Schools, gyms, and non-essential shops - amongst others - will close down while travel to Gozo is also being restricted, the government has announced.In a press conference on the day that Malta reported a record-setting 510 cases of the virus, t...

Government discussions are underway to include Cystic Fibrosis medication in the government formulary list, Health authorities have said.The Government Formulary List Advisory Committee (GFLAC) is discussing the issue in light of Malta’s lack o...

The compilation of evidence against George and Alfred Degiorgio accused of planting and triggering the bomb killed journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia continues this morning. Vincent Muscat, known as il-Koħħu, is expected to testify. George D...

Opposition Leader Bernard Grech has called on Prime Minister Robert Abela to shoulder responsibility for “his irresponsible declarations and bad decisions which led the country back to square one.”He once again called for an immediate nat...

The Council of Europe's anti-torture committee has found a number of serious problems with Malta’s migrant detention practices.In a report published on Wednesday based on a rapid reaction ad hoc visit to Malta in September 2020, the Council of ...

The Medical Association of Malta has welcomed the measures announced by the government on Wednesday, which include the closure of schools and non-essential shops.The measures were announced by Prime Minister Robert Abela amid record numbers of daily ...

Social media was buzzing these last few days over a controversy that seems to have arisen due to the fact that an individual was fined by law enforcement officials for not wearing a face mask during a picnic in a public place. As the Law stood on tha...

Doctors will now have to choose between who will live and who will die, MUMN President Paul Pace told The Malta Independent in reaction to the amount of Covid-19 cases found on Wednesday. Contacted by this newsroom, Pace’s comments were st...

Parliament will be the discussing the current situation of the Covid-19 pandemic on Thursday morning, Speaker Anglu Farrugia has ruled.Earlier, Opposition Leader Bernard Grech presented a motion requesting an urgent debate on the current Covid-19 sit...

The Malta Union of Teachers has welcomed the decision by the government to close all education institutions from Monday.The government announced this evening that schools will close down on Friday and will remain shut until after the Easter holidays....

The Chamber of Commerce has described the measures announced by the government on Wednesday night as necessary but as ones which will take a toll on Malta’s “already suffering business community.” “The Malta Chamber, as i...

A Filipino man was grievously injured in a traffic accident in Naxxar on Monday afternoon.The accident took place at around 4pm in Triq ir-Ramla.The crash involved a Toyota Dyna driven by the Filipino, 39, and a Renault Master driven by a 37-year-old...

All football competitions are being suspended as from Thursday until 11 April, the Malta Football Association said.The MFA said it is keeping regular contact with the Ministry responsible for sport as it continues to monitor the situation very closel...

This entire handling of the Covid pandemic needs to be depoliticised and handled by the experts. Let’s remove all propaganda and responsibly agree on the best way forward. Surely the Prime Minister can even take the Leader of the Opposition in ...

510 cases of Covid-19 were reported by authorities on Wednesday, smashing the country’s daily record of cases.The numbers are a significant increase over the previous record – which was 362 cases found last week.Two more people have also ...

The Medical Association of Malta (MAM) President, Martin Balzan has strongly appealed that the public should be responsible enough to take the situation in their own hands and stay at home, rather than wait for the government or health authorities to...

Neither the police, nor the magistrate leading the inquiry into the allegations surrounding Adrian Delia's alleged money laundering in Soho had sent for Delia, the politician told the public inquiry into the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia on Wednes...

Opposition Leader Bernard Grech has denied an allegation by Labour Whip Glenn Bedingfield that he had violated mandatory Covid-19 quarantine. This statement comes following Bedingfield’s allegation that PN Leader Grech broke mandatory quar...

PN leader Bernard Grech has called for an immediate national public health emergency to be declared as Covid-19 cases continue to rise to record numbers.In a short video statement on Wednesday afternoon – an hour or so after Malta recorded a re...

A long and crowded queue waiting to get vaccinated against Covid-19 was seen at the University of Malta despite social distancing measures. The University of Malta is one of the many vaccination hubs on the island where people can go to receive ...

The Malta Association of Public Health Medicine (MAPHM) has called on the health authorities and government to take “swift and evidence-based actions” immediately. This comes following the record-breaking 510 positive cases which wer...

UPDATE: The Prime Minister will be addressing a press conference at 6pm.Despite rumours spreading on social media about an impending press conference by the Prime Minister, there is so far no official confirmation that Robert Abela will be addressing...

Jamie Vella and Robert Agius had offered to buy Vince Muscat’s silence by paying the convicted murderer’s wife and daughter €1,500 per month.The offer was turned down and Muscat went on to reach a plea bargain agreement by admitting ...

The fifth and last available makeshift Intensive Therapy Unit has been opened and is already full, and ITU resources could run out “within hours,” the association of anaesthesiologists said.AAM also warned that Malta is “losing the ...

The Chamber of Advocates has come out with a warning over a Bill making its way through Parliament which, if passed, they say will allow the imposition of criminal sanctions without due process."The Chamber of Advocates has taken note of the amendmen...

The Malta Union of Teachers (MUT) has filed an industrial dispute against the government after today’s record-breaking 510 positive cases were recorded.In a statement, the MUT said that the UK variant is an ever-growing threat for children in s...

The government has been 'totally silent' regarding whether primary and secondary schools will be allowed to go online, the president of the Union of Professional Educators (UPE), Graham Sansone, told The Malta Independent. Teacher's unions have ...

There is no discussion or consultation taking place on the eve of the election for the University of Malta Rector and his team, the Dean of the Faculty for Social Wellbeing (FSW) Professor Andrew Azzopardi told The Malta Independent.The election is s...

No one has been untouched. Not the Michigan woman who awakened one morning, her wife dead by her side. Not the domestic worker in Mozambique, her livelihood threatened by the virus. Not the North Carolina mother who struggled to keep her busines...

Over 400 new cases of Covid-19 are expected to be registered today, this newsroom is informed.This would again break the record high number of daily cases. The current record stands at 362 on 4 March.Recently the government introduced a number of new...

Women make up half of the population, but they had to fight so many struggles in order to achieve the level of equality seen today. There is still more to be done.The Euopean Commission has put forward a very impotant proposal regarding gender pay ga...

 In February, passenger traffic through the Malta International Airport dipped to an all-time low since the airport’s reopening to commercial flights in July 2020. Totalling just 27,524 passenger movements, February traffic registered a dr...

248 new cases of Covid-19 were reported by authorities on Tuesday as the number of vaccine doses that have been administered so far has exceeded 100,000.An 88-year-old man meanwhile passed away at his private residence while Covid-positive, making hi...

Robert Agius, known as Tal-Maksar, had acquired a vehicle similar to the one used by Daphne Caruana Galizia so that her executors could train on how to defeat the car lock.The information was divulged in court this morning by Superintendent Keit...

The proposed bill by Minister for Justice, Equality and Governance Edward Zammit Lewis regarding the appointment of permanent secretaries is not enough to change the state of the country, and it will need to be amended, PN MP Joe Ellis said.Zammit Le...

With the pandemic and all, the current state of affairs is not easy to manage. True, we are at the stage where the unrolling of the vaccination programme is starting to pick up. However, there are new variants that seem to be even more contagious mak...

The government’s wage supplement support scheme will continue until the end of 2021, with the government continuing to provide monetary support to the businesses which are worst hit by the pandemic, Enterprises Minister Miriam Dalli announced o...

55% of the 23,000 people considered to be vulnerable have had the first Covid-19 vaccine dose administered, Health Minister Chris Fearne said in Parliament.The minister was responding to a Parliamentary Question posed by PN MP Claudette Buttigieg.&nb...

Speaker Anglu Farrugia ruled that there was no abuse of parliamentary privilege by Deputy Prime Minister and Health Minister Chris Fearne when he accused PN MPs of asking him to jump vaccination queue.PN MP David Thake asked for a ruling on the matte...

A 30-year-old man has been sentenced to four years in prison, as his appeal for the court to reduce his sentence in connection to a domestic violence case against his partner and daughter was denied.The court found him guilty of grievously injuring h...

Buckingham Palace issued a statement Tuesday, saying the family was "saddened" to learn of the struggles that Harry and Meghan revealed this week - and that they would be taken very seriously.The statement is the first comment by the palace following...

Teleworking and remote working will be incentivised, Minister for Finance and Employment Clyde Caruana said, but added that the government must be careful as inequalities can emerge.The Finance minister was answering a Parliamentary question posed by...

While welcoming the strong drive towards Covid-19 vaccination for school staff members which is currently underway, the Secretariat for Catholic Education and the Church Schools Association call for greater urgency and a more balanced vaccination rol...

Giovanni Curmi Higher Secondary school will move to online schooling as from Wednesday until the end of this month, the school announced on Tuesday.In a statement given by the school administration, they announced that as of 10 March the school will ...

Three Maltese athletes have placed in the top 10 in the first ever online Shotokan karate world championship.The athletes competed in the Funakoshi Gichin Online Festival, a festival which replaced the Japenese Karate Association World Championships ...

Greece on Monday mourned a 37-day-old baby, the youngest among the country's nearly 6,800 Covid-19 victims."Sadly, today we had the pandemic's youngest victim in our country, an infant that spent 17 of its 37 days fighting the coronavirus," Prime Min...

An oil rig that disrupted the view of the Grand Harbour has been towed after Transport Minister Ian Borg instructed the relevant shipyard to stop the rig’s operations. The Atwood Beacon was removed this morning from the Palumbo Shipyard and tow...

Air Malta will continue to waive rebooking fees until 31 May, 2021, the company said in a statement. The Airline will also continue to apply the reduced name change fee of just €5. “Other ticket terms and conditions, including that travel ...

Malta has the lowest share of women in the national parliament in Europe, Eurostat has said.According to the statistics, only 13% of MPs in Malta were women in 2020. Hungary also shares this figure, and is therefore tied with Malta for the lowest sha...

The total inbound visitors for January 2021 stood at around 13,806, a 90.8% decrease when compared to the corresponding month in 2020, the National Statistics Office said.This is a sharp decrease which is attributed to Covid-19.During the month under...

A Legal Notice regulating the use of face masks will be amended to allow people to take their mask off while eating and drinking, a Health Ministry spokesperson has told Lovin Malta.There was confusion over the weekend as several people were fined af...

Hamrun has been in the news quite a bit recently, and for all the wrong reasons. This is mainly because a few supporters of the local football club have been ignoring Covid regulations, shedding a bad light on the club.Over the past months we have se...

The number of Maltese women in management positions remains low, with 28% of all people employed in management positions being women in the third quarter of 2020, a Eurostat statistic showed.This is noticeably behind the EU average of 34%. The EU ave...

Prince Harry and Meghan’s explosive TV interview divided people around the world on Monday, rocking an institution that is struggling to modernize with claims of racism and callousness toward a woman struggling with suicidal thoughts.During the...

201 new cases of Covid-19 were reported by authorities on Monday as 345 people recovered from the virus.No new Covid-19 related deaths were reported during the last 24 hours, meaning that the total death count remains at 334.The number of active case...

The Union of Professional Educators (UPE) has called for schools to shift online because of the increase in Covid-19 cases and the circulation of the new UK variant, which has been seen to be more transmissible in children.“We need to go online...

The locality of Mosta will be benefiting from urban embellishment projects including the paving of roads and the creation of an outdoor gym financed by the Development Planning Fund (DPF).This was announced by Minister for the Environment, Climate Ch...

A European Commission proposal for pay transparency will mean that companies will have to publish what their gender pay gaps are, and it is only for objective reasons such as those related to productivity that they can pay men and women differently, ...

Over 700 people were fined for not wearing a face mask over the past seven days, accounting for 90% of Covid-19-related fines issued during that period.In total, 5,768 inspections were carried out by the police, the Malta Tourism Authority, the Envir...

Only a few supporters did not abide by the health directives being issued, a statement by Ħamrun Spartans Football Club read.This comes after a number of Hamrun Spartans fans breached Covid-19 laws to celebrate after winning a match against Hibe...

Prime Minister Robert Abela has defended current Malta Tourism Authority CEO Johann Buttigieg after his close links with alleged Caruana Galizia murder mastermind Yorgen Fenech were revealed.Questioned on Monday morning, a day after the Times of Malt...

The contact tracing team gets in touch with people who test positive for Covid-19 within 24 hours, Deputy Prime Minister Chris Fearne told Parliament on Monday.Fearne was replying to a Parliamentary Question by PN MP Kevin Cutajar, who asked what the...

Prime Minister Robert Abela has said he will wait his turn for the vaccine instead of getting any precedence over others.The issue was raised during parliament this evening, where Speaker of the House Anglu Farrugia made an appeal that Members of Par...

The case against two Gozitan priests who are charged with sexually abusing an altar boy will continue to be heard behind closed doors, a court ruled on Monday.Magistrate Bridgette Sultana barred the press from reporting on the alleged crimes and said...

James Caterers breached parliamentary privilege when it threatened to take legal action against the National Audit Office, Speaker Anglu Farrugia has ruled.Last week, Auditor General Charles Deguara accused the catering company of trying to intimidat...

Civil society NGO Repubblika has warned the Prime Minister that it will report his “abuse” to foreign embassies and international organisations unless he “withdraws his threats.”Repubblika said it was convinced that Robert Abe...

The Curia has announced additional Covid-19 directives for Good Friday and Easter.It said that Church organisations will not be holding any exhibitions during Holy Week and the washing of feet ceremony will not be held.Also cancelled are the traditio...

The Government is trying to impede and remove a citizen’s right to a fair hearing by amending laws which enable persons of trust to impose a fine, the PN said in a press conference. “This new law that they are trying to introduce – ...

Virtu Ferries has applied to Transport Malta for a license to operate the Malta-Gozo fast ferry route.In a statement, the company welcomed the announcement by Minister Ian Borg, and Minister Clint Camilleri, on the liberalisation of the High-Speed Pa...

Malta's current plan is to keep vaccinating and reach herd immunity in order for the country to become a viable tourism destination option, the minister responsible for the sector Clayton Bartolo told The Malta Independent.British Prime Minister Bori...

Plans to redevelop a disused explosives factory into a tourism development on land located outside the development zone in Dingli have resurfaced, The Malta Independent can reveal.The Pulvic Explosives Factory, located on Triq il-Qaws in Dingli, has ...

A Melita FC player was subjected to racist abuse after the conclusion of a key title match over the weekend, the club said in a statement on Monday. A statement issued by Luqa St. Andrew's - the other club involved in the matter - however states...

The Nationalist Party has launched a plan of action and consultation to encourage more women to pursue careers in politics.The plan of action titled ‘Political Empowerment for the Inclusive Growth of a Nation’ was launched on Women’...

The former Malta Gaming Authority CEO Heathcliff Farrugia has been charged after a trading in influence investigation regarding Yorgen Fenech, The Times of Malta reports.The newspaper said that he was charged last January, but that it was kept under ...

Loneliness is the subjective feeling that you are lacking social connections; the feelings of closeness, affection and trust from friends, close ones and a community.The past year has seen a surge in individuals experiencing loneliness. A study carri...

Hate speech cannot be tolerated under any circumstances. Some people never seem to learn that what is written on social media has consequences.It is not ok to promote violence against people just because you do not agree with something.Maltese societ...

It has been just over one year since Malta had its first case of Covid-19 and the world as we knew it ground to a halt in 2020. This situation has had a drastic impact on everyone's lives, including those working within the performing arts sector. Th...

Two were seriously injured in a traffic accident which happened in Zejtun on Sunday evening, police said on Monday.The accident took place at Triq Bir id-Deheb at around 6pm.Preliminary investigations showed that there was a crash between a Honda mot...

It is a matter of weeks before Malta can start to reduce its defences against Covid-19, Health Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Chris Fearne told The Malta Independent on Sunday in an interview – something which is down to the country’s...

In a wide-ranging interview aired Sunday, Harry and Meghan described painful palace discussions about the colour of their son’s skin, losing royal protection and the intense pressures that led the Duchess of Sussex to contemplate suicide.The in...

Around 60 people, the majority elderly, were found playing Tombla in a Hamrun hall, TVM reports.The Transport Malta enforcement section, together with the health authorities and the police, went on site to the large hall slightly after 3pm, where ten...

Since the beginning of the pandemic there were a lot of uncertainties - no one knew how things would pan out and what the repercussions would be."We immediately started being very cautious. We started to prepare the ITU because everyone knew that, ev...

It's now been a year since the start of the pandemic, how has it changed your life both personally and professionally?As you rightly said, it’s been a year since the start of the pandemic. In my position as Superintendent of Public Health as we...

Moviment Graffitti has called for an independent investigation into Johann Buttigieg's conduct at the Planning Authority.This follows an article which appeared in The Sunday Times of Malta, which read that former Planning Authority chairman Johann Bu...

The Covid-19 r-factor has climbed to 1.39 as daily cases continue to increase, 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 key figur...

This time last year, Malta had its first case of Covid-19. We had been expecting it, for other countries across the world were already well into their pandemic experience, but nothing could have prepared us for what was to follow. We certainly did no...

Prime Minister Robert Abela On Sunday announced that the government is working on a reform related to agricultural rents.During a political event on the occasion of Women's Day, the Prime Minister revealed a new reform that the government is working ...

The parliamentary gender reform was raised alongside other issues during 'INDAQS': a special program on NET TV in celebration of Women's Day, Monday 8th March. The programme aimed to raise awareness of problems that women are facing today in Malta, e...

182 new covid-19 cases were registered on Sunday, while five patients died while positive for the virus.One woman aged 63 and three men aged 95, 78 and 50 died at Mater Dei Hospital. Another man aged 51 died in his private residence. The total number...

A 28-year-old man was arrested over armed robbery, the police said in a statement.The man was arrested in Ta' Xbiex. Investigation into the robbery of two women that took place between Wednesday and Thursday night continued after the arrest was made....

Several fines were issued yesterday during the Hamrun celebrations, the Police Force said in a post on Facebook.On Saturday, Hamrun Spartans fans celebrated their team's win against Hibernians with an illegal street party.Footage uploaded on social m...

A magisterial inquiry has recommended that former OPM chief of staff Keith Schembri and ex-Allied Group managing director Adrian Hillman be charged, The Times of Malta reported.According to the newspaper, the two could be charged in court "in a few w...

The patients at the Sir Anthony Mamo Oncology Centre must be protected from the Covid-19 virus, Fr Mario Attard told The Malta Independent on Sunday.Fr Mario has worked as a hospital chaplain since 2004. He had started at St Luke’s Hospital, an...

You were one of the first persons to go to ITU because of Covid-19. How did you realise you had the virus?On the 13 March 2020, I had a high temperature, and at once thought I had Covid-19. In fact, I stayed at home and I told my partner to stay ther...

A man was grievously injured on Saturday after falling at Xrobb l-Għaġin.The accident took place at around 5.30pm, the police said.An Armed Forces of Malta helicopter and patrol boat assisted in the rescue operation. The man, a 58-year-old ...

“I ended 2019 by making a promise to myself, that 2020 was going to be a record year for us. The irony is not lost on me,” Nathan Brimmer, co-owner of The Pub and the Grokk Cafe in Valletta told The Malta Independent on Sunday.2020 was a ...

“Being a teacher after 12 March 2020 was not easy at all for those with a genuine conscience and a sense of duty towards their students,” said John*, an educator who has been teaching in state schools since 1996.Over the past year, teache...

345 new cases of Covid-19 were found on Saturday, and one patient has died, the health authorities said.The number of active cases now stands at 3,403.The total number of cases so far is 24,216.The patient who died was an 88-year-old female. She pass...

Labour media chairman Jason Micallef has asked Standards Czar George Hyzler to investigate Jason Azzopardi’s tax filings.The Labour Party this week said the PN MP had not filed a tax return for his 2018 income. One News published the report aft...

Hamrun Spartans fans celebrated their team’s win against Hibernians with an illegal street party on Saturday afternoon.Footage uploaded on social media shows a large crowd celebrating in the streets as police officers look on helplessly.Mass ev...