The yen slumped to a 24-year low against the dollar and shed more than one per cent versus the euro on Wednesday as Japan refuses to hike interest rates to combat sky-high inflation. The European Central Bank is on Thursday forecast to deliver another bumper rate increase, mirroring aggressive moves by the US Federal Reserve and Bank of England. Elsewhere on Wednesday, oil prices climbed as Russia's President Vladimir Putin said his country would stop delivering oil and gas supplies to countries that introduce price caps. G7 industrialised powers have vowed to move urgently towards implementing a price cap on Russian oil imports to cut off a major source of funding for Moscow's military action in Ukraine. In stock market trading, European and Asian indices mostly retreated but Shanghai closed slightly up. On foreign exchange markets, one dollar was worth 144.38 yen – the Japanese currency's weakest showing since 1998. "The reason that we are seeing this much strength in the dollar against the yen is purely because of the difference in two central banks' policies," noted Naeem Aslam, chief market analyst at AvaTrade. "The Fed is as hawkish as it can be, and the BoJ still doesn't...

The Malta Football Association have applied to award a Maltese passport to Oxford United striker Jodi Felice Jones, the Times of Malta can confirm. Felice Jones is eligible to receive a Maltese passport by descent as his father is Maltese. MFA president Bjorn Vassallo confirmed to the Times of Malta that they are assisting in the process to award Maltese citizenship to Felice Jones and are confident that it will be completed this month. “The Malta Football Association confirms that it is assisting in the process for football player Jodi Jay Felice Jones, born on 22 October 1997 and currently on the books of Oxford United FC, to obtain Maltese citizenship by descent and thus be available to represent our country,” Vassallo said. “The process has been on-going for a few months and will be finalised this month.” The 24-year-old has been on the radar of the Malta Football Association for a few years now. Click here for full story  

A 72-year-old woman suffered grievous injuries when on Wednesday afternoon she was hit by a car in Mellieħa. The police said the accident happened at around 12.30pm on Triq il-Kbira. The driver of the Toyota Vitz - a 74-year-old man, and the pedestrian, are both from Mellieħa. Police investigations are ongoing. 

A new performance piece is taking aim at the encroachment of public places and reflecting on the relationship that people have with the dwindling free open spaces around them. Malta Ħanina? Tużana u Tarmina is a collaborative performance piece that combines music, poetry and dance to create a commentary on how people’s ability to enjoy public spaces is constantly under attack. Created by Ġagħel Dingli as part of the Artivisti mentorship programme, the artist said she wanted to collaborate with poet Francesca Sammut and music producer Funky Monkey to express the frustration she feels at the way private commercial interests seem to be continuously prioritised over public common good when it comes to the use of public open spaces. “I wanted to create the piece to showcase our relationship with public spaces and how that is reflected in the people that we consider to be less than ourselves,” she said. “The connective factor is vulnerability and increasingly, access to public spaces is becoming vulnerable.” The 22-year-old, who recently graduated from the Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance in London, said collaboration was an important factor in creating the piece,...

In the fifth episode of the Ganado Meets Finance podcast, Mark Caruana Scicluna, a senior associate within the investment services and funds team at Ganado Advocates, speaks with Kenneth Farrugia, chairperson of the Malta Asset Servicing Association.  In 1995, Malta enacted a suite of legislative and regulatory initiatives within the financial services industry, with prominence afforded to the asset management space. Several banks in Malta began setting up their asset management operations targeting the domestic market, predominately in the retail space. As the industry evolved, we slowly began seeing international operators also setting up funds in Malta – in the wake of which the Malta Funds Industry Association (MFIA) was formed. Following Malta’s accession to the EU, the country experienced rapid growth, with asset management operators relocating to Malta and setting up business here. During this period, the jurisdiction also saw an influx of fund administrators opting for Malta. With time, the sector advanced from its focus on asset management and began expanding to the asset servicing, custody and brokerage sectors as well. At this point, the MFIA became the Malta Asset...

Domenico Tedesco was fired by German side RB Leipzig on Wednesday, a day after a 4-1 home thrashing by Ukraine’s Shakhtar Donetsk in their opening Champions League group match. It comes months after he led them to German Cup success but a dreadful start to their league campaign has yielded five points from five matches in the Bundesliga. “RB Leipzig have parted company with Domenico Tedesco with immediate effect,” the club tweeted. Even before Tuesday’s humiliation, there were rumours that Leipzig had lined up former Borussia Dortmund coach Marco Rose. The Leipzig-born Rose won two Austrian titles with sister club Red Bull Salzburg. Italy-born Tedesco, 36, only took over last December when Leipzig sacked American Jesse Marsch after a poor run of results which left them 11th in the table, seven points off Champions League qualification.

A woman who admitted to stealing over €3,000 in car stereos from a Tarxien store over several months was on Wednesday granted bail as she waits to be assessed over claims she suffers from kleptomania. Kleptomania is a mental health condition where a person is unable to resist urges to steal items. The 28-year-old from Xghajra, who has five children, was on Wednesday released from arrest pending a pre-sentencing report to assess her social situation, including her mental well-being.  This is not the woman's first case of alleged theft. Kleptomania, evident from her criminal record sheet, has previously landed her in trouble with the law, her lawyer told court on Wednesday. This time around, the manager of a Tarxien store filed a police report at the end of August, claiming that a woman was stealing car stereos from his shop. The thefts had allegedly been going on for quite some time, but the alarm was only raised when several people asked him whether stereos being sold on Facebook's Marketplace belonged to him. At first, the shop owner ignored those messages, prosecuting Inspector Sarah Kathleen Zerafa told court.  But when the man finally checked CCTV footage at the shop, he...

DP World Tour chief executive Keith Pelley has delivered an impassioned defence of the European circuit in the face of what he termed the “LIV propaganda machine”. A total of 17 players who have featured in the Saudi-backed breakaway series are in the field for the European PGA Championship at Wentworth, southwest of London, this week. Speaking to the media on Wednesday, Pelley urged players not to show disrespect for the DP World Tour by “parroting LIV’s talking points” and dismissed Sergio Garcia’s claim that it is a feeder tour set to become the fifth-best in the world. “Please stop this nonsense,” he said. “Is this week a tournament that would be on a feeder tour? We are unquestionably number two in the world (behind the US PGA tour) by a country mile.” More details here...

Oil prices tumbled back to pre-war levels Wednesday as recession fears returned to the forefront. Stocks were also hit by the negative outlook for the global economy, while currency markets were gripped by the prospect of interest rate hikes. Oil prices briefly climbed on Wednesday as Russia's President Vladimir Putin said his country would stop delivering oil and gas supplies to countries that introduce price caps. G7 industrialised powers have vowed to move urgently towards implementing a price cap on Russian oil imports to cut off a major source of funding for Moscow's military action in Ukraine. But oil prices then turned sharply lower, with Brent crude, the main international contract, passing under $90 per barrel for the first time since February. OPEC and its allies earlier this week cut production targets for the first time in more than a year in a bid to lift prices. "While the 100,000 barrel cut wasn't fundamentally significant, it was clearly intended as a warning not to drive the price lower or face further cuts," said OANDA trading platform analyst Craig Erlam. "Unfortunately, it seems traders are in no mood to be told what to do and growth fears are instead...

A handful of students, lecturers and members of the public answered a call by the University Student Council (KSU) on Wednesday to protest against the construction of an 11-storey hotel outside the University. The hotel is set to be built on the site that used to host the Mireva bookshop, which sold textbooks and academic literature to students and university staff and photocopied millions of papers for years before shutting down some years ago. Over 80 people, made up of lecturers, students and members of NGOs gathered at the university's main square, known as the quadrangle.  Photo: Jonathan Borg. Developer Mark Agius, known in his native Gozo as 'Ta’ Dirjanu’ and who has previously partnered with Gozitan developer Joseph Portelli, is asking the PA (through application 05079/22) for a permit to add another floor to the building, despite having already secured an additional two floors over-and-above the permitted maximum for the area in his original planning application. The proposed development is located just outside the gates of the University of Malta campus, which is a residential area designed as a Student Housing Area by local plans. No bookshop left on campus Speaking...

A 32-year-old man was grievously injured on Wednesday when a metal beam fell on him at a Mosta construction site.  The police said the accident happened at 10.30am on Triq ta' Mlit. The man, from Rabat, was rushed to Mater Dei Hospital. Police investigations are ongoing. 

Two men involved in a massive brawl on a Ħamrun street between two rival Syrian groups, were granted bail after the court heard how their elders stepped in to reconcile families and calm troubled waters.  Abdullah Ahmed, a 35-year-old construction worker from Marsa, and Abdullah Sheikh Ahmad, a 30-year-old fellow Syrian national from Mosta, were remanded in custody last month after being arraigned separately, days after the fight. Some 25 men got involved when a heated argument between two men broke out in broad daylight on August 18 in St Joseph High Road and Fra Diegu Square on August 18, soon escalating into a massive fight. Footage shared on social media showed shoppers fleeing from the scene as men fought, swinging long pieces of wood, while one man held up a bin and another grabbed a shop placard and used it as a shield.  Soon after, Ahmed and Ahmad were arrested and arraigned separately, both pleading not guilty to numerous charges linking them to the violent episode. Ahmad was charged with grievously injuring another man by hitting him on the head with a wooden stick, carrying a knife without a police licence, breaching the peace, insulting and threatening a number of...

Paul Pogba could be back in team training with Juventus in eight weeks, the surgeon who operated on the World Cup winning midfielder’s injured knee said on Wednesday. “With Juventus’ medical team we have indicated eight weeks as the time needed for Pogba to return to team training,” said Professor Roberto Rossi from the Mauriziano hospital in Turin. “He will be assessed weekly. He will come to JMedical (Juve’s medical centre) where I will follow his recovery and how his knee responds.” Pogba went under the knife on Monday to repair the meniscus in his right knee after his plan not to have an operation in order to ensure his presence at the World Cup finals in November fell apart. More details here...

A man was remanded in custody after the police found him in possession of nine kilos of cocaine and heroin with a street value of €1.5million. The police said in a statement the man was arrested following months of investigation by the Drugs Squad. The 42-year-old Dutch national was stopped in Qormi, where he was searched by police officers. He was found in possession of five kilos of cocaine and four kilos of heroin.  A search at a Santa Venera garage yielded €380,000 in cash. He was charged with association, importation, trafficking and possession of drugs, as well as money laundering. He pleaded not guilty and was remanded in custody.

Magistrate Nadine Lia has turned down a request to recuse herself from a case concerning Pilatus Bank, in a court decree that condemned “gratuitous” assertions made about her by NGO Repubblika. The magistrate’s rejection was made public by Repubblika on Wednesday, which says it will now be filing a constitutional case, in a bid to have Lia's decision overturned.  Lia is hearing a case filed by Repubblika against the police commissioner and attorney general, who the NGO says have failed to press charges against various Pilatus officials, despite an inquiry having recommended that more than a year ago.  Conflict of interest claims Repubblika has however argued that Lia is unfit to hear that case, because of her ties to lawyer Pawlu Lia, who is her father-in-law.  Pawlu Lia also serves as a lawyer to former prime minister Joseph Muscat, and Repubblika says that link means the magistrate has a conflict of interest, given the history involving Pilatus and Muscat. Muscat was a key figure in an inquiry into the bank that followed a claim made by murdered journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, who said that Muscat’s wife owned Egrant, a secret offshore company linked to the Electrogas power...

Erik ten Hag says Manchester United are determined to keep Marcus Rashford after the revitalised England forward’s fine start to the season. Rashford scored twice against Arsenal on Sunday as he linked up with United’s new signing Antony to inspire an impressive 3-1 win against the Premier League leaders. The 24-year-old also netted in United’s victory against arch rivals Liverpool as he finally returns to form. Rashford struggled badly throughout the last two campaigns and was linked with a move to Paris Saint Germain earlier this year before reminding United of his value with his recent flourish. He is out of contract at the end of this season and United manager Ten Hag has no intention of letting him leave.  United retain the option of another year’s extension and, when Ten Hag was asked whether the club were talking to Rashford about that, he said: “Definitely. I think United control the situation. More details here...

A sea rescue NGO lambasted the Maltese authorities on Wednesday after 82 people went missing at sea, claiming the island would have rescued them had they been European.  The 82 people remain missing, Sea-Eye said, with information provided to Maltese authorities by separate NGO about their boat seemingly ignored.  Sea-Eye said that its rescue ship spent Sunday and Monday searching for a group of people in distress in the Maltese Search and Rescue Zone. The group had been flagged by AlarmPhone with the Sea-Eye 4 vessel and, separately, the Maltese Rescue Control Centre, it said. AlarmPhone sent updated coordinates several times until it lost communication with the group of 82 people, it added. "The Maltese RCC made no discernible attempts to locate the boat. The Maltese RCC claimed it had 'no information' during a phone call with an AlarmPhone employee. Finally, the AlarmPhone employee was accused of blocking the phone line for other maritime emergencies, Sea Eye said. The NGO added there is currently no information on the whereabouts of the 82 people, and that although the maritime emergency occurred in Malta's SAR zone, Malta did not involve the Sea-Eye 4 in a coordinated...

Despite its neutrality, Malta must take a stand against the invasion of Ukraine, Archbishop Charles Scicluna urged politicians on Wednesday.  Scicluna was leading Mass at St Lawrence Church in Vittoriosa on the eve of Victory Day. He told the congregation, which included President George Vella, Prime Minister Robert Abela and other MPs, that in celebrating Malta’s victories, the island could not forget about Ukraine.   “Ukraine is still suffering because politicians have opted for aggression and armed conflict,” he said.   Photo: Archdiocese of Malta Scicluna added that Malta's predecessors had overcome traumatic episodes and won wars with the help of foreign aid and support: "we are celebrating victory because of the intervention and solidarity of others". "It does not matter that we have taken a neutral approach - we must still take a stand against aggression. In the name of justice, in the name of solidarity, one cannot be neutral, but must take a stand".   He added Malta should internationally speak up against aggression in  Ukraine. “Aggression and armed conflict is the worst form of politics and is a language we still use with each other. However, we must understand that...

Malta will be spending €52 million in EU funds allocated to it on migration-related projects, with the EU Commission having approved that allocation this week.  The €52.3 million in funding will be extracted from a €2.25 billion pot that the EU allocated Malta in 2020 for its 2021-2017 funding round.  It is the first funding allocation from that round that the EU Commission has approved for Malta. The €52.3 million will come from the EU’s Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund, or AMIL. AMIL is focused on strengthening the EU’s common European asylum system and helping member states integrate third-country nationals, repatriate failed asylum seekers and relocate those granted humanitarian protection to other countries within the EU.  Funding can also be used to improve infrastructure related to migration, such as reception centres.  Malta’s approved allocation of €52.3 million in EU funds was announced by the parliamentary secretariat for EU funds on Wednesday.  The statement did not provide any details about what that money will be used for, despite parliamentary secretary Chris Bonett saying that Malta had to present “clear ideas about where and how we will be spending this...

Rigoberto Uran won stage 17 of the Vuelta a Espana on Wednesday after a swashbuckling high-altitude struggle to a mountaintop monastery in Extremadura as defending champion Primoz Roglic withdrew injured. Aiming for a fourth straight Vuelta Roglic was a non-starter due to injuries from a fall Tuesday when he was trying to gain time on race leader Remco Evenepoel, who Wednesday lost five seconds to his closest rival Movistar’s Enric Mas. The Belgian leads by 2min 01sec with 19-year-old Juan Ayuso of UAE in third. “We have to do something,” Mas, a two-time Vuelta runner-up said, already thinking about the four peaks on Thursday’s stage 18. “I don’t know what we’re going to do tomorrow, but if we have good legs and a good feeling, and the atmosphere in the team is super good, we have to do something,” he added. Colombia’s Uran was completing a collection of stage wins in all three of cycling’s Grand Tours. More details here...