Chinese TikTok ‘Douyin’ limiting kids to only 40 minutes a day

Sep 21 2021

The Chinese version of TikTok known as Douyin will be introducing a ‘teenage mode’ which will limit the amount of time spent on the social media platform by kids under the age of 14. The age group will only be able to spend up to 40 minutes a day on the app and it will apply to all Douyin users who have signed up using their real names, revealed Beijing-based ByteDance in a statement. The app will also be unavailable to these same users between the hours of 10 pm and 6 am, with parents being urged to help children register with their real names or else enable teenage mode manually.

ByteDance has not yet issued a statement in regards to how it will deal with those instances wherein someone registers without using their real details to avoid the restriction. With at least 490 million users as of November 2020, Douyin’s restriction comes so as to get kids doing other activities apart from using social media, most notably sport. With studies showing that obesity in Maltese children has only been increasing, topping the charts according to WHO, could such a measure be useful locally?

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PCR for toddlers by Malta Airshow sparks outrage and refund demands

Sep 21 2021

The organizers of the Malta International Airshow have received a barrage of criticism and refund demands after they introduced a PCR test requirement for children between the ages of 2 and 12. The announcement of the ‘health measure’ came on Tuesday morning, leading to many who had already bought their tickets to demand a refund, claiming that when purchasing their ticket, the requirement was not detailed.

Children are being allowed entry only if they are accompanied by an adult and if they present a PCR test 72 hours from the entry date or Rapid Test 24hours from the entry date. Pregnant women can also enter when presenting the same criteria.

Despite the organizers pointing out that the event is fully compliant with all health directives, many pointed out that 2-year-olds do not need a PCR test to travel abroad, and certainly shouldn’t need one for a local airshow.

The comments bombarded the organizers, calling the measures ridiculous and a joke, calling for either a change in the measures in place to attend the event or a refund of the purchased tickets.

What do you make of the situation?

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Lidl trainers selling for hundreds on eBay following UK sellout

Sep 21 2021

Lidl’s famous colorful sneakers have made their way to eBay where they are selling for hundreds of pounds after completely selling out all across the UK’s West Midlands. A frenzy of shoppers desperate to get their hands on the exclusive shoes made their way to the budget supermarket’s inexpensive ‘Lidl by Lidl’ range after it went on sale across the UK in stores from September 16th. The unisex sneakers, donning the supermarket brand colors, were priced at £12.99, but after their eBay appearance, things got a little more pricey.

Sellers have been offering the sneakers for prices which range between £500 and the buy-it-now price of £1,000. Shoppers have thus been left pretty frustrated they couldn’t get the sneakers for a cheaper deal, so much so that a Lidl spokesperson revealed that an investigation will be launched into eBay users sky-rocketing prices for their sneakers. The shoes went completely viral internationally and locally, becoming some of the hottest shoes of 2020. And the trend, it seems, isn’t dying out too soon.

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Photo Source: MVC Magazine

Cyclist Fabio describes his ‘lowest darkest moment’ during 47 hour cycle

Sep 21 2021

National record holder and cyclist Fabio Spiteri embarked on a bike ride 47hrs and 41 minutes long around Sicily to raise €50,000 for around 21 animal shelters. The feat was massive and grueling, with Spiteri revealing that throughout his voyage on our Italian neighbor, he underwent some daunting physical and mental challenges. During the trip, which is the second fastest in history, resulted in him having several doubts after 400km, as the 40 degrees Celsius heat beat down on him. At the 500km mark, Fabio slept for around 5 seconds on the bike, resulting in him hitting a barrier and smashing his shin. Yet, he persisted.

He took a power nap of around an hour after 600km on a pavement and continued, followed by another 20 minute break after 700km. He revealed how he had to dig deep to survive 2 days, 2 nights and 3 sunrises. Thankfully, our local Iron Man managed to complete his 1000km in 47 hours. Fabio’s amazing feat is not only one for the sports and athletic books but also a generous act of charity from which animal shelters in Malta and Gozo will be greatly benefitting!

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