltese History
4. What's On This Month

01 Last Cabinet meeting before a re-shuffle?
02 Electricity demand reaches all-time high
03 Call for Cargo Handling Terminal contractors
04 130 asylum seekers reported missing at sea
05 Four sailors seriously injured in accident at Valletta Harbour
06 Coalition against development of golf courses on proposed sites
07 Malta pleads for help from the EU to tackle illegal immigration
08 Three sent to jail on attempted human trafficking
09 ATP to undertake industrial action
10 Ryanair deems Maltese airline fees uncompetitive
11 Health Division warns against use of pandemic flu medicines as precaution
12 Maltese youth population on the decline
13 Malta not compliant with EU electronic waste directive
14 Santa Marija convoy wreath laying ceremony
15 Man injured in fireworks factory explosion dies
16 Very few illegal immigrants granted refugee status
17 Rise in number of Maltese travellers
18 Vandals set mattresses on fire in Magħtab
19 Fireworks factory explosion in Gozo
20 Malta fails EU’s Packaging-Waste Directive deadline
21 Mediterranean sea-storm claims life of 24 illegal immigrants
22 Agreement on new littering regulations signed
23 Tramps singer Dominic Grech is dead
24 Lotto booths closed following two hold-ups
25 BBC World Challenge features Maltese project
26 Sister-in-law testifies on Zejtun explosion
27 Malta appeals to UNHCR for support on immigration crisis
28 Malta may buy oil from Libya at special rates
29 Man drowns at Marfa
30 Coolest August day since 1987
31 Maltese student caught in Hurricane Katrina

Read and/or listen to the latest daily news from MaltaMedia.com.

a. Lanċa Ġejja u Oħra Sejra: Malta and its migrations
Malta's stategic position in the Mediterranean Sea has given it a long, interesting history of migration. Emigration was a significant aspect of Maltese life in the last century, however, Malta is also a magnet for all sorts of immigrants. Most recently, the plight of irregular immigrants from various countries seeking a better life in Europe has become an almost daily topic in the news, especially because very few are actually granted refugee status. Over a thousand have reached the Maltese islands this year alone.

MaltaMedia is in the final stages of production on a special feature about Malta and its migrations. Subscribers to the aboutmalta.com are being given an exclusive preview of the feature, still under construction.
 

b. Pierre J. Mejlak's Blog
Not one to rest on his laurels, Pierre J. Mejlak emerges from the success of his translation of a children's encyclopedia in Maltese to continue delighting readers with his blog from Brussels. Pierre's blog recently shifted to bilingual mode, to the delight of all readers keen to find good writings in Maltese on the internet. As aboutmalta.com's managing editor, he brings insights from and about Malta from the perspective of someone equally in touch with the latest trends and age-old traditions.

40 YEARS AGO (22 September 1965)
273 Maltese emigrants leave for Australia on board the ship Sydney.

30 YEARS AGO (1 September 1975)
Diplomatic relations established between Malta and Saudi Arabia.

10 YEARS AGO (5 September 1995)
A bill to amend the Electoral Law is published, aiming at achieving greater proportionality between votes cast and parliamentary representation.

FAMOUS BIRTHDAYS
7 September 1931: Charles Camilleri, Composer
12 September 1967: Immanuel Mifsud, Author/Poet
22 September 1965: Tony Drago, Billard Player
25 September 1976: Chiara Siracusa, Singer

DEATH ANNIVERSARIES
6 September 1986: Paul Nani, Composer, dies at 90
8 September 1961: Guze Ellul Mercer, Politician/Writer, dies at 64
22 September 1936: Giuseppe Despott, Zoologist/Palaeontologist, dies at 58
29 September 1980: Anthony Miceli Farrugia, Businessman, dies at 88

See aboutmalta.com's daily full list of birthdays, deaths, and events in Maltese history.

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

2- 30 September 2005
Kultura... and its influences
At 37, Michel d'Anastasio, calligrapher and artist living in Paris, is fulfilling a dream: to exhibit in Gozo, the land of his ancestors. "Kultura... sous influences" symbolises the cultures of the different peoples that colonised Malta, but also Malta's own cultural influences on the artist's personality. The exhibition will be held at the Ministry for Gozo.

17 September onwards
Flashbacks from the Past
An exhibition of historic photographs, digitised film footage and vintage photographic cameras and printing tools, commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the Department of Information (1955-2005). The exhibition will be held at St James Cavalier in Valletta.

20 September 2005
Spies, Thighs & Private Eyes
The night at St James Cavalier in Valletta brings together the recent work of local and foreign video artists Nicole Cuschieri, Martin Bonnici, Alex Spiteri Gingel, Annabel Galea, Nathalie Gaglione, Aldo Cauchi Savona, Ian Schranz, Milan Andrijasevic, Slavko Vukanovicc and more in a fusion of djing, veejaying and live instruments.

22 - 29 September 2005
The Battle for Malta Veterans Reunion 2005
The event will reunite in Malta Royal Air Force, Royal Navy, Merchant Navy, British Army, Commonwealth and Allied veterans, whose average age is 85. The event will also coincide with the Malta International Airshow, which will be held on 24 nd 25 September.

View aboutmalta.com's full calendar for this month's events in Malta and Gozo, or to submit a future event to our calendar.