Champions League draw redone after technical problems

Dec 13 2021

The draw for the Champions League round of 16 matchups had to be done again after a technical problem in the first draw. The mistake teams being made available against supposed unavailable teams like Manchester United who were initially drawn against former group F opponents Villareal. The second draw was held with none of these problems and is said to be fair, albeit some disappointed fans.

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A post shared by UEFA Champions League (@championsleague)

Many teams like Real Madrid and Inter who originally drew Benfica and Ajax respectively, will now have to face much tougher opponents in PSG and Liverpool. Real Madrid were obviously disappointed, and are said to be protesting this redone draw citing that redoing the draw was a scandal.

In their statement UEFA said this “Following a technical problem with the software of an external service provider that instructs the officials as to which teams are eligible to play each other, a material error occurred in the draw for the UEFA Champions League Round of 16.”

The Round of 16 will consist of these matches Ajax vs Benfica, Inter vs Liverpool, Bayern vs Salzburg, Real Madrid vs PSG, Manchester United vs Atletico Madrid, Juventus vs Villareal, Manchester City vs Sporting and Chelsea vs Lille. Whilst in the UEFA Europa League draw European heavyweight Barcelona and Napoli were drawn against eachother.

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President urges politicians to respect people’s intelligence as election draws near

Dec 13 2021

Speaking during his Republic Day address, President George Vella appealed to politicians to respect people’s intelligence as Malta moves closer to election.

The President said that Malta will experience the essence of democracy in just a few months, with people being asked to vote for the government they want in the lead.

During the annual commemoration held at the Palace in Valletta, Vella appealed to the politicians to put before the people clear and unequivocal working programmes and policies that will be implemented if chosen to lead.’

The president also used his speech to address other issues, ranging from COVID-19 to law and environment.

He warned how the COVID-19 pandemic is not over yet, but applauded the professionals who worked day and night to safeguard human health.

He also touched upon the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia, stating it is everyone’s desire that the investigative and judicial processes will lead to find out who is responsible.

‘No one is above the law’ he said. ‘The lessons will remain for us to learn from. And the rule of law and the protection of human rights must remain crucial tools for the fair and democratic functioning of our country.’

Vella also referred to the case of Jaiteh Lamin when touching upon the issue of racism, saying we cannot turn a blind eye to such issues.

A good portion of his speech was also dedicated to environmental issues, warning about climate change, and even the issue of land use. ‘In order to protect the beauty and sustainability of our country we must find a balance between the built and the natural environment’

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Photo Source: George Vella

Rapper Megan Thee Stallion graduates from college in tribute to late mother

Dec 13 2021

As a tribute to her mother Holly Thomas, who sadly passed away from cancer two years ago, rapper Megan Thee Stallion has just announced her graduation from college.

The 21-year-old artist, real name Megan Pete, earned a bachelor’s degree in health administration from Texas Southern University.

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A post shared by Megan Thee Stallion (@theestallion)

She joined the College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences for their graduation on Saturday 11th December. Videos show her going through the usual graduation routine of shaking hands with school administration and stopping for a selfie before walking down the ramp.

Posting to social media, she captioned several photos of herself in full toga ‘Meg Thee Graduate’.

She went on to say that she knows her parents are looking down on her so proud. ‘Thank you everyone for all the love today’ she said. She also took to Twitter to caption ‘WE DID IT HOTTIES.’

She also took the opportunity to motivate her followers to be whoever they want to be and do whatever they wish to do.

On top of her degree, Megan also launched Thee Megan Fund, a scholarship fund to help TSU students who are facing financial hardships to cross the finish line at graduation.

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Photo Source: theestallion IG

Elderly make up just 6% of COVID-19 cases

Dec 13 2021

Fresh EU data has shown that the elderly made up just 6% of all new COVID-19 cases detected last week.

The older groups have reportedly continued to evade infection, despite figures showing how during the week ending December 5th, Malta continued to detect high number of new cases than previous months.

Published by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, the weekly released data shows that just 40 of 663 cases found were patients over the age of 65.

Those over 80, the older patients, made up just a fourth of the cases. Just 10 patients contracted COVID-19 within a seven-day period. The over 80 cohort registered the lowest infection rate among all ages. At 55.5 cases per 100,000 people, the infection rate was a fraction of those register among younger cohorts.

Looking at younger cohorts, the age for those aged between 65 and 79 stood at 64.1 cases per 100,000. The next lowest rate was 213 cases per 100,000 in the 15 to 24 age group.

The remaining age groups, under 15s, 15 to 24 and 25 to 49, registered rates of 240, 213 and 248 respectively. Health authorities are pointing towards the booster dose as being the main factor behind this evasion by the elderly.

The first to get their booster vaccine dose were those in their 80s, with the majority aged over 70 being vaccinated with the booster by early November. Health Minister Chris Fearne said that all those over 50 will receive a booster shot by the end of the year.

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Photo Source: BBC