More alcohol related deaths due to pandemic stress in 2020 for Americans

Mar 26 2022

A new study which was led by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism has revealed the immense impact of early-pandemic isolation for Americans who have substance-abuse problems.

The researchers sifted through a somber list of death certificates to tally all the passings in which alcohol was found to be an underlying or contributory cause.

It was determined that over 99,000 people suffered alcohol-related deaths in 2020, which is a 25.5% spike over the previous year. This means that more adults under the age of 65 died from alcohol-related factors (74,408) than from COVID (74,075) in 2020.

Alcohol-related deaths, which range from alcohol poisoning to liver disease to accidents, have shot up over the past 20 years with an annual average increase of 3.6% between 1999 and 2019.

However, a stark spike from 78,927 deaths in 2019 to 99,017 in 2020 confirms several studies which showed that people drank more to manage stress related to the pandemic. It also reveals the lack of support networks, especially as a byproduct of the pandemic measures.

Study author Aaron White told New York Times that lots of people were presumably undergoing recovery and had their support access reduced and thus relapsed.

The numbers are consistent with overall increases in mortality indirectly linked to COVID. In February, the US passed 1 million excess deaths since COVID began. This is a number that includes confirmed COVID fatalities (reaching 1 million) as well as an uptick in deaths from causes such as heart disease.

#MaltaDaily

Zwiit Cravings Cafe serves up political donuts for Election Day

Mar 26 2022

Malta is well known for its die hard approach to politics. And memorabilia related to the two main parties, Nationalist and Labour, are an iconic physical representation of how passionate the Maltese are about the subject.

But now, the game has been completely changed by Zwiit Cravings Cafe, who are serving up donuts shaped and coloured like the two main parties logos.

This means that as people go to exercise their right to vote today, the 26th of March, they can also head to the cafe and chomp down on some red or blue donuts just for the occasion.

The donuts are either shaped like the letters ‘P’, ’N’ or ‘L’, or are instead circular donuts with the initials of the party over coloured icing. Whichever one you choose, we’re sure they’re still delicious.

As aforementioned, political memorabilia is a common cultural phenomenon in Malta. We’ve seen mugs, phone covers, pyjamas and even finger nails for the favourite parties.

Some are clearly done for the jokes and online memes whereas others are pure memorabilia for sale for die hard party supporters. At least now the trinkets are edible and able to be enjoyed by all looking to satisfy their sugar crave.

#MaltaDaily

Malta beats Azerbaijan 1-0 in friendly international match

Mar 26 2022

A goal by Jurgen Degabriele handed Malta’s national football team a win over Azerbaijan in a friendly International at the National Stadium.

The local team opened their 2022 commitments with a positive score as the Hibernians forward found the net for the winning score early on in the second half.

Devis Mangia’s team gave a stunning performance and play, creating many opportunities to score throughout the entire match. Despite Degabriele’s goal being the only one for the evening, the team showcased their polished skill and determination.

It was mostly due to the Azerbaijani’s goalkeeping, a post held by Salahat Agayev, that the local players did not manage to field more goals. The Maltese will be donning their red kits once more on Tuesday’s warm up against Kuwait.

For their next match, the team hopes to continue building on the momentum they acquired yesterday. The match against the Azerbaijanis was also a special match for the Maltese team as it marked the 103rd and final play in international football for Andrei Agius.

Before kick-off, Malta Football Association Bjorn Vassallo presented Agius with a memento to commemorate all his plays and his final match with the team to resounding applause.

#MaltaDaily

Joe Biden shares pizza with US troops near Ukrainian border

Mar 26 2022

US president Joe Biden was snapped and filmed sharing some pizza slices with US troops in Poland right at the Ukrainian border.

The 46th US president landed in Rzeszow, Poland to visit the sites where Ukrainian refugees are crossing into the neighbouring country and to see how his troops are doing on NATO’s eastern flank.

As he meet with soldiers from the U.S Army’s 82nd Airborne Division stationed near the airport, he chomped down on some pepperoni pizza and chatted with the military personnel. Biden did express disappointment at not being able to cross the border to Ukraine.

During a speech, the President spoke about his grandfather and his late son Beau Biden who was an Iraq War Veteran. ‘Like you, he didn’t have to go either’ he told the soldiers.

‘The Point is there are hundreds of thousands of people like my son, like all of you, so thank you. We have a sacred obligation in this government to equip those we send to war an to care for them and their families when they come home’ he said.

The US president was due to be briefed on the humanitarian response to help Ukrainian civilians sheltering from the Russian invasion. He is now set to travel to Warsaw to have talks with the Polish president.

During a NATO emergency summit in Brussels, leaders agreed to step up measures to protect Ukraine and other countries from possible Russian chemical or nuclear attacks.

#MaltaDaily