Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1498412
16 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 26 APRIL 2023 NEWS ACROSS 1) Hinge holder 6) Clock feature 10) "Brainiac" author Jennings 13) Crockett's last stand 14) Volunteer's cry 15) Senate vote 16) Barbarian who creates a buzz? 18) Mardi Gras king 19) B'way "no seats" sign 20) Chest part 21) Lyricist Lorenz ___ 22) Wipes clean 24) Matt of "The Martian" 26) Greenish-blue shades 28) Very quickly 31) Tool with teeth 34) "Good Will Hunting" sch. 35) Sci-fi master Isaac 36) Lawyers' org. 37) Waiting uncomplainingly 39) Mined asset 40) Loss caused by a pothole strike 42) Phone no. adjunct 43) Hawaiian strings 44) Waited in line, say 45) Tread heavily 47) Welles who played Kane 50) Difficult burdens 53) Private employer 55) Ghastly 57) P on a frat pin 59) "Chocolate" dog, for short 60) Worthless stock contract? 62) Swelled head 63) Grueling exams 64) Hurricane of 2011 65) Kinsey research topic 66) Truth or __ (party game) 67) Slackens off DOWN 1) Fifth Avenue retailer 2) Author __ Boothe Luce 3) Barbering tool 4) Comedian Philips 5) Like a pine fragrance 6) Shorthand similar to "IMO" 7) Prepared to shoot 8) Barton of the Red Cross 9) Right angle 10) Dress designer Donna in a frenzy? 11) Admirer from afar, maybe 12) Deli counter call 14) Ticked off 17) Walking tour carry-along 21) Pueblo tribe 23) Super serve 25) Crow's nest support 27) Farm enclosures 29) Apple throwaway 30) Times to revel 31) Cheers from the grand- stands 32) Border on 33) Crate of exploding cigars? 35) "The Four Seasons" com- poser Vivaldi 37) Elbow guards 38) Shakes down 41) "Glee" actor Monteith 43) Favorable times 46) Rich, chocolaty dessert 48) Tara family name 49) Stock valuation phrase 51) Great Lakes tribe mem- bers of old 52) Performed brilliantly 53) Brewpub offerings 54) Word after "road" or "'roid" 56) Be the king 58) Vending machine inserts 60) Dropped for a 10-count, for short 61) "La-la" lead-in F Solution to last week's crossword The answers to today's crossword will be published in next week's Midweek edition Weather Fine Visibility Good Wind Northwest force 3 veering Southeast and becoming force 3 to 4 overnight. Sea Slight TODAY TOMORROW Crossword WEATHER WINDY ISOLATED SHOWERS 21 0 / 14 0 21 0 / 16 0 FEELS LIKE 21 0 FEELS LIKE 21 0 THE independent politician Ar- nold Cassola has called for a Stand- ards investigation over a govern- ment publicity contract for social media influencer services with the Maltese singer and Eurovision star Ira Losco. Cassola claimed Losco's paid services for Project Green, an ur- ban environmental park agency under the environment and ener- gy ministry, were to "show what a purportedly happy time her family had" at various public parks, such as the Bengħajsa park and Cam- pus Milbrae in Mosta's Ġnien tal-Għarusa. The Facebook posts tag minister Miriam Dalli, as well as Project Green chief executive Steve Ellul, a ministry employee bidding for an MEP's seat in the forthcoming 2024 elections. "I am asking for an investigation into the dirty actions of Dalli and Ellul," Cassola told Standards czar Joseph Azzopardi in an email on Losco's influencer posts tagging Project Green, Dalli and Ellul. "Ellul is a PEP. The dirt here is serious for various reasons: false publicity, being undeclared polit- ical publicity paid by politicians; Dalli and Ellul are using taxpayers' cash to promote their political in- terests; they use Losco's children's faces for their publicity, which is against the law." Losco uses her personal social media platforms under contract by Project Green to promote the agency with posts of her family enjoying days out in the parks un- der the agency's purview, carrying links to the personal pages of Dalli and Ellul. In comments to The Shift, which pointed out that the social media posts do not indicate in any way that they are sponsored, Losco said she saw nothing wrong in linking back to personal political pages de- spite being funded by public cash. The ministerial code of ethics and guidelines issued by the Commis- sioner for Standards in Public Life, prohibits politicians from using public funds for self-promotion. Ira Losco's influencer posts for Project Green reported to Standards Czar Ira Losco (right) with husband Sean Gravina in one of the promotional posts for Project Green