The online version of The Times and The Sunday Times of Malta http://www.timesofmalta.com/ http://www.timesofmalta.com/img/tomlogo.gif http://www.timesofmalta.com/ en http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20100318/local/fisherman-convicted-in-drugs-trialAndrea Zammit, 58, of Rabat, was today convicted by a jury of conspiring to import drugs, trafficking and being in possession of drugs. The 7-2 verdict was announced at the end of a trial which started on Tuesday. Zammit was also found guilty...Thu, 18 Mar 2010 19:29:00 +0100http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20100318/local/fisherman-convicted-in-drugs-trial http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20100318/local/gozo-government-farm-to-become-research-centreThe Ministry for Gozo and the University of Malta are drawing up a plan to transform the government farm at Xewkija into a research and development centre for agriculture, Gozo Minister Giovanna Debono said today. Speaking at a press...Thu, 18 Mar 2010 19:03:00 +0100http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20100318/local/gozo-government-farm-to-become-research-centre http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20100318/local/woman-gets-compensation-for-services-rendered-to-familyA woman was today awarded more than €270,000 in compensation for services rendered to her family and elderly parents. Maria Lourdes Brincat filed her action for compensation against her widowed father and her siblings. She told the court that...Thu, 18 Mar 2010 18:08:00 +0100http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20100318/local/woman-gets-compensation-for-services-rendered-to-family http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20100318/local/no-irregularities-found-in-2006-revision-of-development-boundariesAfter three years of thorough investigations, the European Commission has not found fault with the way building development zones were extended by Mepa in 2006 and decided to officially close the probe. Commission sources confirmed to...Thu, 18 Mar 2010 17:10:00 +0100http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20100318/local/no-irregularities-found-in-2006-revision-of-development-boundaries http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20100318/local/tourism-on-the-road-to-recovery-but-sector-still-very-fragile-mhra-presidentLast year was very bad for tourism but positive signs started to emerge in the later months, according to the BOV/MHRA hotel survey for the fourth quarter of 2009. The decline in tourist arrivals started in the second half of 2008 and persisted...Thu, 18 Mar 2010 16:54:27 +0100http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20100318/local/tourism-on-the-road-to-recovery-but-sector-still-very-fragile-mhra-president http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20100318/local/un-body-rejects-ban-on-cross-border-trade-in-bluefin-tunaThe UN body overseeing commerce in endangered wildlife today rejected a proposal to outlaw international trade in eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean bluefin tuna, a sushi mainstay in Japan. The controversial proposal for so-called Appendix I...Thu, 18 Mar 2010 16:41:00 +0100http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20100318/local/un-body-rejects-ban-on-cross-border-trade-in-bluefin-tuna http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20100318/local/afm-investigating-maltese-soldiers-clash-with-civilians-in-greeceThe Armed Forces of Malta has launched an intensive investigation to ascertain the facts surrounding Maltese soldiers in Mitilini on the Greek island of Lesvos, who were involved in a clash with Greek civilians on Tuesday. The five soldiers...Thu, 18 Mar 2010 16:16:00 +0100http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20100318/local/afm-investigating-maltese-soldiers-clash-with-civilians-in-greece http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20100318/local/south-african-company-to-open-plastics-factory-in-maltaThe South African plastics company, Green Compounding Co Ltd, is setting up a factory in Malta, Malta Enterprise executive chairman Alan Camilleri said this morning. Addressing a business forum in Cape Town, South Africa, Mr Camilleri said the...Thu, 18 Mar 2010 15:56:00 +0100http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20100318/local/south-african-company-to-open-plastics-factory-in-malta http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20100318/local/austrian-group-to-manage-dragonara-casinoThe government is to hold talks with a consortium led by the giant Austrian gaming company Novomatic with a view to granting it a 10-year concession to manage the Dragonara casino after it submitted the most advantageous bid in a call for...Thu, 18 Mar 2010 15:27:00 +0100http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20100318/local/austrian-group-to-manage-dragonara-casino http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20100318/local/the-med-must-not-be-an-eu-backwater-borg-insistsForeign Minister Tonio Borg has urged Spain to put the Mediterranean at the top of the agenda of the European Union because of the impact which developments in the region have on the rest of the bloc. "We are counting on Spain to ensure that...Thu, 18 Mar 2010 15:10:39 +0100http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20100318/local/the-med-must-not-be-an-eu-backwater-borg-insists http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20100318/local/man-struck-with-mobile-phoneAn Italian plasterer was accused in court today of having struck a man, Anthony Grech, on his left ear, causing him serious injury. The incident is alleged to have happened in Mosta yesterday. Mr Grech was struck with a mobile phone after an...Thu, 18 Mar 2010 14:32:00 +0100http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20100318/local/man-struck-with-mobile-phone http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20100318/local/exotiques-contract-over-thea-garrett-still-stands-grace-borgFormer Maltasong chairman Grace Borg said today that she did not wish to hinder Malta Song for Europe winner Thea Garrett as her career developed, but she insisted that a management contract she signed with the singer last year was still...Thu, 18 Mar 2010 13:37:00 +0100http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20100318/local/exotiques-contract-over-thea-garrett-still-stands-grace-borg http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20100318/local/failure-to-upgrade-road-blamed-for-fatalitiesA call for an official inquiry into why the ADT failed to carry out a project which could have prevented three fatalities in a traffic accident in Zejtun last August, is to be debated in Parliament on Saturday. The motion has been presented by...Thu, 18 Mar 2010 12:05:00 +0100http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20100318/local/failure-to-upgrade-road-blamed-for-fatalities http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20100318/local/garden-to-replace-qui-si-sana-car-parkMepa this morning approved plans for the building of a garden to replace one of the car parks at Qui-Si-Sana. The plans were proposed by the government, which also intends to build an underground car park under the other existing car park. The...Thu, 18 Mar 2010 12:29:00 +0100http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20100318/local/garden-to-replace-qui-si-sana-car-park http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20100318/local/van-driver-shoots-at-protected-birds-birdlifeA van driver in Mgarr stopped his vehicle and shot at a flock of protected birds of prey through his car window, the latest in a series of illegal shooting incidents as spring migration started, BirdLife said in a statement. It said that in the...Thu, 18 Mar 2010 11:17:00 +0100http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20100318/local/van-driver-shoots-at-protected-birds-birdlife http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20100318/local/new-patrol-boats-commissionedFour new inshore patrol boats formally entered service with the Armed Forces of Malta during a commissioning ceremony at Haywharf this morning. The 40-tonne boats, 'dressed overall' for the occasion, were built by Austal in Australia in a...Thu, 18 Mar 2010 12:06:00 +0100http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20100318/local/new-patrol-boats-commissioned http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20100318/local/migrantsA court this morning ordered the confiscation of €43,000 belonging to two men from Cameroon after they were found trying to carry large amounts of cash out of Malta. Tessa Serge Stephen, 32, who is resident in Paris, was found at the airport...Thu, 18 Mar 2010 13:16:00 +0100http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20100318/local/migrants http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20100318/local/mepa-approves-dwejra-project-changesThe Mepa Board this morning approved changes to plans for the building of an interpretation centre at Dwejra, in Gozo overlooking the 'inland sea'. Today's decision means that work on a concrete structure which was stopped in 2008 may continue,...Thu, 18 Mar 2010 11:50:00 +0100http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20100318/local/mepa-approves-dwejra-project-changes http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20100318/local/government-urged-to-stop-criminalisation-of-artA group which represents 90 authors, artists and other people involved in culture, has written to the Minister of Justice and the Parliamentary Secretary for Culture urging them to stop the 'absurd criminal proceedings' being taken against...Thu, 18 Mar 2010 11:34:00 +0100http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20100318/local/government-urged-to-stop-criminalisation-of-art http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20100318/local/lower-meat-production-registeredMeat production in the last three months of 2009 decreased by 7.3 per cent to 3,639 tonnes, the National Statistics Office said. It said that while pig and broiler-meat production declined by 12.8 and 1.5 per cent, respectively, there was an...Thu, 18 Mar 2010 11:33:05 +0100http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20100318/local/lower-meat-production-registered