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Bernard Grech pitches PN as the modern choice seeking the middle road

Bernard Grech pitches PN as the modern choice seeking the middle road
Jul 18 2021 Share

Closing off the last session of the week-long Nationalist Party general council, Bernard Grech described the Opposition Party as the modern choice for those who wish to seek a middle road on several issues. Grech stated that through trust, a middle of the road solution to several issues can be found without having to resort to any extremes. 

He compared this with what he deemed Labour’s attempt to buy people’s silence. ‘Labour thinks it can buy everyone’ stated the Opposition leader. He also stated that [the PN] does not want to impose itself through a top-down approach like, according to Grech, Robert Abela’s Labour government. 

Grech also welcomed critics as well as former Lovin Malta CEO Christian Peregin. He stated that as a journalist, Chris has criticised Grech and the party itself, encouraging him to keep his criticism as this is a sign of a healthy democracy. The PN, Grech stated, should be a tool for change. This change does not just concern who is in a Prime Minister or Minister position, but also in terms of what Malta’s upcoming generations will want to experience as a better life. 

Among the issues he listed, he mentioned Malta’s recent grey-listing by the FATF and environmental degradation as being some of the issues which need a complete overhaul in terms of governance. His closing statement stated how the election should not be a choice between the lesser of two evils, but ‘a choice based on extraordinary conviction.’ 

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Photo Source: Bernard Grech

1 in 4 Maltese COVID patients still suffer long term symptoms

1 in 4 Maltese COVID patients still suffer long term symptoms
Jul 18 2021 Share

Around a quarter of Maltese who contracted the COVID-19 virus have been reported to still suffer from symptoms four to five months after. The follow-up study also reported that around 22% of former patients stated they feel worse since the virus was contracted. While 77% of the random population sample felt the same as they did before they contracted the virus, a fourth of those who felt worse suffered from fatigue months after they healed. A total of 23% also reported shortness of breath. 

Headaches were reported from a fifth of the patients, with 8.9% having suffered chest pain. Consultant cardiologist Caroline Magri described the figures as impressive. She also noted how 5.2% of 2,279 former COVID patients were hospitalised, a rate much higher than the rate of hospitalisation of influenza and other conditions. 0.7% of patients needed intubation and not just hospital admission.

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Photo Source: Healthline

Pregnant men emojis among latest gender-inclusive emoji update

Pregnant men emojis among latest gender-inclusive emoji update
Jul 18 2021 Share

Among the new emojis set to be introduced this year, new emojis of pregnant men will be bringing more inclusivity onto keyboards. Unicode Consortium is the non-profit company that provides the code and descriptions behind emojis developed by Apple and Google. It stated that the newly released draft list will show improved diversity in gender, following criticism that currently available emojis were not sufficiently inclusive. 

There will also be emojis more representative of transgender and non-binary pregnancies. Alongside prince and princess emojis, a gender-neutral person wearing a crown will be one of the options as well. Apart from these emojis, the new update includes an x-ray, mirrorball, grey equality sign, hand heart and melting face, vastly increasing the possibilities of expression for one of the fastest growing languages in the world with more than 3000 official emojis. 

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Photo Source: Newsweek

Biden warns against deadly COVID-19 Facebook misinformation

Biden warns against deadly COVID-19 Facebook misinformation
Jul 18 2021 Share

US President Joe Biden has warned against the spread of COVID-19 misinformation on social media which is resulting in the unnecessary deaths of many. Responding to a question posed by a reporter in regards to platforms such as Facebook, Biden said the White House has been increasing pressure on social media companies to tackle disinformation. Facebook also claimed it is taking aggressive action to protect public health, with Biden adding that the only pandemic there exists is among unvaccinated people. 

After White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki stated that Facebook and other platforms are not doing enough to combat misinformation, the company stated that around 18 million pieces of COVID misinformation and rule-breaking accounts were removed. Despite this, they acknowledged that more can be done as misinformation continues to spread. 

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Photo Source: CNN