10 years ago - The Times
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Drug pusher sentenced to 25 years in prison
Mark Stephens was yesterday jailed for 25 years and fined €60,000 after a jury found him guilty by seven votes to two of conspiring to import 7,100 ecstasy pills and three kilogrammes of cocaine in 2003.
This is the first time a drug exporter and not just a courier has been convicted in Malta, the head of the Prosecution Unit at the Attorney General’s Office, lawyer Anthony Barbara said. Mr Stephens’ conviction follows the 15-year imprisonment and €58,250 fine imposed on Gregory Eyre who was the courier caught with the drugs at Luqa airport in 2003.
Mr Eyre had originally named Mr Stephens as his supplier but, risking life imprisonment, he changed his version when he testified last Monday.
He has now been arrested on court orders and is being investigated on perjury charges after saying one thing when testifying before the Magistrates’ Court and another when appearing before the Criminal Court this week. Mr Eyre stuck to his latest testimony notwithstanding a stern warning by the presiding judge, Mr Justice Joseph Galea Debono, about the consequences of lying under oath.
25 years ago - The Times
Saturday, November 6, 1993
Maltese couples taking donor insemination increasing
The number of Maltese married couples who are having children using donated ova or sperm is increasing, a leading childbirth specialist has told The Times.
Dr Josie Muscat, who with others pioneered advanced infertility treatment in Malta, said: “Those who want donor insemination, or donated ova, go to England and get it done there. If a couple is determined to have a child, nothing will stop them.”
Dr Muscat said that the St James Clinic in Żabbar, where he works, can carry out the procedure, but does not do so “because of moral guidelines”. The clinic, however, prepares men and women who wish to travel abroad for insemination or the implantation of donated eggs.
Asked why moral guidelines allowed preparation for the procedure, but not the procedure itself, Dr Muscat said: “These people would go ahead and do it anyway. By preparing them, we are saving them a lot of money, and cutting down on the trauma and the inconvenience of an extended stay overseas.”
A main problem with carrying out these procedures in Malta is the non-existence of ‘sperm banks’, and the Maltese woman’s reluctance to donate ova.
Half a century ago - Times of Malta
Wednesday, November 6, 1968
Factory building: £19,000 contract for UK firm
Eighty-four tons of structural steel were to be shipped to Malta yesterday from England, according to a report in the Financial Times.
This order is one of the biggest single export consignments to leave the Southampton Hillspan works of the Hill Construction Company (Engineers).
The newspaper added that this order was made by the Malta Department of Public Works for three factory buildings. “Hillspan won the £19,000 contract, the first awarded by the Department under a package deal against stiff competition from other British and continental firms,” the report said.
Cheques for centenarian
A cheque for £50 was yesterday presented to Miss Victoria Formosa of Mdina by Dr V. Tabone, Minister of Labour, Employment and Welfare, when he called on her to congratulate her on her 100th birthday and to hand her a personal letter from the Prime Minister.
Dr Tabone also handed her a cheque for £15 and a parcel of C.R.S. foodstuffs as the Minister responsible for Social Services.