10 years ago - The Times
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Call for national protest against utility rates
Opposition leader Joseph Muscat called on the country to unite in a national, non-political protest against the new water and electricity tariffs. In a radio message, Dr Muscat condemned the government’s decision to raise the bills, which would burden thousands of families and companies.
While the Union Ħaddiema Magħqudin (UĦM) said it would exhaust all negotiations round the table before considering taking to the streets, the General Workers’ Union said it would have no problem joining a national protest if all social partners remained united and showed their opposition to the new tariffs.
Need for special curriculum for Cospicua’s failing pupils
The Cospicua State primary school is taking the unprecedented step of asking the Education Minister to authorise a special curriculum after all its pupils failed the last junior lyceum exam in May. Sandro Spiteri, the principal of St Margaret College, under which the school falls, said he was personally and professionally satisfied with the teachers, who have achieved results in the past. But the school faced particular problems that demanded particular solutions.
25 years ago - The Times
Saturday, October 30, 1993
Sir Maurice Dorman dies
Sir Maurice Dorman, Malta’s first Governor-General when the island became independent in 1964, died of cancer on Tuesday.
He was 81.
In an obituary on Sir Maurice Dorman, The Times of London, yesterday wrote that his choice as Malta’s first Governor-General was a shrewd choice on the part of the then Nationalist Borg Olivier government.
This was “demonstrated when in 1967 he spoke out against threatened defence cuts announcing that he stood ‘four square’ with the government and people of Malta in their dispute with Britain”.
Sir Maurice Dorman remained in Malta till 1971 when, The Times added, he bowed “to the new Prime Minister’s, Dom Mintoff’s, wish to have a native born Governor-General”.
His successor was Sir Anthony Mamo. Sir Maurice is survived by Lady Dorman and a son and three daughters.
Labour ministers stress need of keeping prices stable
Unemployment is a serious social injustice that represents a major problem of the nineties, participants at the conference of European Ministers of Labour, members of the Council of Europe, said in a final communique.
Half a century ago - Times of Malta
Wednesday, October 30, 1968
Population census
At the population census held in Malta on November 25 last year, the population was classified as resident in either a built-up part or in a rural part of each of the 60 census localities.
For this purpose a built-up area was defined as consisting mainly of streets or roads leading outwards from a town or village to the point where continuous buildings ceased to front the roadside. The rural part was the remaining area of the locality or parish.
Malta’s urban population is concentrated in the towns round Grand Harbour and Marsam-xett Harbour, which flank Valletta on both sides.
The inner Harbour region, which consisted of parishes having some frontage on those two harbours, housed 39.8 per cent of the total urban population which, at 296,360 made up 94.3 per cent of 314,216 persons enumerated at the census.
Only 402 persons or 34 per cent of the population of 118,372 persons resident in the Inner Harbour region were classified as rural. The whole region embraces 5.63 square miles of land while its rural parts covered 1.61 square miles.
The Outer Harbour region accounted for 23.8 per cent of the urban and 22.3 per cent of the rural population. Among the other regions, the North was the least urbanised as it contained only 6.8 per cent of the urban population.