The Nadurin are mourning the unexpected death of councillor Frans Sammut, who passed away at St Luke's Hospital on Tuesday evening.  

Frans served in the Nadur Local Council between 1996 and 1999 and was also elected in the 2001 Council elections. Known for his genuine commitment to make Nadur a better place, Frans will be remembered by all of us. Flags flown at half mast could be seen on numerous houses in Nadur. The Nadur Local Council, the Malta Labour Party and other organizations have already expressed their condolences.

June29th.com would like to thank Frans for dedicating so much time for our home-town and for all his interest in this website. May he rest in peace. 

June29th.com is now proud to offer you 'Il-Hbieb Isejhu' online! The Nadur MUSEUM (boys) branch published 'Il-Hbieb Isejhu' for the first time in October 1966. After all these years the friends' call is going online to reach a much wider audience. 

The magazine's online version includes all the material found in the printed edition. Every month, the Nadur MUSEUM invites you to read enjoyable short stories which help you look at life in a much brighter way.

Nadur was one of the Maltese localities which ended up with considerable amounts of black dust on Sunday afternoon and throughout Monday. The Nadurin could be noticed sweeping thick layers of black dust from their terraces, roofs and cars.

The black dust came all the way from Sicily following the eruption of the Etna volcano. The dark soot covering Malta started descending in the early hours of Sunday. Nadur's meteorologist Joe Meilak said that the ash fallout from Mount Etna was a very rare phenomenon and was mainly due to a northeasterly light wind in the Sicily Channel. 

Nadur Primary School children joined the Local Council in this year's Clean Up the World Campaign. The 'Ta' Xhajma' area was chosen for this year's clean-up. The Local Council marked the occasion by planting numerous indigenous trees, including carobs and olive trees. While addressing participants at the end of the clean-up, Mayor Dr Chris Said explained the importance of living in a clean country and how vital it is for today's generation to plant new trees. Councilor Ruben Curmi also launched a new Council-initiative. A special skip will be placed near Nadur's Primary School only to be used as a huge waste-paper basket. All papers will then be recycled.

The whites are on the right track! With a 3-1 victory over Victoria Hotspurs on Saturday, Nadur's squad reconfirmed its determination to dominate for yet another year Gozo's Football Championship. 

Nigerian striker Okoro scored the first goal of the match, paving way for Charles Hili's first top-goal! Thumbs all up for the youngest of all youngsters, 17-year-old Charles Hili, who shall remember October 26th for quite a few months! The Hotspurs bridged the gap thanks to a penalty, while Chris Camilleri wrapped up the game, making it 3-1 for the whites. 

Nadur Youngsters' coach Teddie Bajada has all the squad available for Saturday's game against Victoria Hotspurs. The game kicks off at 1500 CET at Sannat Ground.

If the Youngsters win this fourth league game, they could spend at least a week in the first place as Ghajnsielem FC will not be playing this weekend. June29th.com has learnt that Nigerian striker Maczerob Okoro is no longer on injury list and is expected to be in action from the first minute.

Last year, the Hotspurs gained their first league points after beating the Youngsters 2-1 in the first round.

Nadur's young author, Pierre J. Mejlak, has just published his third book, Meta Nstabu l-Angli (when angels were discovered). "We are really satisfied with the product. Both the script and the presentation are up to the highest standards," Merlin Library's chief Arthur Gruppetta told june29th.com. 

The book is targeted for Maltese children aged between 8 and 14. You can get a copy either by clicking here or by visiting any leading bookshop in Malta and Gozo. 

It was the perfect occasion for bird enthusiasts to get to know more of different types of birds. The annual Bird Show took place at the Mnarja Band Club on Sunday, 20th October. The show is organized annually by the Gozo Bird Breeding Society in collaboration with Nadur's Local Council. "This year we had 35 members of our society who decided to put their most beautiful birds on show," one of the organizers, Naduri Jason Buttigieg, told june29th.com. For more photos click here.

Nadur Youngsters seem to have done a good job during the past two weeks! On Saturday they've netted four goals to Zebbug Rovers and got hold of the Easy Line Gozo Championship top-spot!

Zebbug Rovers scored for the first time thanks to Magrin. Yet, the Youngsters replied back with two goals in a few minutes by Nigerian striker Okoro and Anthony Portelli. All was much easier afterwards with the whites controlling the rest of the game. Saviour Farrugia scored the third goal and made way for Anthony Portelli's first dopietta this season.

The Youngsters are now sharing the first place with main challengers Ghajnsielem FC.

Guess who was eating at Ramla Bay a few days ago? Mr Switzerland! The most good-looking man in Switzerland has just returned to his country after spending a fabulous holiday in Gozo.

Twenty-eight year old Christoph Engel, the official 'Mr Switzerland 2002' was in Gozo for a three-day holiday. This holiday was featured in an article by Bruckenbauer - one of the biggest weekly papers in Switzerland with a circulation of more than 1.2 million.

Mr Engel said he'll surely remember the beautiful walk from Ramla Bay to Hondoq ir-Rummien, passing from San Blas and Dahlet Qorrot! He also dined at Ramla Bay with Malta's Eurovision entry Ira Losco.

Mr Engel said he was extremely impressed by the beauty of the island.

Malta's President, Prime Minister, Leader of the Opposition, Ambassadors, numerous Italian and Maltese Mayors, European MPs and other foreign and local policy-makers will all gather in Nadur between November 6th and 10th for the first Nadur International Convention, which is being organized in collaboration with the Italian Association of Local Councils (AICCRE) and with EU's financial backing.

This is the first time that a Maltese Local Council is organizing such a big-scale event. The conference will deal with twinnings between Maltese and Italian towns in the picture of EU enlargement in the Mediterranean. Click here for the official program.

The Nadur Local Council has just received good news! The Malta Tourism Authority (MTA) has agreed to help the Local Council build the much-awaited Public Convenience at Dahlet Qorrot Bay. The MTA will be handing the Council Lm4,000 for the project. 

"We had numerous meetings with MTA officials in the past weeks. We explained how important it is to have a Public Convenience at Dahlet Qorrot. We are now very happy with MTA's decision," Mayor Dr Chris Said told june29th.com. 

The contractor will soon be given the go-ahead to start the work. The project should be ready by the coming June.

The Nadur Local Council and the MTA have always worked in close collaboration. Last year the MTA offered Lm9,000 for the Council's Garden at Fatima Street. 

Nadur Youngsters will be called for their third Gozo Championship encounter against Zebbug Rovers this Saturday. If the Youngsters manage to grasp three points, they would share the top-spot with challengers Ghajnsielem FC.

Last weekend, Victoria Hotspurs were leading 3-2 against Xewkija Tigers when the yellows' supporters gave a Great Siege re-enactment on the 90th minute and the game had to be called off. Earlier last week, an impressive Ghajnsielem FC registered the biggest victory so far, giving six goals to newly-promoted Qala St Joseph.

Follow the Gozo Championship day by day! Click here to know the latest scores, results and tables. You can also have your say in our Forum. 

Nadur's popular magazine, Il-Hbieb Isejhu, is celebrating its 36th anniversary! Nadur's MUSEUM (boys) branch published Il-Hbieb Isejhu for the very first time in October 1966. After so much years the friends' call is still as fresh as ever.

Hundreds of people, including many Nadurin around the globe, gladly find Il-Hbieb Isejhu at their doorstep every month. They have now become accustomed to a true-friend who pays such a regular visit! You can also be one of them. Just e-mail us your address and our friends at the MUSEUM branch will be very glad to offer you a few minutes of enjoyable reading every four weeks.

Before commissioning its architect to start drawing plans, Nadur's Local Council is calling all Nadurin to submit their suggestions and have their say on the new Nadur Sports' Centre at Xandriku Street. A public meeting is scheduled for November 17th.

The Local Council is eager to get the ball rolling at Xandriku Street as soon as possible. New basketball and volleyball courts, the installation of synthetic turf, gyms and changing rooms are all expected to form part of the new Nadur Sports' Centre. 

Do you think a new sports' centre in Nadur is a priority? Have your say in the june29th.com's Forum!

The first bushfires of the summer season have started to hit hard the Australian city of Sydney, worrying a number of Nadurin living in the area. At least 10 homes have been destroyed and many more are at risk. 

Naduri Joseph Said lives very close to the Landilo area, between Penrith and St Mary’s. "The area was badly hit. Trees and barns have been burnt down," Said told june29th.com. "It was hard to breath outside. There was too much heat and too much wind. Luckily, we're all fine."

The New South Wales Rural Fire Service says a total of 74 wildfires are burning across the state. Temperatures in western Sydney are hovering around 30°C and the flames are being fanned by strong winds.

The energetic Nadur Local Council has just launched its program to mark Nadur Day on November 20th. Our Local Council was set up on that day, back in 1993.

A week full of events will kick off on November 6th with an international conference, organized by our Council, dealing with twinnings. Italian and Maltese Mayors will be in Gozo for the event. Throughout all week, the Nadurin can enjoy numerous concerts, an art exhibition by Nadur artist Joe Engerer, cultural tours, hikes, sports rallies, meetings and much more! For all the program click here.

Championship newcomers, Xaghra FC, gave Nadur Youngsters a hard time on Saturday afternoon. The Youngsters, however, managed to bring home the much-needed three points with a splendid shot by Chris Camilleri (left) on the 28th minute. Camilleri's puritanical shot took Xaghra's defense by storm and gave the whites the only positive note to leave the stadium with!

New coach Teddie Bajada seems to have quite some busy days ahead to bring the squad back to competitive-mode. It was nice to see a new youngster on pitch. The best of luck to 17-year-old Charles Hili who made his first top-appearance on Saturday.

Have your say about Nadur's football team! Join our FORUM now!

The Nadur Youth Centre will next week kick off a new season of weekly meetings for all young Nadurin. Apart from a special Mass which will take place at the Youth Centre every first Friday of each month, all students attending Forms 4 and 5 will have a weekly meeting every Thursday. The Friday-meeting is aimed at sixth formers while 18+ youths have a special meeting every Wednesday. All meetings start at 2000 CET. Different speakers will deal with several youth-oriented topics every week.

Meanwhile, the MUSEUM (boys) branch will keep organizing its monthly meeting for young men every first Saturday of each month. The first meeting will take place on October 5th at 1930 CET.

The Nadur Local Council can finally start building the much-awaited Public Convenience at Dahlet Qorrot Bay as the Malta Environment and Planning Authority (MEPA) gave its go-ahead.

"Work will start in a few days time," Mayor Chris Said confirmed with june29th.com, "and it should be completed before summer 2003." The new Dahlet Qorrot Public Convenience, designed by architect Edward Scerri in June 2001, should make Dahlet Qorrot a much more relaxing bay for all! 

The Malta Tourism Authority has also accepted the Local Council's request and is giving its financial assistance. The Council is also asking the Ministry for Gozo to give its help.

Pierre J. Mejlak's third book, Meta Nstabu l-Angli (when the angels were discovered) is currently in print and will hit Malta's bookshops in three weeks time!

The adventure story talks about a group of four children who end up being hijacked by a group of experienced thieves! The book is being published by Malta's top publishers, Merlin Library Ltd. It includes ten full-colour paintings by Greta Borg Carbott.

The one-stop Malta online website, aboutmalta.com, has chosen june29th.com as its top-pick for the month of October. In this month's issue of the aboutmalta.com's newsletter, the AM editor said: "Good Maltese community sites are rare. Even more rare are good community sites from Gozo. June29th.com is certainly a wonderful exception. This virtual meeting place for all Nadurin around the globe is currently celebrating its first year online. The editorial board of aboutmalta.com wishes the team at June29th.com all the best and many happy returns."

We would like to thank Dr Toni Sant and all his staff at aboutmalta.com for promoting Nadur's virtual meeting place!

Peter Muscat, a Naduri living in USA, was one of three businessmen chosen by Fortune Small Business Magazine for a survey on the effects of 9/11. The survey was published a few days ago. Muscat's business, Maiden Lane Wine & Liquor, lost 35% of the revenue since September 11th 2001. 

About 50% of Muscat's business came from the World Trade Centre and the buildings around it. Today, Muscat is still fighting for his financial survival. Click here to read all the interview.

news editor: Pierre J. Mejlak photos: Ryan J. Meilak