Metsola one step closer due to President Sassoli not running for re-election

Dec 15 2021

As European Parliament President David Sassoli revealed he will not be running for re-election in January and that socialists group S&D will not be presenting any candidate, this opens up a door for Roberta Metsola towards achieving the top post.

Sassoli told MEPs at a meeting on Tuesday that he did not want to ‘destroy the European front’ represented by the parliament’s largest political blocs.

Sassoli and other S&D leaders made it clear however that their group would not necessarily back up Metsola. Instead, they will try to negotiate with the EPP and condition the vote to Metsola.

In terms of seats, S&D have 145 seats out of 705, the Greens 68 and The Left 39. The EPP have 187, Renew have 98, right-wing conservatives ECR has 63 and extreme right 75.

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Photo Source: Roberta Metsola, EU Neighbours

Nursing shortage causes Karin Grech to run at half capacity

Dec 15 2021

The MUMN claimed on Wednesday that Karin Grech Hospital is running at half capacity due to a shortage of nurses. In a published statement, the union said that 14 more nurses resigned over the past two weeks, leading to the hospital standing at 50 nurses short.

Out of 270 beds at Karin Grech, only around 140 are being actually utilised due to the shortage, the union revealed. Lamenting that the shortage crisis has no limits, the union also claimed that had it allowed health authorities to issue a call that would have ‘poached more nurses from the private sector’, the situation would have been much worse.

Times of Malta was told by an MUMN spokesperson that the shortage in the private sector was even worse. Carers employed by the private sector to support nursing staff at hospitals across Malta were moving to the UK in large numbers.

Malta was described as a stepping stone for nurses and carers who spend two years here to gain experience and then move to the UK for better salaries. This, the union said, is an open secret.

The union went on to criticise the Health Minister of being more focused on the election campaign than on the crisis facing every hospital in Malta.

‘While all EU countries embarked on addressing their nursing shortage by providing much better working conditions and increased salaries, the health ministry’s main concern is only the coming general election’.

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Photo Source: Times of Malta

Students not pursuing languages after leaving secondary raises alarm

Dec 15 2021

Of 4,797 students who completed their studies in one or more ‘foreign’ languages at secondary level this year, only 101 continued to study the subjects at A-level.

Maltese students are finding foreign language proficiency less attractive as a possible studying avenue. Findings show that an approximate whopping 98% do not want to purse either Italian, French or German after leaving secondary at 15.

Dr Mario Pace, who is a University of Malta senior lecturer in Italian, has called for an overhaul in how foreign languages are taught in post-secondary.

Despite 230 students studying a foreign language at Intermediate Level, only those studying it at A-Level can continue their studies at University. The total of A-level students studying languages apart from Maltese and English ranks at just 101.

Pace called for urgent action on the issue, warning that Malta risks ‘a diminishing supply of young home-grown linguists’ which are pivotal to internationally-oriented businesses or teachers.

One way to address the issue would be to allow university courses which combine foreign languages with other subjects. These don’t have to be humanities but can vary to sciences and/or business.

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Photo Source: Mario Pace FB, Learn English Teens

Meetings will move to the Metaverse within 3 years predicts Bill Gates

Dec 15 2021

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates has predicted that the future of remote work meetings is set in the Metaverse… and it will be with us in three years.

The claim was part of a much broader commentary made by the philanthropist on his blog GatesNotes where he reviewed the difficulties faced in 2021 but also positive prospects going into 2022.

‘We’ve all had to adapt to a ‘new normal,’ although what that looks like is different for every person. For me, the result has been a year spent mostly online’ he said.

He expressed interest in how technology can create more spontaneity with remote work moving forward, with the pandemic too revolutionising how people approach their jobs and lifestyles.

Despite this futurist future being a possibility given time, three years does seem to be a bit of an abrupt shift in the work place. Most people, Gates himself acknowledged, won’t own the VR kit currently required.

Maybe the technology will arrive to schools and universities first, making for educational programmes which address social anxieties and more interactive learning experiences without having to leave the class room.

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Photo Source: VentureBeat, ABC 33/40