Fr David Muscat charged with hate speech and misuse of technology

Jan 28 2022

The ever-controversial Fr. David Muscat has been charged with hate speech and the misuse of electronic communications technology after posting a Facebook comment stating that homosexuality, which he labelled as “gayyaġni”, is worse than demonic possession.

Fr. Muscat pleaded not guilty to the charges and was not required bail due to his arraignment being by summons. The cleric’s lawyers Cristopher Attard and Mariah Mula stated that they would not be denying that the comment had been written by their client but would contest the fact that it was constituted as hate speech.

Towards the end of the hearing, magistrate Ian Farrugia stated that “What happened, happened, unfortunately I must decide on it, but going forward I don’t want any more cases.”

What do you make of this?

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WATCH: Woman recalls how she was drugged and ‘pimped out’ by father at 13 years old

Jan 28 2022

A Maltese woman who chose to remain anonymous has shared a shocking recapitulation of how at just 13 years of age, she was drugged and taken to Gżira to be pimped out by her father.

Sharing her experience on television show ‘Topik’, the woman revealed that she began taking drugs at the age of 11 and two years later, was approached by her father and taken to Gżira to sexually please clients which ranged from priests to celebrities and everything in between. During the show, the woman stated that the experience left her ‘shaken and abused’ and no longer having faith in men.

The woman said that she “didn’t even know some of these things existed…”, shining a light on the shocking fact that clients didn’t mind that she was underage, and some would even offer more money. She went on to recall her worst experience, which was being force to have unprotected sex at gunpoint.

“I am not angry, I am just hurt, deeply hurt. If I have kids, I want them to be better than me, not worse than me. I feel victimised… I was a victim, but now I’ve escaped that part of my life. But the past always chases me.”

What do you make of this?

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Facebook Messenger will notify you if someone screenshots your disappearing message

Jan 28 2022

In an attempt to improve privacy on Facebook, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has announced that Messenger will begin to notify its users when someone takes a screenshot of their disappearing messages in Secret Conversations.

The new updated for end-to-end encrypted Messenger will send users a notification if a screenshot is taken. Zuckerberg went on to announce that GIFs, stickers and reactions will be added to encrypted chats. This follows the introduction of disappearing messages back in November 2020, which were introduced to provide increased protection to Meta’s (then Facebook) platforms.

While notifications of such nature are not necessarily new to Messenger, there is one very importance difference in this update. The introduction of end-to-end encryption (E2EE) in Facebook’s messaging platforms is quite the upgrade from server-side encryption and has been called the gold standard of media privacy and security.

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98% of Maltese aged 12 and over have received two COVID-19 vaccine doses

Jan 28 2022

In a recent meeting with EU Commissioner for Health and Food Safety Stella Kyriakides, Health Minister Chris Fearne revealed that 98% of people aged 12 and over have received two jabs of the COVID-19 vaccination.

The Minister went on to state how over 75 per cent of Malta’s population has been vaccinated against the virus, highlighting how Malta’s successful vaccination roll out is the reason for the government’s recent lifting of restrictions. Fearne also revealed how 76% of individuals aged 18 and over have received the COVID-19 booster.

The Health Minister stated how Europe must not limit accessibility but rather contribute to the vaccination process of other parts of the world, alluding to Malta’s donation of vaccine jabs to countries in Africa and Asia.

Have you received your booster?

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