Maltese health authorities will accept AstraZeneca vaccines even if they have been manufactured in India under amended travel guidelines, Britain’s transport secretary Grant Shapps said on Wednesday.Shapps tweeted that Maltese authorities had a...

Education Minister Justyne Caruana was non-committal on any form of timeline for the reopening – even for limited demographics – of English language schools, despite worries by the sector that their closure might leave over 2,000 at risk ...

Travellers arriving in Sicily from Malta will have to undergo a Covid-19 test, Italian media report.Sicily region president Nello Musimeci signed the decree on Wednesday, Italian news agency Ansa reports.The same measure is also obligatory for people...

COVID-19 deaths and cases are on the rise again globally in a dispiriting setback that is triggering another round of restrictions and dampening hopes for a return to normal life.The World Health Organization reported Wednesday that deaths climbed la...

Malta has backed off a new rule that would have allowed only people with proof of having been vaccinated against the coronavirus to enter the country after the European Commission raised concerns that it might impede the right to free movement within...

Over the past years, Malta has made significant efforts and improvements in its financial crime risk compliance, explained Rudolph Psaila, Chairman of FinanceMalta. Speaking to Dayna Camilleri Clarke, Psaila said he is confident that, with all stakeh...

Mask-wearing will be required on London's transport network even after the legal obligation to wear them in England is lifted on July 19, the city's mayor said Wednesday, as coronavirus cases across the whole of the U.K. rose above the 40,000 mark fo...

The European Union unveiled sweeping new legislation Wednesday to help meet its pledge to cut emissions of the gases that cause global warming by 55% over this decade, including a controversial plan to tax foreign companies for the pollution they cau...

Last week, the government announced that patients who suffer from Cystic Fibrosis will be getting their medicine free of charge.The uncommon disorder damages the lungs, the digestive system and other organs of the body, which also affecting cells tha...

Nine passengers who returned to Pescara from Malta on Tuesday tested positive to Covid-19, Italian news agency Ansa reports.All 70 passengers on board the plane, including those having a green pass, have been placed in quarantine for 14 days because ...

Unvaccinated travellers entering Malta must pay a minimum of €1,400 for a hotel room to observe a mandatory quarantine period upon arrival in the country, the Malta Tourism Authority said.The news comes after legal notices issued on Tuesday repe...

218 new cases of Covid-19 were reported on Wednesday, taking the number of active cases up to exactly 1,000.No recoveries or deaths were reported in the last 24 hours.The last time Malta had over 1,000 active cases was on 29 March, when Malta had 1,1...

A constitutional amendment to regulate administrative penalties of a financial nature and to reduce the discrepancy between the right to a fair trial, failed to garner the required two-thirds majority in Parliament on Wednesday after the Opposition v...

The regulatory authorities need to have enough trust and effectiveness when it comes to sanctioning to "not only bark, but bite where needs be", Minister for Justice Edward Zammit Lewis said. Currently, parliament is discussing an amendment to introd...

Chris Cardona and Carmelo Abela were present when Alfred Degiorgio was given robbery plans and a set of false keys a few days before the botched HSBC heist in 2010, PN MP Jason Azzopardi has claimed. He was testifying in a libel suit filed against hi...

While the abrupt, forced closure of the sector has set the Language Schools into complete panic and disarray, FELTOM insisted that it is the jobs of the approximate 2,000 direct employees that must take priority without delay.It was reacting to the c...

Lawyer Jonathan Attard has been co-opted to Parliament on Wednesday to replace Manuel Mallia. The Labour party said that it’s parliamentary group and national executive had unanimously agreed on Attard’s co-option. In his maiden...

The government is losing control of the Covid-19 situation, the Nationalist Party has claimed in a statement.This, after the government took a number of “immature” decisions that “lacked vision,” the opposition said.“The...

Speaker Anglu Farrugia said he walked out of an ethics committee meeting on Tuesday as a result of disorder and shouting by its members.Speaking in Parliament on Wednesday, Farrugia said he will be in contact with both government and Opposition membe...

Two men of foreign nationality are in hospital with grievous injuries after being hit by a car in separate accidents on Tuesday afternoon.In the first accident, a 22-year-old Sudanese man who resides in Birzebbuga was hit by a car in Main Street, Mel...

The Armed Forces of Malta saved 81 migrants who were in distress on a boat in Malta’s search and rescue zone, the government said.Three other migrants were found dead on the same boat, the statement added.The rescued migrants included five wome...

The court has heard submissions on bail by Robert and Adrian Agius's defence lawyer when the compilation of evidence against them continued on Wednesday.Brothers Robert and Adrian Agius, known as Tal-Maksar, and their associates Jamie Vella and ...

A British couple have been turned away from travelling to see their son in Malta after they were unknowingly given an Indian-made version of the AstraZeneca vaccine, the Daily Mail reports.Steve and Glenda Hardy, who received doses of the vaccine in ...

The number of migrants and refugees who died while attempting to reach Europe on dangerous sea crossings more than doubled so far this year compared to the first six months of 2020, the U.N. migration agency said Wednesday in a new report.At least 1,...

The Lisa Maria Foundation has said that the sex offenders register is too cumbersome to be effective, insisting that all institutions employing people who have a duty of care towards children, are given easier access to the Sex Offenders Register.The...

Over 450 courses across 72 different subjects will make up the Lifelong Learning programme for the upcoming scholastic year, the Education Ministry announced on Wednesday.In a press conference at Valletta’s National Archaeology Museum, details ...

Through the pens and pencils of children, England is fighting back against racism.After Marcus Rashford and two other Black players missed penalty kicks in the final moments of the national soccer team's European Championship loss to Italy, bigots de...

The COVID-19 curve in the U.S. is rising again after months of decline, with the number of new cases per day doubling over the past three weeks, driven by the fast-spreading delta variant, lagging vaccination rates and Fourth of July gatherings.Confi...

Inbound tourists for the first five months of 2021 amounted to 69,387, a decrease of 81.3% over the same period in 2020.The National Statistics Office said that total nights spent by inbound tourists decreased by 59%, totalling 917,196 nights.  ...

Coronavirus infections in the Netherlands skyrocketed by more than 500% over the last week, the country's public health institute reported Tuesday. The surge follows the scrapping of almost all remaining lockdown restrictions and the reopening of nig...

After several weeks in which the number of new Covid-19 cases were negligible, we have once again moved into three figures.We had days with zero cases, and we were happy about that. We had days with single digit cases, and we were happy about that to...

Labour MP Manuel Mallia resigned from Parliament on Tuesday, with the lawyer set to be appointed as Malta’s High Commissioner to London.First elected in 2013, Mallia initially served as Home Affairs Minister – a role he was forced to step...

Manuel Mallia's parliamentary seat will need to be filled through a co-option procedure and not through a casual election.Mallia resigned from Parliament on Tuesday as he is set to be appointed as Malta's High Commissioner to London.The reason no cas...

Lovin Malta founder at CEO Christian Peregin will be leaving the media organisation to join the Nationalist Party. Peregin, 33 and a former journalist of Times of Malta, said he will “exit Lovin Malta completely” and start working wi...

A 5-year-old girl who died over the weekend may have had Covid-19 and the health authorities are investigating, Health Minister Chris Fearne said on Tuesday.The young girl developed a fever on Friday, before being admitted to Mater Dei Hospital on Sa...

The government has published the legal notice regarding travel to Malta, which comes into force on 14th July, slightly amending their original position.Originally, the government said that from Wednesday only people with a recognised vaccine certific...

The vast majority of Malta's recent Covid-19 cases remain individuals who are unvaccinated, but the Delta variant is now more prevalent at a community level in the country, Health Minister Chris Fearne said.In a press conference where Fearne also ann...

 Speaker Anglu Farrugia called for further investigation into PL MP Rosianne Cutajar's conduct over her involvement in an Mdina property deal, before a decision is taken on whether or not to adopt the report by Standards Commissioner George Hyzl...

Charles Farrugia will need to pay nearly €40,000 according to an amended income tax return for the year 2019 after declaring the earnings from the Mdina property deal.On Tuesday afternoon, Speaker Anglu Farrugia said, during a Standards Committe...

Malta has presented its recovery plan to tackle the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic and create a supporting platform for green and digital transitions in a short and medium time frame. Malta hopes to benefit from a €345 million budget which wil...

154 new Covid-19 cases were reported by health authorities on Tuesday, as Malta’s latest pandemic spike persists.Six people have recovered, while no new deaths were recorded in the last 24 hours, leaving Malta’s active cases at 782.The nu...

UEFA asked an investigator on Tuesday to study violence by England fans at the European Championship final including at least hundreds who got into Wembley Stadium without tickets.The English Football Association was separately charged with mult...

Persons who have not yet taken the Covid-19 jab can do so without an appointment as from Monday, the health ministry said. They can do so at the University of Malta’s Gateway Hall and at Gozo’s Conference and Expo Centre from Monday to Fr...

GO today announced an investment of €25 million in a 3rd submarine cable, which has been named as ‘LaValette’. This forms part of the global PEACE System (Pakistan East Africa Connecting Europe) project - a multi-million-euro connect...

A list of vehicles and boats owned by Nexia BT officials, who are accused of money laundering was presented in court this morning by a Transport Malta employee.The compilation of evidence against the accused continued on Tuesday in front of Magistrat...

Five players from European champion Italy and no Cristiano Ronaldo, Kylian Mbappé nor Robert Lewandowski were picked in UEFA’s official team of the tournament announced on Tuesday.The attacking trio included Federico Chiesa alo...

The Malta Tourism Authority (MTA) has said that it is paying the accommodation bill for a French student who was transferred to a hotel for quarantine.A French student had said that she had been transferred to a 5-star hotel after testing positive fo...

A heat wave that stretched from June 20 until July 1 plunged the Maltese islands right into the summer season, the Met Office said today, adding that record temperatures were reached for the month of June.During the latter part of June, hot air comin...

Miriam Vella, the wife of President of Malta George Vella, is in hospital for observation after developing symptoms of pneumonia, the Office of the President said on Tuesday.The office said a statement said the office will continue to keep the public...

Speaker Anglu Farrugia will issue his casting vote on whether Parliament should adopt a Standards Commissioner report into Rosianne Cutajar this afternoon, after the Parliamentary Committee for Standards in Public Life found itself in a deadlock agai...

All remaining lockdown restrictions in England will be lifted in a week despite a sharp rise in coronavirus cases, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson confirmed Monday. He said it was “the right moment to proceed” as schools close for su...

Spanish regions are bringing back curfews as well as restrictions on socializing and nightlife to contain a sharp rise in coronavirus infections as the fast-spreading delta variant races through the country's unvaccinated young people.Catalonia and V...

A French student has been left desperate after being transferred to a 5-star hotel after testing positive for Covid-19 and being told that she has to pay €100 a night for the accommodation. The young woman told The Malta Independent that she arr...

A fire broke out in a penthouse on Triq Birkirkara in St Julian's at around 11.30am on Tuesday.The fire was quickly put out by members of the Civil Protection Department.One man was treated for smoke inhalation.At least three fire engines, one of the...

Wied Fulija has been converted from a dumping site to an open space for families, Prime Minister Robert Abela said.Two billion kilogrammes of waste were removed from this valley at Zurrieq as part of a €4.5 million project which also included th...

A review of the best, worst and downright strange at this year's European Championship:BEST MOMENTIt was beautiful, touching and uplifting, so soon after a near-tragedy. Shaken fans inside the Parken Stadium were waiting for updates after Denmark mid...

Thousands of fans packed Rome's sidewalks to wildly cheer Europe’s new soccer champions as Italy toured the city in an open-topped bus on Monday evening, crowning a day that saw them honored at the presidential palace and premier's office and c...

Italy’s Euro 2020 throws up a number of points of reflection, especially when it comes to the Maltese footballing landscape.The Azzuri’s triumph came after a ground-up rebuild: with Roberto Mancini raising a country from the footballing d...

Labour MP Rosianne Cutajar “insinuated many times” that she wanted a brokerage fee, even though she didn’t explicitly say it, as there is enough evidence for the conclusion of her breach of ethics, Standaards Commissioner George Hyz...

The European Commission has expressed its concern about Malta’s most recent decision to bar travellers who are not fully vaccinated and in possession of a vaccine certificate from entering the country.“It is true that member states can im...

179 new cases of Covid-19 have been reported by health authorities as the number of active cases has continued to shoot upwards.Two people have recovered, and no deaths were recorded in the last 24 hours – meaning that the number of active case...

73 cases of physical and sexual assault on minors have been reported to police in 2021 so far, Home Affairs Minister Byron Camilleri told parliament on Monday.Camilleri was answering a parliamentary question posed by PL MP Silvio Grixti.The 73 cases ...

Inclusion and Quality of Life Minister Julia Farrugia Portelli has said that ridiculing people who have a disability and spreading hateful comments and actions against them will become a crime punishable by imprisonment. The proposed changes to ...

Letters of intent submitted by Progress Press for a cash grant from Malta Enterprise did not include any references to consumables, the court has heard.The compilation of evidence against Keith Schembri and his co-defendants continued on Monday, with...

Health Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Chris Fearne is self-isolating after a family member of his tested positive for Covid-19, his ministry said in a statement on Monday.The Health Ministry said in a statement that Fearne has not tested positive...

The government’s €470 million industrial infrastructure plan is based on “revamping existing industrial zones through reorganization and better planning that shall create new spaces”, an Economy Ministry spokesperson told The M...

After 51 games in 11 cities around the continent with a total of 142 goals, the European Championship is over.Here’s a team of the tournament chosen by The Associated Press, comprising the standout players from the 24 competing nations:GOALKEEP...

Europe's soccer champions returned home at dawn on Monday to the ecstatic cheers of Italians who spent the better part of the night honking horns, setting off fireworks and violating all sorts of coronavirus precautions to celebrate their team’...

Football supporters descened onto the streets of Sliema and Paceville on Sunday night to celebrate Italy's Euro 2020 triumph.Italy beat England 3-2 on penalties in a dramatic shootout which saw Marucs Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka miss three...

Finance Minister Clyde Caruana said that Malta has started the process of declaring an Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).Speaking in Parliament on Monday, Minister Caruana said that this zone would be located in the central Meditteranean, with the potent...

British police opened investigations Monday into the racist abuse of three Black players who missed penalties in England's shootout loss to Italy in the European Championship final.The Metropolitan Police condemned the “unacceptable” abus...

The wife of wheelchair-user Marcel Pisani, who disappeared last December, has begun constitutional proceedings against the Attorney General, claiming that she has been left homeless because of inexplicable delays in allowing her back into her home.Ma...

Murder suspects George and Alfred Degiorgio are claiming “inhuman and degrading” treatment in prison after they were placed in solitary confinement over an incident they were involved in.The brothers, who are being held in Division 5 at t...

A construction worker was seriously injured after falling from a height in Mgarr.The accident took place in Triq Fisher, at around 1130am, the police said.The man, 50, from Sannat, Gozo, fell from a height of one a half floors.He was assisted by a me...

Once more we find ourselves writing an editorial about poor road planning.In recent years we have seen controversy over the widening of Tal-Balal, the Central Link project and countless other projects where their planning and sustainability has been ...

Italian soccer’s redemption story is complete. England’s painful half-century wait for a major title goes on.And it just had to be because of a penalty shootout.Italy won the European Championship for the second time by beating England 3-...

So close.It took just a few weeks to undo decades of pessimism for England fans, persuading millions that the team could defy decades of disappointment and win a major international soccer tournament for the first time since 1966.For much of Sunday&r...

Italians celebrated the European Championship soccer title as a new beginning not only for their youthful national team but for a country that's been yearning to return to normalcy after being hit hard and long by the coronavirus pandemic.A cacophony...

Visitors or those who are recently settled on the island may find the scenes which will no doubt ensue in Malta later tonight as somewhat bemusing, and even a bit bizarre.Everybody and their dog (or other house pet) knows by now that England and Ital...

Dog shelter Noah’s Ark in Mellieħa is calling out to the public to help it reach its €10,000 target as it enters its final month of the fundraiser campaign.Noah’s Ark launched a fundraising campaign in March with the aim of rais...

A controversial 3-year extension given to a Grand Harbour ferry operator is still pending due to a court appeal filed by Supreme Travel Limited against Transport Malta. The transport authority told this newsroom it is unable to give comments about ma...

Maltese citizens who were abroad when the government changed regulations on entering Malta can return home with a negative PCR test and without the need to quarantine, Superintendent of Health Charmaine Gauci said.Gauci said "we will be allowing Malt...

101 new cases of Covid-19 were reported on Sunday as the number of active cases continued to shoot upwards.Three people have recovered, while no new deaths were recorded in the past 24 hours for another day.This means that the number of active cases ...

The cannabis reform will be ‘the number one priority’ for Minister for Equality, Research, Innovation and the Co-Ordination of Post COVID-19 Strategy, as he believes that people who smoke cannabis should not be treated as criminals. Bonni...

Do you remember when Adrian Delia was Nationalist Party leader?Do you remember what used to happen each time there was a survey about the political situation in Malta? When, time and again, surveys showed that the Labour Party was firmly in command w...

Francis Zammit Dimech will not contest for the PN’s General Secretary role, with 26-year-old Michael Piccinino being nominated as a potential replacement for the long-serving PN stalwart.As election season looms, Opposition leader Bernard Grech...

PN leader Bernard Grech has blasted the government as being “arrogant, incompetent, and stubbornly refusing to listen to anyone” and described its handling of the Covid-19 pandemic as “management by crisis.”Grech was asked abo...

The reason why the Government took the “difficult decision” not to allow unvaccinated tourists in the country was to protect the livelihoods of Malta’s citizens, Prime Minister Robert Abela said in an interview on Sunday. In a press...

Two public service workers were injured on Sunday morning while doing their duties as part of the clean-up campaign run by the government.The two Ambjent Malta employees were caught between their vehicle and another which was being driven in Qawra, t...

Novak Djokovic tied Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal by claiming his 20th Grand Slam title Sunday, coming back to beat Matteo Berrettini 6-7 (4), 6-4, 6-4, 6-3 in the Wimbledon final.The No. 1 -ranked Djokovic earned a third consecutive championship at...

A motorcyclist was grievously injured in a traffic accident in Burmarrad on Saturday evening.The biker, a German man aged 37 and residing in Mellieha, was involved in a crash with a Renault Clio, driven by a 55-year-old man of Mosta.The biker was tak...

BirdLife Malta have released a number of illegally trapped waders after they were found at an active trapping site and were confiscated by police and the ERA, the NGO said on Sunday.The birds were found at a location in the south of Malta following a...

An 18-year-old youth who was reported missing on Sunday has been found safe and well, police said in the afternoon.In a short statement in the morning, police had said that 18-year-old Neil Portelli was last seen in Zurrieq and Sliema and asked for i...

Swashbuckling entrepreneur Richard Branson hurtled into space aboard his own winged rocket ship Sunday in his boldest adventure yet, beating out fellow billionaire Jeff Bezos.The nearly 71-year-old Branson and five crewmates from his Virgin Galactic ...

A 38-year-old man has been sent to jail for a year and a half after he was caught pretending to be a policeman and charging tourists €50 for not wearing a face-mask.TVM reported on Sunday that Jon Charles Seabrook, a UK-national who now lives in...

Pirlo’s “Panenka.” Schillaci’s Golden Boot clincher. Another emotional goal celebration from Marco Tardelli.The major-tournament rivalry — if it can be called that — between Italy and England has been marked by a f...

To hear the England players giddily singing along with the Wembley Stadium crowd to "Sweet Caroline" — “so good, so good” — encapsulates the youthful exuberance and carefree spirit of a group unburdened by trying to end the te...

The Corradino Correctional Facility has claimed another life. Another family has been destroyed, joining the other eleven families of the inmates who died in prison over the past three years. Once again, all we have is a measly press release with sca...

Karl Izzo was born on 26 February 1969, is married to Diane nee Bonello and he is the father of Valerii. Karl is the son of Edgar Izzo and Patricia Nicholl. His father was a prominent personality in the local sport scene being treasurer of Sliema Wan...

The UK travel industry has described as “confusing” Malta’s surprise decision to ban all visitors unless they are double vaccinated, a development that has raised fears that other European countries will follow suit as the Delta var...