Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1482386
11 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 23 OCTOBER 2022 NEWS Call for applications for those interested in becoming a certied Doping Control Ofcer, Chaperone or Blood Collection Ofcer within the Authority of Integrity in Maltese Sport. The Authority for Integrity in Maltese Sport (AIMS) is issuing a call for individuals interested to pursue an employment opportunity on a casual basis and within the Authority as Doping Control Ofcer, Chaperone or Blood Collection Ofcer on successful completion of a training and accreditation course. A three whole day training course is scheduled between the 10th and 12th of November 2022 leading to certication, accreditation, licensing and eventual recruitment as a DCO, Chaperone or Blood Collection Ofcer. Tuition fee of €100 applies to the selected course participants. An application form which can be downloaded from: https://tinyurl.com/3v5ukf42 accompanied by a detailed Curriculum Vitae (with copies of qualications) and a certicate of conduct (issued by the Police not earlier than 1st September 2022), will be received by email on antidoping@gov.mt until noon of 28th October 2022. Successful candidates will be asked for i. signature of a non- disclosure agreement due to the sensitivity and condentiality of the data to be processed, which will extend beyond the contract duration and ii. signature of a Code of Conduct. Late or incomplete applications will not be considered. Please note that only successful candidates will be contacted. Saudi spy with Malta passport bids for case dismissal MATTHEW VELLA THE former Saudi spymaster fighting claims of fraud in Can- ada, the United States and Mal- ta, is seeking a confirmation of the 2021 court decision to dis- miss a case brought against him by Saudi ruler Mohammed Bin Salman. The $3.5 billion fraud case against Saad Al Jabri, now of Maltese citizenship thanks to the island's golden passport scheme, was dismissed in 2021 because the United States gov- ernment believes his defence would reveal state secrets. The decision is being ap- pealed by Sakab Saudi Holding Company, which accuses the exiled spy-chief of fraud and misappropriation. Sakab has filed another suit in the United States, claiming Al Jabri used the cash to buy eight Boston condominiums, and a suit in Malta, over a Sliema seafront apartment. Al Jabri insists the cash were gifts from Saudi royals, legiti- mately for counter-terrorism work – such as foiling a 2010 plot to attack synagogues in Chicago, and serving as an ad- viser to the former the Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad bin Nayef. After bin Nayef was deposed in 2017, Al Jabri took refuge in Canada. There, he says, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman sent the secret 'Tigers' hit squad to assassinate him in 2018. The Saudis insist in their appeal that Jabri filed, in his defence, over 100 pages of "excruciating details" on the allegations, showing he can mount a defence to the Sakab lawsuit. It said the US court's dismissal, on state secrets grounds, should be reversed. Al Jabri's defence said the spymaster was prevented from giving details about payments he received while acting as an intelligence operative, because of concerns about confidential information: "The core of this case is clandestine activity," Jabri's lawyers said, insisting that they cannot call witness- es on behalf of Al Jabri, due to state secrets. Al Jabri, once a key U.S. in- telligence partner who main- tained Saudi relations with American intelligence, says he was warned of the assassina- tion attempt on his life by his friends in the trade. His two youngest children remain un- der house arrest in Saudi Ara- bia. He accused Bin Salman of mounting a campaign to dis- credit and terrorize him and his family. JAMES DEBONO DESPITE the introduction of free public transport, users during the first two weeks of October remain 9% lower than the same period in 2019, when passengers had reached an all- time high before the COVID pandemic. In a clear indication that free public transport remains a powerful incentive for people to use the service, the rate of usage represents a sharp im- provement over September, when passengers were 24% lower than the same month in 2019. Transport ministry officials see this as a very encouraging sign that free public transport has accelerated the recovery to pre-pandemic levels. Compared to September 2022, passengers using public trans- port shot up by 14% in the first week of October, up from 7% on the first day when the service started to operate. The number of Tallinja card registrations also increased by 6,700 in the month preceding the introduc- tion of the fully free service. But the surge in users in Oc- tober is partly attributed to the opening of schools and post-secondary institutions, which always results in a sea- sonal increase in the number of passengers. So far, statistics seem to con- firm predictions made by the authorities before the introduc- tion of the service, with expec- tations being that by the end of 2022 the number of passengers will rise back to 2019 figures when public transport usage had reached record levels. If this aim is achieved by the end of 2022, it would reverse a sharp decline in usage during the pandemic which has also conditioned public attitudes towards public transportation. A Eurobarometer survey con- ducted in April 2021 revealed that 42% of Maltese respond- ents will be using public trans- port less than they did before the onset of the pandemic. Only 27% of all respondents in the 27 EU member states gave a sim- ilar response. Significantly 34% of Maltese replied that they will be "much less likely" to use public transport compared to 16% of respondents in all mem- ber states. Among all EU mem- ber states only the Hungarians were less inclined to use public transport than the Maltese. Free public transport now reversing pandemic decline Public transport users remain 9% below pre-pandemic levels – a sharp improvement over September before the introduction of free buses, when usage was 24% less than in 2019 Decline in number of passengers compared to 2019 September -24% October -9%