Last episode of Stranger Things Season 4 is over two hours long

May 19 2022

If you aren’t excited enough for Stranger Things Season 4, which comes out after what seems to have been forever, it has been revealed that the last episode will be over two hours long.

And the first instalment of the next season is set to drop in just a matter of days on Friday May 27th. The show’s creators have built up excitement with some exclusive information.

Matt and Ross Duffer revealed that two episodes in the upcoming season will be feature-length. That means two Stranger Things movies in one season.

It was already known that the new season will be featuring longer episodes and more of them, but the Duffer brothers had not previously revealed just how long they would run for. 7 and 9 are set to be movies in their own right.

They explained that this new season will be a big one, and given that the characters will be spread out over many locations, they had more plot to work with.

They also stated that, since season five will be the last one, season 4 will be revealing a lot of vital information for what is to come for when it ends. And if you’ve forgotten what happened in previous seasons, you have around a week to binge them all.

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Man acquitted of ecstasy trafficking charges after 18 years

18 year court case of ecstasy trafficker comes to an end

May 19 2022

A 37-year-old man from Paola has just Beene acquitted of trafficking ecstasy when he was 19. The court case has spanned a whopping 18 years, with the judgement handed down on Tuesday.

Magistrate Elaine Mercieca declared Tyrone Fenech not guilty of charges against him, after his unassisted statements to interrogators were declared inadmissible. Important witnesses did not testify in the proceedings.

The case took so long due to parallel constitutional and European cases over his unassisted statement.

Fenech had been arrested along with another person in St Julians after police found two small plastic bags and LM150 in cash in his possession. He was subsequently charged with trafficking the drug in February 2004, as well as possession of ecstasy and cannabis.

The court observed that the officers who seized the substances never testified, pointing out that the prosecution had closed its evidence before the expert appointed to analyse the substances could testify to his findings.

The only remaining evidence were mobile phones seized from the accused. However, the prosecution had not summoned witnesses to testify as to who had physically retrieved the devices and in what circumstances.

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AI to manage traffic jams and personalise education in €4 million investment

May 19 2022

A €4 million investment has just been announced which will see the Maltese government deploying artificial intelligence in six different sectors.

Addressing a press conference, Minister for the Economy, EU Funds and Lands Silvio Schembri detailed how the investment will be utilised to maximise different sectors on the island.

Among the investments are a whopping €1,900,000 input into the traffic management sector. This will see the incorporation of traffic lights, CCTVs and display panels to reduce the ever problematic impact of traffic on Maltese roads.

A massive €150,000 investment will go into education to create personalised educational programmes, whereas €376,000 will go into maximising energy resources.

For the tourism sector, €800,000 will be dedicated to better the experience of tourists by creating ‘personas’ which will suggest routes and experiences according to their preferences.

When it comes to governmental service, a ‘chatbot’ will be developed through an investment of €590,000 to improve the mobile app, email and freephone services from the government. Finally a forecasting app for the health sector will be developed through €300,000.

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Exam assistance for ADHD and dyslexic students peaked in 2021

May 19 2022

As reported by MaltaToday, quoting a statistical report by MATSEC, 679 candidates were given examination access arrangements (EAAs) when sitting for their O-levels in 2021.

Male students were twice as likely as females to request EEAs, with students hailing from private independent schools registering higher numbers of requesting assistance.

679 candidates means 13.5% of all registrations. 18.4% were male students and 9.3% were female candidates. The difference was attributed to research showing that boys are more likely to be diagnosed with conditions like ADHD.

Applications are processed by the ACCESS-Disability Support Committee of the University of Malta. The EAAs come in various forms, depending on the condition of the student.

They include extra time, rest periods, modified papers, larger prints, communicators and readers, etc. These have made it possible for more students to continue their education.

Many students applying for the arrangements suffer from conditions like ADHD, dyslexia and autism. In 2021, around 257 students requesting EEAs suffered from specific difficulties related to dyslexia. 191 students suffered from difficulties related to ADHD.

The percentages shot up from just 1.6% of candidates to 13.5% from 2004 to 2021.

#MaltaDaily