Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1525176
YOUR RIGHT TO KNOW WWW.MALTATODAY.COM.MT SUNDAY 11 AUGUST 2024 • ISSUE 1292 • PUBLISHED EVERY WEDNESDAY AND SUNDAY Malta's six elected MEPs spent a total of €224,795 to secure a seat in Brussels PAGE 13 Maltese football faces new era under shadow of Muscat's political baggage PAGES 6 - 7 EP election Football woes Labour chemistry maltatoday MATTHEW FARRUGIA mfarrugia@mediatoday.com.mt Robert Abela is keeping Robert Abela is keeping his rivals close but what his rivals close but what about the chemistry of the about the chemistry of the leadership troika to be? leadership troika to be? ANALYSIS ANALYSIS PAGES 2 - 3 PAGES 2 - 3 Cab driver lobby group blasts Bolt's 'retaliatory' price hike PAGE 4 THE parents of a Maltese citizen facing extra- dition to the United States are pleading with the Maltese authorities to intervene so that their son can serve time in Malta. In an interview with MaltaToday, parents Lucienne and Chris detailed the distressing journey their family endured since the arrest of Daniel Joe Meli in February 2024, in con- nection with the sale of illegal malware on the dark web. CONTINUES PAGE 11 INTERVIEW MT2 Parents of hacker facing US extradition, plead for son to serve sentence in Malta Daniel Meli's parents, Lucienne and Chris MALTA'S RICHEST 10% ARE WORTH €47 BILLION MALTA'S cab driver lobby LPOA (Light Passenger Op- erators Association) has de- scribed the digital platform app Bolt's sudden increase in cab prices as "retaliation against government for seek- ing to regulate an abused market." LPOA president Aron Gatt welcomed the radical deci- sion by government to plug the supply of foreign non-EU labour by stopping new work permits for prospective cab drivers. Bolt, Malta's largest ride-hailing platform, had de- nied claims of price retaliation after government's decision, insisting the price hikes were a result of driver shortage. In an opinion appearing in MaltaToday (see pages 8 and 9), Gatt welcomed the deci- sion to regulate a sector he said had been "built on mod- ern-day exploitation, char- acterised by artificially low prices and abusive business practices." Gatt, who has been a cab driver for nearly a decade, noted that the industry had been marked by a shift from self-employed operators earn- ing a decent income, to a mar- ket dominated by large fleets exploiting foreign workers. This is how the prices of cab fares could have stayed low, he said. €1.95 Family of Daniel Meli, who lost appeal against extradition to United States over illegal sales of malware products, pleads for government intervention so son can serve jail in Malta, not in the US MATTHEW FARRUGIA mfarrugia@mediatoday.com.mt