Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1534889
12 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 30 APRIL 2025 NEWS MATTHEW FARRUGIA mfarrugia@mediatoday.com.mt F Solution to last week's crossword The answers to today's crossword will be published in the next Midweek edition Crossword � � FreeDailyCrosswords.com ACROSS----------- I) Catch_ (start to get) 5) D.C. United's game 11) Obese 14) Lime-supplying fertilizer 15) Glorified 16) Once_ blue moon 17) Flattered most sincerely 18) Bottled spirits 19) Summertime, in NYC 20) Service stripes, informally 22) 1052, in old Rome 23) Allegro_ (very st, in music) 24) Elaborate meal 27) Type of li insurance 30) Starting point 33) Plane without props 36) No fighting is allowed here 39) Suffix with smack or sock 41) Lively, as an imagination 42) Per person 43) Hesitating gait 46) Vietnam's My_ 47) Pie chart portion 48) Olympic skater Heiden 50) " ..._ the brave" 53) Present time 57) Concludes 59) Biggest guy on a otball field, often 62) Animal cility 63) Not at all chubby 65) Pirate's drink 66) Spreadsheet line 67) Allotted amount 68) High schooler's cial conce 69) Raggedy doll 70) Crouches down 71) Deer with three-pointed antlers DOWN I) Nebraska's largest city 2) Certain Califo ia wines 3) Plait of hair 4) Been there, done that 5) Tale on an epic scale 6) German river 7) Bops on the bean 8) Like a brand-new dollar bill 9) Very wide shoe size 10) Map abbreviations 11) What a rmer may have in the spring? 12) "The King_" 13) M. Hulot's creator Jacques 21) Way of carrying oneself 22) Original Thanksgiving re 25) Middle- of-the-_ (a moderate) 26) Schubert's "The_-King" 28) Patriot Paul 29) "The Ghost and Mrs._" 3 l ) Machu Picchu resident 32) Classic soft drink 33) Heavyweight champ Willard 34) Flamboyant Art Deco designer 35) Land, as a plane? 37) Commercial products? 38) Ceremonial act 40) Graham and Preminger 44) Hanks or Cruise 45) Worrisome car sound 49) Mountain predator 51) On a scale of_ 10 52) Large book size 54) Drug agent, r short 55) Hag 56) A sphere lacks them 57) University founder Cornell 58) Lunch time, fo r many 60) You may come to it 61) Twilights, poetically 63) 4th-yr. students 64) Huge chocolate container 24th January ACROSS 1) Catch ___ (start to get) 5) D.C. United's game 11) Obese 14) Lime-supplying fertilizer 15) Glorified 16) Once ___ blue moon 17) Flattered most sincerely 18) Bottled spirits 19) Summertime, in NYC 20) Service stripes, informally 22) 1052, in old Rome 23) Allegro ___ (very fast, in music) 24) Elaborate meal 27) Type of life insurance 30) Starting point 33) Plane without props 36) No fighting is allowed here 39) Suffix with smack or sock 41) Lively, as an imagination 42) Per person 43) Hesitating gait 46) Vietnam's My ___ 47) Pie chart portion 48) Olympic skater Heiden 50) "... ___ the brave" 53) Present time 57) Concludes 59) Biggest guy on a football field, often 62) Animal facility 63) Not at all chubby 65) Pirate's drink 66) Spreadsheet line 67) Allotted amount 68) High schooler's facial concern 69) Raggedy doll 70) Crouches down 71) Deer with three- pointed antlers DOWN 1) Nebraska's largest city 2) Certain California wines 3) Plait of hair 4) Been there, done that 5) Tale on an epic scale 6) German river 7) Bops on the bean 8) Like a brand-new dollar bill 9) Very wide shoe size 10) Map abbreviations 11) What a farmer may have in the spring? 12) "The King ___ " 13) M. Hulot's creator Jacques 21) Way of carrying oneself 22) Original Thanksgiving fare 25) Middle-of-the-___ (a moderate) 26) Schubert's "The ___ - King" 28) Patriot Paul 29) "The Ghost and Mrs. ___" 31) Machu Picchu resident 32) Classic soft drink 33) Heavyweight champ Willard 34) Flamboyant Art Deco designer 35) Land, as a plane? 37) Commercial products? 38) Ceremonial act 40) Graham and Preminger 44) Hanks or Cruise 45) Worrisome car sound 49) Mountain predator 51) On a scale of ___ 10 52) Large book size 54) Drug agent, for short 55) Hag 56) A sphere lacks them 57) University founder Cornell 58) Lunch time, for many 60) You may come to it 61) Twilights, poetically 63) 4th-yr. students 64) Huge chocolate container � � FreeDailyCrosswords.com ACROSS----------- I) Closure r loose clothing 5) Movie theater yell 10) Coin hole 14) Eye lasciviously 15) Make up r, as sins 16) Well-drawn character? 17) Traveling at 186,500 miles per second 20) Add bells and whistles 21) Baltimore's nine 22) Celestial spheres 25) Show gloominess 26)_ about (wander) 29) Japanese aborigine 31) Make a second account 35) Bobby, Bruins' #4 36)_ r the mill 38)_ weight (precious metal measurement) 39) How actions speak? 43) Abu Dhabi dignitary 44) Art photo shade 45) This may be inflated 46) Titles r chairwomen 49) Lunar valley 50)_ Monte ( od giant) 51) Stake-driving hammer 53)_ on (put trust in) 55) Tilted 58) Like porridge or granola 62) Tooth-cleaning product's claim 65) Fi ies audiophile's purchase 66) A fine playing marble 67) Heavy burden 68) Oil cartel letters 69) Did a cobbler's job 70) Big name in elevators SMARTER THAN NOT B Luke Ca on - - - - 1 S 2E 3A M sF 60 7c au 9s 1 5 1l 1b 1 1 b G L E 1 A T O N E 1 � 0 0 N 1 A S T 1 R T H A N 1 l I � D - 2 bR I OL OP E 3R M I R I A D A L A u sl A N T E H I T E R T H 6H I F I G A T E p E C 0 L E D G T I T E N u s T I s DOWN I) Place 2) "By gosh!" 3) As well 4) The first 5) "A Bridge 6) Giant 7) Silver 8) Divest 9) Fourth-year 10) Small 11) Opera 12)_ and 13) Dangerous 18) Make 19) Care 23) Whirring 24) Peevish 26) Automaton 27) It lures 28) Tree worshiper 30) Poe's 32) Went 33) Skier's 34) Household 37) Fleshy-snouted 40) Striking 41) Shade 42) Rejoice 4 7) Long, 48) Buddhist 52) Set free 54) Web company 55) Liner 56) Term 57) Indian legumes 59) Add a 60) Vanity 61) Costner 62) One of 63) Donned 64) "Waking_Devine" Weather Partly to rather cloudy becoming partly cloudy Visibility Good Wind West Southwest force 3 to 4 becoming West Northwest force 4 to 5 locally force 5 to 6 TOMORROW WEATHER WINDY WITH ISOLATED SHOWERS 22 0 / 17 0 TODAY WINDY WITH ISOLATED SHOWERS 22 0 / 17 0 FEELS LIKE 22 0 FEELS LIKE 22 0 A report by the Civil Liberties Union for Europe (Liberties) has highlighted that Malta's efforts to protect journalists and activ- ists against SLAPPs have fallen short. The report, which is the fourth annual report by Liberties, as- sesses the state of media freedom in 21 EU Member States, includ- ing Malta, based on research and input from member and partner organisations. The report examined key areas such as media freedom and plu- ralism, the safety and protection of journalists, and freedom of ex- pression and information. While noting the fact that Malta was the first EU state to transpose the EU's Anti-SLAPP Directive, the report flags "serious gaps and deficiencies." The Liberties report mentions that in August 2024, civil soci- ety groups including the Daph- ne Caruana Galizia Foundation wrote to the Prime Minister and justice minister to highlight the shortcomings, but they "received no response and were not con- sulted prior to final passage of the legislation." Among other aspects of the Maltese media landscape covered by the report is Malta's high con- centration of media ownership, specifically the party-controlled media outlets. The report also flags the Pub- lic Broadcasting Service (PBS) which is "not free of political interference, with much of the reporting peppered with bias to- wards the party in government." The report also mentions the verbal attacks against journalists. It mentions an incident when Prime Minister Robert Abe- la accused journalists and their outlets of working for "the estab- lishment," leading the Institute of Maltese Journalists to issue state- ments condemning these impli- cations that journalists are ene- mies of the state and the people. Furthermore, the Liberties Me- dia Freedom Report 2025 stresses the need to fully implement the recommendations of the public inquiry into Daphne Caruana Galizia's assassination. Finally, the report stresses the importance for Malta to fully and faithfully enforce the European Media Freedom Act (EMFA). The report underscores that this EU legislation is designed to ad- dress many of the critical threats to media freedom identified in the report. Overall, the Liberties Media Freedom Report 2025 suggests that Malta needs to undertake significant reforms to align its national laws and practices with European standards on media freedom and pluralism. European report on media freedom says Maltese anti-SLAPP laws have fallen short The report examined key areas such as media freedom and pluralism, the safety and protection of journalists, and freedom of expression and information