‘Please, thanks, sorry’ are the 3 key words for marriage says Pope Francis

Dec 27 2021

Pope Francis spoke on Sunday, seeking to encourage married couples during the pandemic as he acknowledged the crisis possibly aggravated some familial problems.

He urged couples to be open to seeking help and to remember that the three key words in a marriage are ‘please’, ‘sorry’ and ‘thank you’. Penning his letter to married couples, he wanted it to be his Christmas present to those in marriage.

He urged them to keep having children and fight the ‘demographic winter’, which has led to one of the lowest birthrates in the world in Italy.

He said that despite not being born into an exceptional, problem-free family, ‘family is our story – everyone has to think: It’s my story. They are our roots. If we cut them, life dries up.’

Acknowledging how lockdowns forced many families to spend more time together, he also addressed that this meant testing the patience of parents and siblings alike. This could have led to some real difficulties.

“Pre-existing problems were aggravated, creating conflicts that in some cases became almost unbearable. Many even experienced the breakup of a relationship,” Francis wrote.

He offered his closeness to families and reminded parents of how difficult break-ups of marriages are on children. He encouraged everyone to seek help to try to overcome conflicts.

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No Way Home first movie released in pandemic to reach $1 billion box office

Dec 27 2021

Spider-Man: No Way Home has officially hit the $1 billion mark at the box office, meaning it is the highest grossing movie of 2021.

The third instalment of Tom Holland’s take on the friendly neighbourhood web-slinger is the first movie released during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic to reach the 1 billion mark.

It raked approximately $406 million worth of domestic earnings, plus $922 million worldwide as of Christmas Eve. This places it among the fastest films to reach this point of all time.

This ties it, unsurprisingly, with Avengers: Infinity War, with both films outranked only by Avengers: Endgame. No Way Home and Infinity War reached this mark in just 11 days, with Endgame reaching it in a measly 5 days.

Tom Holland previously spoke about the achievements this movie is making, saying he is immensely grateful for the support him and the cast and crew are receiving.

A report by collider also revealed that the domestic haul marks the highest seven-day gross out of any movie in the Spider-Man franchise. And none of this is coming as a surprise, with thousands around the world awaiting this film.

With a stellar cast and big surprises along the way, No Way Nome proved once again how Marvel hit the mark with their interpretation of Spider-Man. And they have no intention of stopping!

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River Thames full of marine life after pronounced biologically dead

Dec 27 2021

The UK’s river Thames was declared biologically dead back in 1957, but recent reports conducted by the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) highlighted the positive changes that happened since.

According to the new study, the river has been revived with hundreds of wildlife species calling the London river home. This is around 60 years after the sad announcement was made about the body of water.

The first major report into the state of the Thames in 60 years estimated that 115 species of fish can be found in the river. Now, it is housing seahorses, eels, seals and even shark species such as tope, starry smooth hound and spur dog sharks.

Even an increase in birds and other species has been noted since the 1990s. A massive contributor to this could be the improvement of water quality, as dissolved oxygen concentration shows an increase from 2007 to last year.

Unfortunately, climate change and sewage still remain the two biggest threats to the river. The former has increased the river’s temperature by 2 degrees annually and led to higher water levels which could impact wildlife.

Sewage discarded into the the river also raises concerns, as unfortunately nitrates from sewage are getting worse. This can cause algal blooms which are rapidly growing amounts of algae. This reduces oxygen in the water, possibly suffocating marine animals.

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Lawyer Franco Debono speaks out against vaccine mandate

Dec 27 2021

Taking to Facebook, lawyer Franco Debono expressed his disagreement with the government’s decision to make vaccination mandatory for most establishments.

He opened his post by stating that he is not against vaccination and he is in favour of freedom of choice. ‘Whoever wants to take the jab, may do so. Whoever doesn’t, doesn’t.’

However, he said that it will not bode well if the government is ‘sneakily’ taking the road of mandatory vaccination.

He went on to ask several questions about the rate of hospitalisations and the alleged lesser impact of the newly discovered Omicron variant. He reiterated his initial statement calling for people to make their own choices in regards to vaccination.

He concluded his post by suggesting that the government seems to be ‘making up’ for the ‘pathetic restrictions’ by having the people make do with their mistakes.

The post was met with mixed reactions as some agreed with Debono whilst others criticised several aspects of the post. What do you think?

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Photo Source: Franco Debono FB