Strong gale force winds cancellation of Gozo fast ferry and Sicily trips

Nov 29 2021

Following Sunday’s warning of strong gale force winds, the meteorological office has warned that strong north winds will hit Malta as early as this evening.

As a result of such weather conditions, the Gozo Fast Ferry and Virtu Ferries Gozo have cancelled their Monday trips while Virtu Ferries and Ponte have cancelled their Monday and Tuesday morning trips to Sicily.

The Gozo Channel has also notified the public that it may be cancelling a number of evening trips in the interest of public safety. Ferry trips are currently going from Ċirkewwa to Mġarr and vice-versa by going around Comino. Winds kicked off on Thursday after a shock flash flood, with Malta Police Force and the Civil Protection Department saving over 15 people from danger in the matter of a few hours.

#MaltaDaily

19-year-old passenger in Luqa car incident out of ITU and recovering

Nov 29 2021

Shazell Vella, the 19-year-old female passenger involved in the fatal Luqa car incident, is reportedly out of the Intensive Therapy Unit and recovering well.

The incident occurred on November 20 at around 1am, which unfortunately left 21-year-old driver Ismael ‘Iz Zy’ Grima dead on site. Grima’s funeral was held last week to the attendance of hundreds of loved ones, celebrating his life with flowers and candles.

The passenger had been in intensive therapy for around a week and a half and is finally out after a period of recovery.

#MaltaDaily

Netflix pays bonuses to Squid Game cast and producers

Nov 29 2021

In a very rare move for the entertainment giant, Netflix has reportedly paid bonuses to the cast & crew of the hit series Squid Game. Despite this, reports also reveal that the bonuses issued by Netflix are less than what the cast of HBO series ‘Succession’ make per episode.

Squid Game director Hwang Dnog-hyuk had revealed that he had not earned a lot of money for the series’ first season, despite its global success and evolution into a cultural phenomenon. Unlike most entertainment industry structures, Netflix does not normally pay bonuses or shares of proceeds with time, but issues a one-time payment upfront.

Netflix is never obligated to pay extra to casts and crews of successful films or series, but when a series like Squid Game makes the streaming platform over $900 million with a production cost of $21 million, you don’t really blame them.

Have you seen Squid Game yet?

#MaltaDaily

New Zealand first country in the world to legalise pill-testing at events such as concerts

Nov 29 2021

The government of New Zealand has officially and permanently legalised pill-testing at events such as music festivals and concerts only one year after it was launched as a trial in the country.

The bill passed with 87 votes against 33 with New Zealand’s opposition party National voting against the legislation. The country’s health Minister Andrew Little highlighted how such an initiative helped keep people safe during such events by identifying dangerous substances.

The government has stated that it will be putting $800,000 into training of drug-checkers and an informational campaign while three organisations have been approved to carry out testing at events in New Zealand. The three organisations are the Drug Foundation, Needle Exchange and Institute of Environmental Science and Research.

What do you think of this legislation?

#MaltaDaily