First year post-secondary students to receive €300 free internet vouchers

Post-secondary students to receive €300 free internet vouchers this week

Feb 4 2022

Addressing a live press conference at Junior College, Malta, Education and Sports Minister Clifton Grima and Economy Minister Silvio Schembri announced €300 free internet vouchers for students.

The Ministers revealed that first year post-secondary students will start receiving the vouchers for free internet as of this week. The initiative was announced as part of last year’s budget.

This was announced in addition to the €100 cheque that all students will also are receiving, which was announced on this week by Prime Minister Robert Abela.

The vouchers will be sent this week but can be used as of next Monday 7th February 2022 and will be valid until 15th July.

Through an investment of €1 million, 3,300 students will be benefiting from a year of free internet. The Education Minister said the through this measure, students will be given an incentive to continue their education and development.

Economy Minister Silvio Schembri said that this is the second edition wherein students will be given a voucher, showing how the government is prioritising the educational phase of a young person’s life.

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Proposal to put cyclists at par with pedestrians in car accident cases

Feb 4 2022

Rota, a local environmental NGO, has put forward a set of proposals ahead of the upcoming general election which aim to be inline with a vision for sustainable mobility.

Rota said that the bicycle should not just be an afterthought in the planning and infrastructure of the island. ‘On such a small island, where the average commute is only a few kilometres, we want to see the bicycle seriously considered as one of the main modes of transport.’

Focused on cycling advocacy, a set of 17 proposals serve as solutions to guide the government’s efforts to give everyone the opportunity to use the bicycle as a viable means of transportation.

The proposals include increasing commuting by bicycle, legally protecting bicycle users and pedestrians, insurance cover for bike users and incentivising sustainable transport.

An emphasis on lighting and CCTV cameras to increase safety was also included, as were narrower car lanes, separated sustainable infrastructure in main roads, better and more regular bike racks and the adoption of suitable design standards.

The NGO highlighted contraflow exemptions for cyclists, the respect towards sustainable transport infrastructure, safer residential roads, use of country roads and the encouragement of multi-modality in terms of transport.

Last but not least, the NGO called for more pedestrianisation, a safe cycle network and the consultation of civil society and citizens. Rota said that an avenue must be made available in which legal action can be taken against authorities that fail to adhere to the legalisation.

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Photo Source: Rota FB

Illegal bird killing triple in past four years

Feb 4 2022

BirdLife Malta have revealed that the illegal killing of birds remains high during 2021 as the amounts tripled in the past four years when compared to previous four.

The number of protected birds known to BirdLife Malta that been diagnosed as illegally shot during 2021 stood at 181. The NGO appealed to both parties to stop being ‘spineless’ towards those who break the law and start taking illegal killing and trapping seriously.

The NGO said in a press statement on Friday that this amount is only a small fraction of what really happens since it only represents the injured or dead birds found by the public.

BirdLife Malta said that it is fair to conclude that thousands of other protected birds such as birds of prey, flamingos and herons were illegally shot down and collected by culprits, mainly for taxidermy purposes.’

Presenting the figures, a total of 794 illegally shot protected birds were found by the public during the past eight years. The upward trends stands out with 76% of these being in the last four years.

‘From 2014 to 2017, a total of 190 birds were diagnosed as illegally shot while in the past four years, from 2018 to 2021, this more than triples to 604.’

The NGO also said how in November, a political decision was taken to stop the involvement of BirdLife Malta in such cases related to finch trapping in order not to expose the problem’s severity. ‘The last year proves once again that the Prime Minister, his cabinet and the relevant authorities are not taking the problem of illegal hunting and trapping seriously even after the EC has listed this issue as a concern and initiated legal action against Malta for failing to control the illegal hunting situation, apart from the smokescreen ‘scientific research’ derogation slowing finch trapping.’

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Photo Source: BirdLife Malta FB

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