Sliema win winter waterpolo championship for ninth time

May 11 2022

Sliema have once again emerged victorious for the ninth consecutive time in the Winter Championship.

The Sliema Frank Salt team beat San Giljan through penalties, making this their first success since 2014 after several postponements due to COVID-19. This gives Sliema their second 2022 honour after they won in the Enemed Cup final.

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Sliema beat their San Giljan rivals in a dramatic penalty shoot out, resolving to a total of 15-14 after the actual match ended in a 10-10 draw. The final score to even the match out at a draw was made by Mark Meli during the last 30 seconds of the match.

The teams managed to bring it up to 14-14 throughout the penalty round before Sliema’s Matthew Mifsud kicked up to 15 for his team. The penalty taken by San Giljan’s Plumpton was saved by keeper Grixti, leading to the subsequent celebrations.

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Photo Source: Sliema Aquatic Sports Club

Local photographer captures harsh reality of dolphins in captivity

May 11 2022

Taking to social media, local photographer Michele Agius highlighted the harsh reality of marine mammals such as dolphins having to stay in captivity.

Taking an aerial shot of the Mediterraneo Marine Park in Baħar iċ-Ċaghaq, he showed lonely dolphins swimming ‘in endless circles’ in pools instead of their natural habitats.

‘Here dolphins are forced to swim within the confines of tiny concrete tanks, while their actual home is only a few metres away.’

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‘Wild dolphins can swim more than 60km a day. In contrast, captive dolphins are exploited & forced to swim in endless circles & perform tricks that their oceanic counterparts never partake in.’

Agius highlighted how a dolphin ‘smiling’ is actually an anatomical illusion due to the configuration of their jaws. ‘They are NOT happy’ he stated.

‘Love animals? Please don’t buy a ticket this summer. We have no right to put these incredible & intelligent creatures in captivity for our own pleasure. We are guests on this planet, not its masters.’

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Ads are coming to Netflix sooner than expected by end of this year

May 11 2022

The ad-free age of Netflix streaming is coming to an end sooner than we thought. This comes after the TV giant announced a potential shift towards advertised content just last month.

However, despite Netflix co-CEO Reed Hastings having said that ads could be used in a year or two, it seems as though this might be made possible in the last three month of 2022.

Two anonymous sources with knowledge of the communication told The Times that the plan will also crack down on password sharing amongst subscribers.

Subscribers will allegedly be given the choice between paying for cheaper prices with advertised streaming or higher priced ad-free streaming. The changes to Netflix comes amid a rough start to the year as it lost 200,000 subscribers in the first three months of 2022.

It is also expected to lose another 2 million globally by June. Netflix’s stock plummeted 35% last month, another factor prompting the switch to ads. The chiefs highlighted how competitors such as HBO Max and Hulu have maintained strong brands while offering ad-supported services.

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Surgeon will try transplanting womb into trans woman to help her get pregnant

May 10 2022

An Indian surgeon will be attempting to transplant a womb into a trans woman to help them get pregnant.

The procedure will involve the taking of reproductive organs from a dead donor or a patient who transitioned from female to male and then inserting them into the trans woman.

Impregnating the woman would require IVF and a C-section as the trans woman would not have a fully functioning vagina if they were born male. There has only been one previous case of a womb being inserted into a trans woman.

Unfortunately, the procedure led to her death just a few months later due to complications. Dr Narendra Kaushik is the doctor performing the surgery and hopes to avoid such complications.

The doctor, who runs a gender reassignment clinic in New Delhi, said that every transgender woman wants to be as female as possible. And that includes being a mother.

Despite not offering an exact timeline or confirm the patient for the operation, the doctor expressed positivity around the potential procedure. ‘This is the future. We cannot predict exactly when this will happen but it will happen very soon.’

The procedure does not allow the trans woman to naturally become pregnant. But it is believed that an embryo can be implanted and, given medical advancements, the possibility of trans women having babies is becoming more feasible.

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