Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/871892
PHOTO JAMES BIANCHI Newspaper post SUNDAY • 10 SEPTEMBER 2017 • ISSUE 931 • PUBLISHED EVERY WEDNESDAY AND SUNDAY SUNDAY • 10 SEPTEMBER 2017 • ISSUE 931 • PUBLISHED EVERY WEDNESDAY AND SUNDAY • PUBLISHED EVERY WEDNESDAY AND SUNDAY maltatoday YOUR FIRST READ AND CLICK OF THE DAY WWW.MALTATODAY.COM.MT €1.75 SUNDAY • 10 SEPTEMBER 2017 • ISSUE 931 • PUBLISHED EVERY WEDNESDAY AND SUNDAY today today • PUBLISHED EVERY WEDNESDAY AND SUNDAY today • PUBLISHED EVERY WEDNESDAY AND SUNDAY "With all due respect to the PN, the only functioning opposition at the moment is PD" Transgender people often resort to prostitution to fi nance hormone treatment HOLD YOUR HOGS! Pet pig owners cannot take out their hogs on a leash, new rules state Financing the transition 14 15 INTERVIEW ANTHONY BUTTIGIEG 6 3 SIMPLY FABOULOUS DARLING! Malta celebrates its gay rights revolution at this year's Gay Pride celebrations SEE BACK PAGE In court, Delia denies he charged fees his client did not approve Mayor at 16? Government presents Vote16+ proposals MATTHEW VELLA WITH just a week left to the Na- tionalist leadership election, a civil case unfolding in the Maltese law courts has embroiled candidate Adrian Delia into a dispute over an extravagant €86,210 fee he charged for securing an HSBC loan for his client. For Delia is facing a legal or- deal that will keep his profes- sional affairs in the spotlight: a situation that would see him juggling his defence as a part y to a civil case, while taking on the challenges the political new- comer faces as Opposition leader if elected. The case has been ongoing since 2011, after the Boris Arcidi- acono furniture firm called into question the fees charged to the company on an €800,000 loan it took out from HSBC to settle its dues to creditors and finance a showroom in Msida. At the heart of the matter is the firm's contention that an €86,210 bank draft issued by HSBC to Delia for his services to Arcidi- acono, was never authorised by the firm itself. HSBC employees who witnessed the loan transaction disagree, having told the court there were no objections at the time. no objections at PAGE 4 MATTHEW AGIUS THE public has been invited to have their say on a gov- ernment proposal that could potentially see local councils being led by teens just out of secondary school. At a press conference on Saturday, replete with a slick promotional video full of smiling youths working, study- ing and helping in the community and jangly guitar soundtrack, OPM parliamentary secretary for reforms Ju- lia Farrugia Portelli launched a discussion paper propos- ing the lowering of minimum voting age to 16 at general elections and European Parliament elections. The discussion paper also moots the possibility of allow- ing 16-year-olds to contest local council elections.. The consultation, which is open to the public on www. konsultazzjoni.gov.mt as well as on Facebook, aims "to collect the primary perspectives and feelings of the Mal- tese citizens on this initiative". PAGES 4 & 5 In court, Delia denies he charged bank draft issued by HSBC to Delia for his services to Arcidi- acono, was never authorised by HSBC employees who witnessed the loan transaction disagree, having told the court there were