International News
Malta’s Deputy PM Resigns Over Fraud Scandal
Malta’s Deputy Prime Minister Chris Fearne — previously tipped to be the country’s next European Commissioner — resigned Friday after being charged with fraud in a hospital privatisation scandal.
“I want to be clear, I am taking this step not because I have any doubts about my innocence, but because this is the right thing to do”, he wrote in his resignation letter to Prime Minister Robert Abela.
Fearne also requested his name be withdrawn for European Commissioner.
The resignation came five days after Fearne was charged along with Malta’s former premier Joseph Muscat and the central bank chief in a scandal which has rocked the Mediterranean island nation.
Muscat and one of his ex-ministers, Konrad Mizzi, were charged with accepting bribes, corruption in public office and money laundering, while Fearne was charged with fraud, misappropriation and fraudulent gain.
Fearne denies any wrongdoing and remains a member of parliament.
In the resignation letter, which he published on Facebook, Fearne slammed the charges against him as “unjust” and said proof of his wrongdoing was “inexistent” but he felt a duty to the country to resign.
“The only thing that I humbly hope for is that the judicial process is led in an expedited manner so that I can clean my name as quickly as possible, and so I can be in a position to serve my country if I am called upon again,” he said.
Abela urged Fearne to reconsider his resignation, saying that he had “full faith” in him.
The case dates back to the decision by Muscat’s Labour government in 2015 to transfer management of three public hospitals to a private company, Vitals Global Healthcare.
The company had no healthcare experience and after 21 months it sold the concession to another company, Steward Health Care, without having made the promised investments.
Following a challenge by the opposition Nationalist party, a court last year annulled the privatisation deal, finding evidence of fraudulent behaviour.
A criminal investigation was launched in 2019. It concluded last month with the magistrate recommending that charges be brought.
Fearne was the only current minister to be charged, although the governor of Malta’s Central Bank Edward Scicluna — who was finance minister when the deal was struck — has also been charged with fraud and misappropriation.
He is yet to comment on the charges, but remains in his post.
AFP
According to Mundo Deportivo, the Premier League is the top league in terms of player contributions to the 2026 World Cup, sending 162 players to the 48-team tournament.
With the World Cup squad lists finalized, and despite last-minute withdrawals due to injury, such as Belardi from Argentina and Kahr from Germany, it can be concluded that the Premier League is once again leading the world’s major leagues. England’s top flight has solidified its position as the largest source of players for the 48 World Cup teams.
As of June 7th, out of the 1244 confirmed selected players, 13% play in the Premier League, totaling 162 individuals, with 5 clubs contributing at least 10 players each.
Manchester City leads the clubs contributing national team players to the World Cup with 19 players. Following closely among English teams are Arsenal with 16, Manchester United with 12, Crystal Palace with 12, and Liverpool with 11. The English top flight has once again proven its representation in football, and this advantage is now reflected on the World Cup stage.
Although there is a gap with the Premier League, the Bundesliga is still the second-highest contributor of players to the upcoming World Cup in the United States, Mexico, and Canada. Specifically, 100 participating players currently play in the Bundesliga, with Bayern Munich being the largest contributor from the Bundesliga, with 17 players selected. Borussia Dortmund contributed 11 players. In recent years, the Bundesliga’s global influence has continuously increased, with Hoffenheim having 9 World Cup players and Eintracht Frankfurt having 8.
Without Barcelona, La Liga’s presence would be much smaller. Including Gündoğan, Barcelona will have 16 players participating in the World Cup, making it one of the clubs contributing the most players to this World Cup. La Liga has a total of 81 players selected, only half that of the Premier League. After Barcelona, Atlético Madrid is the Spanish club with the most players contributed, with 12, surpassing Real Madrid’s 10, as Real Madrid also suffers from the impact of a poor season performance.
Ligue 1 has a total of 78 players participating in the World Cup, with Paris Saint-Germain accounting for a large proportion. Among these 78 players, nearly 20% come from this newly crowned European champion, specifically 15 players. Following Paris Saint-Germain among Ligue 1 clubs are Lille and Nice, both with 8 players selected.
Italy once had the best league in the world, and now Serie A contributes 66 players to this most important football event, which is also related to the Italian team missing the World Cup for the third consecutive time. AC Milan, which finished fifth in Serie A, is the Italian club with the most World Cup players, with 10.
Another data point that demonstrates the strength of English football is that the EFL Championship, England’s second-tier league after the Premier League, has 36 players participating in the World Cup, which is more than the total of other major European second-tier leagues, such as the 2. Bundesliga with 6, Ligue 2 with 6, Serie B with 5, and Segunda División with 5. In fact, the Championship is among the top ten leagues contributing the most World Cup players, even higher than the Brazilian and Dutch leagues.
June 5th, Transfermarkt updated. The new market values of Barcelona players. Three players increased and nine decreased, with Raphinha dropping by 10 million to 70 million euros.
Increase (Euros)
Joan-Garcia increased by 5 million to 45 million
Eric-Garcia increased by 5 million to 40 million
Gerard-Martin increased by 10 million to 35 million
Decrease (Euros)
Raphinha decreased by 10 million to 70 million
Kounde decreased by 5 million to 60 million
Balde decreased by 5 million to 50 million
De Jong decreased by 10 million to 35 million
Casado decreased by 2 million to 18 million
Christensen decreased by 1 million to 8 million
Cancelo decreased by 1 million to 8 million
Lewandowski decreased by 1 million to 7 million
Szczesny decreased by 100,000 to 800,000
Unchanged (Euros)
Yamal 200 million
Pedri 150 million
Fermin 100 million
Cubarsi 80 million
Olmo 60 million
Ferran Torres 50 million
Rashford 40 million
Gavi 30 million
Bernal 30 million
Araujo 20 million
Bardghji 15 million
Bitcoin dropped below $60,000 on Friday, its lowest level since October 2024, just before Donald Trump’s election which propelled it to a record high.
The currency fell by about 6 percent around 1615 GMT, to $59.7709, before paring its losses slightly.
The election of Trump, a staunch advocate of cryptocurrencies, to the White House in November 2024 for a second term sparked a wave of enthusiasm in the sector, sending the price of bitcoin soaring to nearly $110,000.
AFP
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