30 people miss their flight to Dubai due to massive traffic congestion

30 people miss their flight to Dubai to massive traffic congestion

Nov 3 2021

It’s quite common knowledge by now that Maltese roads suffered from a massive traffic jam last Monday, with drivers reporting having been stuck in their vehicles for over 3 hours after a long day’s work. However, it has been revealed that around 30 people missed their flights to due to these crazy traffic jams. A post uploaded to Facebook by Lara Grima Baldacchino recounts how what would have been a short trip by car turned into a 90-minute standstill. Grima Baldacchino, who lives in Siggiewi, alleged how despite leaving her home at 5 pm to be at the airport by 5:20 pm, they could not make it due to the traffic.

Them leaving at around 5:00 pm would have given them enough time to check in before the flight with Turkish Airways departed for Dubai at 7:55 pm. She described how despite this, they encountered a ‘national crisis’ on the road. They decided to abandon the taxi in Mqabba, preferring to walk it with their 23 kilo luggage and hand luggage. They weren’t the only ones opting for this, as she allegedly saw 25 others doing the same.

This was all in vain however as, upon arrival to the check-in desk, Turkish Airlines closed its check-in desk an hour before the flight, as it normally does. The passengers were left of course devastated, highlighting how the flights were not missed due to negligence and that the traffic jams made national news. They could have easily allowed them on the flight, Baldacchino claimed. They were offered a later flight, but their PCR tests would have expired by then, being offered instead an open ticket until May 2022.

With PN MP Toni Bezzina posting photos of people walking towards the airport with their luggage on his social media, he claimed that road widening projects costing Malta millions failed miserably. Maltese Roads Traffic Updates stated that the main road to Hal Farrug was closed following an oil spill, but the MP highlighted how traffic remains the order of the day.

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Photo Source: Toni Bezzina FB

Pudina sent to Education Ministry by teacher’s union

Nov 3 2021

The Education Ministry received a ‘pudina’ by a teacher’s union following the student-teacher blunder which characterized the launch of the new scholastic year. Frank Fabri, the Education Ministry’s permanent secretary, received the pudding, with the Union of Professional Educator’s executive head Graham Sansone stating that ‘it is [the union’s] great privilege and honor to award […] the coveted Pudina Prize.’ Sansone continued; ‘The UPE today delivered a ‘Pudina’ to Dr Fabri as a gesture to help him realize that his latest maneuver is unwarranted in the eyes of the union and of many prospective student-teachers.’

This comes after many student-teachers were suddenly given the responsibility of running different primary school classes rather than those they were originally assigned. This occurred despite the countless work they had to prepare in the preceding weeks and to make up for the shortage of teachers. They were also informed of this just a week before the commencement of their practice, with Sansone saying, sarcastically, that this is a ‘wonderful marketing strategy created by the Ministry to attract more educators to the sector’. This will also not be the last time such a stunt is pulled off, as the union stated that there is likely to be a bread shortage in the coming days as more prizes are delivered.

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Photo Source: Frank Fabri FB, Lea Hogg

PN promises to sponsor a charging pillar for every 50 parking spots

Nov 3 2021

The Nationalist Party has said that it would sponsor a charging pillar for every 50 parking spots in private parks were it to be elected to government. This was revealed by MP David Thake on Tuesday, stating that the PN’s strategy is clear and that they want everyone from as many localities as possible to have access to these charging spots. Thake said that Minister Miriam Dalli ‘invented’ the claim that 60% of electric car owners would charge their car at home, despite the shortage of pillars being addressed by government when it announced that 362 charging spots will be up-and-running by this year’s end.

PN MP Robert Cutajar spoke about the COP26 climate change conference, saying that despite its size, Malta should be a leader on climate change. Cutajar recounted the PN proposal for pedestrian areas and tree mapping in all localities. He praised them as positive measures which will help the environment. Another new proposal by the Opposition is the commissioning of a beach profiling study which will help the government plan and better manage coasts and beaches.

Another proposal sees sites managed by NGOs to be legally transferred to them, with Cutajar saying that the Labour government wasted nine years in the pledge for decarbonization. This meant that the government had no choice but to negotiate the decarbonization rate from 3% to 19%. Janice Chetcuti, the PN’s head of the working group on environmental policies, said that a lot is to be done in order to limit the temeprature increase globally. The aim is to achieve global net zero until the middle of this century in order to keep global temperatures from rising over 1.5 degrees Celsius.

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COVID-19 measures in Netherlands tighten again due to spike

Nov 3 2021

As coronavirus cases in Netherlands shoot up, the prime minister has announced on Tuesday that the Dutch government is reinstituting an order to wear ace masks in public places such as stores and libraries, along with extending mandatory use of COVID-19 passes. The number of cases have spiked rapidly in the Netherlands for weeks, with the country’s public health institute reporting on Tuesday that confirmed infections rose 39% compared to the week before.

Hospital admissions were up 31% to 834 with a 20% increase in the number of patients admitted to ICU. The upward trend began after the government halted the remaining lockdown restrictions in late September. Prime Minister Rutte said during a press conference that it won’t surprise anybody that a tough message needs to be announced yet again. ‘Tough because we unfortunately have to ask more of people now that the infection numbers and hospital numbers are rising quickly.’

Rutte urged everyone to work from home at least half the time, to socially distance and to avoid travel to busy places and during rush hours. Students too will have to wear face masks at school when they walk between classes. Museums and theme parks will have to require people showing COVID passes as well.

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