Hong Kong is giving away over 500,000 free flight tickets

Feb 4 2023

The Hong Kong Department of Tourism is giving away over half a million free flight tickets to draw in more tourists to the city, following the devastating onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The majority of these tickets will be distributed through Hong Kong-based carrier Cathay Pacific for travellers in Asia, including Chinese tourists who are now traveling again after border controls have been relaxed.

There will also be an allocation of free tickets for Europeans and Americans, as well as a small portion of the flights which will be available to Hong Kong residents for travel to other Asian countries.

The initial phase of the world of winners campaign will begin on March 1st and travellers can get their hands on round-trip tickets through Cathay Pacific.

Additionally, the Hong Kong tourism board will also give away one million spending vouchers for ground activities such as dining, transportation, and drinks. With free flights and spending vouchers, now could be the perfect time to visit Hong Kong, which continues to thrive through the expansion of new restaurants, bars, and hotels, and the return of Art Basel in March and the Rugby Sevens in the spring.

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Here’s what Netflix’s new rules could mean for users

Feb 4 2023

Netflix users are bracing themselves for a new change in policy regarding password sharing, which the streaming service claims undermines its ability to improve and invest in the service.

The company recently announced that subscribers would be able to pay extra to share an account with someone outside their household.

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This change will require users to log in to their account from their home address at least once every 31 days, or risk having their account blocked.

The news of this policy change caused confusion among users, and its brief appearance on the Netflix domestic Help Center earlier this week sparked speculation about how the policy would be enforced.

However, the information was later removed from the website and a Netflix spokesperson confirmed that the rules are currently in place for some countries, but not for the United States.

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Another earthquake wakes up the Maltese islands

Feb 4 2023

Seismic activity continues to shake Malta with tremors, which, this time around, were felt on Saturday morning.

The magnitude 4.9 shake reportedly originated from the same epicentre as the previous earthquakes, located approximately 130 km south of Malta.

The tremors were reported in areas such as Sliema, St Julian’s, Żebbuġ, and Naxxar. Despite the persistent shaking, seismologists assure the public that there is no cause for concern.

UOM Seismic Monitoring Researcher Dr Daniela Farrugia told MaltaDaily late lost month that this is not the first time such a sequence of tremors has happened.

In fact, Malta had registered over 100 earthquakes in just 8 days ending January 25th. Other tremors continued to be felt following that, with the latest being this morning.

This recent tremor follows a magnitude 5.1 event that was widely felt on January 30th. This marks a weeks-long streak of seismic activity with numerous tremors felt across Malta, all stemming from the same undersea epicentre.

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Australia approves MDMA & magic mushrooms for medical use

Feb 4 2023

The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) in Australia has announced that MDMA and magic mushrooms have been approved for medical use.

The TGA reclassified the drugs as “controlled drugs” which means that authorised psychiatrists will be able to prescribe the drugs for specific mental health issues from July 1st.

MDMA will only be prescribed for post-traumatic stress disorder and psilocybin for treatment-resistant depression. There is currently no TGA approved product containing either substance, so the TGA has emphasised the need for controls to protect patients during therapy.

The reclassification was seen by Dr. David Caldicott, a clinical senior lecturer in emergency medicine, as a positive step away from demonising these drugs. Approved psychiatrists will need to be approved by a human research ethics committee and the Authorized Prescriber Scheme.

GPs can refer patients to approved psychiatrists or they may be eligible for clinical trials.

This echoes Maltese MEP Cyrus Engerer’s urging of the EU last year to look into the possibility of psychedelics such as MDMA and magic mushrooms in helping to treat mental health illnesses.

Engerer told MaltaDaily in December that he is working hard to urge the EU commission to invest in more research so that the EU could be part of the forefront in the innovation in this particular field.

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