Belle de Jong

Brussels

Freelance Journalist and Editor at Freelance

Journalist in Malta, leading editor @EurCorrespond

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Articles

Gouder ends up with 10% cut on Labour’s Rialto investment

Jan 7, 2025 | theshiftnews.com | Belle de Jong

Former Labour TV reporter turned lawyer and businessman Charlon Gouder has secured a 10% share in a private construction company that plans to invest millions in transforming the Labour Party’s Rialto Theatre building in Bormla into a new entertainment venue, which includes a controversial rooftop wedding hall.
#CasinoPapers: International software provider operates gambling websites through Malta shell company

Jan 7, 2025 | theshiftnews.com | Belle de Jong

Behind the polished façade of software provider Delasport lie hundreds of gambling websites targeting countries where gambling is heavily regulated. A look into the #CasinoPapers – tens of thousands of leaked documents from inside the industry – shows that shell companies in Malta and Curaçao play a crucial role in obscuring the ownership of these websites. In 2023, Manwel*, playing from Malta, deposited more than €100,000 into his online casino account.
Changes to Gozo local plan set to benefit family that sold land to prime minister

Nov 1, 2024 | theshiftnews.com | Belle de Jong

A Gozitan couple who sold a plot of land to Robert Abela and his wife Lydia two years ago will directly benefit from an odd change to the Gozo local plan ordered by the prime minister a few weeks ago, The Shift has learned.
How Malta’s economy feeds off European gambling addicts

Oct 31, 2024 | theshiftnews.com | Belle de Jong

Peter* lost over half a million euro in ten years, hiding his addiction from his family. The birth of his first child was a “wake-up call”: “What am I doing?” At that point, he had debts of around €300,000, he said. The Austrian player promised himself he would quit, but he relapsed, sinking deeper into his addiction. His drug of choice? Gambling. Every day, the first thing he would do when he woke up was look at his balance.
Belle de Jong | Substack

Aug 20, 2024 | substack.com | Belle de Jong

Investigative journalist in Malta and editor at The European Correspondent. I talk about international affairs, social justice and mental health.
Top ten Brussels parks to unwind in

Jul 29, 2024 | brusselstimes.com | Belle de Jong

As spring brings us warm and sunny weather, Brussels residents have swapped umbrellas for sunscreen and are spending their weekends and afternoons making the most of the sunny days. With guinguettes open again and plenty of festivals and activities taking place, the city's many parks offer a great getaway from the buzzing city. We asked our readers about their favourite parks to compile a list of the top ten Brussels parks to sit back in, unwind, and catch some much-needed vitamin D.
Why journalists are speaking out against Western media bias in reporting on Israel-Palestine

Dec 7, 2023 | unbiasthenews.org | Belle de Jong

Written by Belle de Jong Illustration by Walker Gawande Edited by Tina Lee More than 1500 journalists from dozens of US news organisations have signed an open letter protesting the Western media’s coverage of Israel’s atrocities against Palestinians since the October 7th attack. Condemning Israel’s targeted killing of reporters in Gaza and criticising Western media bias, they write that newsrooms are “accountable for dehumanising rhetoric that has served to justify the ethnic cleansing of...