Weekly News Highlights

Seven illegal immigrants are believed to have drowned in rough seas 70 miles south of Malta on Monday as the Armed Forces called off its search and rescue operation on Tuesday - 18 hours after it started.

Sixteen survivors - 15 men and a woman - were brought to Malta on board an armed forces patrol boat early Tuesday morning, sealing another tragic attempted crossing from Africa to Europe.The missing migrants, including a woman, are believed to be from Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria and Sudan.

Another group of 26 illegal immigrants landed at Wied iz-Zurrieq on Wednesday morning.

Government asked to pay Lm8.5 million in arrears

Twenty companies involved in the supply of pharmaceuticals, medical equipment and services to the Health Ministry have presented a judicial letter claiming the government has continued to ignore their repeated demands for payment of arrears amounting to more than Lm8.5 million. They demanded payment within five days.

Maltese business centre opened in Brussels

Prime minister Lawrence Gonzi on Tuesday officially inaugurated a state-of-the-art office block in the centre of Brussels, serving the needs of the Maltese business community.

The old three-storey maison de maitre, transformed into modern offices, was purchased by the Federation of Industries and the Chamber of Commerce two years ago.

The project, including massive refurbishment works, is known to have cost €1 million.

Man charged with partner's murder

David Norbert Schembri, who was charged with fatally stabbing his former partner, Josette Schembri, 32, on Wednesday was denied bail after a magistrate heard a psychiatrist explain that the man had a serious drug problem.

Psychiatrist Joseph Spiteri told Magistrate Consuelo Scerri Herrera that Schembri had been moved from the Corradino Correctional Facility to Mount Carmel Hospital where he was being treated for drug abuse and a mental health problem.

Schembri is pleading not guilty to the murder of Josette Scicluna, the mother of his daughter, whom he allegedly stabbed 49 times in her San Gwann apartment on May 3, 2004.

He filed a request for bail last May 5, arguing he was making progress in his drug abuse problem and that he was wheelchair-bound following an accident.

Man charged with warden's murder had killed his wife

Gozitan Benny Attard, who stands charged with the murder of local warden Fortunata Spiteri four years ago, had been convicted of murdering his wife 19 years ago, a court heard on Thursday.

Magistrate Consuelo Scerri Herrera heard Mario Schembri testify that he used to be in the police force and that in the 80s he was assigned to work in Gozo.

The witness, today an army colonel, recognised Mr Attard as the same person who had been investigated in connection with his wife's murder. He was subsequently arraigned and found guilty of the murder on December 2, 1986.

EU Commissioner's visit

European commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs Joaquin Almunia on Thursday said inflation and public debt were the main challenges faced by Malta in reaching the Maastricht targets and converging with the euro zone.

Giving a generally positive assessment of the government's commitment to consolidate public finances so far, Mr Almunia said the Commission was satisfied with the way Malta had managed to fulfil its financial commitments during its first year as an EU member.

During his brief visit to Malta, Mr Almunia had talks with Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi, who is also finance minister.

Smokers fined Lm100

Ten smokers on Thursday were fined Lm100 each by Magistrate Silvio Meli for smoking in places of entertainment in Paceville in March and April.

MEPA approves Ta' Zwejra waste management site

MEPA on Thursday unanimously approved the use of a non-hazardous waste management facility close to Maghtab.

The site at Ta' Zwejra is currently being used as a temporary waste storage/treatment facility.

The application, which had already been approved by the Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control Committee, was for the development of an engineered facility for the disposal of non-hazardous waste.

The facility will be developed in three phases, consisting of three hydraulically independent cells. It will also have a surface water collection system and a gas extraction system.

Life sentence confirmed in Zejtun triple murder case

The court of Criminal Appeal has confirmed the life sentence handed down to a Zejtun man who had been convicted for a triple murder 13 years ago.

Albert Ellul had been jailed for life when jurors found him guilty of the murder of Twanny Baldacchino, his sister Rose and her seven-year-old son Antoine whom he shot in Zejtun in May 1992.

In the case of Baldacchino, jurors had deemed the murder excusable, arguing that Ellul had acted while in a state of mental agitation.

He had also been found guilty of the attempted murder of Baldacchino's other sister Carmela Azzopardi.

Ellul appealed asking for changes in the verdict and claiming that the punishment had been excessive. But Mr Justice Joseph Filletti, Mr Justice Raymond Pace and Mr Justice David Scicluna, who presided over the Court of Appeal, ruled that the punishment fell within legal parameters although it was the maximum allowed.