Calls for Type O positive blood as road accidents lead to shortage

Mar 16 2022

An appeal by the National Blood Transfusion Service has called for people to donate blood due to low stocks due to ‘relentless’ amount of road accidents.

Issuing an urgent appeal, the service said that stocks of Type O positive blood fell to critical levels. The blood type is given to patients more than any other blood type, hence the need.

Tony Micallef, practice nurse and donor liaison, said that intensive care, including blood transfusions for cancer patents, major surgeries being performed, and the relentless serious accidents occurring on a daily basis, have had the impact of a critical drop in supply.

This comes after a motorcycle accident last night killed a 28-year-old man, bringing up the number of road fatalities to 10 so far. This is one more than the total for all of last year.

Apart from the appeal for blood donations, the organisation also appealed for more careful driving. people can offer blood at the Guardamangia Blood Donation Centre, which is open everyday from 8am to 6pm.

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Marvel reveals first Muslim teen superhero Kamala Khan

Mar 16 2022

Marvel have just unveiled their first Muslim superhero in the official trailer for the upcoming new series Ms Marvel.

Iman Vellani is starring as teenager Kamala Khan, a young girl who has a massive imagination, loves writing fan-fiction about her idols and gaming with her friends.

However, she doesn’t seem to fit in very well until she develops super powers just like her Avenger role models. Vellani’s Khan was welcomed by Marvel stars Brie Larson (Captain Marvel) and Mark Ruffalo (Hulk) on social media.

As a Pakistani-American teen based n New Jersey, the character is based off a comic book character who debuted back in 2014. She will be playing a major role in phase four of the MCU as she develops some of the most powerful abilities in the universe.

The comic book character saw her stretching her limbs in incredible ways. The series however shows her ditch this ability for energy based powers.

Last year, Marvel chief Kevin Feige confirmed that the series will also set up The Marvels, a Captain marvel sequel set for a 2023 release.

The series will be reinventing the MCU once again as it has been known to do as it continues to expand the universe with movies and series through new and old characters.

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Masks for kids in school to be removed after Easter says Fearne

Mar 16 2022

Malta is set to scrap the COVID-19 regulation which sees schoolchildren wearing masks in schools after lessons resume after the Easter holidays.

The announcement was made by Deputy Prime Minister Chris Fearne during the inauguration of a garden in Raħal Ġdid which honours all those who died whilst positive for the virus in Malta.

Fearne revealed how the aim is to survey the situation during the holidays. From current observations, the health minister revealed that the country is set to make it no longer necessary for children to wear their mask in class.

He said that whoever wants to wear masks in class could do so, but it will no longer remain a legal obligation. Fearne also revealed that talks between Malta’s authorities and European partners in regards to travel restrictions will be taking place.

These talks would assess whether a negative PCR test would be sufficient to allow travel between countries. Meanwhile, cases seem to be on a slight rise as 229 new cases were registered, pushing it up to 1673 active cases.

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Maltese Paralympic swimmer places second in World Series

Mar 16 2022

More amazing local athletes are making waves (literally) on the international scene. Paralympic swimmer Maja Theuma has just managed to place second in the 50m freestyle on Saturday at the World Series in Lingano.

21-year-old Theuma managed to achieve a season best and then went on to clock more amazing achievements in the 400m freestyle and 100m backstroke.

The athlete managed to clock in 10:02:26 and 3:10:94 respectively, with the latter being her second fastest result in all of her events.

But that is not all as she also managed to place second in the 50m sprint with a time of 1:08:42. This was Theuma’s first international event of the season and is the run up to the upcoming ASA International Easter tournament this April.

Together with her team, Exiles, they will be heading out to Italy to participate in a training camp to prepare for the Easter event. Maja will continue to prove her athletic skill there, setting her up to be one of Malta’s very best.

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