Teachers still awaiting new laptops as they make do with old technology

Sep 7 2021

Several teachers and educators around Malta and Gozo have had to work with laptops given to them approximately 5 years ago. The Malta Union of Teachers (MUT) stated that several members of its organisation are finding themselves in varying situations wherein they either do not have the necessary equipment to operate with or make do with old technology which often malfunction.

The Ministry for Education stated that it is still awaiting new laptops to arrive in Malta, with Permanent Secretary for the Education Ministry Dr Frank Fabri telling Newsbook that the ministry checks the online platforms from where the laptops are purchased every single week. They are however unavailable due to the lack of production of chips on an international level.

Teachers also spoke to the newsroom Newsbook, revealing how at the pandemic’s peak, the laptops they currently possess proved inadequate for the school workload. Some teachers have complained about working with laptops whose batteries died or with damaged webcams and/or microphones. Given the advent of online learning due to the pandemic, this made teaching more difficult.

Given today’s technological context, the old laptops are not up to date to keep up. Newsbook was also informed by MUT that a number of directives have been issued in April.

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Photo Source: Malta Union of Teachers

PN demand police investigation into Labour’s €200,000 finance deal

Sep 7 2021

The Opposition Party demanded a police investigation into a draft deal which would have resulted in a company linked to the Labour government to receive €200,000 from murder suspect Yorgen Fenech. The suspect was lead promoter of the Electrogas consortium when the deal was drafting, being the winning bidder for the venture backed by the government to build a new gas-fired power station.

Former PL mayor Charles Azzopardi addressed a press conference in which he accused the government for facilitating and failing to fight corruption. Now a PN candidate, Azzopardi said that a government who acted in such a way could never get Malta off the FATF grey list.

Fellow PN candidate Mark Anthony Sammut backed up Azzopardi’s claims saying that ‘this was an organised system of criminality.’ Sammut accused the government of a ‘whole bribery structure’, with people turning a blind eye, banks facilitating suspicious transactions and resulting in a context of people ready to kill.

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Photo Source: Charles Azzopardi FB

Ramla Bay Hotel to be renovated into three seven-storey blocks

Sep 7 2021

Ramla Bay Hotel’s owners wish to demolish their four-floor hotel to replace it with three seven-storey blocks. The Holden Developments’ new hotel will rise to around 30m above sea level to replace the last part of the old hotel. This comes five years after obtaining the permit for a heart-shaped extension which can be viewed from the Marfa coastline in Mellieha.

The design by architect Ray Demicoli, who designed the first phase approved in 2016, will include 400 guest rooms, indoor swimming pool, gym, car park facilities, restaurants and a banqueting area. The plans will result in the foreshore re-landscaped for a new outdoor pool with a sand surface over concrete. A new beach facility called the Alang Alang restaurant will also be introduced, with a natural sandy beach to the south-west remaining publicly accessible. The hotel was first constructed in 1967, having several alterations over the years.

Around 70 al fresco dining areas were approved for Valletta since 2016

Sep 7 2021

67 permits were issued by the Planning Authority since 2016 for Valletta catering establishments to place chairs and tables out for al fresco dining. A MaltaToday source revealed the information, indicating that the largest number of permits was issued in 2017, with a record of 23 requests being permitted. The authorities received 84 applications since 2016, compared to just 38 between 1994 and 2016.

The MaltaToday probe was limited to disclosing information in regards to the placing of tables and chairs, excluding other terminology which could be used in the request for permits. Changes to permits of establishments which already had outside dining platforms or sanctioning of similar dining areas may also be included.

The evident increase in applications and approvals seems to correlate to the 2015 policy which allows restaurants to set up platforms on kerb-sides, with pavements not being obstructed by chairs and tables in any way.

Despite the al fresco dining contributing to a ‘livelier atmosphere’ in the capital city, the increase of such platforms angered many residents due to the noise pollution and overall change in scenery in Valletta. The latest of such cases occurred over the past week when the Valletta local council protested the issue of a permit for a 44 square meter platform outside the AX group’s Rosselli hotel.

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Photo Source: Il-Kunsillier Mark Spiteri Lucas FB