The two architects involved in the construction project which Miriam Pace’s house collapsed into last March have not had their warrants to practice as architects suspended, The Malta Independent on Sunday can reveal.Roderick Camilleri, who was ...

Top management personnel at the Gozo General Hospital (GGH) have been told to start seeking employment elsewhere, in an indication that the hospital could soon go back under government management, sources have told The Malta Independent on Sunday. Th...

We’ve been told several times that the government is moving as one on the way the pandemic should be tackled.We’ve been told many times that Prime Minister Robert Abela and his deputy, Health Minister Chris Fearne, are on the same page on...

The COVID Alert Malta app will become interoperable with those of other EU Member states in the coming weeks, this newsroom is informed.Back in September of 2020, the government launched a contact tracing app under the name ‘COVID Alert Malta&r...

Malta’s Covid-19 reproduction number now stands at 1.55 after the number of cases found in the past week increased once again, statistician Vincent Marmara told The Malta Independent on Sunday in his exclusive weekly video blog on the Covid-19 ...

With the Covid-19 UK variant that has been identified pervading the UK and wreaking havoc on the country’s healthcare systems and economy, as well as some of the toughest lockdowns in the world, residing in the UK seems to be a daunting task fr...

What we witnessed on Wednesday with Gavin Gulia’s lightning-fast resignation from Parliament was a slap in the face of our democratic system.It was a devious chess game played by the Labour Party to save face and avoid having a former PL Mayor-...

Rachel Grech, the staff nurse who became the first person to receive the Covid-19 vaccine in Malta, received the second jab on Sunday morning.Grech, who works in Mater Dei Hospital’s Infectious Diseases Unit had received her first dose three we...

The end of the Brexit transitionary period came about in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic, with both events causing issues for mail, packages and goods being transported from the UK to Malta.MaltaPost’s Chief Operations Officer, Adrian Vassa...

A teenage girl was grievously injured after she was hit by a glass during a fight with a fellow teenager.The incident took place in St Augustine Street, St Julian’s, at 2.15am.The two 18-year-old girls, one from Siggiewi and the other from Pemb...

An Italian man and a woman are in hospital after the bike they were on was involved in a traffic accident in Fgura on Saturday afternoon.The two, both aged 63 and living in Zabbar, were involved in a crash with a Suzuki driven by a 27-year-old man fr...

The coronavirus was found on ice cream produced in eastern China, prompting a recall of cartons from the same batch, according to the government.The Daqiaodao Food Co., Ltd. in Tianjin, adjacent to Beijing, was sealed and its employees were being tes...

The driver of a New York City bus that plunged off a bridge blamed the dramatic crash on mechanical failure, saying Saturday that the tandem vehicle “just took off” as he slowed into a turn.Everton Beccan, 55, disputed the Metropolitan Tr...

Valletta: Collis Williams Pharmacy, 15, Republic Street; Ħamrun: Lister Pharmacy, 678, St Joseph High Road; Qormi: Brown's Pharmacy, 278, Victory Street; Birkirkara: Brown's Pharmacy, 32, Fleur-de-Lys Road; Msida: Regional Pharmacy, E. H. Furse ...

True to form, Betty White has something impish to say about her birthday Sunday.“Since I am turning 99, I can stay up as late as I want without asking permission!” she told The Associated Press in an email.White's low-key plans include fe...

175 new cases of Covid-19 and two Covid-19 related deaths were reported on Saturday by health authorities.67 people meanwhile have recovered, taking the total number of active cases up to yet another record: 2,749.Details about the two people to have...

The Malta Union of Midwives and Nurses has called for vaccination appointments to be more spread out after crowding and queueing was seen outside health centre on Friday, threatening industrial action if changes are not made to the current system. Th...

Robert Musumeci has been called out by the Gender-Based Violence and Domestic Violence Commission for making what they described as misogynistic comments with regards to the gender balancing mechanism that is currently being discussed in parliament.&...

In a top of the table match played at the Hibs Stadium under heavy rain Hiberians managed to win their match against Sliema Wanderers thanks to a solitary goal scored by international defender Andrei Agius nine minutes into the second half.After defe...

Four months into the season and Chelsea manager Frank Lampard appears no closer to knowing his best lineup following a $300 million offseason spending spree that delivered him a squad bursting with quality.One player he knows he cannot do without is ...

Bologna earned its first win since November by beating Hellas Verona 1-0 in Serie A on Saturday.Bologna's winless run included three defeats and five draws.Riccardo Orsolini scored from the penalty spot in the first half in Bologna after Verona goalk...

U.S. pharmaceutical company Pfizer confirmed Friday it will temporarily reduce deliveries to Europe of its COVID-19 vaccine while it upgrades production capacity to 2 billion doses per year.The EU Commission chief said she'd immediately called Pfizer...

The Gzira Local Council has taken court action against plans to relocate a fuel station in the area where one of the last standing community gardens currently exists. This project, which has long been criticised by the Local Council, was approve...

HSBC Malta has temporarily suspended it €5 customer account fee programme in view of on-going discussion with Central Bank and the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA), the Authority said in a statement today. The bank’s customer...

The global death toll from COVID-19 topped 2 million Friday, crossing the threshold amid a vaccine rollout so immense but so uneven that in some countries there is real hope of vanquishing the outbreak, while in other, less-developed parts of the wor...

While ADPD said that it agrees with the need of affirmative action to address the lack of gender balance in Parliament, they have described the government’s proposal to address this imbalance in Parliament as “both degrading and discrimin...

Professor Simone Borg will head a newly appointed steering group for the coordination of the post Covid-19 strategy, the Minister for Research, Innovation and the Co-ordination of the Post-Covid-19 Strategy Owen Bonnici announced on Saturday.&nb...

A Finnish man was grievously injured after being involved in a traffic accident on Saturday morning, police said.The police said that the incident occurred in Triq Ghar Dalam in Birzebugga between a KTM motorcycle being ridden by the 31-year-old from...

193 new cases of Covid-19 were found in the last 24 hours, again taking the number of active cases of the virus up to record heights. With 143 recoveries and another death being reported, the number of active cases now stands at 2,643. 114 ...

With more than 4,500 elderly people living in residential care homes, the government should be doing a lot more to ensure that their mental health and mental wellbeing are being looked after.The Covid-19 pandemic has had an impact on the mental wellb...

Denmark's ruling party said it would back a vote in parliament Thursday on whether a former immigration minister in the previous government can be tried before the rarely used Court of Impeachment for a 2016 order to separate asylum-seeking couples w...

Any claims about Steward Healthcare departing the Gozo General Hospital are “purely speculative”, the health operator said in a statement on Friday.Steward were reacting to claims by PN MP Chris Said, who said that it seemed like Steward ...

Police officers who test positive for Covid-19 are not being granted quarantine leave, instead being forced to use up their own sick leave, the Police Officers’ Union within the General Workers’ Union said on Friday.In a post on Facebook,...

On Friday afternoon, a video published on social media showed elderly people queued outside the Gzira health centre in the rain, awaiting their Covid-19 vaccine.The people who were waiting outside the health centre fall under the 85+ year old cohort ...

The rate of vaccination against Covid-19 will increase fourfold within nursing homes, the Minister for Senior Citizens and Active Ageing Michael Farrugia said. During a virtual meeting held on Friday with the National Association of Pensioners (...

“Our best economic opportunity is for a more digital and environmentally aware Malta, this is what the new prosperity means,” said Prime Minister Robert Abela during his address at the Business Breakfast under the name Lejn Prosperita&rsq...

The pro-Trump mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol last week aimed to "capture and assassinate elected officials," federal prosecutors said in court documents.The remarks came in a motion prosecutors filed late Thursday in the case against Jacob Chansle...

Lazio revived its chances of staying in the Champions League by convincingly beating third-placed Roma 3-0 in a Serie A derby on Friday.Luis Alberto scored twice and Ciro Immobile also found the target as Lazio controlled throughout.Lazio moved up to...

Hamrun registered another important win after defeating Sirens by a solitary goal scored eleven minutes from the end of the match.Leaders Ħamrun Spartans went into this match following a win over Mosta whereas Sirens returned to winning ways bea...

Steward Healthcare will leave the Gozo General Hospital by the end of this month, PN MP Chris Said claimed on social media on Thursday evening.In a Facebook post, Said said that the hospital will return to government hands, adding that this is a grea...

Prime Minister Robert Abela has defended his decision not to recuse himself from the Cabinet meeting during which a presidential pardon request by one of the men accused of killing Daphne Caruana Galizia was rejected.Vince Muscat ‘il-Kohhu&rsqu...

Oliver Scicluna will be co-opted to Parliament, replacing Gavin Gulia after his minute or so long return to Parliament earlier this week.This was confirmed by both Prime Minister Robert Abela and the Labour Party’s Deputy Leader Daniel Micallef...

Although it may seem Malta had fallen behind in the recycling sector in the past, any negative trends have already been addressed and reversed, Environment Minister Aaron Farrugia said on Friday.Farrugia’s statement comes days after Eurostat re...

Professor Elliot Berry, a graduate in medicine from the University of Cambridge, will be sharing his expertise on the Mediterranean Diet and its role in creating food security and good health for both humans and the planet. During his long and illust...

Some three per cent of Malta’s population has been inoculated with the Covid-19 vaccine, Health Minister Chris Fearne said, putting the country among the front-runners in Europe’s campaign against the virus.Speaking on TVM’s Xtra on...

A global team of researchers arrived Thursday in the Chinese city where the coronavirus pandemic was first detected to conduct a politically sensitive investigation into its origins amid uncertainty about whether Beijing might try to prevent embarras...

In the ongoing saga in Dingli to save the 300-year-old trees that are in danger of being chopped down, residents and activists have come together to apply for an urgent Tree Protection Order, which would give legal safeguard to these ancient trees, M...

The Vatican has confirmed that Pope Francis and Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI received the first shot of the coronavirus vaccine on Thursday.No photos of the 84-year-old pontiff and the 93-year-old retired pope receiving the shots have been released. Fr...

One of the first laws enacted by the Labour government under Joseph Muscat in 2013 was that to remove the statute of limitations on cases of corruption involving politicians.Through this law, any politicians caught in corrupt practices can no longer ...

During the fourth quarter of 2020, sea transport between Malta and Gozo registered an increase in trips and a decrease in both passengers and vehicles when compared to the corresponding quarter of 2019. A total of 876,054 passengers travelled between...

A vaccine certificate will be useful but cannot b seen as the only way people will be allowed to travel, the Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association said.The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Health, Chris Fearne has in the last few days been p...

Labour MEP Alfred Sant has asked the European Commission to present a medium-term synopsis of its activity on pandemic insurance and to ensure a proper democratic debate on this crucial issue. He also called on the Commission to keep the European Par...

“I am convinced that Gavin Gulia contesting was not a devious plot to keep anyone out of Parliament,” Malta Council for Science and Technology (MCST) Chairman Jeffery Pullicino Orlando told The Malta Independent. On Tuesday, a casual...

A number of Medical Specialist Associations have said that they are “disturbed and dismayed” by the resurgence in the number of Covid-19 cases and called for an increase in restrictive measures.Malta has had significantly high numbers of ...

121 new cases of Covid-19 were reported on Thursday along with the death of another patient suffering from the virus.127 people meanwhile have recovered from the virus – making this the first day in a while when the number of active cases decre...

11 olive trees and a small niche dedicated to Our Lady were stolen from leased land in Aħrax overnight, owner Joseph Scicluna said in a video, as he claimed that it was a certain group of hunters’ doing. During the early hours of Thur...

Robert Abela pressured Gavin Gulia to contest Tuesday’s casual election because he did not want either Charles Azzopardi or Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando to take Edward Scicluna’s seat, Labour Party insiders told The Malta Independent. Gulia ...

The Consumers’ Association has hit out at the news that HSBC Malta has introduced a €5 banking fee for services, saying that this move targets pensioners and low-income earners.The association said that customers of the bank received a not...

Kenneth Grech will be reinstated to the Covid-19 response team after he finishes his duties on the National Health Strategy, meaning that the Medical Association of Malta will be suspending its planned industrial action.MaltaToday quoted MAM Presiden...

Vulnerable Dar Bjorn residents should be considered for priority vaccination along with residents of care homes, Bjorn Formosa said on Thursday.In a Facebook post, Formosa – who suffers from ALS but has become a beacon for raising awareness on ...

The second round of Covid-19 vouchers will be issued when the situation improves and the number of Covid-19 cases decrease sharply, the Minister for Economy, Investment and Small Business Silvio Schembri told the Malta Independent.On Monday it was re...

The Barn Owl conservation project has entered its third phase, with the pairing of the first two birds, who have now been named Tyto and Alba. This was announced by Minister for the Environment, Climate Change and Planning Aaron Farrugia, who explain...

The Health Authorities have moved medical students who work in clinical settings up in the priority list to get vaccinated, Kunsill Studenti Universitarji (KSU) said.This comes after medical students urged the government to consider placing them on t...

The government needs to be more transparent when it comes to the vaccine rollout and inoculation process, the President of the Medical Association of Malta (MAM) Martin Balzan told The Malta Independent. "From MAM's side, we believe there n...

Two men were arrested on Thursday morning after they were caught red-handed trying to steal from a construction site in Qormi.In a statement, the police said that around half-past midnight they received a call with information that some people had go...

“Things are changing, and in many cases, it’s just not viable to bring in small quantities of pharmaceuticals anymore from the UK” Pierre Fava, Chemimart Group CEO told the Malta Business Weekly when contacted with about the impact ...

President Donald Trump was impeached by the U.S. House for a historic second time, charged with “incitement of insurrection” over the deadly mob siege of the U.S. Capitol in a swift and stunning collapse of his final days in office.With t...

There is no doubt that the Covid-19 pandemic has impacted everyone in some way, but concerns have been especially high over the impact the pandemic is having on the mental wellbeing and mental health of the elderly residing in residential care homes....

A 21-year-old man was arrested for arson, in connection with a vehicle fire in Tarxien, the police said in a statement."Days of investigations and observing the movements of the person in question led to the man being arrested in Valletta on Wednesda...

Flimkien għal Ambjent Aħjar (FAA) has welcomed the Planning Authority's decision to refuse the application for a five-storey plus penthouse block of apartments in the Xagħra Urban Conservation Area, which is within the 50m buffer zone ...

The Nationalist Party is urging the Tourism Minister not to-reappoint Gavin Gulia as chairman of the Malta Tourism Authority.Gulia resigned the post of MTA chairman after he was elected as an MP to replace Edward Scicluna in Parliament.But, minutes a...

A man made off with an undisclosed amount of cash in a hold-up on a Sliema store on Wednesday, the police said.The incident took place in Rudolphe Street at 7.30pm.The man, armed with a knife, entered the ship and demanded money from the salesgirl, a...

The current spike in Covid-19 cases has been directly attributed to private social gatherings during the Christmas and New Year period, where many chose to ignore the advice given by the health authorities to avoid mixing with members of different ho...

Gavin Gulia was sworn in as an MP on Wednesday and resigned just minutes later.Gulia had won a casual election to replace former Finance Minister Edward Scicluna in Parliament.In a brief statement, former PL MP Gulia said that Prime Minister Robert A...

Chairman of the Commission for the Rights of Persons with Disability, Oliver Scicluna, is expected to be co-opted to Parliament, the Times of Malta reports.He is expected to take up the seat vacated by Gavin Gulia, who resigned just minutes after bei...

Employees at the Civil Court Registry have been left enraged after they were told not to quarantine after two of their colleagues tested positive for Covid-19, sources have told The Malta Independent.This newsroom was informed that the remaining empl...

189 new cases of Covid-19 were reported on Wednesday as the number of active cases remained at a record high.107 people meanwhile have recovered from the virus, while no new deaths were reported.It means that the number of active cases now stands at ...

Internet services for Melita customers are returning to normal after they slowed down on Wednesday afternoon following a cyber attack by criminals aiming to extort money.Many customers took to social media on Wednesday to report that they were h...

Charles Azzopardi, the former Rabat Mayor who contested the casual election for the parliamentary seat of former Finance Minister Edward Scicluna and lost, has hit out at Gavin Gulia's resignation.Gavin Gulia won the casual election, but resigned jus...

Finance Minister Clyde Caruana said that the Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit (FIAU) received €1,364,928 in administrative fines that were issued between 1 January 2019 and 14 December 2020.The Minister was responding the a Parliamentary Que...

It has become a familiar pattern for Tottenham under Jose Mourinho this season: take the lead, retreat, invite opponents on, and eventually concede.The same thing happened again on Wednesday, and it cost the team a place in the Premier League’s...

Substitute Romelu Lukaku scored a last-gasp winner as Inter Milan beat Fiorentina 2-1 on Wednesday to set up an Italian Cup quarterfinal against crosstown rival AC Milan.Lukaku headed home a minute before the end of extra time in Florence, just as it...

The Malta Financial Services Authority has appointed Robert Ancilleri to occupy the role of 'competent person' for Pilatus Bank."As communicated on 22 March 2018, the Authority appointed a competent person in terms of Article 29(1)(c) and (d) of the ...

A minimum vote quota for political parties to automatically reach parliament is one of Repubblika’s proposed reforms for Parliament.This would see seat allocated to political parties in proportion with the amount of first-count votes they recei...

The Secretary of the Professionals, Finance and Services Section within the General Workers’ Union (GWU) has approached the Bankers Association to inform its members over proposing the possibility of them being vaccinated against Covid-19 earli...

So much confusion surrounded the number of days workers will be entitled to as vacation leave this year, and the years to come.The government tried to score cheap political points on this particular matter, but it ended up having to back-track and at...

It will be a different Carnival this year in Gozo, as the accommodation sector is facing a dry spell and is expected to get worse as the famous events in Nadur have been cancelled by the local council in view of the Covid-19 pandemic.The month of Feb...

The Opposition is contesting Speaker Anġlu Farrugia’s ruling that parliament’s standards committee cannot summon former prime minister Joseph Muscat on the basis that he is no longer a member of parliament.In a motion presented in pa...

Rapid Antigen Test to detect whether one has Covid-19 or not costs significantly higher in Gozo compared to Malta, with the price tag of €65 per test, The Malta Independent is informed. Instead of the normal PCR Covid-19 swab tests, one may opt ...

The Cabinet on Monday rejected a request for pardon submitted by one of the three alleged hitmen in the Daphne Caruana Galizia caseThe request by Vince Muscat, known as il-Kohhu, was discussed by the Cabinet on Monday.In a statement on Wednesday, the...

In 2018, Malta ranked the lowest out of all 27 EU member states with regards to the recycling of plastic packaging waste, recent Eurostat statistics have shown. This was also the case in 2017. Eurostat statistics published on Wednesday show...

Transport Minister Ian Borg has denied that he swore on live television, instead alleging that Nationalist Party media had edited a clip to make it seem like he did.A video shared widely on social media on Tuesday night shows the minister as a guest ...

Former Prime Minister Alfred Sant has again hit out against plans by Infrastructure Malta to build a flyover at Mriehel, using agricultural land.Last month, “my friend Minister Ian Borg” told us to judge on the idea when the plans are mad...

The Valletta Cultural Agency has launched an Expression of Interest for the European Capital of Culture 2031. The European Capital of Culture title may be granted to any city that applies, as long as criteria are satisfied, none of which are rel...

Having peaked at 25.8 degrees celsius, the maximum air temperature for Saturday 9 January went down on the Meteorological Office’s records as the highest temperature reached in the first month of the year since 1923.In a statement, the Malta In...

President Donald Trump is on the verge of being impeached for a second time, the House planning the unprecedented vote one week after he encouraged a mob of loyalists to “fight like hell” against election results and the U.S. Capitol beca...

A Kansas woman was executed Tuesday for strangling an expectant mother in Missouri and cutting the baby from her womb, the first time in nearly seven decades that the U.S. government has put to death a female inmate.Lisa Montgomery, 52, was pronounce...

240 new cases of Covid-19 were reported on Tuesday as the number of active cases of the virus exceeded 2,500.80 people meanwhile have recovered, while one Covid-19 patient has died.  The Health Ministry said an 85-year-old man who tested po...

The traditional Nadur carnival will not take place this year, the locality’s council said on Tuesday.In a statement, the local council said that it will not be holding any events and that it will not issue any permits for any activities.They sa...

Prime Minister Robert Abela is endangering public health through his hard-headedness, Opposition Leader Bernard Grech said. He was referring to the redeployment of Covid-19 team member Kenneth Grech, reportedly after he advised against the reopening ...