An autopsy on the body of 19-year-old Jeanette Mifsud who fell to her death in Valletta on New Year's Eve, revealed she died of severe head injuries, the police said on Tuesday. Toxicology test results take weeks to complete.
The second-year university student from Buskett left a party at the Mediterranean Conference Centre for a breath of fresh air after feeling sick. She fell off the bastion across the road and landed on a boathouse, dying instantly.
2005 coolest in last 21 years
December was the wettest month in 15 years, the Met Office confirmed last Sunday. With 14 rainy days and a total of 147.2 mm, the rainfall was above the average by 45 mm. With a mean temperature of 14.1°C,
December was also cooler than the past 10-year average by almost half a degree. An average temperature of 18.7°C also made last year the coolest in the last 21 years. Records show 1929 (average temperature: 17.8°C) was the coolest year; 2001 was the warmest with a mean average of 19.9°C.
Libyan charged with trying to kill seven
Hani S.B. Ali, a 21-year-old Libyan, on Monday was remanded in custody after he was charged in court with attempting to kill Police Sergeant Shaun Tabone, Police Constables Robert Vassallo, Luke Bonello, and Anthony Axiaq, and Shaun Sullivan of Vittoriosa, Monika Borg of Mosta and Analise Said of Zebbug by recklessly driving through Paceville, St Julian's, on New Year's Day.
Ali, who was staying in a hotel in Bugibba, was also charged with violently resisting and threatening police and disobeying orders, driving under the influence of alcohol, refusing to take a breathalyser test, driving recklessly and without insurance cover, and with damaging two cars.
Rise in Church home fees
The increase in fees for residents of Church homes for the elderly was justified by the Archbishop's Curia, saying the homes had been running at a heavy loss for years. The homes raised their fees by Lm1.50 a day last Sunday.
In five years the global loss of the Church's six homes amounted to Lm989,340, the Curia said. The aggregate accounts for 2004 show that the six homes together lost Lm143,426.
Prison warden fined Lm250
Prison warden Alfred Fenech, last week was fined Lm250 for taking 60 packets of cigarettes out of the correctional facility in April 2004. Fenech, 56, of Zejtun, was also accused of accepting bribes, a charge he contested.
Roof collapses
An elderly woman was rushed to hospital on Wednesday suffering from shock after the roof over the common parts of the apartment block she lived in collapsed. The woman, in her 70s, was the only person in the building in St Julian's Street, Senglea. The block was evacuated.
Landscaping for Vittoriosa
A comprehensive landscaping project at the Vittoriosa waterfront, expected to cost about Lm400,000, is expected to start soon; Lm170,000 will be allocated by the Ministry for Urban Development.
The works, to be completed by summer, include the widening of the walkways and hardstone paving, the rehabilitation of the stormwater system, the construction of a new road and the installation of street furniture and lighting.
Charged with escaping from detention centre
A Palestinian, Gerreda Murad, also known as Hadi Mohammed Alsnusi Alabyad, 37, born in Bethlehem, on Wednesday pleaded guilty to escaping from the police headquarters' detention centre in Floriana last May. Murad was also charged with relapsing, having been convicted of other escapes in 2003.
Pharmacy hold-up
Over Lm600 in cash were stolen during an armed hold-up on a Paola pharmacy on Thursday evening. Two hooded people, one armed with a pointed instrument, walked into the pharmacy in St Monica Street where there was an employee. No-one was injured.
Maltese climbers conquer Kilimanjaro
The Maltese team of climbers who successfully scaled Kilimanjaro for charity returned to earth on Thursday morning, and were shocked to hear that three American tourists were killed trying to climb Africa's highest mountain. Five other tourists were injured when rocks tumbled down Kilimanjaro and smashed into climbers preparing to scale the peak early that morning.
Maltese extradited to Italy
Carmelo Borg, 28, arrived in Ragusa, Sicily, on Thursday where he is wanted in connection with the March 24 tragedy which left nine Chinese immigrants dead, Maltese authorities have confirmed.
The Italian daily Corriere della Sera reported that Borg was accompanied by Interpol agents to Rome airport and handed over to Ragusa officials; a European arrest warrant had been issued over his alleged involvement in illegal immigration. A Chinese woman, Wei Wang, 30, was extradited to Italy last September in connection with the same case and a request for a third extradition - that of Yi Lin, 24 - is pending.
Accused of arson at mayor's house
Kenneth Camilleri, 27, of Birzebbuga, on Friday was remanded in custody after he was charged with setting Qormi mayor Jesmond Aquilina's residence on fire last Tuesday at about 2 a.m. He was further charged with causing over Lm500 worth of damage to the house and with threatening the mayor over the phone.
This was the second arson attempt at the mayor's house in seven months.
Sant visits PN headquarters
Labour party leader Alfred Sant was given a warm welcome by his political opponents at the Nationalist Party headquarters on Friday morning.
It was all smiles and handshakes as Dr Sant and MLP general secretary Jason Micallef, who had been invited by the PN leadership, turned up 20 minutes early and were later taken around the new wing of the PN headquarters by Party Leader Lawrence Gonzi and secretary-general Joe Saliba.