Weekly News Highlights

Raymond Zammit, 37, of Birkirkara, on Sunday was charged in court with attempting to kill Herman Zammit and his son Stephen in an incident in Birkirkara late the previous Friday. The accused was refused bail.

2005 CHOGM in Malta

Malta will be hosting the next meeting of Commonwealth heads of government (CHOGM) to be held in 2005, the Prime Minister, Dr Fenech Adami told Maltese reporters at this year's CHOGM in Abuja on Monday.

Call for inquiry into new hospital costs

St James Hospital managing director Josie Muscat has called for an independent investigation into why costs at the new Mater Dei Hospital "have spiralled out of control". The government should put the project on hold and stop raising taxation, Dr Muscat told The Times on Monday.

Traffic accident victim dies

54-year-old Doris Camilleri of Mosta, who was hit by a car last Sunday night while crossing in front of the Busy Bee confectionery in Msida, died of her injuries on Monday evening, the police said.

Almost half of 15-year-olds take alcohol weekly

Forty-seven per cent of 15-year-olds are already drinking alcohol on a weekly basis, according to a study carried out by Marianne Massa, principal officer at the Health Promotion Department.

According to the study, 31.5 per cent of boys and 16.4 per cent of girls of that age group drink wine regularly - the highest figures registered in Europe.

All the young people who took part in the study said they took their first alcoholic drink at home, a finding that should raise alarm bells for parents of teenage children.

30 years for murder

Melchior Spiteri, 28, of Cospicua, on Tuesday was jailed for 30 years for the murder of Jason Azzopardi, known as Is-Sufu, in Cospicua on October 22, 2001, after a jury had found him guilty by seven votes to two.

Mr Justice Joseph Galea Debono, saying the victim's oppressive behaviour (he was a usurer) did not give Spiteri the right to take the law into his hands, ruled that although he agreed that Spiteri should not be made an example to society, it was his duty to hand down a punishment that reflected the serious nature of the crime and Spiteri's criminal record of at least 59 previous convictions for various crimes.

60 per cent of Maltese overweight or obese

The Maltese are among the leaders in the lumpy league of EU countries and can also lay claim to being among the shortest people in Europe, according to the findings of the Lifestyle Survey 2003 released by the National Office of Statistics.

Sixty per cent of the population are either overweight or obese, with the average male weighing in at 78.5 kg compared to the EU average of 78.8 kg, and the average female weighing 65.8 kg, surpassing the EU average of 65.4 kg. But the Maltese do not have the height to compensate for their weight. Maltese men have an average height of 169.9 cm, only slightly taller than the Portuguese - the shortest men in Europe, who average 169.4 cm. The EU average is 175.3 cm. Maltese women are the shortest in Europe, averaging 159.9 cm compared to 164 cm in the EU.

Bus driver, brother on attempted murder charge

Ivan Sultana, a 20-year-old bus driver and his 18-year-old brother Jesmond, both of Cospicua, who is a ticketing inspector, on Wednesday were charged with attempting to kill another bus driver, Silvio Camilleri, with a hatchet in Qawra on November 30. The brothers are pleading not guilty.

Boy to be indicted for rape

Magistrate Antonio Mizzi ruled on Thursday there were enough reasons for the indictment of a 16-year-old boy charged with raping and seriously injuring a 55-year-old woman in a Floriana subway last June. The evidence was heard behind closed doors.

The boy, from Hamrun, whose name is not being published because he is a minor, is pleading not guilty to the rape and illegal arrest of the woman on June 29.

Originally, a 21-year-old Libyan, Jamal El Badawi, had been charged with the rape, but after DNA tests the charges against him were dropped.

Doubts remain over Madonna 'tears'

The Archbishop's Curia said on Friday there were still doubts as to whether the "tears of blood" seen on the face of an image of Our Lady in St Dominic's church, Rabat, were due to a supernatural intervention, though the possibility was not being ruled out.

In a statement, the Curia said that Archbishop Mercieca had been advised on the matter by the Holy See's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. The "tears" were seen on the face of the Madonna tal-Ghar in Rabat on May 6 and 7, 1999. A commission of foreign and local experts had been appointed by the congregation to investigate the red-coloured liquid.

Illegal 'mosque' still open

An illegal "mosque" on Tower Road, Sliema, is still operating despite being declared illegal by the Malta Environment and Planning Authority and by the court of appeal. The premises are situated on the ground floor of a block of apartments near Preluna Hotel.

Drydocks wins Lm1 million case

A court ruled on Friday that Malta Drydocks should be paid over Lm1 million for work it had done on the m.v. Garyounis.

The drydocks claimed it was owed $2,817,667 on the basis that it had carried out works on the ship. The sum was equivalent to Lm1,046,876.