The Justice Department on Friday released a redacted copy of the affidavit that persuaded a US judge to authorize the stunning FBI search of the Florida residence of former president Donald Trump. Justice Department lawyers had opposed the release of the affidavit but the judge ordered it unsealed with redactions the department said were necessary to protect an ongoing investigation involving national security. The FBI search, carried out on August 8, was part of an investigation into the potential mishandling of documents which were taken to the former president's home. The affidavit includes evidence gathered by prosecutors and could also reveal new details about the inquiry. Many parts of the affidavit have been blacked out as the justice department said details in it could compromise an ongoing investigation. The department cites the need to protect the safety of civilian witnesses, and law enforcement personnel as reasons for the redacting of the affidavit.   

Yorgen Fenech has cast doubt on the admissibility of evidence produced against him, arguing that data produced from his phone was incomplete.  Fenech's lawyers told a court on Friday that there were serious questions to be asked about the chain of custody concerning the businessman's phone.  And while police had seized “60 CDs of nursery rhymes” from him, former OPM chief of staff Keith Schembri’s phone was still missing. These were among the arguments made by Fenech’s defence when the businessman, under preventive custody since his arrest in November 2019 as suspected accomplice in the 2017 murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia, was escorted back to court. On Friday, Madam Justice Edwina Grima declared that the court is expected to deliver its judgment on pre-trial pleas in December, with the possibility of subsequently allowing fresh evidence to be compiled, particularly that linked to Daphne Caruana Galizia’s mobile phones. The matter was thrashed out in the presence of family members of the assassinated journalist whose birthday would have been celebrated today. But before the court heard submissions on two particular pleas concerning the chain of custody of certain exhibits and...

The Malta Shooting Sport Federation is in mourning following the death of former president Carmel Cascun. The local governing body of shooting sport issued a statement on Friday to pay tribute to Dr Cascun who was an active figure in the local federation for several years. In fact, Dr Cascun took several positions in the Executive Committee of the governing body as he was elected as treasurer, general secretary as well as president of the Malta Shooting Sport Federation. “This morning we received the bad news that Dr Carmel Cascun has passed away,” the Malta Shooting Sport Federation said in a statement.  Click here for full story

Lucas Caruana put on a solid display as he helped Sampdoria earn a last-gasp win over Milan in their second Primavera league game, on Friday. The Maltese youngster, born in 2005, was deployed at half-time and played the second half as a defensive midfielder in a 4-2-3-1 system. Caruana’s defensive contribution allowed the Blucerchiate to hold on to a one-goal lead until the 85th minute when Milan levelled terms from the penalty spot. Click here for full story. 

Swieqi United women’s team have added a new piece to their side after announcing the arrival of young player Mariah Sciberras. The 23-year-old joins from Birkirkara having been part of last year’s successful side that clinched every domestic trophy. Click here for full story. 

GUDJA UNITED             3 Plut 18; Gomes 23; Bezzina 86 GŻIRA UNITED              3 Jefferson 42, 73; Maia 64 Gudja United  G. Zammit, J. Bolanos, A. Prates, V. Plut, M. Muchardi-7 (54 F. Romero), J. Arthur, N. Micallef, H. Vella (33 J. Mintoff) (50 J. Bezzina), N. Tabone, S. da Mata Gomes, N. Navarrete-6 (52 A. Selemani). GŻIRA UNITED D. Zarkov-6 (46 D. Cassar), G. Bohrer, N. Muscat-5 (46 J. Mendoza), S. Pisani-5.5 (46 M. Maia), Z. Scerri, L. Riascos, C. Gauci-7 (90 A. Borg), T. Kolega, R. Correa, M. Cosic, Jefferson. Referee Stefan Pace. Yellow cards Riascos, Pisani, Arthur, Scerri, Micallef, Mendoza, Selemani, Bohrer. Red card Riascos (G) 40. BOV Player of the match Jefferson (Gżira United). Johann Bezzina came off the bench to rescue a point for Gudja United against ten-man Gżira United in a thrilling encounter at the Centenary Stadium. It looked as though that Gżira United had completed a stunning comeback as despite being with ten men, following the first-half dismissal of Luis Riascos, and two goals down, they fought back to lead by three goals to two midway through the second half. However, Gudja kept believing and their efforts were rewarded...

PIETÀ HOTSPURS        0 VALLETTA 6 Bevis 31; Dimech 40 pen. Okpoveta 45; Pena Beltre 46 Sala 55; Nnomo 61 Pietà Hotspurs D. Alampasu (15 R. Cini-4), S. Okoh-4, C. Bangura-4, I. Yasukaze-4, J. Ghio-5, T. Agius-5 (62 S. Mizzi-5), Y. Morita-5 (56 A. Schembri Wismayer-5), Z. Leonardi-5, G. Ogunbe-4, S. Camara-5 (62 A. Belibi-4), T. Yamaguchi-4. Valletta A. Guarnone-6, E. Ruiz-6, J. Borg-6, C. Gauci-6, S. Dimech-8 (73 I. Micallef), O. Akpoveta-7 (60 J.M. Nnomo-6.5), E. Pena Beltre-7 (68 S. Mackay), B. Kamdem-6 (68 J. Willy), B. Paiber-7, E. Sala-7, K. Bevis-7 (58 A. Zammit). Referee Etienne Mangion. Yellow cards Okoh, Ogunbe BOV Player of the Match Shaun Dimech (Valletta). Valletta scored three quick-fire goals in the first half to crush Pietà Hotspurs in a one-sided encounter at the Centenary Stadium. The Citizens took some time to click into gear but once they surged ahead through Kilian Bevis there was no way back from the Hotspurs as the Lilywhites quickly wrapped up proceedings with two goals just before the break. On the restart, the Hotspurs completely crumbled as Valletta added three more goals to complete the rout. For Valletta, this was their...

Inter slumped to their first defeat of the season as Spanish duo Luis Alberto and Pedro Rodriguez struck late to guide Lazio to a 3-1 win on Friday which takes the Roman club to the top of Serie A. It marked another disappointing evening for Inter manager Simone Inzaghi who has yet to pick up a point at the ground he graced as a player for over a decade and where he managed until 2021.  The former Italy striker, instead, had to play second fiddle, as he did last year when Inter were handed another 3-1 defeat, to Maurizio Sarri, the man who replaced him on the Lazio bench.   “It was a very bad loss,” Inzaghi told DAZN. “It was an even game. We had a good first half but Luis Alberto’s goal shifted the balance.”  More details here...

A violent brawl among dozens of people in Ħamrun has prompted the local council and members of the Syrian community to reach an agreement on working together to avoid similar incidents. Taleb Zaidan, president of the NGO Syrian Solidarity in Malta, met with Ħamrun mayor Christian Sammut on Friday to discuss how they can collaborate. During the meeting, Zaidan informed him that the NGO had called in those involved in the August 18 fight to warn them that their behaviour had reflected badly on the whole Syrian community currently in Malta. Ħamrun mayor Christian Sammut. And members of the Syrian community have volunteered to carry out regeneration works in the town – such as plastering, painting and tree planting – as a sign of solidarity with the people. Speaking afterwards, both Zaidan and Sammut stressed that people should not judge an entire community due to the bad behaviour of a handful of people. “We all need to respect each other. Most Syrians are good people,” Sammut said. “Just because a few were in a fight, we can’t generalise... this also applies to our locality. We have been working hard to regenerate Ħamrun and such incidents shed a bad light on our locality,” he...

Action is needed now So the tourism authority is worried about the impact traffic congestion is having on the tourist experience and the accommodation owners are worried about the impact of overdevelopment. All justifiable concerns but there is another problem no one seems to want to address. Imagine the hapless first -time visitor to Gozo; he has managed to negotiate the traffic chaos and has arrived at his chosen accommodation. Having carefully read all the reviews, he has chosen to stay in a family-run B&B in a village setting with generous outside space and a pool. It looks delightful and he is looking forward to the peace and relaxation of this much photographed, more rural, oasis that is Gozo. Imagine his horror when, relaxing by the pool with a cool drink after a genial welcome by his hosts, he is shocked out of his reverie by loud music, swearing, shouting and screaming and general mayhem coming from the “holiday house” next door. We all know what a holiday house is; it is owned by someone not living anywhere near it, is advertised as sleeping possibly 20 or more in a three-four bedroom house and rents for around €500 per night. Generally, the guests wishing to stay in...

In Memoriam BRIFFA – LOUISETTE. Fond memories of a loving aunt on the anniversary of her death. Lord, grant her eternal rest. Tanya. HOLLAND – Dr PATRICK HOLLAND. Treasured memories of a most beloved husband and father on the 36th anniversary of his demise. Never forgotten by his wife Rose Mary, daughter Helena, grandchildren, brother, in-laws, nephews and nieces. Lord, grant him eternal rest. NAUDI. Loving, happy and fond memories of Perit LOUIS A. NAUDI, of Madliena, on the sixth anniversary of his demise. Nephews, nieces and all his family. To book an obituary or an In Memoriam notice from Monday to Friday – during office hours (8am-4pm) – e-mail classified@timesofmalta.com. On Saturday and Sunday, all day, and Monday to Friday after office hours, e-mail night@timesofmalta.com.

Hungary said Friday that the €12.5 billion construction of two new nuclear reactors by Russia's Rosatom would begin in the coming weeks, after regulatory approval was issued. The war in Ukraine hasn't deterred Hungary's interest in the project to add to the four reactors already operating at the Paks site outside of Budapest. The fact that it is moving forward is another indication of the close ties between Hungary's nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban and Russian President Vladimir Putin.  "This is a big step, an important milestone," said Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said on his Facebook account after the national regulator issued Thursday a permit following numerous delays. "We can now move from planning stage to construction. You'll see that at the Paks site in the coming weeks," said Szijjarto. He added it is "realistic" the new reactors could enter service by 2030. The 2014 deal to build two 1,200 megawatt reactors at the plant in Paks, 100 kilometres (60 miles) south of Budapest, will more than double its capacity.  Built with Soviet-era technology in the 1980s during Hungary's communist period, the plant is the sole nuclear facility in the EU member, and...

Most people are fully aware of the impact of inflation on their everyday shopping experience. Yet, few worry too much about the eerie normality at the fuel stations when they fill up their cars. Similarly, electricity bills are priced the same as before the pandemic and before the turmoil in the international gas and oil markets caused by the Ukraine war. It is time to ask whether we are sleepwalking into an energy crisis. The shocking news is that the price of interconnector power exported from Italy has climbed by over 500 per cent since 2020. Many do not realise that this rise in the cost of producing energy to satisfy households, essential services and business needs could seriously affect the economy and their well-being. Most EU countries have passed the more significant part of the fuel and energy price increases on to consumers. The capping of energy, fuel and gas rates has helped to mitigate the impact on struggling European businesses and households. But the ongoing turmoil in the energy markets is expected to last a long time. The strain on public finances and household energy bills will soon be near breaking point. The energy crisis is two-pronged. One aspect is...

A recent leader in Times of Malta on the Nationalist Party was entitled ‘PN may need major surgery’. Unless surgery works on corpses, the headline sounds somewhat wrong. Surgery, major or mega, can’t manage the trick. A more apt title would have been ‘PN needs Lazarus effect’. Miracle maker needed to revive a relic. This is my second article in a few weeks about the PN. Some people accuse me of attacking the opposition and its leadership, or lack of, relentlessly. They say the real threat, and what should be my main concern, is Labour and their total takeover of Malta. The answer to such reasoning should be obvious. That Malta is in dire straits regarding its democratic standing and that the country is in an environmental mess is beyond doubt. All that and more is due to Labour incompetence, competence at corruption and rewarding the corrupt as well as a slow but steady takeover of state media. Yet, all these problems are, to a huge extent, the result of a PN in disarray. After three victories at the polls, normality should dictate that the party in power would lose its appeal with the man and woman in the street. Normally, that is if the PN were a normal opposition party, it...

The state hospital is in the process of setting up an early pregnancy unit where expectant mothers experiencing problems, such as a miscarriage, will be supported in an area separate from others hosting women in an advanced state of pregnancy or after giving birth. The logistics, including where to house the unit, are still being planned, the health ministry said. But the aim is to separate patients experiencing early pregnancy problems from others in a more advanced stage of pregnancy, reduce the need for follow-up visits and possibly offer home visits. This will alleviate the emotional and psychological stress on women who are miscarrying or who just miscarried. At present, they are seen in areas surrounded by other pregnant women or women who have just given birth – magnifying their loss. In a recent interview with Times of Malta, a woman who had to fly to the UK to terminate an unviable 17-week pregnancy after being told that her much-wanted baby girl would soon die, spoke about her fear going through the miscarriage in Malta. “I did not want to have to go through it in Malta where women who are miscarrying are a bed away from pregnant women or those who just had babies,”...

In 1946, George Orwell wrote an essay titled ‘Why I write’. He outlined four great motives for writing. First, sheer egoism – “a desire to seem clever, to be talked about, to be remembered after death”. The second is aesthetic enthusiasm – “the pleasure in the impact of one sound on another, in the firmness of good prose”. The third is historical impulse – “a desire to find out true facts and store them”. But the fourth and most crucial is political purpose – “a desire to push the world in a certain direction” without which any writing is “lifeless”. In an opinion piece in The Sunday Times of Malta (August 14), Aleks Farrugia, former ONE journalist and It-Torċa editor, accused me of a long list of sins – “a sense of self-styled moral superiority”, “latently racist”, “belonging to a superior breed” and “condescending”. But he also questioned why I write. “I am still trying to figure out what utility this narrative might have,” he commented. At the risk of giving his piece more exposure than it merits, I will help him figure it out. For a start, some things that are definitely not the reasons why I write: I write not to curry favour with any political party, least of all the...

The Maltese insurance community is saddened with the loss of one of its leading members for many years – Carmel Cascun. He started working as an insurance broker around 40 years ago when there were very few in Malta who even knew what an insurance broker was. That many commercial entities in our country today rely on the professional services of an insurance broker is in no small part thanks to his hard work. Carmel was a formidable insurance broker. He must, undoubtedly, be attributed with a significant contribution to the raising of the technical and academic standards of our profession. Whatever he worked on, he would have always wanted to be done right all the time and without fail. He was a lifelong leaner and imparted his knowledge with ease to whoever was working with him. There are many colleagues now working in the insurance sector who have been inspired by his tenacity and dedication to the role. Our thoughts are with his beloved wife Miriam and the rest of his family. Ramon Mizzi is chairman of the Association of Insurance Brokers.

St Julian’s Maritime Finance's freshly granted licence to provide non-banking financial services has been welcomed by key stakeholders who see this new development as a clear sign that Malta's flourishing maritime centre has been further strengthened. Malta has become the flag of choice for owners of large yachts in Europe and the Mediterranean. Over the past decades, building on its long and varied maritime tradition, Malta has also developed a very strong legal and regulatory platform that has enabled the Malta Flag to become a reputable international shipping register, and Malta’s financial services authority a credible regulatory and licensing body that complements the shipping register. Malta Financial Services Authority license holders St Julian’s Maritime Finance provide a range of client-focused finance services covering customised and attractive financial lease solutions for European yacht owners. Former HSBC Europe Deputy CEO, Tony Mahoney, is chair of the board at St Julian’s Maritime Finance, having had a very successful career in banking, first for 27 years with HSBC, and later in Oman as CEO at Bank Dhofar, where he formulated and drove the 'Best in Gulf Plan’ that...

BNF Bank plc has appointed Daniel Cutajar as chief technology officer to lead the implementation of the bank’s IT strategy and digital transformation.  Throughout his career, Cutajar has held several senior management roles with direct experience in the Maltese financial industry since 2005 and overall IT experience for 23 years. His specialisations include IT service management, project management and software development. He also holds a Master of Business Administration (eBusiness) degree from the University of Malta.  Prior to joining BNF Bank, Cutajar accumulated a wealth of experience as head of information technology at Ferratum Bank, responsible for the IT function and overseeing the bank’s IT strategy, governance and business continuity. He was also a member of the bank’s Executive Committee and the group IT Management Committee, as well as having chaired the IT Governance, Risk and Compliance Committee. Cutajar joins BNF Bank’s chief executive officer and managing director Michael Collis, chief commercial officer George Debono, chief financial officer Mark Micallef, chief risk officer Maruska Buttigieg Gili, and chief legal officer Jean Noel Cutajar, as members of the...

Bank of Valletta, together with MAPFRE MSV life, is launching a special limited-time offer on its pension plans. During this period, customers who take up a unit-linked personal pension plan with the bank will be given a top-up of €175 when the new plan is set up and the first premium paid by the policyholder is allocated. Pension plans offered by Bank of Valletta are truly affordable, as Tonia Parascandalo from Business Generation at BOV Wealth Management explained that the pension plans offered by BOV are affordable, saying that customers may take up a pension plan with “as little as €40 monthly”. In addition, policyholders are free to make changes in their contribution at any time, while contribution breaks are also allowed. “The minimum contribution is low, so more people are encouraged to start saving for their retirement. The earlier one plans for this critical time in life, the more they will benefit later,” she said. Moreover, in taking up a personal pension plan, a customer becomes eligible to benefit from tax credits provided by the government. Presently, the tax credit is 25 per cent of the contributions made by the qualifying policyholder in a given year, up to a...