Weekly News Highlights

The Italian captain of a cargo vessel, Giovanni Abattista, and a Maltese man, Stephen Aquilina, were fined Lm2,888 and given a three-month suspended jail term after being found guilty of smuggling 80 cartons, each containing 200 Rothmans cigarettes. The men were charged in court on Friday evening, following investigations by the police fraud squad.

Prices in liri and euro

A Double pricing policy will be introduced shortly to make it more difficult for vendors to raise prices in the run-up to the introduction of the euro. During a Cabinet meeting on Monday it was decided that there should be a legal framework whereby goods would be offered for sale in both currencies. The policy would be phased out after the euro's introduction.

Lm26 million in foreign investment

Malta Enterprise last year attracted 15 foreign-owned industrial projects to Malta - a total investment of Lm19.3 million over three years and employment for 825 people, Investments Minister Austin Gatt told Parliament on Monday.

Lm80,000 for traffic injury

Chrissa Minaidou, a Greek woman injured in a traffic accident in 1996, was awarded Lm80,000 in damages on Monday. Minaidou filed her writ for damages against Etienne Azzopardi, in which she claimed that she had been run over by him in Msida, when as a university student, she wanted to cross the Regional Road to catch a bus.

Housekeeper wins damages

Antoinette Coleiro was awarded Lm18,300 in damages after a court found she had sustained a serious injury while carrying items unassisted at her place of work. The former holiday apartments housekeeper sued Edrichton Holdings Ltd claiming that she had sustained a 40 per cent permanent disability while clearing out some Qawra flats.

Pharmacy hold-up

Two robbers wearing crash helmets and armed with pistols held up a pharmacist, Eliana Aquilina, at St Anne's Pharmacy, in Qaliet Street, Marsascala, early on Monday afternoon, making off with Lm600 from the till. But they took pity on a woman who told them she could not pay for her medicine and handed her purse back. The thieves fled on a stolen motorcycle.

More immigrants

Twenty-One immigrants, including a nine-year-old, who claimed to be African, landed in Malta on Tuesday afternoon. Another group of 18 men and two women were rounded up by the police at around midnight on Wednesday after they landed at Wied iz-Zurrieq.

Jailed for cocaine trafficking

An unnamed Qormi man on Tuesday was jailed for five years and fined Lm3,000 for his involvement in importing 2.2 kilos of cocaine from Canada into Malta by mail four years ago. The man, 58, was one of eight to face criminal proceedings.

First EU road contract

A Lm2 Million contract for the rebuilding of a stretch of road in Hal Far, the first to be co-financed by the EU, was awarded by the government on Tuesday. The Roads Ministry said the contract, awarded to Maltese consortium MAC Joint Venture, covers the redevelopment of a three-kilometre stretch from the roundabout junction near the AFM barracks in Hal Far to the Malta Freeport.

Drugs seized in Valletta raid

Deborah Farrugia, 21, of Valletta, on Wednesday was charged in court with trafficking in heroin and cocaine after police allegedly found drugs at her home in the Auberge de Baviere area on Monday. The drug squad seized 12 grammes of heroin and some cocaine and cannabis resin, and objects associated with drug trafficking. Farrugia pleaded not guilty, but her request for bail was turned down.

Sisters win appeal

The Court of Appeal on Wednesday confirmed two rulings of the Industrial Tribunal and awarded sisters Sharon and Alison Fiorentino Lm10,200 between them after finding they had been unlawfully dismissed from their work as dealers at the Dragonara Casino. The judgments were delivered following appeals lodged by Dragonara Casino Ltd.

Warned for littering

Over 65 warnings were issued on Friday as the new littering regulations came into force. The regulations carry fines ranging from Lm25 to Lm50 for littering and Lm1,000 to Lm2,500 for dumping.

Friday also saw the first plain-clothes eco-wardens patrol the streets as stipulated by the regulations. All wardens will only issue warnings during the grace period until the end of December. Warned offenders caught littering or dumping in the new year will be liable to fines for both infringements.

Damages for school injury

A court ordered the government to pay Rowland Bezzina over Lm37,000 in damages for injuries he sustained at Guzè Galea Secondary School in Qormi when he was 13. Bezzina, who was blinded in one eye in the incident in 1994, sued the Minister for Education and Human Resources, the director general of the Education Department and the school head.

Lm9,000 damages

Emanuel Navarro, who was injured in a traffic accident in 1992, on Thursday was awarded Lm8,972.70 in damages. Navarro claimed that while he was driving close to Maghtab John Mary Fenech had lost control of his car on the opposite lane and had crashed into him, causing him serious injuries.

Vaccine order raised

Malta has increased its order of the vaccine against a possible influenza pandemic to half a million in case some people need two injections. Health Minister Louis Deguara said government measures against the looming threat of the disease included the simulation exercise held on Friday, the registration of birds by backyard breeders, the strengthening of frontier controls, checks on wild ducks and the dissemination of information to hunters.

Former MPs want more ferry tickets

Former Gozo MPs have signed a petition asking for their annual 10 free Gozo Channel tickets to be increased to at least 24. The company had withdrawn their free travel pass as part of cost-cutting measures and given them the tickets instead.

Fireworks maker dies of injuries

Bertu Bondin, 52, of Mqabba, who was injured in an incident while manufacturing fireworks in Qrendi on October 12, died in hospital on Friday. Mr Bondin had suffered burns in the accident but had not initially been on the danger list.

Lm58,000 in damages

The family of Carmelo Seguna killed in a traffic accident in 1997 was awarded almost Lm60,000 in damages after they sued Carmel Debono and his wife Angela. The court heard how on January 14, 1997, a van driven by Debono in Mdina Road, Qormi, collided with Seguna's sulky. Seguna died in hospital later that day.