About 190 cartons containing 200 cigarettes each, and 306 bottles of alcohol were confiscated by Customs officials from a Lija wine cellar and a Toyota van in the first few days of the new year. Customs duty and excise tax involved in the haul amounted to over Lm4,000, the Customs Department said. In a separate raid, following an inspection in Luqa, small amounts of smuggled vodka and whisky and various brands of cigarettes were found.
Man charged with attempted murder
Kevin Camilleri, 30, of Birkirkara, was charged with attempted murder on Monday after allegedly shooting Ignatius Joseph Fenech, 19, of Sliema, in Ponsonby Street, Gzira, yesterday week at about noon.
Fenech was in a Mercedes with a 10-year-old boy and another person; he was said to have had arguments about a gold necklace with his assailant before. The victim personally reported the incident at Sliema police station before being taken to St Luke's Hospital.
Camilleri, who pleaded not guilty, was put under house arrest, and bound by a personal guarantee of Lm4,200 and a Lm300 deposit.
Bus owner's tragic death
Paul Buttigieg, a 61-year-old bus owner from Zabbar, died after he was crushed between two of his buses in Zabbar Road, Fgura, on Monday. The accident happened at about 11.30 p.m. when Buttigieg and some relatives travelled in a bus to see to another, which had stalled because of mechanical problems. He was rushed to hospital but died later in the night.
Double murder trial dissolved again
A murder trial by jury was dissolved for the second time in two years on Tuesday after Police Commissioner John Rizzo was deemed to have given evidence considered prejudicial to the accused. The retrial of 35-year-old Brian Vella over the double murder of an elderly couple in Sta Lucija in 2000 had barely entered its second day when, testifying, Mr Rizzo suggested the accused could have had previous convictions. After hearing the objections of the defence counsel, Mr Justice Joseph Galea Debono declared the trial dissolved.
Reveller's fall to be studied
The magisterial inquiry into the death of 19-year-old Jeanette Mifsud, who fell off the bastions in Valletta on New Year's Eve, will look into "everything", a spokesman for the Home Affairs Ministry said, following Labour leader Alfred Sant's call for a separate inquiry besides the magisterial inquiry.
On Tuesday the Government also appointed a commission to establish what amendments were needed to the law governing entertainment establishments. The commission is chaired by Dr Joe Micallef Stafrace, and includes Inspector Dominic Micallef, Emanuel Mangani and Dr Cynthia Scerri Debono.
The commission will also be carefully examining how to prevent the abuse of drugs, alcohol and other vices, the Home Affairs Ministry said.
Port workers' action delays three ships
Maltese port workers downed tools for eight hours on Wednesday and again on Thursday morning to protest against the proposed Ports Services Directive on which the European Parliament will vote on Wednesday. Three vessels experienced a slight delay on Wednesday; others adjusted their timetables.
A 22-strong delegation made up of the GWU's Ports and Transport Workers' section and some port workers will take part in a demonstration by European port workers in Strasbourg tomorrow.
Judge confirms libel damages
The Court of Appeal on Wednesday confirmed a libel judgment delivered by the Magistrates' Court in which former Labour MP and Parliamentary Secretary Dr Louis Buhagiar was awarded Lm4,000 in damages. Dr Buhagiar had sued Malta Today editor Saviour Balzan and journalist Kurt Sansone over an article entitled "Maltese doctors in UK insurance probe", published on May 5, 2002.
Port pilots ordered to pay damages
The Court of Appeal on Wednesday confirmed a Magistrates' Court judgment ordering Malta Maritime Pilots Co-operative Society Ltd to pay damages to MMS Ltd after the pilots refused to unload merchandise at Mgarr. MMS Ltd claimed it had sustained damages of Lm2,583 following the co-operative's refusal to provide services to MV Audacious to allow it to enter Mgarr harbour.
Burglars ram shop shutter
Burglars reversed a car into a St Venera telephone shop steel shutter but only made off with a few cordless phones, probably because they were disturbed during the raid. The owner of the Phones 4U shop in Parish Priest Mifsud Street said no mobile phones were taken. The raid, which was caught on CCTV, showed a blue Hyundai Accent being reversed into the shutter twice, before getting stuck in the warped steel.
Fined for attacking warden
Peter Borg, 49, and his son Peter, 24, were fined Lm750 on Wednesday by Magistrate Consuelo Scerri Herrera after they admitted assaulting local warden Carlo Manolito Sultana last July 7 in L-Iklin.
Stowaways found in container
Immigration police and Freeport authorities on Thursday evening were trying to determine the fate of five Algerian stowaways after the captain of a container ship they were probably on refused to take them back on board.
The stowaways, aged between 18 and 48, arrived in an empty container on board the North Sun on Tuesday night. They were not carrying any documents. The stowaways were detained at police headquarters in Floriana.
Maltese courts wrong to disallow DNA evidence
The European Court of Human Rights on Thursday unanimously ruled that the Maltese courts were wrong in 2002 to deny prominent businessman Maurice Mizzi the right to put forward DNA evidence to prove he was not the father of his former wife's daughter, born in 1967. The ECHR awarded Chev. Mizzi, 69, of Bidnija, €5,000 in non-pecuniary damages and €40,000 in costs and expenses.
Lm15,000 damages
Jacqueline Cauchi, who was injured in a traffic accident in 2003, was awarded over Lm15,000 in damages on Friday from Bridget Formosa and Joseph Vella by the Civil Court.
Inmate charged with threatening prison head
Marco Pace, a 36-year-old inmate, on Friday night was charged with threatening the director of prisons, Police Superintendent Sandro Gatt, and his family at the Corradino Correctional Facility that morning. Pace, known as Il-Pinzell, denied the charge. The arraignment was delayed for a few hours since Pace was taken to St Luke's Hospital complaining of pain.