Fireworks spectacle in Mosta in anticipation of Malta’s biggest feasts

Aug 11 2022

Hundreds took to the streets as the skies above Mosta lit up in a fireworks display between 2045hrs and 2230hrs.

Put up by the Soċjeta Filarmonika Santa Marija Mosta, also known as ‘Tal-Istilla’, the fireworks display captured exactly what Maltese culture is truly capable of when passion and expertise converge.

As the entire island as well as the fireworks group ramps up excitement for the 15th of August Feast of the Assumption, the pyrotechnics last night gave a small taste of the celebrations in store and how they will be incorporating a crucial aspect of island tradition.

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The feast is a peak of the summer season of religious feasts, celebrated in 7 towns all across the islands. Despite being celebrated all across Christendom, the Maltese touch of culture makes it even a tourist hotspot to visit.

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Emergency room admissions rise higher than usual

Aug 11 2022

Emergency room admissions have risen higher than usual, as Mater Dei has been facing a lot of pressure ever since the closure of the Birkirkara health clinic. This is made worse by the fact that the months of July and August are peak tourism months.

Last Monday there was reportedly an emergency room admission every 2 minutes. A spokesperson for the ministry of health later confirmed that, on average, the emergency room sees 370 patients a day. Last Monday saw 485 patients admitted.

Normally emergency room patients wait around 30 minutes to get their initial triage examination by a nurse. However, on Monday, some patients had to wait well over 2 hours for this initial test. Patients were treated by the urgency of their issue rather than the time they are admitted.

The spokesperson also had this to say; “There were sustained periods where a new patient at the emergency department was registered every two minutes. As per usual protocol, all patients are seen by professionals in order of urgency,”

The fact that July and August are peak tourism months also doesn’t help. Most tourists usually ignore the smaller health clinics found around the island and go directly to Mater Dei given it is the national hospital.

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Disney+ officially overtakes Netflix with most subscribers

Aug 11 2022

Disney has officially overtaken Netflix’s streaming numbers as it racked up 221 million subscribers by the end of last quarter.

Whereas Disney registered 221.1 million subscribers at the end of the June quarter, Netflix registered 220.7 million. This comes as Disney announces an option which includes advertising which will cost $7.99 monthly.

As ad-free Disney+ subscriptions jump to $10.99 in December, Netflix continues to struggle with losses. It had a $50 billion deduced from its market cap in April after it reported its first loss in ten years.

One month later, the streaming giant was rumoured to be introducing adverts for certain subscriptions this year. This also came as it dropped from adding 2.5 million subscribers down to 200,000.

Despite the success of series like Stranger Things, Netflix still had to resort to introducing lower-tier subscriptions to allow those who don’t mind subscriptions to pay less in exchange for seeing commercial messages. This was revealed by CEO Reed Hastings back in April.

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WATCH: Maltese woman showing off singing skills racks thousands of views

Aug 10 2022

X-Factor Season 4 better watch out – there’s brand new talent on the block. Jessica Chetcuti has been blessing her TikTok followers with clips of her showing off her mesmerising voice.

In fact, her video covering Benson Boone’s ‘In the Stars’ racked up upwards of 5000 views since it was posted, as well as a plethora of comments showing her some well deserved support.

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Her raw takes on some international hits have made waves on the social media app. Could this be the rise of another potential singing star on the island taking up the challenge for competitions such as X-Factor?

We’ll have to wait and see. In the meantime, we can enjoy Jessica’s other song covers.

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