Weekly News Highlights

Malta and Libya have agreed to co-operate in oil exploration, the Prime Minister disclosed last Sunday. The subject was discussed the previous week in talks with Libyan Prime Minister Shokry Ghanim, who was in Malta on a two-day visit.

Dr Fenech Adami said the Maltese government has asked the Libyan government to continue selling oil to Malta at reduced prices.

On Tuesday the Prime Minister said that the two countries are to have a technical meeting shortly on joint exploration of areas of the continental shelf between the two countries which were not conclusively decided in the boundary ruling of the International Court of Justice in 1986.

Boy dies in school ground accident

Adrian Borg, 14, of Zurrieq, died on Monday in a tragic accident during his PE lesson at school. The boy was with his fellow fourth form classmates in the school grounds of St Francis of Assisi School (formerly Umberto Calosso) in St Venera.

According to the police the boy was playing football when "for some reason" one of the metal goalposts toppled over onto him. The teenager suffered severe head and facial injuries. He was rushed to hospital but died in the ambulance before he was taken in.

A magisterial inquiry was held on site, and the Education Ministry announced that it had set up a board of inquiry to look into the accident.

The school was kept closed on Tuesday, when the boy's funeral was held.

Accountant cleared of defaming John Dalli

Joseph Ellul Grech, a 55-year-old accountant from Fgura, on Monday was acquitted of defaming Finance Minister John Dalli by circulating forged documents four years ago. He was however fined Lm50 for keeping a number of weapons without a licence.

Chinese arms for AFM

Some Lm500,000 worth of weapons on Monday were donated to the Armed Forces of Malta by the Chinese People's Liberation Army. Acting AFM Commander Colonel Carm Vassallo, who received the donation at Luqa Barracks, said that the substantial consignment meant that for the first time in the AFM's 33-year history, each and every member of the 1,800-strong AFM would be in possession of the same standard AKM assault rifle, the Kalashnikov.

The weapons include submachine-guns, light machine-guns, general purpose machine-guns, sniper rifles and anti-tank weapons, or rocket launchers, and a considerable amount of ammunition. They were handed over by Senior Col. Tian Wanguang, head of the Chiense delegation.

Defilement case against three priests

Magistrate Saviour Demicoli on Tuesday started hearing evidence in the case against three priests charged with defiling 11 minors. Several witnesses testified behind closed doors.

The three, whose names cannot be published by court order, are pleading not guilty to defiling the 11 minors at St Joseph Institute, Hamrun, and at St Agatha's House, Rabat, on July 11 and in the preceding years. One of the defendants is also pleading not guilty to raping a minor.

PM's words found to have violated judges' right to fair trial

Words used by the Prime Minister in his news conference of August 1 last year on former Chief Justice Noel Arrigo and former Judge Patrick Vella, who stand charged with receiving bribes, on Wednesday were deemed by the Constitutional Court insufficient to respect the presumption of innocence of an accused person.

The criminal proceedings against the two former judges are however to continue.

The judgment overturned that delivered last December by the First Hall of the Civil Court which had concluded that Dr Fenech Adami's remarks, and the ensuing statement released by the government, did not breach the judges' rights.

The Constitutional Court, presided over by Mr Justice Anton Depasquale, said it followed that the judges' right to a fair trial had been violated on the basis of the violation of the presumption of innocence.

The constitutional court, however, concluded that as appellants' fundamental human right to trial by an independent and impartial court had not been violated, there was no reason to halt the criminal proceedings against the former judges.

White Paper on civil service

A Radical White Paper on the public service is proposing that the principle of "whistle-blowing" will be recognised as legitimate and that whistle-blowers should be protected from victimisation.

Dr Fenech Adami described the publication of the white paper, A Public Service for the 21st Century, published on Thursday, as a significant development, stressing that this was the first time in the country's history that a proposal was being made for the establishment of a Public Service Act.

Dr Fenech Adami said that a crucial innovation was the merit principle, which basically meant that promotions would be made according to merit - not automatic progression.

The White paper is available online on the Department of Information: Website, www.doi.gov.mt.

Hold-up plan misfires

A car which police believe was to be used in a hold-up caught fire while it was being driven along Bontadini Street, Mriehel, on Friday morning. Police found a plastic bag with some shotgun cartridges next to the car, a Hyundai accent, and were informed that a well-knwon criminal had just been admitted to hospital with serious burns.

Further investigations revealed that the car had been stolen last September and its number plates belonged to another stolen car, a Mazda. The police suspect that up to three men were in the car and were about to commit a hold-up when the car caught fire. It is believed that the injured man, a 30-year-old from Zejtun, was probably taken to hospital by his colleagues, who abandoned him there.

Two new companies for restructured shipyards

The Government announced on Friday that it has formed two new companies in line with its restructuring plan for the shipyards, to replace the Malta Drydocks Corporation and the Malta Shipbuilding Company Ltd.

One of the companies, Malta Shipyards Ltd, will assume responsibility for ship repair functions, steel works and yacht repairs. Its board will be made up of John Cassar White as chairman, and George Borg, Helga Ellul, Sergio Vella and Austin Walker as members. Ivan Borg is the board secretary.

The other company, Industrial Projects and Services Ltd, will assume all the other responsibilities that used to be carried out by Malta Drydocks and Malta Shipbuilding and will employ those workers who choose not to take up early retirement and voluntary redundancy schemes.

Its chairman is Ivan Falzon, while the other board members are Mario Mizzi, Vincent Mifsud and Harold Walls. Joseph Caruana Scicluna is board secretary.

Details of the collective agreement for shipyard workers are expected to be announced at its signing, probably this week.