Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1503087
TRUTH IS OF NO COLOUR WWW.MALTATODAY.COM.MT SUNDAY • 2 JULY 2023 • ISSUE 1235 • PUBLISHED EVERY WEDNESDAY AND SUNDAY Absenteeism during A-Level examinations on the rise PAGE 3 Developers agree to reduce footprint of bungalow site PAGES 6 & 7 The young Maltese wrestler making waves locally and abroad PAGE 8 Comino Side slam! No more fees 20 years on maltatoday Anti-mafia cops tell Italian MPs of Malta base for fugitives Labour MPs uncomfortable with watered- down abortion Bill KURT SANSONE THE Labour Party leadership adopted the road of least resist- ance on its own abortion pro- posal, watering down Bill 28 to gain unanimity in parliament. But in so doing, Labour MPs were left feeling uncomfortable at what they see as Robert Abela's capitulation in the face of a con- servative backlash. Several MPs, granted anonymity to be able to speak about internal matters, expressed their discom- fort over the final wording of Bill 28. "We set out to protect wom- en's lives and health in the case of complications that may arise during a pregnancy but ended up ignoring the health aspect while making it harder to have a medi- cal decision on termination by in- troducing a three-member team into the equation," an MP told MaltaToday. CONTINUES PAGE 6 SEE ALSO PAGES 12-13 MATTHEW VELLA MALTA'S proximity to Sicily and its ease of set- ting up companies, has established it as an outpost for mafia-related remote gaming business and a base for fugitives. Accounts of the solid ties between Malta's white-col- lar industries and drug operations, with the mafia in Sicily and the 'Ndrangheta of Calabria, are now a reg- ular feature of the biannual report of Italy's anti-mafia unit DIA (Direzione Investigattiva Antifmia) to the Italian parliament. Malta has now been a constant fixture in the DIA's parliamentary reports since 2017, following press re- ports about mafia-linked associates setting up Mal- ta-based remote gambling companies and other ar- rests. LORENZO VELLA urges critics to see the positives of EU membership INTERVIEW MT2 PAGE 4 €1.95