Weekly News highlights

More than Lm1,500 in cash were stolen from the Pergola Hotel in Mellieha in an armed hold-up early on Sunday morning.

A gun was pointed at 20-year-old receptionist Mark James Pierre from St Paul's Bay, as he was ordered by a hooded robber to hand over the money.

The police said the armed man escaped on foot.

'Guilty' yard workers to appeal

A disciplinary board at Malta Shipyards has ruled that six of the seven workers suspended at the end of January were guilty of sleeping while on duty.

The workers, who were allowed to return to work on Monday morning pending a possible appeal, will be suspended without pay for a number of days.

In the case of the seventh worker, the board needs more evidence before it can pass judgment, shipyards chairman John Cassar White said on Monday.

The chairman told The Times that the workers had not denied the charges when they appeared before the disciplinary board, which came to its conclusion after a marathon session last Friday week.

The General Workers Union, which deemed the suspensions illegal, had warned it would step up action at the 'yards if the workers were not allowed to return to work by Monday.

The workers will appeal the decision, Charles Agius, secretary of the GWU's metal and construction section, said on Wednesday.

Jailed for swallowing heroin-filled capsules

A Bulgarian, Atanas Paskalev Dimitrov, 32, was jailed for 12 years and fined Lm20,000 on Monday after he admitted to swallowing heroin-filled capsules on two occasions to import the drug into Malta three years ago.

The bill of indictment outlined how, between October and December 2003, Dimitrov came to know a man called Camel who lived in Istanbul. Dimitrov was to travel to Istanbul to collect the drugs from Camel, then smuggle them into Malta.

In November 2003, Dimitrov swallowed around 45 heroin-filled capsules and managed to smuggle them into Malta.

The following month the police apprehended Dimitrov at the airport after he arrived from Istanbul via Frankfurt. He was found to have ingested drug-filled capsules.

Lap dancers acquitted

Thirty-one foreign women on Tuesday were cleared of their involvement in the running of nightclubs for immoral purposes. The East European women, who worked as dancers in adult nightclubs, burst into applause, thanked their defence lawyers and hugged one another when they heard the ruling by Magistrate Antonio Mizzi.

Originally, 35 women were involved in this case, but four of them will be handed down a separate judgment.

The Attorney-General is to decide whether the police are to appeal.

Warning after Lm100,000 robbery

The Police said last week that if anyone comes across an expensive watch on the cheap, it might very well have come from a batch stolen from Diamonds International in Paceville last Thursday week.

Three robbers, possibly helped by an accomplice, stole designer watches and jewellery believed to be worth over Lm100,000.

It is possible a fourth man was involved because a van that had been reported stolen earlier was abandoned in front of a district police car to obstruct it.

17-year-old charged over shotgun incident

On Tuesday a 17-year-old was charged with seriously injuring an Eritrean man when he fired a shotgun at him following a fight a couple of weekends ago.

The teenager and his father, both of Valletta, pleaded not guilty to keeping and carrying the gun without a licence and firing it in an inhabited area last Friday week.

The teenager alone was also charged with shooting the man in Marsa at about 4.30 a.m. while his father was charged with relapsing. The two were granted bail on condition they do not leave home and were bound by a Lm1,000 deposit and a personal guarantee of Lm5,000 each.

Dual citizenship to be extended

Malta is to extend its dual citizenship rights to second-generation Maltese born outside Malta, Home Affairs Minister Tonio Borg told Parliament on Tuesday.

He said in a statement to the House that the government would be moving important amendments to the Citizenship Act dealing mostly with persons born abroad to Maltese parents also born abroad.

To date, he explained, Maltese citizenship had been limited to Maltese born abroad when at least one of the parents was born in Malta.

Girl, 8, critical after accident

An eight-year-old German girl was critically injured when she was run over by a car in Triq it-Turisti, St Paul's Bay at about noon on Tuesday.

The car, a Peugeot 205, was being driven by a 46-year-old man from St Paul's Bay.

Boy, 16, on rape charge

A 16-year-old boy on Tuesday was arraigned for allegedly raping a 13-year-old girl with mental health problems.

The boy was also charged with defiling the girl and another girl, also aged 13, on and before February 7. He pleaded not guilty but was denied bail.

Pope approves Dun Gorg miracle

Archbishop Cremona on Wednesday announced that Pope Benedict had approved the decree of the Congregation for Sainthood Causes on the miracle that should lead to the canonisation of Blessed Gorg Preca. Mgr Cremona was speaking at a meeting with two sections of the Christian Doctrine Society (MUSEUM), at their headquarters in Blata l-Bajda.

Mgr Cremona said the Pope had called cardinals for a consistory on Friday when they will be asked their advice on the canonisation of five Blessed, including Dun Gorg.

The miracle the Pope approved in the past days is attributed to the unexplained healing of a baby boy with liver problems in 2001 after a glove used for the exhumation of Dun Gorg was placed on him.

The ceremony during which the Pope will declare Dun Gorg a saint is likely to take place next year and probably not in Malta, according a senior member of MUSEUM, which was set up by Dun Gorg 100 years ago.

AD loses bid to stop issue of permits

A court on Wednesday dismissed an application filed by Alternattiva Demokratika and 64 individuals to stop the Malta Environment and Planning Authority (MEPA) from issuing development permits in the areas recently included in the development zone.

According to AD, the extension of the development zone, which had taken place after what was termed as a rationalisation process by the government, involved a large area of land. The aim was to authorise extensive changes to the use of the land.

However, according to AD, this large project was not carried out in accordance with the European Parliament and Council Directive of June 2001, known as the SEA Directive.

The court found that the applicants had failed to prove that MEPA had not observed the provisions of law and dismissed the application.

Handbag thief put behind bars

Sylvester Cilia, 26, of Zebbug, was jailed for a total of three years and a month on Wednesday after he admitted to stealing a motorcycle and three handbags during the operative time of a suspended jail term.

Man jailed for sex with girlfriend, 13

A 23-year-old man from Hamrun was given a two-year jail sentence suspended for four years last week for having sex with his 13-year-old girlfriend. He admitted the charge.

Magistrate Jacqueline Padovani heard how the girl had had previous sexual relations with other men. The magistrate also heard how the man had a drug abuse problem and put him under the care of a probation officer for three years. She also ordered that he attend a drug rehabilitation programme.

Hunters suspend ultimatum

The hunters' federation has suspended its ultimatum to the government, expressing cautious optimism that conditions for spring hunting this year will remain unchanged.

The Federation for Hunting and Conservation said it did not feel the need to give directives to its members yet, since there is reason to believe hunters will shortly be given what is rightly theirs.

The federation had given the government until Thursday to announce the opening of the hunting and trapping seasons, warning that hunters would take to the streets if need be.

It has not set a fresh deadline, saying it would await the outcome of a meeting of the Ornis committee, which makes recommendations to the government on the timing of the hunting and trapping seasons.

The Environment Ministry had countered the hunters' threat by arguing that the opening of the seasons would be discussed at the Ornis committee meeting on February 26.

Court gives go-ahead to transsexual's marriage

A court on Thursday ordered the director of the Public Registry to issue the marriage banns for a transsexual, who was born a man but was legally declared a woman following gender reassignment surgery.

Mr Justice Gino Camilleri gave the order after noting that the union between the transsexual, now a woman, and her male partner did not go against any provision of the Marriage Act.

Lawyers contacted by The Times said they believed this ruling was the first of its kind and may lead to the first civil marriage of a transsexual.

Traffic victim still critical

The condition of a 76-year-old Marsa woman who was run over by a car in St Joseph High Street, Hamrun, on Wednesday evening, was still critical on Thursday, police said.

The Toyota Fun Cargo involved in the accident was being driven by a 65-year-old woman from Sta Lucija.

Libya ready to discuss oil exploration

Libya is prepared to discuss oil exploration with Malta in zones next to the two countries' sea borders, Foreign Minister Michael Frendo said on Friday at the end of a "successful" Malta-Libya joint-committee meeting.

Experts from the two sides will be meeting in Malta in April to try to identify opportunities for co-operation on oil exploration, and a Libyan delegation will visit the island next month to discuss pending payments, he added.

In June Malta will host experts from both countries to discuss co-operation on illegal immigration, it was announced. Libyan ambassador to Malta, Saad Elshalmani, said that his country had returned thousands of illegal immigrants, and that had Libya not done so, the problem in Malta would have been much worse.

It was also announced that Air Malta and Libyan Arab Airways will be servicing Malta and Benghazi as from summer. Other areas of co-operation agreed involve the exchange of information in the fight against avian flu and the pandemic, the prevention of marine pollution, the transport of vehicles, and the appointment of search and rescue personnel.

Dar Malta opens tomorrow

Dar Malta, the building in Brussels bought by Government to house its Permament Representation to the EU, will be inaugurated tomorrow. Situated just metres away from the European Commission's headquarters, the building was bought in June 2004 for Lm9 million, including the cost of refurbishment. Government sources said the final cost of refurbishment was within budget, except for inflation.

Over this weekend more than 50 Maltese officials are packing their documents and belongings to move to the new offices. The Permanent Representation and the embassy occupies the top five floors while the bottom four floors and space in the three-storey underground garage is to be leased to generate income.

Libel damages reduced on appeal

On Friday the Court of Appeal confirmed a judgment that the MLP and the editor of L-Orizzont had libelled nine serving and former government ministers but reduced the damages from Lm6,500 to Lm4,100 because the libel was collective since it was addressed to practically the entire Cabinet.

The article that appeared on June 28, 1999 and was written by the MLP, had claimed that the ministers were spending an excessive amount of taxpayers' money on cars for their personal use.

It resulted that except for two ministries, the cars were purchased for use by the ministries' departments, not the ministers concerned.

The court awarded Dr Tonio Borg and Professor Josef Bonnici Lm700 each, Dr Louis Galea, Dr Joe Borg, and John Dalli were awarded Lm500 each, while Dr Louis Deguara, Dr Lawrence Gonzi, Censu Galea and Dr Austin Gatt each won Lm300 in damages.

Notary gets suspended jail term

Notary Sandro Schembri Adami, 43, of Valletta, a former Labour MP, received a two-year jail term suspended for four years and was generally interdicted when he was found guilty of forging the signature of Sara Anne Agius, a notary formerly employed at his firm, on three power of attorney documents.

Alleged drug dealers granted bail

Alberto Alessandro Bafumi, 24, of Catania, and Darren Aquilina, 22, of Pietà, were granted bail on Friday against a deposit of Lm3,000 and a personal guarantee of Lm10,000 each. They were charged with possessing over a kilo of cocaine filled in more than 90 capsules and conspiring to deal and traffic in the drug.

Malta has safest roads in EU

With 61 deaths per million registered passenger cars, Malta has the safest roads in the EU according to 2004 figures, Eurostat said. Nevertheless, this marks a 69 per cent increase over 1994. The ratio of road fatalities in Malta was nearly half that in the second safest country - Sweden, which had 117.

Traffic expert Joe Micallef Stafrace said it was normally speed that kills and Malta's short distances and narrow roads tended to reduce speed.