Inquiry into Jean Paul Sofia’s death will not be made public

Feb 2 2023

Prime Minister Robert Abela has stated that the public inquiry into the death of Jean Paul Sofia, who lost his life in December 2022 during the collapse of a three-story building in Kordin, will not be made public.

He believes that the institutions need to ‘work in serenity’ to achieve justice and called on them to give maximum importance to the case so that the victim’s family and society can receive swift justice.

However two inquiries, with one being magisterial, will be taking place. A magisterial inquiry means that it will not be made publicly known. It will also take up longer than that reportedly publicly so as to ensure all details are dealt with.

Five others were also injured in the accident, but no one has been charged. In response to a parliamentary question, the Prime Minister confirmed that an inquiring magistrate is already investigating the case and that other relevant authorities are also conducting their own inquiries.

The statement was in response to accusations from Nationalist MP Jerome Caruana Cilia, who had previously accused the authorities of attempting to cover up the incident.

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‘We are promoting road anarchy’: local activist laments parking permit chaos

Feb 2 2023

Local activist Steve Żammit Lupi took to social media to address a current issue concerning permits being issued by Local Councils.

‘Can a relevant authority please explain why the common citizen is paying the local councils for permits when they cannot be enforced later on’ he asked.

Local councils do not have the authority to enforce. LESA and police stopped enforcing/helping in the case of intrusive parking, leaving those who applied for permits hanging, explained Żammit Lupi.

‘The administration is not working and local councils are being ridiculed’ he lamented.

Lupi described this as a disservice to the citizens who try and abide by the law. ‘We are promoting anarchy on the road’ he concluded, appealing to solve this anomaly with urgency.

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Microsoft & Google working to launch their own version of CHAT GPT

Feb 2 2023

Microsoft is reportedly incorporating a faster version of OpenAI’s ChatGPT, called GPT-4, into Bing in the near future.

This integration will allow Bing to use GPT-4 to answer search queries, making the search engine more competitive with Google.

According to sources, the main difference between ChatGPT and GPT-4 is speed, with GPT-4 providing faster and more detailed responses that are more human-like.

The integration of ChatGPT into Microsoft products is expected to trigger new competition in internet search, which has been dominated by Google.

In addition to the incorporation into Bing, Microsoft is rumored to be bringing OpenAI’s language AI technology into apps like Word, PowerPoint, and Outlook.

Microsoft recently extended its partnership with OpenAI with a multi-year, multi-billion-dollar investment, with plans to make OpenAI’s foundational systems available as commercial platforms.

OpenAI is also planning to introduce a mobile ChatGPT app and test a new feature in Dall-E, its image-generating software, that will generate videos using AI.

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PN MP calls out PBS for not reporting on Malta’s transparency index drop

Feb 2 2023

PN MP Graham Bencini has lodged a complaint with the Broadcasting Authority against TVM for not reporting Malta’s poor ranking in the Corruption Perception Index (CPI).

In a letter to the BA, Bencini claimed that TVM’s failure to report the news is a violation of subsidiary laws that require broadcasting to be impartial and accurate.

Bencini also accused the government of political interference in PBS and argued that the BA is obliged to monitor PBS and take action in such cases.

The latest CPI by Transparency International ranked Malta at 51 out of 100, its lowest score ever. Malta is ranked alongside Rwanda and Saudi Arabia and is seven points behind Qatar.

The CPI measures various types of corruption including bribery, public sector red tape, and access to government information. The top spots in the ranking were occupied by Denmark, followed by Finland, New Zealand, Norway, Singapore, and Sweden.

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