Half of Europe could be infected with Omicron in two months says WHO

Jan 12 2022

The World Health Organisation (WHO) issued a warning which states that half of Europe could be infected by the Omicron variant over the next two months.

A projection based on the seven million new cases reported across Europe in the first week of 2022, WHO’s European director Hans Kluge described the pattern as a ‘west-to-east’ tidal wave.

This wave is set to sweep through the 53 countries under WHO’s European umbrella. Kluge said that ‘how each country now responds must be informed by its epidemiological situation, available resources, vaccination uptake and socio-economic context.’

This comes just after the Spanish Prime Minister said that it’s time to consider treating COVID-19 as endemic, meaning treating it in a way similar to how we treat the flu. WHO disagreed with this, saying that the spread of Omicron has not yet settled and more time is needed to observe and research.

Malta’s Health Minister Chris Fearne said that Omicron makes up more than third of known active cases of the COVID-19 virus in Malta. Despite allegedly causing less serious illness, it is still highly contagious and can infect people despite being fully vaccinated.

Pfizer also revealed on Monday that it would be able to launch a version of its vaccine which offers specified protection against Omicron and could be rolled out in March.

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Malta is too small to have 13 electoral districts says MP

Jan 12 2022

Labour MP Oliver Scicluna said on Tuesday that Malta, according to him, is too small to have 13 electoral districts.

Speaking in Parliament, Scicluna highlighted how certain European countries that are bigger than Malta have fewer electoral districts.

The MP also revealed that MPs from both sides of the house expressed agreement with him, either publicly or privately, when he took to social media to speak about the problems of political patronage.

Expressing his belief that the electoral system is in need of overhaul, Scicluna said that ‘the way MPs are elected is not always of benefit to the country.’

This is due to much of a candidate’s focus ends up being on chasing votes he said, clarifying that his declaration did not mean MPs should not remain in close contact with their constituents.

‘I did not say we should not always be there for the people. Politics should be based on what people tell us’ said Scicluna. He said that the time was ripe for a discussion on what is expected for local councils, many of which did not have necessary resources to carry out work.

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Negroni becomes the best-selling cocktail in the world beating Old Fashioned

Jan 12 2022

Despite the Old Fashioned cocktail dominating the game in a seven year streak, Negroni managed to beat the rival from the top of the list as the most sold cocktail globally.

Ten years ago, ordering a negroni was considered as a secret handshake, a sign to bartenders that you knew what you liked and how to order it. Made up of equal parts gin, vermouth and Campari, the liqueur became the most sold drink in 2022.

These are some of the findings from The World’s Best-Selling Classic Cocktails 2022, an annual list put together by Drinks International.

The global drinks journal, which also runs the International Spirits Challenge, recently asked 100 bars around the world to rank their best-selling cocktails. After eight years in second place, the Negroni managed to finally climb to the top.

‘The publication notes that ‘this bitter ruby serve has ridden the wave of the classic cocktail trend, the bitter-drinks trend, the gin trend, the aperitivo trend, the Italian bartenders taking over the best bars trend – everything was carrying it forward.’

Meanwhile, Aperol Spritz is now in sixth place, and was named a top-five classic in a quarter of bars surveyed. Espresso Martini is also on the rise, jumping from number 23 from the first list to number 7 for this year.

The highest ranked gin drink is the dry martini in third place whereas for tequila, margarita comes in fourth. Daiquiri takes fifth place for rum, with the list rounded up by Manhattan, Mojito and Whiskey Sour in 8th, 9th and 10th place.

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Luke Chappell to drop new single ‘Waste My Time’ with American duo Playyard on January 14th

Jan 12 2022

The arrival of a new year means a lot of things, new opportunities, new perspectives and above all: new music. That said, one of Malta youngest and most promising talents, singer and songwriter Luke Chappell is kicking off 2022 with a brand new track and it’s a banger.

Collaborating with American act PLAYYARD, the track Waste My Time is scheduled to drop on all streaming platforms on Friday January 14th and based on the clip posted on Chappell’s socials, we can’t wait for the release.

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A post shared by Luke Chappell (@lukechappellofficial)

The single will be released on The Orchard, a division of American entertainment giant Sony Music and is the follow-up to Chappell’s last single ‘Hold On’, which garnered over 400,000 streams on Spotify.

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