Weekly News highlights

A man was saved by Civil Protection personnel after the dinghy he was on was carried out and toppled by waves in Xemxija last Sunday. The man was trying to retrieve a remote control boat which children were playing with and which stalled in the choppy seas.

L-Istrina raises Lm816,000

A total of 14 charities and voluntary organisations will benefit from over Lm816,000 raised during last Sunday's fund-raising marathon L-Istrina, produced by Where's Everybody? and aired live on TVM.

This year's sum fell short of last year's record of over Lm1 million raised.

Of the money collected, 50 per cent will go to the Malta Community Chest Fund, the Malta Cancer Foundation will receive 12.5 per cent and Dar il-Kaptan, Fondazzjoni Arka, the Oasi Foundation, the Little Sisters of the Poor and the St Rita Home will each receive five per cent.

The Equal Partners Foundation, the Richmond Foundation and the Eden Foundation will receive 2.5 per cent and the Salesians of Don Bosco will get three per cent, the Jesuit Refugee Services one per cent and the SPCA and Reaching Out 0.5 per cent each.

Young driver dies in crash

Bjorn Briffa, 21, of Dingli, died in a traffic accident in Valletta Road, l/o Mdina, early on Monday morning. The accident occurred when the driver lost control of his car and crashed into a tree. He died on the spot.

Charged with woman's stabbing

A Bulgarian, Petkov Dimitrov Krushkov, on Monday was charged with trying to kill a Maltese woman after stabbing her repeatedly in her St Paul's Bay home on Christmas Day.

Krushkov, 35, who resides in St Paul's Bay, pleaded not guilty to the attempted murder of Therese Cachia and to slightly injuring her. He was was remanded in police custody.

Repeat offender jailed

Jason Caruana, 30, of Valletta, was jailed for two-and-a-half years on Monday for stealing computer and telephone equipment after a magistrate noted he had at least 12 convictions on his criminal record.

Caruana pleaded not guilty to stealing the equipment belonging to Nationalist MP Anthony Abela, causing damage to his Valletta property and trying to burgle a shop on December 12.

Four charged with injuring police

Three man and a woman - Edward Gatt, 23, of Qormi, Anthony Borg, 37, and Arnold Bonsfield, 28, of Valletta, and a 17-year-old woman - were charged with assaulting and injuring six police officers in Paceville on Monday morning.

The men and woman, who pleaded not guilty to the charges brought against them, were charged with trying to seriously injure a police inspector, two sergeants and three constables and with assaulting, threatening, slightly injuring and disobeying them.

They were also charged with falsely accusing police officers of committing a crime. Borg was granted bail on condition he does not leave his home without court permission and the other three were granted bail against a personal guarantee of Lm5,000 and on condition they do not go to Paceville.

Romanians held over credit card fraud

A gang suspected of stealing confidential credit card information via special equipment fixed to ATMs was broken up by the police on Wednesday.

Four Romanians - a 21-year-old woman, Teodora Carmen Stanciu, and three men - Nicolae Dimitru, 29, Stelica Corneanu, 41 and Vasile Usturoi, 34 - were charged in court in connection with the case on Thursday.

The four were apprehended by the police as they were about to leave Malta airport on a flight to Rome. They had about Lm4,000 in cash in their possession.

The special equipment allegedly used by the gang included a digital camera installed on ATMs to record PIN numbers and other information from credit cards being used by bank clients.

Death of Remig Sacco

Veteran journalist Remig Sacco died on Friday at Zammit Clapp Hospital, Sliema. He was 82. Sacco, a former member of the Labour Party executive, was a frequent contributor to the GWU papers and the author of a number of books. His funeral took place yesterday in Vittoriosa.

Malta-Libya visa agreement

Foreign Minister Michael Frendo on Friday announced that Malta and Libya had agreed to issue three-month multiple-entry visas to their nationals who frequently visited the two countries.

Dr Frendo said that he had authorised the Maltese consulate in Tripoli to issue six-month visas in certain cases if it was felt this was warranted. Libya has promised to issue longer-term visas once its laws are changed to this effect.

Dr Frendo said the agreement - which he was sure would be welcomed by the business community in Malta, which frequently complained about delays in the issuing of visas by Libya - came after the meeting which the Prime Minister, Dr Gonzi, had with Colonel Gaddafi in Libya last October.