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Agency Ltd. Euthanasia Humanists say it is time to open a dialogue on end- of-life options for people MT2 TRUTH IS OF NO COLOUR WWW.MALTATODAY.COM.MT/COVID19 SUNDAY • 14 FEBRUARY 2021 • ISSUE 110 • PUBLISHED EVERY WEDNESDAY AND SUNDAY maltatoday How Central Bank calculated cheapest and highest rental areas PAGE 14 SLIEMA INDEX Man of the sea underground KURT SASNSONE CHRIS Fearne and Ian Borg have retained the top two spots as the best performing ministers, a MaltaToday survey has found. The Deputy Prime Minister and health minister obtained a rating of 25.2% in a sur- vey carried out in the first week of February, while the Infrastructure Minister placed sec- ond with 16%. In a similar survey last October, the pair al- so placed first and second respectively with Fearne scoring 27.9% and Borg 11%. Crucial gas pipeline could have to be funded through private source after EC says hydrogen- ready design not substantially justified MATTHEW VELLA THE European Commis- sion has shut the door to any funding for Malta's gas pipe- line, after informing the gov- ernment that its proposal for a "hydrogen-ready" pipe- line fell short of a sufficient justification. MaltaToday Survey PAGE 3 Fearne, Borg retain top spots in ministerial ranking survey PGS 8-9 Luzzu star Jesmark Scicluna on fishing's hard life PAGE 16 Abusers in our midst PG13 Door is shut for EU cash on gas pipeline despite changed plan Despite changes to Malta's gas pipeline bid to make it hydrogen-ready so as to suit Brussels's climate action goals, Malta failed to placate EC decision-makers mt survey maltatoday | SUNDAY • 7 FEBRUARY 2021 COMMENT What are we skinning? Gay conversion therapy advocate and River of Love congregant Matthew Grech's latest lockdown-dancefloor thumper, 'F'Gerusalemma'. Why are we skinning it? Both because it gave us a long-overdue slice of cringe entertainment - revisiting admittedly evergreen early Clinton Paul classics gets a bit old after a while - and because it catapulted the infuriatingly contentious figure of Matthew Grech back on the social media merry-go-round. So what's up with this guy? To put it bluntly and succinctly, he is arguably one of the best walking examples of the adage that 'youth is wasted on the young'. And to put it in a more long-winded, spoon- fed but ultimately more comprehensive manner? Okay, since you've asked... As one of the most vociferous followers of Gordon-John Manché - the controversial pro-gay conversion pastor and River of Love founder - the amateur musician Matthew Grech is keen to both sing the praises of our Lord Jesus Christ and croon about the supposedly oppressive tenets of the 'gay agenda'. But what is it to him? Couching his opposition to the homosexual lifestyle in purely literal-Biblical terms on one hand, Matthew's brand also strongly coasts on the fact that he claims that while he was 'formerly' gay, he has now and is on the path justice politics of this whole thing, it's actually Matthew's spoken-word opening that gives me most pause. What does he say? 'Listen up y'all, I've got an idea. Why don't we turn Malta into an island famous for praising Our Lord'? Never mind Gordon-John, Matt may just be the reincarnation of Mikiel Gonzi... That's possible. But also: what's this obsession with turning Malta into a centre - or worse still HUB - for whatever it is that we feel the need it should be a hub for? Like what? Whether it's IT, igaming, selling passports... Culture. Yeah, we know how well V18 turned out. Precisely. Are we THAT insecure that we don't feel as though we're getting anything worthwhile done unless we're declared the 'best in Europe/the world' for it? Wait... the video also features a certain Daichan Galea and Nevice Gatt. Nevice does get a bit of a hip-hop solo, but Daichan appears to be wound up and programmed to simply repeat Matthew's looping praises to Jesus. Validation is a helluva drug. For the confused and insecure cult member, it certainly would be. Do say: "While everyone has a right to self-expression through the medium of song, Matthew Grech's ditties come with unignorable ideological baggage... not to mention the masochistically delicious cringe-factor that is a side- itself." SANDRA SCICLUNA There are alternatives to prison PAGES 8-9 The Skinny Malta, shrunk down JOSANNE CASSAR It would not hurt us to be more like Doris PAGE 5 MICHAEL FALZON Time to flesh out the PN's vision PAGE 7 No. 73 – In Jerusalem, Apparently SAVIOUR BALZAN Defamation on Egrant no comparison to assassination PAGE 5 EDITORIAL FIAU must be supported by lawmakers PAGE 2 "At present, there are more people held in custody under arrest at Corradino, than actually serving a sentence" maltatoday | SUNDAY • 14 FEBRUARY 2021 MUSIC Michael Azzopardi releases debut EP Q&A Harpist Jacob Portelli CLASSIFIEDS & COMMERCIALS ARTS • TV • WHAT'S ON maltatoday Get the critical perspective on politics, culture and society Be the first to enjoy our print newspaper with a subscription When you need to decode what politicians are saying, when you want to understand why Malta's crazy construction industry is impacting upon your life, when you need to step out of the social media and understand the world from a different perspective, our journalists and columnists will provide you with expert reporting, analysis and commentary. 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