The Malta Association of Public Health Medicine today called for an immediate increase in restrictive measures to curb the current high rate of new COVID-19 infections. Over the past week we have seen the highest number of new infections yet, MAPHM s...

The variant of the coronavirus discovered in Britain is prevalent among Italy's infected schoolchildren and is helping to fuel a “robust” uptick in the curve of COVID-19 contagion in the country, the health minister said Tuesday.Roberto S...

Mario Cutajar categorically denied allegations levelled against him by PN MP Jason Azzopardi in Parliament on Monday.In a statement issued through the Department of Information, the head of the civil service said that while it is not his role to wade...

Nationalist MP Jason Azzopardi claimed on Tuesday that a top-level public officer was forced to hand in his resignation after being arrested on “made-up criminal allegations”.Speaking in Parliament on Tuesday, Azzopardi called for the res...

Manoel Island is a critical part of Malta's history, and remains a much-loved part of the local landscape and culture.Preserving this unique heritage is at the heart of the revised MIDI Masterplan to restore and develop Manoel Island, the consortium ...

The Nationalist Party parliamentary group today denied that a PN MP tried to jump the vaccination queue, as alleged by Health Minister Chris Fearne.On Tuesday, Fearne said that a PN MP had asked to be pushed up the Covid-19 vaccination queue.In a sta...

Flimkien għal Ambjent Aħjar (FAA) has submitted its objection to an application that proposes the construction of 31 apartments close by to the Ggantija temples.The application proposes the demolition of a dwalling and the construction of t...

These past 12 months have taught us to be very careful with making predictions about how the Covid-19 pandemic will develop.Many countries, including Malta, have made many mistakes in the way they tackled the onset of the disease, often taking hasty ...

A record 336 cases of Covid-19 were recorded Tuesday, taking the number of active cases to a new high of 2,931, health authorities said.It is the first time that the number of cases has surpassed 300. The previous record was 263 on 28 February.It is ...

Addressing Parliament this evening, Deputy Prime Minister Chris Fearne spoke about the recent spike in Covid-19 cases and highlighted that the recent spike could be due to the Covid-19 variants present on the island.Fearne said that the record amount...

The government has rejected a shift to exclusive online teaching as opposed to teaching in-person, the Malta Union of Teachers (MUT) said.Speaking to The Malta Independent, MUT president Marco Bonnici said that the MUT is closely monitoring the rise ...

A 39-year-old Italian was arrested by the police in St Paul's Bay through a European Arrest Warrant, the police said.The man is wanted by the Italian police for organised crime and drug trafficking.Over the past days, the Central Intelligence and Ana...

The efforts of the health sector and the education sector to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic have been crushed by the Labour Party’s poor governance, the Nationalist Party said today.Spokesperson for Health Stephen Spiteri and Spokesperson for ...

If the daily cases continue to rise as they are right now, the daily cases will go into "the high hundreds", the Medical Association of Malta (MAM) president, Martin Balzan, warned. Speaking to The Malta Independent, Balzan said that the public ...

The husband of the late Miriam Pace said that his life will never be normal again, as he feels like a body without a soul, Carmel Pace said in a Facebook post.Miriam Pace, a 54 year old mother of two, was found dead under the rubble of her own house ...

The Government has to consider stricter enforcement and the introduction of new measures, MUMN president Paul Pace told The Malta Independent.This comes after Malta registered its highest number of daily new cases since the start of the pandemic, wit...

Measures to ensure that the pension of people currently entering retirement are not affected by the Covid-19 pandemic were announced on Tuesday.Social Justice Minister Michael Falzon and Finance Minister Clyde Caruana launched a new measure which eff...

Gżira United made it to the quarter finals of the FA Trophy defeating Tarxien Rainbows by a 4-2 scoreline. The Maroons turned the tables in their favour after going two goals down, drawing till full time and dominating in extra time.But the matc...

 A 15-point lead, 21 victories in a row, a club record-tying 28 games unbeaten.The extraordinary numbers are stacking up for Manchester City as Pep Guardiola’s winning machine powers to the Premier League title and — whisper it &mdas...

Álvaro Morata made a scoring return to set Juventus on its way to a 3-0 win over Spezia on Tuesday and boost its faltering title defense.Fellow substitute Federico Bernardeschi set up Morata moments after they had both come off the bench. Bern...

A senior World Health Organization official said Monday it was “premature” and “unrealistic” to think the pandemic might be stopped by the end of the year, but that the recent arrival of effective vaccines could at least help ...

A new health centre was inaugurated in Gudja today by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Health Chris Fearne and Parliamentary Secretary for Communities Alex Muscat.The press were not invited to this event.This centre will open daily from Monday t...

Former economy minister Chris Cardona was questioned by police after recent allegations that he was linked to the murders of Daphne Caruana Galizia and lawyer Carmel Chircop, Times of Malta reports.Cardona confirmed with the newspaper that he was tak...

Nationalist MP Jason Azzopardi has branded former economy minister Chris Cardona a “liar” after the latter said he was not cautioned when interrogated by the police on Saturday.Cardona confirmed he was taken in for questioning over his al...

A magisterial inquiry into allegations of money laundering and graft by former OPM chief of staff Keith Schembri and ex-Allied Newspapers managing director Adrian Hillman has been concluded. The inquiry, led by Magistrate Josette Demicoli, was p...

The court will be delivering a decree on the testimony of Vince Muscat, known as il-Koħħu, in the case against the Degiorgio brothers.The compilation of evidence against George Degiorgio and Alfred Degiorgio accused of planting and tri...

A 55-year-old Indian man was grievously injured on Monday after he lost control of his scooter and crashed in Gzira.The accident took place at around 10:15am in Rue D’Argens, the police said.The man, who lives in Swieqi, was riding a Peugeot Tw...

An application on a site overlooking the Ġgantija temples in Xaghra, Gozo, proposes the construction of an apartment complex on five levels.The site is located on Triq il-Parsott, Xaghra. It forms part of the Area of Archaeological importance, a...

Kino Lorber has acquired North American rights to Alex Camilleri’s feature debut, “Luzzu,” which world-premiered at Sundance where it won the Special Jury Award for its lead actor, Jesmark Scicluna, Variety reports.Penned, directed ...

A man and a woman were grievously injured in separate accidents in Qormi and Zabbar on Monday afternoon, the police said.In the first accident, at 4.30pm in Mdina Road, Qormi, a Toyota Vitz driven by a 37-year-old woman of Zebbug Gozo and a Kia Rio d...

Today marks one year since the tragic death of Miriam Pace.A wife, a mother, a daughter, she was an innocent, inside her home as her life was stolen away. We all like to think of our homes as a safe space, but that day changed so much for so many.54-...

The European Court of Auditors (ECA), in an opinion publoished today, raises some concerns over the recent proposal for a Brexit Adjustment Reserve (BAR).This €5 billion fund is a solidarity tool which is intended to support those Member States,...

The alleged organiser of an illegal rave held on Friday night will be charged by police and by commercial authorities over the party, a police spokesperson told The Malta Independent on Monday afternoon.This newsroom reported on Monday morning o...

Deputy Prime Minister Chris Fearne said in court today that Steward Healthcare was holding parallel talks with Konrad Mizzi as well as with the Office of the Prime Minister without his knowledge, while he was also holding negotiations with them. ...

2021 is shaping up to be a busy year for the Malta Gaming Authority. Online gambling is growing rapidly throughout Europe and a significant percentage of the newcomers will acquire their licenses in Malta.The MGA is arguably the most respected iGamin...

Civil society NGOs Repubblika and Occupy Justice held a protest in front of Parliament on Monday, saying they want to “cut off the tentacles that have taken hold of our institutions.”The protest was held after reports about the alleged in...

Vince Muscat will be testifying against Daphne murder suspects George and Alfred Degiorgio, a court heard today.Muscat had been charged over the murder together with the Degiorgios, but he was sentenced to 15 years last week in a plea-bargaining agre...

175 new cases of Covid-19 were reported on Monday as one more person died while positive for the virus.Authorities said that an 89-year-old woman passed away during the last 24 hours at St. Thomas Hospital. 316 people have now died in Malta while pos...

Standards Czar George Hyzler went beyond his legal remit when he investigated a complaint about the 2019 journalist lock-up at Castille, two government MPs have claimed.During a meeting of Parliament’s standards committee, ministers Byron Camil...

An illegal rave party which was in clear breach of the country’s mass event and social distancing rules took place at the White Rocks complex in Pembroke, The Malta Independent can confirm.Two videos were shared to the social media platform Ins...

The European Commission has taken legal action to minimise the finch trapping derogation in Malta, environmental NGO BirdLife said in a statement released this afternoon.The European Commission claimed that Malta has “no justification” fo...

The newest patrol boat of the Armed Forces of Malta (AFM) has taken to the water for the first time as works on it continue.The €48.5 million ship, co-financed by the EU as part of the Internal Security Fund, will be used for surveillance operat...

Ġorġ Agius, better known as Ġorġ tal-Mużew, has died aged 94.Agius, a member of the Maltese Society for Christian Doctrine (M.U.E.U.M), has for the past 67 years spent days in hospital visiting patients, particularly those wh...

A Paris court on Monday found French former President Nicolas Sarkozy guilty of corruption and influence peddling and sentenced him to one year in prison and a two-year suspended sentence.The 66-year-old politician, who was president from 2007 to 201...

Prime Minister Robert Abela said Monday that he will not remain passive before people’s suffering, hence why the waiting time for divorce will be slashed and, in some cases removed.He was speaking in Parliament in the debate on a Bill that will...

The PN agrees that divorce waiting times should be shortened, but the Bill presented by the government leads to discrimination and the possibility of abuse, Opposition Leader Bernard Grech said Monday.He was speaking in Parliament in the debate on a ...

The Planning Authortity has validated an application for a 113-room hotel in the Townsquare project in Sliema. The hotel is planned for a building which was previously earmarked as office space adjacent to the already approved main tower.  ...

The implementation of a new system for the issuance of masons’ licenses is in full swing, Planning Minister Aaron Farrugia and Construction Parliamentary Secretary Chris Agius said on Monday.They were speaking during a visit to a construction s...

The Nationalist Party is hoping that the rent reform announced by the government last Saturday is not an exercise to gain votes.Spokesperson for Social and Affordable Accommodation Ivan Bartolo and candidate for the First District Darren Carabott sai...

An elderly woman dies Monday morning after she was hit by a car in Qrendi, the police said.The accident took place in Tempesta Street at around 8am.The woman, aged 81 of Qrendi, was hit by a Volkswagen driven by a 30-year-old woman of Mqabba.Police s...

NGO Din L-Art Helwa (DLH) has raised concerns that proposed works at Gnejna Bay could encourage part of the area to continue being "illegally used for vehicular parking."A planning application has proposed coastal protection works, the construction o...

Health officials in Britain have identified six cases of a highly contagious coronavirus strain first identified in the Brazilian city of Manaus -- including one in a person who has not been traced.Scientists say the variant is more transmissible and...

Two teenagers were injured on Sunday evening after a car overturned in Rabat, the police said.The accident took place in Buqana Street just before midnight.The driver, a 19-year-old man of St Paul’s Bay, lost control of the Suzuki Samurai he wa...

Germany announced Sunday that travelers from France’s northeastern Moselle region will face additional restrictions because of the high rate of variant coronavirus cases there.Germany's disease control agency, the Robert Koch Institute, said it...

Provisional estimates indicate that the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for 2020 amounted to €12,823.8 million, registering a decrease of €768.4 million, or 5.7%, when compared to 2019.Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is an estimate of the value o...

There were a couple of major developments regarding Covid-19 over the past week, one which is quite worrying and the other which raises hope.The latter refers to the announcement that protocols and directives for relatives of people who are in elderl...

Prince Harry says the process of separating from royal life has been very difficult for him and his wife, Meghan.In an interview with Oprah Winfrey, Harry invoked the memory of his late mother, Princess Diana, who had to find her way alone after she ...

The current debate over whether betting companies – ranging from the established to the obscure – should be allowed to be kit sponsors on the shirts of English football teams has a Maltese connection to it, The Malta Independent on Sunday...

A record 263 new Covid-19 cases were registered on Sunday, the highest ever number of single day cases.In their daily update, the health authorities said that two more people died while positive for the virus on Sunday. Both were men, aged 76 and 57,...

The developers behind plans to build 71 apartments over pristine agricultural land in Nadur do not own part of the site that they are planning to build on, three objectors to the project have claimed.In representations filed with the Planning Authori...

The fact that the PL has taken energy proposals from the PN shows that the PN “is setting the agenda for the country”, PN MP Ryan Callus said on this week’s edition of Indepth.  The PN’s spokesman on energy was inter...

Currently, a voluntary registry is run by the Malta Developers’ Association, however Agius explained that a mandatory registry will be introduced. Both this mandatory registry as well as the licensing of contractors will be handled by the Build...

A fire had broken out at the former ITS site in Pembroke, the police confirmed with The Malta Independent.The police were informed about the situation at 7.10pm. CPD officials and police officers went on site and the fire was brought under control.No...

It is too early to say whether Malta could lose out on UK tourism if the country still has high Covid-19 numbers when Britain eases restrictions in June, MHRA President Tony Zahra told The Malta Independent on Sunday. This newsroom spoke with Zahra a...

Prime Minister Robert Abela described Rosianne Cutajar's decision to resign from her post as a Parliamentary Secretary pending the outcome of an investigation by the Standards Commissioner as a "mature" one.Cutajar has been under fire ever since it e...

Prime Minister Robert Abela is trying to wash his hands of the previous government, but he himself was an integral part of it, Opposition and PN leader Bernard Grech said in a political meeting in Haz-Zabbar."This was a particular week, where we were...

Malta’s reproduction number has climbed to 1.21 after a record week of Covid-19 cases, statistician Vincent Marmara said in his weekly exclusive video blog with The Malta Independent on Sunday.The reproduction factor of the virus is one of the ...

Prime Minister Robert Abela held not one, but two press conferences over the past week to tell us that the justice system and rule of law work just fine in Malta.He said this after one of the three men who had been accused of executing the murder of ...

A man has been charged with uttering threats and causing a disturbance after barging onto the grounds of Cyprus’ public broadcaster to protest what he said was the country’s “blasphemous” entry into this year’s Eurovisio...

Government's proposal to carry out a root and branch reform of the remaining pre-1995 tenancies is "a responsible and courageous political move," ADPD said in a statement."This government is shouldering the shortcomings of all its predecessors, which...

The Malta Chamber of Commerce has welcomed the Government's announced reform which is set to absorb up to €10,000 in rent for the pre-1995 residential rental agreements.On Saturday, Prime Minister Robert Abela announced reforms to the laws gover...

One of the most intriguing buildings in Valletta is surely that now housing the Ministry for Health, located on Merchants Street. This palace, formerly the seat of the Magna Curia Castellania - which presided over the civil and criminal courts during...

Two men were grievously injured in separate accidents in Mriehel and St Paul’s Bay, the police said.In the first accident (photo), on Saturday at 6.30pm, a Frenchman was hit by a car in St Paul’ Street, St Paul#s Bay.The 27-year-old was h...

The police are mulling taking action against Nexia BT, MaltaToday reports.The newspaper says that the former Managing Partner of the company, Brian Tonna, will post police bail on Monday and that charges over the financial operations of the audit fir...

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Another 237 Covid-19 cases were registered on Saturday, taking the total number of active cases to 2,651.The health authorities said that no new deaths were reported, so the total number of victims remains 313.In all, there have been 22,219 cases rec...

The President of the Republic George Vella has pledged to continue the process of achieving national unity, saying that one must start with small steps but with a determination to get to achieving one’s aims.President Vella was speaking at the ...

As part of a major reform centred on pre-1995 rents, Prime Minister Robert Abela announced that landlords of properties bound under pre-1995 rents will be able to claim up to 2% of the property’s market value in rent. This reform means that pro...

Half a million euro are being invested in the Family Park in Marsaskala. The work, which will be carried out through Parks Malta, was announced by Minister for Energy, Enterprise and Sustainable Development Miriam Dalli.The minister paid a visit to t...

Valletta: Chemimart Pharmacy, 20/21, Republic Street; Ħamrun: Brown's Pharmacy, 706, St Joseph High Road; Qormi: Anici Pharmacy, Anici Street; Birkirkara: Pharmaplus, Ganu Street; Ta' Xbiex: Remedies Chemists, Marina Court, 49A, Abate Rigord Str...

The Malta Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise and Industry highlighted the need for greater discipline and enforcement to curb this latest trend in virus spikes without having to resort to lockdowns as other countries have been forced to do.In recent wee...

The reforms to pre-1995 rents announced by the government on Saturday are too little and too late to put tenants’ minds at rest and respect owners’ rights, the Nationalist Party said on Saturday.In a statement reacting to the new reforms,...

Protocols and directives for relatives of people who are in elderly homes will be released by 4 March since all elderly care homes would have received the recommended 90% vaccination, Minister for Senior Citizens and Active Ageing Michael Farrug...

Hamrun Spartans gave an impeccable display yesterday against title challengers Gzira United to stay strong at the top of the standings, and oust the Maroons from the title race.Trailing Hamrun by seven points, Darren Abdilla’s side is now out o...

Manchester City keeps on winning in its surge to the title. Brighton keeps on finding creative ways to lose in its plunge toward the relegation zone.The English Premier League followed a familiar script on Saturday, complete with its latest episode o...

Injury-hit Juventus was held at Hellas Verona to 1-1 as its hopes of a record-extending 10th successive Serie A title took a blow on Saturday.Cristiano Ronaldo broke the deadlock early in the second half but Antonín Barák leveled for Ve...

18-year-old Francesca Curmi has become the first Maltese player to reach a final of a Futures event after beating Slovakian player Victoria Morvayova in Tunisia.Curmi will now face Pole Weronika Falkowska in the final of the ITF tournament in Monasti...

A Brazilian footballer has been handed a suspended sentence after admitted to using a face Covid-19 test result to leave Malta.The footballer - Carlos Vilmar Da Silva Rodrigues - appeared before Magistrate Gabriella Vella on Saturday morning, accused...

Moviment Graffitti said today that the setting up of a Building and Construction Authority (BCA) is a “positive initiative”, but that the Bill fails to address certain key concerns faced by residents around Malta.The proposed Bill “...

Magistrate Marse-Ann Farrugia has recused herself from hearing the compilation of evidence against the tal-Maksar brothers Adrian and Robert Agius, Jamie Vella and George Degiorgio, on the grounds that she had also been presiding the inquiries relati...

Zurrieq FC and Birzebbuga St. Peters FC have blasted commentator Josef Galdes for suggesting that a player involved in a match between the two clubs had fixed the game after a close range miss.Galdes – a football commentator and journalist who ...

Rosianne Cutajar has finally done the honourable thing and resigned.The parliamentary secretary for reforms had been under pressure for weeks, after it had been reported that she had allegedly pocketed thousands of euros from a failed property deal i...

Five people have pleaded not guilty to charges relating to a horrific sightseeing tour bus accident which saw two passengers die after the bus’s top deck struck a tree branch.Bus driver Charles D’Amato and company directors Kim Degabriele...

Lady Gaga's two French bulldogs, which were stolen by thieves who shot and wounded the dog walker, were recovered unharmed Friday, Los Angeles police said.A woman brought the dogs to the LAPD's Olympic Community Police Station, just northwe...

1. How does the Johnson & Johnson vaccine work?The Johnson & Johnson vaccine is what’s called a viral vector vaccine.To create this vaccine, the Johnson & Johnson team took a harmless adenovirus – the viral vect...

1. Does vaccination completely prevent infection?The short answer is no. You can still get infected after you’ve been vaccinated. But your chances of getting seriously ill are almost zero.Many people think vaccines work like a shield, blocking ...

A record 258 new Covid-19 cases were registered on Friday, making it the highest number of daily new cases registered on the island.The daily statistics issued by the health authorities show that 182 people recovered from Covid-19, meaning that there...

Former Labour Minister Chris Cardona has been named by Vince Muscat known as il-Kohhu as being implicated in an aborted attempt to kill Daphne Caruana Galizia in 2015.The plot, according to Times of Malta, had fallen through. Cardona has described th...

A group of migrant families, mainly women and children, have been relocated to Germany in line with the commitment of other EU member states to relocate migrants from Malta, the government announced.The number of migrants relocated was not given.The ...

Around 2/3rds of social housing applicants are single parents, a study has found.For the first time, Malta has a clear picture of social housing applicants, thanks to a study entitled 'Profiling social housing applicants - Individuals applying for an...