magistrate Carol Peralta has been appointed an international judge with the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo, it was learned on Sunday. He will commence his duties early next month.
Based in Pristina, he will have a chamber in the Supreme Court of Kosovo and will be in charge of a court dealing with both criminal and privatisation issues.
Driver held at gunpoint and robbed
A 59-year-old motorist driving through Cospicua last Saturday night was held up, taken hostage and released after handing over less than Lm500 in cash. A car suddenly blocked his path and two armed and hooded men carged out and demanded money. He tried, but failed, to reverse his way out of the situation.
Three men face drug charges
Reno Buhagiar, 32, of Birkirkara, Elton Brincat, 24, of Hamrun, and Silvio Camilleri, 19, of Gzira, were remanded in custody last Sunday after they were charged following the find of half a kilo of cannabis resin in a Birkirkara garage.
Fenech Adami, Gonzi confirmed
Eddie Fenech Adami was confirmed as leader of the Nationalist Party last Sunday for the seventh consecutive time in a huge demonstration of support at the final day of the party's General Council meeting at PN headquarters. Dr Lawrence Gonzi was confirmed as deputy leader. He was uncontested.
Elderly man beaten, robbed
An elderly man from Zejtun was hospitalised after he was beaten by two robbers who forcibly entered his home on Monday. They ransacked the house and stole Lm3,000 in cash and a box with jewellery.
Court orders boy's return to Holland
On monday the Civil Court ordered the immediate return of Yorrick Bos, a five-year-old boy, who was abducted from the Netherlands by his mother last August. The boy, whose parents are divorced, was brought to Malta illegally. Maltese authorities were requested by their Dutch counterparts to discover the boy's whereabouts and secure his immediate return.
Two on attempted murder charges
Two men on Monday were charged with trying to kill each other in Mosta over the weekend. Cikku Fenech, 63, of Mosta pleaded not guilty to the attempted murder of John Pace, 38, of Birkirkara, last Sunday. Pace also pleaded not guilty to shooting Fenech. They were both charged with three counts of illegal possession of a firearm, breaching the peace and relapsing. Pace was charged with trespassing.
German tourist drowns
A night party for a group of Germans on board the charter sailing boat Fernandez II, ended in tragedy late on Monday after one of them, Volker Musehold, 55, fell overboard and drowned off Comino. After an all-night search by AFM patrol boats and helicopters, his corpse was found floating on Tuesday morning.
Maltese couple indicted in Tunisia
A maltese couple in their 30s are set to face court proceedings in Tunisia after they were indicted on Tuesday for allegedly being in possession of counterfeit US dollars. Sources said the couple went on holiday last February and were reported to the police by a shop owner after they allegedly paid for goods with counterfeit money. The couple were traced and arrested. A search of their hotel room allegedly yielded 40,000 counterfeit dollars. They are pleading not guilty.
Floating bookshop awaits trading permit ruling
TJE floating bookshop Doulos docked in the Grand Harbour on Tuesday, but its crew do not yet know whether they can offer the 500,000 books on board for sale, because an application for a trading license is still pending.
Parliamentary Secretary Edwin Vassallo said he was doing his utmost to ensure no such permit will be issued. The GRTU opposed the issuing of the permit, saying it would be detrimental to local booksellers.
The saga took a new twist on Friday when the organisers announced they would be donating books worth up to Lm5 to visitors over this weekend. The ship will remain in harbour until June 9.
Woman claims court marshals 'cleaned out house'
On wednesday, Bella Hili claimed that court marshals empowered to execute a precautionary warant of seizure for some Lm1,500 had cleaned out a house and taken more than Lm100,000 worth of items, of which only Lm10,000 were listed by the marshals. Moreover, the warrant was executed at the wrong address, since the person sued was her brother, who did not live at the same address.
Man dies in roof collapse
Joseph Sammut, 48, of Mgarr, died buried under rubble, when the garage roof he was working on caved in on Thrsday. He was carrying out construction work at Zebbiegh. Sammut died on the spot.
Jailed for trying to run over colleague
Elvin Abela, 24, of Sta Lucija was jailed on Thursday for six years for trying to run over colleague George Mangion. He pleaded guilty to his attempted murder in the CRC Components Ltd car park, Marsa Industrial Estate, last October.
Ten years' jail for smuggling cannabis
Noaman Emhemmed Ramadan El Arnauti, a 28-year-old Libyan, was jailed on Thursday for 10 years and fined Lm17,000 for importing three kilos of cannabis resin into Malta in September 2001.
Teenager dies in road accident
Jake Cassar, 16, of Pembroke, died when the vehicle he was in overturned in St Julian's early on Friday morning. The Stella Maris College student was thrown out of the Suzuki Samurai onto the road, with the vehicle overturning several times and ending upside down. He was with two other 16-year-olds, Jan Drago of San Gwann and Nicholas Scicluna of Swieqi, who were both uninjured.
New judge sworn in
Dr Joseph Azzopardi, 48, who was president of the Chamber of Advocates, was sworn in as judge on Friday afternoon. He is replacing Mr Justice Franco Depasquale, who retired last February.
Michael Falzon elected
Dr Michael Falzon on Friday was elected the Malta Labour Party's deputy leader for party affairs, polling 67% of the votes cast, in a run-off with Evarist Bartolo.
In the first round of elections, held on Thursday, MLP delegates gave Dr Falzon 45% of the vote to Mr Bartolo's 19 per cent. The other candidates were Joe Debono Grech (16%), Alfred Mifsud (12%) and Manwel Csuchieri (8%).
In the election for deputy leader for parliamentary affairs, Notary Charles Mangion was elected in the first round with 54.2%. The other candidates were Leo Brincat (27%), Joe Brincat (13%) and José Herrera (5%).
Accused sent to mental hospital
Jesmond Aquilina, 31, of Gzira, charged on Friday with attempted murder, is to be detained at Mount Carmel Hospital after three court-appointed psychiatrists found he was insane when he tried to kill Samuel Baldacchino by stabbing him twice in the back in March.
91 new recruits
On friday, the Armed Forces welcomed 91 new recruits, 23 of whom have already volunteered to take part in the EU's Rapid Reaction Force. The recruits, aged between 18 and 23, were engaged after successfully completing an intensive four-month course.