A priest has pleaded not guilty to charges of sexually abusing a boy.He is one of two who, according to a statement issued by the police on Tuesday, are facing charges of rape and sexual abuse. The other priest will be charged separately. Both are ap...

A man suffered serious injuries on Tuesday night after he was stabbed in the neck, the police said.The aggressor made off, and the police have mounted a search for him.The injured man is a Syrian who lives in Zebbug.The incident took place in a garag...

A man was seriously injured after falling off bastions in Mdina, the police said.The accident took place in Gharreqin Street at 7pm on Tuesday.The police said it was informed about a “man who was crying out for help” as he lay in a field....

President Joe Biden on Monday reinstated COVID-19 travel restrictions on most non-U.S. travelers from Brazil, Ireland, the United Kingdom and 26 other European countries that allow travel across open borders. He also added South Africa to the list.Wh...

Britain's official death toll in the coronavirus pandemic passed 100,000 on Tuesday, a dreaded milestone reached as the government considered imposing hotel quarantines on international travelers to stop new virus variants reaching the country.The go...

Maybe the Prime Minister is an optimistic man who always sees the glass as being half full. Maybe he wants to instil confidence in the country as it seeks to overcome the crisis brought about by the pandemic. Or maybe he is denial and has not yet gra...

Minister for Research, Innovation and the Co-ordination of post covid-19 strategy Owen Bonnici launched the first edition of the National STEM Awards, which will be hosted at the Esplora Interactive Science Centre.The aim of this Award scheme is...

Tova Friedman hid among corpses at Auschwitz amid the chaos of the extermination camp's final days.Just 6 years old at the time, the Poland-born Friedman was instructed by her mother to lie absolutely still in a bed at a camp hospital, next to the bo...

Gavin Gulia said that he was 'hurt' by the Standard Commissioner's comments about him in the report regarding Konrad Mizzi's MTA consultancy job.He was speaking during a session of the Parliamentary Public Appointments Committee, in which he was reap...

Standards Commissioner George Hyzler told Economy Minister Silvio Schembri that there is no need to make a story out of a complaint over his use of the Department of Information for a political statement, Silvio Schembri told this newsroom. Sche...

80,000 more doses of the Moderna vaccine were purchased yesterday, Prime Minister Robert Abela announced in parliament.“A decision in cabinet was made to invest €2 million to get more doses of the vaccine. We managed to obtain 80,000 more ...

Two priests, Dun Joseph Sultana and Dun Joseph Cini, are set to be charged with raping an altar boy in Gozo.The abuse allegedly took place a number of years ago, the police said.In a statement, the police said the Vice-Squad had obtained enough evide...

138 new cases of Covid-19 were reported on Tuesday as another two patients died while positive for the virus. An 80-year-old woman and an 88-year-old man both passed away while positive for Covid-19 at Mater Dei Hospital in the last 24 hours, he...

New measures targeting the carnival weekend will be announced tomorrow, Prime Minister Robert Abela said on Tuesday. He did not give details on what the measures may consist of, but ruled out a total lockdown or a curfew on open establishments.T...

HSBC Malta’s customer account fee does not constitute as an unfair commercial practice under the Consumer Affairs Act according to the Director General within the Malta Competition and Consumer Affairs Authority (MCCAA), Consumer Protection Mni...

Health Minister Chris Fearne and Opposition spokesperson for health Stephen Spiteri are next in line to receive the Covid-19 vaccine.The vaccination campaign kicked off almost a month ago, on 27 December last year.  Healthcare workers were first...

The best and worst of Zlatan Ibrahimović was on show Tuesday as he scored and later was sent off in AC Milan's 2-1 loss at city rival Inter Milan in the quarterfinals of the Italian Cup.Ibrahimović clashed with former teammate Romelu Lukaku...

Fueled by a sparkling attacking display, Manchester City's players powered to the top of the Premier League for the first time this season — and even the opposition are stopping to admire their work.In a comical exhibit for VAR's ever-lengtheni...

In a press statement given on Tuesday afternoon, NGO Moviment Graffitti proposed that instead of having a quota for reserved seats in parliament, a quota on the amount of people from the under-represented sex to contest the elections should be implem...

The government has launched an information service system, provided by the Malta Communication Authority (MCA), through which the public can monitor and compare local telecommunication tariff plans and bundled services in order to choose what is best...

In the first week of December, Portugal’s prime minister gave his pandemic-weary people an early Christmas gift: restrictions on gatherings and travel due to COVID-19 would be lifted from Dec. 23-26 so they could spend the holiday season with f...

Carl Brincat has been appointed as the CEO of the Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) after a public call, the Economy Ministry announced on Tuesday.In a statement, Minister for the Economy and Industry Silvio Schembri welcomed Brincat’s appointment.B...

The unemployment rate for December 2020 stood at 4.5%, at par with the previous month and 0.9 percentage points more than December 2019, the NSO said. During December 2020, the number of unemployed persons was 12,490 with the unemployed males and the...

The European Union on Tuesday warned pharmaceutical giants that develop coronavirus vaccines to honour their contractual obligations after slow deliveries of shots from two companies hampered the bloc's vaunted vaccine rollout in several nations.The ...

Following an overwhelming vote in favour of the Report on Europe's Strategy for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises that she spearheaded on behalf of the Socialists and Democrats group in the European Parliament, Maltese MEP Josianne Cutajar is now fo...

Italian Premier Giuseppe Conte went to the presidential palace Tuesday to offer his resignation after a key coalition ally pulled his party’s support over Conte’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic.Conte is hoping to get President Sergi...

Dr George Hyzler, Commissioner for Standards in Public Life, has stated that official press releases issued through the Department of Information should not include partisan political statements. The Commissioner for Standards came to this conclusion...

Engineering students who graduate from MCAST are now eligible for a warrant to be able to practice as professional engineers after a pre-warrant qualification course was approved by the Board of Engineers. In a joint statement, the Education Min...

Gozitan companies will be able to benefit from €65,000 per annum in salary reimbursements from the newly launched Gozo Back Office Employment Refund Scheme, one of the main budget measures for this year. The scheme is aimed at both foreign inves...

A man from Pakistan has been arrested in connection with an investigation into alleged abuse of minors, the police said.The man, aged 32, was arrested by the Police Vice Square and the Paola district.Magistrate Donatella Frendo Dimech is leading an i...

Groups of youths confronted police in Dutch towns and cities Monday night, defying the country's coronavirus curfew and throwing fireworks. Police in the port city of Rotterdam used a water cannon and tear gas in an attempt to disperse a crowd of rio...

Thousands of elderly Germans faced online error messages and jammed up hotlines Monday as technical problems marred the start of the coronavirus vaccine campaign for over-80s in the country's most populous state.North Rhine-Westphalia, whose populati...

The PN is currently carrying out a socio-economic study in Gozo which will focus on a number of factors, including working conditions, the demographic impacts, the job market, how Gozo’s health service compared to Malta’s and more.The ann...

Prime Minister Robert Abela told journalists on Monday that he is “confident” that Malta will not be impacted by vaccine shortages, as drug companies say that they would be delivering less vaccines than initially planned.In January, Pfize...

Pardoned murder middleman Melvin Theuma's testimony in the compilation of evidence against the three men accused of murdering Daphne Caruana Galizia had to be postponed after legal wrangling over his recordings.Lawyer William Cuschieri, appearing for...

Anti-terrorism police have arrested five men in connection with the alleged abduction of a Syrian national.The five men – four Syrians and one Libyan – were arrested in Safi and Zurrieq. The police had been investigating the alleged abduc...

Italian Premier Giuseppe Conte intends to offer his resignation on Tuesday, his office said Monday, a move seen as gamble that the embattled leader will get a fresh mandate from the president to try to forge a more viable coalition.Conte survived two...

A public inquiry into Miriam Pace’s death will not be appointed, despite calls from her family otherwise, Prime Minister Robert Abela confirmed on Monday.Answering questions from journalists on Monday, Abela said that appointing a public inquir...

The tourism sector’s success in the coming ten years is not solely based on recovery from the pandemic, but also on increasing the quality of the islands’ tourism product and services,  Tourism Minister Clayton Bartolo said during th...

203 new cases of Covid-19 were reported on Monday while two more people positive for the virus have died, health authorities said in their latest update.175 people meanwhile have recovered from the virus.This means that the number of active cases cur...

Transport Malta has plans to reinforce signage and add on to the already present metal barricades at the Ċirkewwa quay, Transport Minister Ian Borg said. Ċirkewwa quay has become well-known for being a hotspot where parked cars get was...

There are 88 pending trials, Justice Minister Edward Zammit Lewis told Parliament on Monday. He was answering a Parliamentary Question by Nationalist MP Jason Azzopardi. Replying to other questions on the subject, the Justice Minister said there are ...

19 police officers were caught breaking the law between 2017 and today, Home Affairs Minister Byron Camilleri said in Parliament on Monday.Camilleri was answering a parliamentary question with regards to the matter.PN MP Ivan Bartolo asked Camilleri ...

The report drawn up by a panel of experts on the construction industry has confirmed the belief held by Miriam Pace’s family that a public inquiry should be launched.The report was tabled in Parliament last week by Prime Minister Robert Abela. ...

The Environment and Resources Authority will not object to the widening of a road in Gharb that would lead to a recently approved fireworks factory located Outside the Development Zone, due to safety considerations.The application is for the sanction...

The airline FlyDubai has added Malta to its European network of routes as of May 2021, with connections between Malta and Dubai kicking off on 12 May.The airline announced that flights to Malta International Airport will commence on 12 May with a fou...

The European Union is pressuring the pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca to deliver more coronavirus vaccine doses to its 27 nations and to stick to its initial promises once the jab gets EU approval, especially since the bloc has already invested in ...

Frank Lampard was fired by Chelsea on Monday halfway through his second season in charge after being unable to replicate his success as the club's record scorer in his first Premier League managerial job.Chelsea has lost five of its last eight Premie...

The Floriana Local Council has lashed out at comments by Kristina Chetcuti in a Times of Malta opinion piece, saying it “categorically” condemns “any comment and tone that is intended to ridicule the locality and its people.”C...

A public consultation has been concluded highlighting certain aspects which help to determine what laws need to improve when it comes to adoption, especially from the children’s point of view, Ministry for Social Justice and Solidarity, th...

All complaints received by Mount Carmel Hospital (MCH) are taken seriously, CEO Stephanie Xuereb told The Malta Independent.Earlier this month, a former MCH patient shared the story of her stay at the facility with the media, outlining the structural...

Britain is expanding a coronavirus vaccination program that has seen more than 6 million people get the first of two doses — even as the country’s death toll in the pandemic approaches 100,000.Health Secretary Matt Hancock said Sunday tha...

A warden’s car in Qormi was set on fire last night, the GWU said.It informed people of the case through with a Facebook post.The GWU expressed solidarity with him and his family. Posted by GWU - Disciplined Forces, Security & Law Enforcemen...

A 45-year-old woman was arrested after allegedly robbing three elderly people along with her 13-year-old son, police said on Monday.Police said that they were called to a residence in Triq Sir Luigi Preziosi in St. Paul’s Bay at around 12:00 on...

President Trump's relationship with the EU was not a good one. After Biden's inauguration, how do you think the diplomatic relationship between the US and the EU will develop? George Vital Zammit (GVZ): With the Biden Presidency I see a reset bu...

A man will be taken to court on Monday in connection with a number of robberies, police said in a statement.Following days of investigations in connection with an alleged robbery, the Valletta district police together with the Valletta community poli...

Chinese state media have played up questions about Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine and whether it could be lethal to the very old. A government spokesperson suggests the coronavirus could have emerged from a U.S. military lab.As the ruling Communist Party ...

A teenager who was reported missing on Christmas Day has been found safe and sound, the police said Monday.Luana Borg, 15, had been reported missing, with the police saying that she wears a burka so as not to be recognised.Borg had been reported miss...

A man was seriously injured after falling off a bastion in Valletta, the police said.The accident took place at 3.45am on Monday.The police said that the man, aged 25 from Switzerland, had fallen off the bastion in St Sebastian Street.He was taken to...

A 16% decrease in criminality was recorded in Malta in 2020 when compared to 2019, Home Affairs Minister Byron Camilleri announced on Saturday.This is certainly good news. While the Covid-19 pandemic must have played a part in this, given the restric...

Fifty three per cent of companies in Malta made use of cloud computing in 2020, Eurostat statistics show.This statistic is far higher than 2016, where only 35% of companies in Malta made use of such services.Enterprises can access computing resources...

Secretly recorded conversations between Melvin Theuma and a Dutchman, in which the pardoned middleman made statements that “contradict” some of the evidence he gave in court are being sought by both Yorgen Fenech’s lawyers and the p...

116 new cases of Covid-19 were registered on Sunday, as the number of active cases decreased slightly, down to 2,606.This decrease was due to 155 people recovering.One more death was registered, bringing the total up to 251. The latest victim was an ...

After the end of March, the government is planning to implement measures which encourage economic growth and operational improvement, rather than being limited to cost minimisation for businesses, Economy Minister Silvio Schembri told this newspaper ...

Co-options have always been a part of our electoral system. Parties co-opt MPs when they are replacing others who resign after the latter were elected via casual elections. Or else when casual elections organised by the Electoral Commission are shunn...

Covid-19 has taken its toll on Carnival companies this year, but plans are already underway for 2022 and it is expected to be one of the best yet, Festival Malta Carnival Artistic Director Jason Busuttil told this newsroom.For the first time since WW...

The Santa Lucija underpass has been inaugurated after an investment of €20 million, a statement by the Office of the Prime Minister read.The project was partially financed by European Funds.Prime Minister Robert Abela, along with Minister for Tr...

A 90th minute goal scored by striker Luke Montebello gave Birkirkara another victory this time over Mosta in a well balanced match.Mosta were the better team in the first half but Birkirkara came back strongly in the second half and snatched the winn...

Prime Minister Robert Abela said that next week, the government will unveil the details regarding the €1 million in support it will provide to bars and clubs that were closed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.At the end of December, the government sa...

A scream from Andy Robertson was a forlorn attempt to distract Mason Greenwood beginning Manchester United's comeback. The defender won't be the only one shrieking at Liverpool after going out of the FA Cup.Not that everything went wrong for Liverpoo...

Most of us go to Valletta quite regularly, and we all like to think that we know our capital city quite well. But how true is that? Many would be able to recognise most buildings and know what role they play today, but once you start to dig deeper, t...

The number of new Covid-19 cases registered this past week again supersedes the number of patients who have recovered, but the two statistics are now getting closer, statistician Vincent Marmara said.In his weekly vlog for The Malta Independent on Su...

Weston McKennie scored to help Juventus beat Bologna 2-0 in Serie A on Sunday and bounce back from its demoralizing loss to title rival Inter Milan.The American headed in Juve’s second goal, in the 71st minute, after Arthur had given the Bianco...

The Nationalist Party is conducting a socio-economic study in Gozo, Opposition Leader Bernard Grech said on Sunday.In a political address in Nadur, Gozo on Sunday morning, Grech said that he wants to see progress in Malta's sister island."I want a ne...

A 37 year old man and a 24 year old man were arrested yesterday night after the Rapid Intervention Unit found them in possession of drugs.The police saw two people acting suspiciously at Ġnien Spencer, Marsa at around 7pm. As one of the policeme...

A 25-year-old Hungarian man was injured in a motorcycle accident at 10.30am this morning.He was taken to Mater Dei Hospital. The police believe that the man lost control on the Coast Road. The man is grievously injured and investigations are ongoing.

Ian Borg’s slip of the tongue may not have constituted a breach of ethics, according to Standards Czar George Hyzler but, according to us, the incident served to highlight the ongoing culture of double standards in this country.We say this beca...

A year ago, a notice sent to smartphones in Wuhan at 2 a.m. announced the world's first coronavirus lockdown, bringing the bustling central Chinese industrial and transport center to a virtual standstill almost overnight. It would last 76 days.Early ...

Norway says its capital, Oslo, and nine municipalities have been placed under strict restrictions to contain the spread of the new variant of the coronavirus first detected in Britain.The Norwegian government said shopping centers and other non-essen...

A man was grievously injured in a fight in St Paul’s Bay on Saturday night, the police said.The police were informed that a person was lying injured on the street at 11.30pm.Officers turned up in Xtut Street but the victim was not there.The pol...

Aaron Ciantar was born on the 3rd March, 1980 and he hails from Marsa.  ‘Back to the Eighties’, he recalls when speaking about his early days on this planet.  “When I was still very young my father had a farm and also some...

When Joe Biden took the oath of office as the 46th president, he became not only the oldest newly inaugurated U.S. chief executive in history but also the oldest sitting president ever.Biden was born Nov. 20, 1942, in Scranton, Pennsylvania. He was 7...

There were 119 new Covid-19 cases reported today, but 211 patients have recovered, the health authorities said.Two more deaths were reported, bringing the total to 250. The last two victims are an 89-year-old woman and a 77-year-old man, who died at ...

For the fourth consecutive year, Malta has seen a decrease in reports of criminal offences. Criminality in Malta decreased by 16% in 2020 when compared to the previous year, Home Affairs Minister Byron Camilleri announced on Saturday.Minister Camille...

Valletta: Royal Pharmacy, 271, Republic Street; Marsa: Trinity Pharmacy, 32 Marsa Road; Qormi: Evans Pharmacy, 96/98, St Sebastian Street; Birkirkara: Marrit Pharmacy, 1st of May Street, Fleur-de-Lys; Gżira: St Matthew's Pharmacy, Promenade Stre...

Health chief Charmaine Gauci was vaccinated against Covid-19 this morning.The government started a vaccination campaign on 27 December, with frontliners among the first to get the first and, later, the second dose.It is understood that although she w...

Operators found in breach of construction regulations can face a fine of up to half a million euro, according to a draft Bill that is currently being debated in Parliament. Speaking in the House on Wednesday, Prime Minister Robert Abela pledged en en...

Labour MEP Alex Agius Saliba announced that if employers took action against employees who exercise their right to disconnect, it will not be the employee who will have to justify any actions taken, but it will be in the hands of the employer.On Thur...

Larry King, the suspenders-sporting everyman whose broadcast interviews with world leaders, movie stars and ordinary Joes helped define American conversation for a half-century, died Saturday. He was 87.King died at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los...

The police said that it has received 1,416 reports of alleged domestic violence cases between March 2020 and December 2020.The numbers provided by the police to The Malta Independent show a rise in the number of reports since the Covid-19 pandemic st...

Hibernians and Floriana figured out a 1-1 draw with the Paolites missing the chance to take sole leadership. It was a balanced affair with Hiberians dominating the first half with the Greens responding well in the second half. This result neither ple...

Last season’s FA Cup winner Arsenal was eliminated from the competition in the fourth round on Saturday thanks to Gabriel’s own-goal in a 1-0 loss to Southampton, while Manchester City survived a scare to beat fourth-tier Cheltenham 3-1.I...

After a week marked by the highly anticipated arrivals of former Juventus forward Mario Mand?ukić and Chelsea defender Fikayo Tomori, AC Milan was expected to celebrate winning Serie A's halfway title in style.Instead, the Rossoneri were handed ...

There is some evidence that a new coronavirus variant first identified in southeast England carries a higher risk of death .than the original strain, the British government’s chief scientific adviser said Friday -- though he stressed that the d...

A teenager was grievously hurt this morning after falling off a ladder on a construction site, thepolice said.The accident took place at Hal-Farrug at 9am.The teenager, a 17-year-old Syrian man, was taken to hospital with grievous injuries.

Patients at Karin Grech Hospital who are aged 85 years or older, and others over 60 who are long-term patients are receiving the first dose of the Covid-19 vaccination, the government said today.This excludes patients who are positive to the virus or...

WasteServ will be opening four Reuse Centres to enhance its Civic Amenity Site experience and to further widen the concept of a circular economy.These centres, which are expected to be opened by the end of the year, will offer used and ‘pre-lov...

Malta Enterprise invites businesses and self-employed operating from Malta to take a Brexit Impact Check through the newly launched Brexit website: brexit.maltaenterprise.com.The website aims to serve as repository of information for businesses ...

NGOs and individuals contesting the Ahrax and Mizieb deal signed between the Lands Authority and FKNK, intend to appeal a ruling of the Tribunal for Administrative Review, as they were denied legal standing in the case being heard before the Tribunal...