Weekly News highlights

Two men, Emanuel Bajada, 51, and his son Victor Philip, 27, last Sunday were charged in court with employing women to work as prostitutes. Both pleaded not guilty.

The two men were also accused of living off the earnings of prostitution; and of having used Adam's Guesthouse in Ross Street, St Julian's, and Pace's Guesthouse in St Agatha Street, Sliema, which they own, as brothels. Bail was refused.

Earlier, four Russian women and one from Kazakhstan had pleaded guilty to having knowingly aided and abetted the Bajadas in the alleged running of the brothel.

Another two Maltese men, Ernest Pulis, 30, of Paola, and Ian Camilleri, 36, of Sliema, and his Russian girlfriend Luiza Sharipova, 21, - were also charged on Monday with running a brothel in Sliema. The three pleaded not guilty.

Charged with chasing wife with a knife

On Tuesday, a 24-year-old man from Tarxien was charged in court with trying to seriously injure his wife with a knife and slightly injuring her when he hit her with a chair while under the influence of alcohol. He pleaded not guilty.

Magistrate Antonio Mizzi heard the wife explain that her husband was basically a good man but drank beer every day and she wanted to keep her family together.

The magistrate granted the accused bail against a personal guarantee of Lm2,000 on condition he starts an alcohol rehabilitation programme.

Jailed, fined for heroin pushing

Sandro Mifsud on Tuesday was jailed for seven years and fined Lm4,000 for trafficking in heroin and for possession of cannabis in a Gozo apartment on August 12, 1996.

Death of Julian Manduca

Julian Manduca, a senior journalist at MaltaToday and The Malta Financial & Business Times, died suddenly on Tuesday, aged 46. He was married to the German-born actress Irene Christ, with whom he formed Actinghouse Productions in 2002.

Illegal immigrants rounded up

A group of 22 illegal immigrants from Africa landed at Ghajn Tuffieha and Xemxija, where they were picked up by an AFM patrol boat or rounded up by the police.

Counterfeit clothes and shoes found in container

The Customs Department on Tuesday seized a 20-foot container carrying counterfeit clothes and shoes. The container, which stopped at Malta Freeport in transit to Morocco from the Far East, included 4,695 pairs of sports shoes, 450 Nike T-shirts, 1,050 pairs of Lucky Stars shoes and Adidas and Puma clothing. A treadmill was also found.

This was the 14th container intercepted by the department since the beginning of the year having a false goods declaration.

Social worker beaten up

Roslynn Calleja, a social worker who works with Programm Fejda, a therapeutic programme for girls with emotional and behavioural problems, was assaulted on Monday evening by two adolescent girls with whom she worked. Other members of staff at the home were also involved in the scuffle.

Although the police were called to the Fleur-de-Lys home for the girls after the first attack, Ms Calleja said they had to leave because of other commitments. She said the girls then went out of control again and another beating ensued.

Ms Calleja also expressed anger at the fact that there were no security personnel at the home, leaving staff unprotected..

MaltaToday ordered to pay Lm4,000 libel damages

MaltaToday editor Saviour Balzan and journalist Kurt Sansone were ordered to pay former Labour MP Louis Buhagiar Lm1,500 and Lm2,500 respectively (a total of Lm4,000 between them) for having libelled him with an article published on May 5, 2002.

Dr Buhagiar, a medical consultant, had filed a libel suit arguing that the article, and a string of articles that followed, were libellous and defamatory. The articles alleged that a number of tourists had fallen victims to doctors and consultants, that excessive rates were being charged and that unethical behaviour was being practised.

In a statement, Mr Balzan described Magistrate Dennis Montebello's decision as "shameful", claiming that it ignored the evidence given in court that substantiated the report that British health insurance companies probed the excessive fees by two Maltese doctors for foreign patients.

MaltaToday has appealed against the decision.

Court orders Lm3,000 refund

A woman was ordered to refund Lm3,000 to a couple after she failed to procure a girl from Pakistan for them to adopt. The judgment was delivered in the case filed by Lawrence and Maria Concetta Grima against Concetta Charles and her husband Dennis.

Mr and Mrs Grima submitted that in July 2002 they had signed a contract with Mrs Charles and paid her Lm3,000 to provide them with a girl to adopt from Pakistan. The girl had not come to Malta and the Grimas asked the court to order Mrs Charles to refund the money.

Ciampi in Malta

Italian President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi, who was accompanied by his wife Franca, was on a two-day state visit in Malta last week during which he met President Eddie Fenech Adami, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi and Opposition Leader Alfred Sant.

President Ciampi also met businessmen at the Malta Chamber of Commerce and Enterprise in Valletta.

German student drowns

A German student, Gerhard Glenz, drowned in rough sea at Fond Ghadir, Sliema, on Thursday just before 3 p.m. The 22-year-old student had been in Malta for about three weeks to study English and used to attend the IELS school in Tigné.

Miliam Ralick, a 27-year-old Serb, tried to rescue the German but found himself in difficulty and had to be rescued by an AFM search and rescue vessel.

The body of Mr Gerhard was recovered by AFM divers at about 5.30 p.m.

'Detergents' found to be alcohol

A maltese man is helping the police in their investigations into the illegal importation of alcoholic drinks from Italy. Customs officials discovered the spirits - whisky, vodka and white rum - as they were being driven out in a truck from the New Quay Gate in Marsa on May 11.

The Customs Department, which announced the haul on Friday, said that according to documents, the truck, registered in Italy, should have been laden with detergent liquid and powder.

The Italian driver of the truck, which had just arrived from Reggio Calabria, Italy, on Sea Malta's ship Zebbug, abandoned the vehicle and ran away as he realised that the Custom authorities had become suspicious of the merchandise. It is suspected that the Italian fled Malta.

Jail term reduced

Victor buttigieg, who had originally been jailed for two years for drug possession and trying to seriously injure a police officer, had his term reduced to one year and three months when an appeal court cleared him of trying to injure the officer.

Mr Justice Joseph Galea Debono also banned Buttigieg from driving for three years.