Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1530259
KARL AZZOPARDI kazzopardi@mediatoday.com.mt PAGE 2 PAGE 3 US funding of OCCRP raises questions over editorial independence KARL AZZOPARDI kazzopardi@mediatoday.com.mt One seat, two hopefuls THE Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), widely cele- brated for its investigative journalism, fac- es questions over a lack of independence due to extensive funding and influence from the United States government. A joint investigation by Mediapart and other media partners has unveiled the depth of OCCRP's financial reliance on Washington. YOUR RIGHT TO KNOW WWW.MALTATODAY.COM.MT SUNDAY 8 DECEMBER 2024 • ISSUE 1309 • PUBLISHED EVERY WEDNESDAY AND SUNDAY Domestic violence Oppos Opposition MP Graziella ition MP Graziella Attard Previ on the need Attard Previ on the need to protect victims of abuse to protect victims of abuse and on civil liberties and on civil liberties INTERVIEW INTERVIEW MT2 MT2 maltatoday Steward and the Government: Making sense of their arbitration case PAGES 6 - 8 Will Malta follow suit after the UK's recent approval of a bill regulating assisted dying? PAGES 13 - 15 Euthanasia Negotiations €1.95 Former ministry spokesperson Nigel Vella and Labour Birkirkara councillor Yana Borg Debono Grech both promised parliamentary co-option by Prime Minister Robert Abela to fill outgoing MP Randolph De Battista's seat in the House of Representatives FORMER ministry spokesperson Nigel Vella and Labour Birkirkara councillor Yana Borg Debono Grech have both been promised by Castille a co-option to fill a single vacant seat in parliament, Malta- Today has learnt. This newspaper is informed that Prime Minister Robert Abela has shortlisted Ni- gel Vella and Yana Borg Debono Grech to replace Randolph De Battista in the House of Representatives next year. De Battista is expected to start in his role as Malta's Permanent Representa- tive to the United Nations in Geneva next January, vacating his seat in the House. He had also resigned from his post as Labour Party CEO last August, a few months after the European Parliament and Local Council elections in June. He had been co-opted into parliament in 2022 by the Prime Minister, despite not contesting the General Election, fol- lowing a vacated seat on the Ninth Dis- trict. But the two fell out over time, with the MP going as far as publicly saying he had felt "ashamed" for voting against public inquiry into the 2022 construction col- lapse that killed Jean Paul Sofia. The fact that De Battista was co-opted means a casual election cannot be held to replace him. Nigel Vella: Addressing the First District vacuum? Nigel Vella, a former ministry spokes- person, who currently works within the Home Affairs Ministry, hosts newspaper analysis programme 'Paper Scan' on La- bour's television station ONE. Nigel Vella (left) with Robert Abela, and Yana Borg Debono Grech