The following are the main stories in Monday’s newspapers.
Times of Malta says the police are investigating cryptocurrency transactions made by alleged murderer Yorgen Fenech, including their links to a notorious ‘darkweb’ marketplace. In another story, the newspaper says the family court has annulled a woman’s marriage to a foreigner whom she had never seen before and whom she wed under the influence of drugs.
The Malta Independent interviews the head of the Union of Professional Educators who says that in the current situation he would give the green light for the reopening of schools.
L-Orizzont speaks to Health Minister Chris Fearne, who says that the restrictive measures taken because of COVID-19 will soon start to be mitigated.
A think tank meant to make proposals on the future of education in the country is being seen as a flop by teachers’ unions.
The think tank, set up last May by then education minister Owen Bonnici, is chaired by Edward de Bono of lateral thinking fame and among its members are high-profile figures like architect Richard England, Chamber of Commerce president David Xuereb and education permanent secretary Frank Fabri.
It was to take an opportunity from the COVID pandemic to envision the future of education and was instructed to apply “blue sky thinking”, Bonnici had said at the time.
Teachers unions have taken different views on whether schooling should shift online, with the Malta Union of Teachers (MUT) saying it is monitoring the situation on the basis of medical advice, and the Union of Professional Educators (UPE) saying the shift should take place immediately owing to the surge in the number of virus cases.
In a message on YouTube, the executive head of the UPE, Graham Sansone, said that the teachers union is alarmed by the increasing number of COVID-19 cases. He said that he is especially concerned about the new UK variant, which is causing more infections among children.
The Malta Union of Teachers has said it trusts health authorities’ decision on which vaccines to administer to teachers and will not question their plans