The Planning Authority is set to decide on an outline development application proposing a controversial warehouse complex in Hal-Farrug, Luqa, this Thursday.The application proposes the demolition of an existing disused farm, the excavation of part o...

The bodies of three children who apparently were among Europe-bound migrants drowned in the Mediterranean Sea off Libya washed ashore in the North African country, the U.N. children agency said Monday.The bodies were found last week near the coastal ...

Photos uploaded on Facebook by Transport Minister Ian Borg show the way the Ta’ Liesse area in Valletta has been transformed in the past six weeks.The area will be used as the terminal for the Gozo fast ferry services, which start as from today...

Malta’s Covid-19 vaccine certificate will become available from tomorrow – Tuesday 1 June – Prime Minister Robert Abela announced on Monday.People will be able to apply for their vaccine certificate from certifikatvaccine.gov.mt and...

On Sunday, this newsroom revealed a shocking statistic. The police said that over 200 people fell victim to SMS or email scams in the past month.As the world becomes more and more digital, scammers are getting better and better at fooling the public....

A number of “limited and controlled” activities and events will be allowed throughout the months of July and August, Health Minister Chris Fearne announced on Monday.The news comes as the government announced how Malta’s Covid-19 va...

The Group of States against Corruption (GRECO), have said that over half of the recommendations on preventing corruption in members of parliament and members of the judiciary remain partly implemented.GRECO, which is the Council of Europe’s ant...

Health Minister Chris Fearne has said that 36,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine arrived in Malta on Monday after a delayed shipment led to a number of vaccine appointments to be postponed in the past few days.The Malta Independent reported on both...

A man was grievously injured after he fell through a glass roof in Ta’ Qali on Tuesday morning.The accident took place in the limits of Ta’ Qali at around 7:15am, the police said.The man, 37, from Zurrieq, was carrying out some works on t...

A man was grievously injured in a car accident early on Tuesday morning.The accident took place in Hal Far, limits of Birzebbuga, at around 3am, the police said.The man, 57, from Cospicua, lost control of his Hyundai Accent and crashed into an electr...

Two new cases of Covid-19 were reported by health authorities on Monday.Four people meanwhile have recovered, while no new deaths were reported, meaning that the number of active cases has decreased by two to 66.1,722 swab tests were done on Sunday, ...

920 people were fined in relation to breaches of Covid-19 regulations in the past week, authorities said on Monday.685 people – the majority – were fined for breaching rules in relation to the wearing of face-masks.  The wearing of f...

102 people live in homeless shelters in Malta, Minister for Social Justice and Solidarity, the Family and Children's Rights revealed in an answer to a parliamentary question.The minister remarked that more than 75% of them are men, (77), while 25 are...

Plans to replace a disused snack bar along the Marsalforn promenade with a seven-storey building have been submitted to the Planning Authority for consideration.The planning application, filed earlier this year, proposes the demolition and reconstruc...

The vast majority of lessees in Malta, at 83%, are of foreign nationality, while only 14% of lessees of in Malta are of Maltese nationality status, The Annual Malta Residential Rental Study has found.The study, which was presented on Monday and obser...

Events with 25% capacity, with a maximum of 300 people, should start to be held by 14 June, with the intention to gradually open up to full capacity by September, campaigners under the name of Restart said in a Facebook post announcing their proposal...

1,106 new graves have been constructed in the Addolorata cemetery, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Health Chris Fearne said in Parliament on Monday.Fearne was answering a parliamentary question posed by PN MP Claudette Buttigieg.This is part o...

Attard Football Club will start their season with nine points docked after a former committee member pleaded guilty to trying to fix one of the team’s matches.Rudgear Scerri, a 21-year-old from Qormi, pleaded guilty last January to match fixing...

The Qolla l-Bajda coastal battery in Marsalforn, Gozo, is set to be restored to its original state by the NGO Din l-Art Ħelwa.The Executive President of Din l-Art Ħelwa, Alex Torpiano said that the plan they are working on is to restore the...

Digging for an underpass at the Birkirkara end of the Mriehel by-pass is set to start in yet another multi-million project aimed to ease the traffic flow.Infranstrucure Minister Ian Borg announced this morning on Facebook that the underpass will prec...

The compilation of evidence against Yorgen Fenech, the man alleged to have masterminded the Daphne Caruana Galizia murder, was postponed today after Fenech's lawyer informed the court that Fenech was unwell.The prosecution and the parte civile both o...

The Nationalist Party has struck out at the government over an Ombudsman report condemning the appointment process for an Assistant Police Commissioner back in 2016.The Times of Malta had reported that the report showed that former police commissione...

Couples or individuals who would like to adopt a child from Malta will be eligible to a maximum grant of €1,000, Family Minister Michael Falzon said on Monday. Addressing journalists, Falzon said the grant is lower than that given to parent...

The three suspects in Italy’s cable car disaster that killed 14 people were allowed to leave prison Sunday after a judge indicated that for now blame fell on just one: a service technician who intentionally disabled the car's emergency brake be...

When the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention changed its guidelines about mask-wearing on May 13, 2021, plenty of Americans were left a little confused. Now anyone who is fully vaccinated can participate in indoor and outdoor ac...

Ħondoq ir-Rummien on the outskirts of Qala is one of Gozo’s most scenic and picturesque beauty spots.  A secluded swimming spot almost like no other, it’s almost difficult to believe the level of threat it is under.It is under t...

Ħondoq ir-Rummien remains one of Gozo’s most picturesque bays, with tourists, Maltese and Gozitans alike all flocking to the quiet beauty spot on the outskirts of the village of Qala throughout summer.The bay, however, remains under the th...

Four new cases of Covid-19 were reported on Sunday by health authorities.Three people meanwhile have recovered, while no new deaths related to the virus were recorded.  This means that Malta currently has 68 active cases of the virus.2,279 swab ...

People have had their vaccination appointments delayed by a few days, as Malta’s vaccination drive slowed somewhat in the past couple of days.Readers who spoke to The Malta Independent said that they had their appointment for their second dose ...

Marsaskala residents have been left fearing a proposed regeneration of their locality, with a saga involving a so-called Regeneration Committee set up by the local council initially as a transport and infrastructure sub-committee and made up by busin...

Some defensive errors by the Malta boys helped Northern Ireland to an easy win over Malta in a friendly international in Klagenfurt Austria, were the Maltese are staging a training camp.This was the first match for the Maltese players after an almost...

Over 200 people fell victim to SMS or email scams in the past month, police said, as they warned against different types of these scams.Police said in a statement on Sunday that they have been receiving reports of such scams from the end of April, an...

Gozo is eager and yearning for an active summer season for tourism but does not expect tourist intake to match that from before the pandemic, Gozo Tourism Authority (GTA) President Joe Muscat told The Malta Independent on Sunday. Sources told this ne...

We want our privacy, but then post all that we do on social media for everyone to see.We are living this contradiction these days. At least, many of us are.This is because while, on the one hand, we get angry when our mobile phone number is given to ...

Prime Minister Robert Abela said that he is “optimistic” about the country’s upcoming reopening for tourism next week.Tourism is set to reopen as from 1 June – this coming Tuesday – and Abela said on Sunday in a discussi...

Throngs of students are expected to return to summer schools across Malta in the next few weeks, indicating that parents are less fearful of Covid-19 affecting their children, a number of summer schools have told The Malta Independent on Sunday.With ...

The travel ban on tourists coming to Malta without a vaccine certificate or a negative PCR test has been put into effect too late, Opposition Leader Bernard Grech said on Sunday.Grech was asked by journalist Mark Laurence Zammit if he is pleased that...

Swiss motorcycle rider Jason Dupasquier has died following a crash during Moto3 qualifying for the Italian Grand Prix, the Careggi Hospital in Florence announced Sunday. He was 19.“Despite the best efforts of circuit medical staff and all those...

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has married his fiancée, Carrie Symonds, in a small private ceremony that came at the end of a tumultuous week during which a former top aide said he was unfit for office.The couple wed Saturday at the Roma...

One of the major landmarks located towards the tip of the Valletta peninsula is the Mediterranean Conference Centre. This 16th century structure, enjoying magnificent views across the Grand Harbour, today offers state-of-the-art conference facilities...

Valletta Culture Agency (VCA) Chairman Jason Micallef has spoken out against Malta Entertainment Industry and Arts Association (MEIA) President Howard Keith Debono, saying that he has “absolutely no credibility” after new reports emerged ...

As Chelsea captain Cesar Azpilicueta cradled the European Cup before thrusting it into the air to the backdrop of fireworks, Pep Guardiola and his distraught Manchester City players stood way behind the winner’s rostrum and looked on in anguish...

When the Malta Environment and Planning Authority (MEPA) was split into two separate entities – the Planning Authority (PA) and the Environment and Resources Authority (ERA) – we were told that the environment was being given a stronger v...

Gavin MacLeod, the veteran supporting actor who achieved fame as sardonic TV news writer Murray Slaughter on “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” and stardom playing cheerful Capt. Stubing on “The Love Boat,” has died. He was 90.MacLeo...

Vietnam has discovered a new coronavirus variant that’s a hybrid of strains first found in India and the U.K., the Vietnamese health minister said Saturday.Nguyen Thanh Long said scientists examined the genetic makeup of the virus that had infe...

The Coronavirus reproduction rate in Malta has decreased further to 0.25, statistician Vincent Marmara said. In his weekly blog for The Malta Independent on Sunday, Marmara said that the rate of vaccines being administered is a very positive one whic...

Johanna Grech was born on Workers’ Day, 1 May 1967. She is the daughter of the late Pius Grech and Helen née Alden.From a young age she showed straight away signs of sport orientation. “Looking back at my childhood days these were ...

Adrian Hillman, the former Allied Newspapers managing director, was charged in court this morning with money laundering, fraud and other financial crimes.He was granted bail after a sitting which lasted more than three hours.Hillman arrived back in M...

Valletta: Chemimart City Gate Pharmacy, City Gate; Ħamrun: Chemimart International Pharmacy, 650, St Joseph High Road; Qormi: Pinto Pharmacy, 43, St Sebastian Street; Birkirkara (Ta' Paris): Mackie's Pharmacy, L. Casolani Street; Gżira: D'A...

When Italy won the Eurovision Song Contest with an over-the-top glam-rock performance, the victory signaled more than just a psychological boost for one of the countries hardest hit by COVID-19: Held before a live, indoor audience of 3,500, the annua...

Three new cases of CVovid-19 were recorded in Malta on Saturday, with two patients recovering.Health authorities said that no deaths were registered, leaving the total number of victims at 419.The number of swab tests carried out was 2,010, for a tot...

Hundreds of people turned up at the PN headquarters on Saturday as the Nationalist party seeks to address the “unjust way” in which water and electricity bills are being formulated.The Nationalist Party on Thursday called on the public to...

A man was grievously injured when his hand was trapped in a lift this morning, the police said.The accident happened in Pietru Pawl Saydon Street, Zurrieq, at noon.The man, a 50-year-old from St Julian’s, was taken to hospital with grievous inj...

An interactive, informative centre in Buskett will act as a reference point on falconry in our islands and host a rehabilitation and reintroduction programme for birds of prey.Minister for the Environment, Climate Change and Planning Aaron Farrugia e...

The Malta Entertainment Industry and Arts Association (MEIA) hopes that from July, the country will see the “safe and gradual” resumption of events, but not at full capacity, President of the association Howard Keith Debono told The Malta...

The number of new coronavirus infections in the U.K. hit a near two-month high Friday as British regulators authorized the use of the single-dose vaccine from Johnson & Johnson.The latest authorization, which takes the number of vaccines in the U...

A man from Rabat is expected to be arraigned in court as he is held suspect by the Police after Customs seized 98,600 smuggled cigarettes and over two kilos of tabacco on which €21,050 were evaded in duty and other taxes.Searches were done by Cu...

This truly does feel like the umpteenth editorial that we are writing about the government’s apparent spite against trees.Yet once again, here we are, with yet another situation of mature trees suddenly getting the chop.  This time, it was...

A Libyan man today was charged in the Gozo courts with threatening another person and breaching bail conditions.The police said the 29-year-old resident of Victoria was charged with threatening another person in Zebbug, Gozo, on 28 May at around 10.3...

Looming over Liberdade Square, the giant European Cup replica that supporters of Chelsea and Manchester City crane their necks to photograph is a reminder of the prize being sought in Saturday's Champions League final.And the footballing heritage the...

The Eco-School committee presented an action plan on the Auberge de Castille to Prime Minister Robert Abela after an environmental audit was carried out by students of St Ignatius of Ħandaq College.The committee began its work in January 2021 by...

As fear of repression rises among Belarusians following the arrest of a dissident journalist whose plane was forcibly diverted to Minsk, those who want to leave the country are feeling increasingly cornered.Its land borders already were under tight r...

A man was injured on Friday evening after the bike he was riding crashed into a tree.The accident took place in Triq ix-Xatt in Pieta at 7pm.The biker, a Hungarian man aged 31 who resides in San Gwann, lost control of the Benelli he was riding and cr...

Securing Libya's southern borders is a priority for the country's transitional government as it aims to stem the flow of illegal migrants setting off from its shores, Libya’s interim foreign minister said Friday.Najla al-Manqoush made the state...

The United States and Britain are stepping up calls for the World Health Organization to take a deeper look into the possible origins of COVID-19, including a new visit to China where the first human infections were detected.WHO and Chinese experts i...

A copy of a biography about former Prime Minister Dom Mintoff has been presented to the current incumbent Robert Abela.“It is not a coincidence that Manwel Dimech’s foremost biographer is also Dom Mintoff’s, for the ideological and ...

Former Allied Group managing director Adrian Hillman is set to be charged with financial crimes this morning.Hillman was extradited to Malta on Friday.He is expected to be charged with money laundering, fraud and other crimes in front of magistrate D...

The health authorities will send out Pfizer Covid-19 vaccination appointment invites to youths aged 12-15 after the school exam period, Deputy Prime Minister Chris Fearne said on social media on Friday.The vaccine was the first one granted authorizat...

Six new cases of Covid-19 were found as five people recovered from the virus on Friday.It means that Malta currently has 66 active cases of the virus.Addressing her weekly briefing, health chief Charmaine Gauci said 2,288 swab tests were carried out ...

Aleksandar Stojanovic was supplied with a shotgun, a getaway car and promised €5,000 to murder Walid Salah Abdel Moteleb Mohamed, a court in Gozo heard.Magistrate Donatella Frendo Dimech presided over the compilation of evidence against Stojanov...

Following strong booking demand coming from the German market, this summer Air Malta will be adding twice weekly direct services to Berlin and Dusseldorf, it said in a statement.Air Malta will start operating to Berlin on the 28th June every Monday a...

The Environment and Resources Authority (ERA) has come upmin defence of the chopping down of trees in Attard, saying it was all part of the Central Link Project.In a statement on Friday, ERA said it received an application for a variation to the exis...

Movement Graffitti has claimed that the ERA has rewarded Fortina after it "illegally" started works on their catamaran pontoon in Balluta Bay last Saturday.The NGO said that the oermit conditions were being "secretly changed", allowing Fortina to car...

The Government’s Consolidated Fund reported a deficit of €614 million in the first quarter of this year, while GDP decreased by 0.5%, according to data published on Friday by the National Statistics Office.Between January and April 2021, R...

The European Union must strengthen its focus on SMEs, micro-enterprises and economic sectors such as tourism and aviation if it is to propoerly address the impact of COVID-19, Minister for Energy, Enterprise and Sustainable Development Miriam Dalli t...

Former Allied Newspapers managing director Adrian Hillman has been extradited to Malta.Hillman is wanted in Malta on charges of money laundering and graft, related to the purchase of a printing press in a deal involving former OPM chief of staff Keit...

Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Capital Projects Ian Borg and Minister for Tourism and Consumer Protection Clayton Bartolo have announced a regeneration project to embellish the Għadira Bay promenade and create a 1.2 kilometre pedestr...

Eight organisations and several Pembroke residents have joined forces and filed an appeal with the Planning Tribunal against the Environment and Resources Authority's (ERA) approval of the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) for the DB Group's projec...

The resilient gaming industry did not feel the impact other sectors experienced, and seems to have weathered the storm, Carl Brincat, the new Chief Executive Officer of the Malta Gaming Authority, told The Malta Business Weekly.This, he said, was par...

Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Thursday rejected claims by his former chief aide that he botched Britain's coronavirus response and is unfit for office, denying an allegation his government oversaw tens of thousands of needless deaths.Health Secreta...

PwC Malta has taken over as the competent person for Pilatus Bank, the MFSA said."As communicated by Public Notice 30-2018 on 22 March 2018, the Authority appointed a competent person in terms of Article 29(1)(c) and (d) of the Banking Act (Chapter 3...

A man was taken to hospital after suffering injuries while working with a grinder, the police said.The accident took place at 9.15pm on Thursday in a boathouse in Armier, limits of Mellieha.The 65-year-old, who is resident in Marsa, was taken to hosp...

In line with tradition, Malta’s participation in the Eurovision Song Contest has led to controversy a few days after the country, despite the expectations of many, failed clinch the microphone-shaped glass trophy. But this time the issue is not...

Moneyval is not the end of the road, Finance Minister Clyde Caruana said, highlighting that the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) still has to take its decision about Malta.The Finance Minister addressed a press conference on the same day that the C...

Four new cases of Covid-19 were reported on Thursday, as Malta’s vaccine drive continues to progress.Eight people were declared as recovered from the virus, while no new deaths were reported.The number of active cases currently stands at 65.2,3...

Db Group’s City Centre project overlooking St George’s Bay has been recommended for approval by the Planning Authority’s Case Officer.The PA board will decide on the application on Thursday 10 June.The Environment and Resources Auth...

A judge has given the heirs of murdered journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia three weeks to present her tax returns after upholding a request by lawyer Peter Caruana Galizia that the acts of the €5 million case for damages her family filed against ...

The Council of Europe has confirmed that Malta has passed the Moneyval assessment, with the country no longer having any “non-compliant” or “partially compliant” ratings.In a statement, the Council of Europe said that Malta ha...

Infrastructure Minister Ian Borg has defended expropriation practices employed when new roads are being constructed, or existing ones are being widened.It has been reported that Infrastructure Malta would, on occasion, start works on private land pri...

The trial in connection with the failed 2010 HSBC headquarters height has been put on hold indefinitely on the grounds that the court still has to hear new “witness or witnesses” testify.Judge Giovanni Grixti made the declaration on Thurs...

Residents of Attard gathered in Triq in-Nutar Zarb to stop Infrastructure Malta from continuing to chop down two large trees on the street, citing the consistent chopping of trees without listening to the residents’ pleas as “dictatorial&...

The Nationalist Party has called on the public to register their utility bills with them as the party seeks to address “the unjust way” in which water and electricity bills are being formulated.In a press conference, PN MPs David Agius an...

Toward the end of HBO Max's “Friends” reunion special, host James Corden asks the six actors to imagine what their characters' lives would be like today.Chandler and Monica would be married. So would Ross and Rachel. With kids, of course....

Haley Bugeja won a prestigous honour on Thursday after being voted as the Best Young Player in Italy’s top tier of women’s football.Bugeja, who is 17 years old, had a breakthrough season at U.S. Sassuolo after signing with the club from M...

Destiny Chukunyere’s manager, Howard Keith Debono, has questioned the motivation behind the “drama’ surrounding Malta’s exorbitant spend on the Eurovision song contest.An investigation has been launched after claims that taxpa...

NGO Moviment Graffitti have objected to a “massive” proposed development in Xewkija, expressing concern over its proximity to a scheduled windmill and over a lack of transport accessibility to the site.The development – which consis...

European Union search and rescue (SAR) authorities have worked to ‘pull back’ migrants away from Maltese shores, a recent study from the United Nations has found.The study, titled ‘“Lethal Disregard”: Search and rescue a...

The National Commission for the Promotion of Equality (NCPE) is striving for the attainment of equal treatment, after Covid-19 posed an assertion to human rights and equality, the Commission said during its Online Annual Conference.The conference, wh...

The Marsa junction park-and-ride is open to commuters, Transport Minister Ian Borg said on Thursday, highlighting that he would like more people to use it.Borg paid a visit to the Marsa junction, where he explained that 30 bus voyages per hour in eac...