Speaker of the House Anglu Farrugia has once again brought himself into hot water over a decision to not convene parliament to discuss a motion of no confidence into government minister Edward Zammit Lewis.The decision has led many government critics...

The Santa Marija weekend in Gozo this summer is looking relatively busy despite the Covid-19 pandemic. The Gozo Tourism Association (GTA) says that a significant amount of people have opted to book farmhouses, hotels and other accommodation as t...

A suicide attempt by a prisoner has promted the government to set up a board to evaluate prison procedures.The Correctional Services Agency said in a statement Sunday that a prisoner, a Maltese man aged 30, was found in his cell after a suicide attem...

Despite a sluggish start, the European Union's COVID-19 vaccination drive has caught up to that of the United States, where the slowdown of the country's once-vaunted campaign has contributed to the virus's deadly comeback.In mid-February, less than ...

The compilation of evidence against the man alleged to have masterminded the Daphne Caruana Galizia murder, Yorgen Fenech, continues this morning.Fenech was arrested in November 2019 and is charged with masterminding Caruana Galizia's murder. He deni...

A man was seriously injured on Sunday evening after a fall in Floriana, the police said.The accident took place in Sa Maison Street at around 9.15pm.The man, aged 61 of Rabat, was taken to hospital with serious injuries.Magistrate Doreen Clarke is le...

Two men on a bike were grievously hurt on Sunday evening in an accident in Msida, the police said.The accident took place in Rue d’Argens at 9.30pm.It involved a Kymco Agility bike with two Nepalese men on board and a Toyota Vitz driven by a ma...

The State mentioned in the public inquiry into the assassination of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia is a different State than the one we have today, PL President Ramona Attard said during an interview with The Malta Independent on Sunday.“A n...

The government has drafted its action plan to get Malta off the FATF grey list and is currently discussing to see whether any refinements are required, Finance Minister Clyde Caruana told The Malta Independent on Sunday. Caruana also pledged to reduc...

Given the pandemic, the local village feast has become more of a fireworks tour than ever. On the 31st weekend of the year, the locality of Hal-Lija celebrated the feast of Christ the Saviour and The Malta Independent was there to document the tradit...

Two people have died while positive for Covid-19, health authorities said on Sunday – taking the total number of deaths registered in the country as a result of the pandemic up to 426.The two were a 77-year-old male and a 63-year-old female, wh...

A few days ago, the presenter of a popular programme on PBS said he will not carry on with the show on the national station because of interference which prevented him from being loyal to his audience. In other words, what Mark Laurence Zammit was sa...

Daphne Caruana Galizia’s sister Corinne Vella has blasted Ramona Attard after she was interviewed by The Malta Independent on Sunday this week.“Ramona Attard does not speak from moral high ground”, Vella said as she reacted to Attar...

It began with a virus and a yearlong pause. It ended with a typhoon blowing through and, still, a virus. In between: just about everything.The Tokyo Olympics, christened with “2020” but held in mid-2021 after being interrupted f...

A number of nightclub and disco owners expressed their disappointment and frustration after the government decided not to allow standing events for the time being, despite expectations that such events would be allowed from this month. While Deputy P...

Prime Minister Robert Abela once again doubled down on the claim that the country’s next budget will not include any new taxes, despite the economic blow of the Covid-19 pandemic.Speaking in a telephone interview on party media on Sunday, Abela...

Every day which Justice Minister Edward Zammit Lewis spends in his post is a day wasted from “possibility of getting on the [FATF’s] white list”, Opposition and PN leader Bernard Grech said in an interview on Sunday. The Justice Min...

Discussions between Air Malta and the European Commission on the airline’s request for state aid are still ongoing, more than four months after a second formal petition was lodged, this newsroom has been told. The national airline, whose operat...

Two women were injured in a Taxien traffic accident on Sunday afternoon, the police said.The accident involved an Audi A1 driven by an 18-year-old resident of Marsaskala and a Fiat Punto driven by a 23-year-old resident of Birkirkara.Both were taken ...

34 birds have been confiscated by police after they were illegally put up for sale by sellers in Floriana, police said on Sunday.In a statement, the police said that its Environmental Protection Unit together with the Wild Bird Regulation Unit had di...

A motorcyclist was grievously hurt on Sunday afternoon in a crash in Marsalforn, the police said.The accident took place in the road which leads to Victoria at 12.15pm.The biker, a 31-year-old man of Victoria, was riding a KTM bike which was involved...

Lionel Messi began crying before he even started speaking. The “most difficult” moment of his career had arrived and he wasn't ready for it.It was time to say goodbye to Barcelona after more than two decades with the Catalan club.“I...

The Law Enforcement Services Agency (LESA) has warned about fake notifications that are being received by consumers.In a statement, the public informed the public to ignore these messages, sent via SMS, and obey only the official notices sent by the ...

Aren’t we a lucky country. In its century of representative government and democratically-elected parliaments, Malta has never had a Member of Parliament, still less a Cabinet Minister, who spent even one day in jail (save for Labour MPs in the...

Under pressure minister Edward Zammit Lewis said Saturday evening that a leaflet that is bearing his signature and is being distributed to voters on the eighth electoral district is not his.Neither is it being sent by his canvassers, he said in a Fac...

A British scientist who gained prominence for issuing dire warnings about the spread of COVID-19 said Saturday the U.K. is unlikely to need future lockdowns, although new infections may rise significantly as social interactions increase.Professor Nei...

Louis Arpa was born on 2 August 1949, son of Alfred and Domenica nèe Micallef. From his first marriage Louis has two boys aged 38 and 27 whereas from his second marriage he’s got an eight-year-old boy.Going back down memory lane Louis st...

A German charity boat carrying 257 migrants rescued from the Mediterranean docked Saturday in Sicily after Italian authorities granted permission, and hours later a French humanitarian vessel with 549 migrants aboard received a similar port assignmen...

The Latest on the Tokyo Olympics, which are taking place under heavy restrictions after a year’s delay because of the coronavirus pandemic:The Tokyo Olympics are officially over.IOC President Thomas Bach declared the Games closed after the Fren...

Valletta: Collis Williams Pharmacy, 15, Republic Street; Ħamrun: St Gaetan Pharmacy, Kappillan Mifsud Street; Qormi: Pinto Pharmacy, 43, St Sebastian Street; Swatar: Collis Williams – St Mark's Pharmacy, P. Borg Olivier Street c/w  Gi...

Moody's Investors Service ("Moody's") has affirmed the Government of Malta's long-term issuer and senior unsecured ratings at A2 but changed the outlook to negative from stable. In a report on the Moody’s website, the key drivers behind the neg...

A woman was seriously injured on Friday afternoon in a crash in Xemxija, the police said.The accident took place in Xemxija Hill, St Paul’s Bay, at around 4.45pm.A Mazda Demio driven by a 32-year-old Ukrainian woman, who resides in Marsa, crash...

The number of new Covid-19 cases has again gone up, from the 48 registered on Friday to 71 on Saturday.Health authorities said however that that number of Covid-19 patients in hospital is now 33, down from 36 on Saturday.Five of these are in intensiv...

Kelechi Iheanacho's late penalty gave Leicester a 1-0 victory over Manchester City in the Community Shield on Saturday, stealing the spotlight from Jack Grealish.Iheanacho’s left-footed rocket from the spot beat goalkeeper Zack Steffen in the 8...

A man from Bangladesh was arrested in connection with human trafficking, the police said.Passport officers at Malta International Airport stopped 11 persons from Bangladesh as they were about to embark on a flight to Italy on suspicion they were usin...

The Foundation for Social Welfare Services (FSWS) is taking good care of the children of the jailed Turkish mothers, Children’s Rights Minister Michael Falzon said.Falzon was speaking to The Malta Independent following a six-month jail term giv...

Saturday has given the Maltese Islands some respite from the heat.Although the temperature is at a high of 34 degrees (feel like 36), it is little when compared to the 38-39 degrees which we experienced in the past days, with a feel like temperature ...

Wildfires rampaged through Greek forests for yet another day Saturday, threatening homes and triggering more evacuations a day after hundreds of people were plucked off beaches by ferries in a dramatic overnight rescue.One volunteer firefighter has d...

Even people who have recovered from COVID-19 are urged to get vaccinated, especially as the extra-contagious delta variant surges — and a new study shows survivors who ignored that advice were more than twice as likely to get reinfected.Friday'...

Pompeii's archaeological park is offering free swab tests, the Vatican Museums posted refund instructions and tourists whipped out smart phones to show QR codes along with admission tickets Friday as a new COVID-19 certification rule took effect in I...

The issue of illegally placed caravans has again come up in the news this summer.After Infrastructure Malta finally took action against the caravans which have long blighted the shoreline at Mistra Bay last June, these caravans seemed to have found a...

Paris Saint-Germain and Lionel Messi are in negotiations on a contract after financially troubled Barcelona was unable to keep the superstar, a person with knowledge of the negotiations told The Associated Press on Saturday.Messi's legal team is in P...

The Latest on the Tokyo Olympics, which are taking place under heavy restrictions after a year’s delay because of the coronavirus pandemic:___MEDAL ALERTFrance won the Olympic gold medal in men’s handball by beating Denmark 25-23 in the f...

Further evidence emerged on Friday to show that the latest outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic in the U.K. has eased, with the number of people testing positive for COVID-19 falling across most parts of the country.In its weekly survey of the levels...

A group of activists gathered in Valletta for the second time to protest against anti-Covid-19 restrictions.The group is arguing that Covid-19 restrictions imposed by health authorities to combat the spread of the virus breach human fundamental right...

A judge has upheld an appeal filed by two Turkish teachers who had been jailed for passport offences last week, whilst claiming to be fleeing persecution in their homeland, later this afternoon.Rabia Yavuz and Muzekka Deneri had been sentenced to 6 m...

The record demands for electricity have put a strain on the distribution system, leading to frequent power cuts in various pockets of the country, Enemalta said yesterday.In a technical press briefing on Friday, Corporation CEO Jason Vella said that ...

48 new Covid-19 cases have been reported by health authorities as the number of new cases being found starts to decrease.It’s the first time since 7 July that the number of cases has been less than 50.120 people meanwhile have recovered, meanin...

Ponte Ferries has said that it is determined to resolve its current situation – where they claim to have been blocked by a legal challenge from using the port of Augusta in Sicily – “in the shortest possible time.” In a s...

The Latest on the Tokyo Olympics, which are taking place under heavy restrictions after a year’s delay because of the coronavirus pandemic:___MEDAL ALERTItaly has surprisingly won the men’s 4x100-meter relay to give Marcell Jacobs his sec...

Speaker of the House Anglu Farrugia has cancelled a symposium celebrating 100 years from the setting up of the Maltese Parliament, after noting that four former speakers turned down the invitation to attend.In a letter, Alfred Bonnici, Lawrence Gonzi...

Repubblika organised a small protest in Birkirkara on Friday, using two vehicles with loudspeakers to convey a message."We have a justice minister who is servile to criminal millionaires," Repubblika President Robert Aquilina said.During the press co...

A man and a woman were arrested by the police within 24 hours of allegedly committing a robbery in Gzira.The police said that a 56-year-old woman and a 46-year-old man held up a third person, a 43-year-old man, at the Council of Europe Garden in Gzir...

A Briton was seriously injured in a fight in Sliema on Friday morning, the police said.The incident took place in the Tigne area at around 5am.The Briton, aged 21, was involved in a fight with another man who escaped from the scene.The Briton suffere...

Nine areas in Grand Harbour will form part of a regeneration project to be undertaken by the government in the coming months, Infrastructure Minister Ian Borg said.They form part of a long-term regeneration project for the Grand Harbour area in a bid...

There are currently 6,469 people who are receiving social aid or unemployment benefits in Malta − a substantial decrease from the 15,114 who were relying on these benefits at the end of the Nationalist government in 2013.This was announced at a...

CNN has fired three employees who violated company policy by coming to work unvaccinated against the COVID-19 virus.CNN chief Jeff Zucker told staff members of the firing in a memo sent Thursday that reminded them that vaccines were mandatory if they...

During the second quarter of 2021, road traffic accidents and casualties increased when compared to the same quarter of the previous year, the NSO said. Road traffic fatalities amounted to one. The number of reported traffic accidents during second q...

A French constitutional court on Thursday validated most aspects of a new law that, starting next week, requires people to carry a special COVID-19 health pass to access cafes, restaurants, long-distance travel and, in some cases, hospitals. But it s...

Through the assistance of Servizzi Ewropej f'Malta (SEM), the Marsaskala Local Council obtained European funds to implement a twinning project involving participants from localities from Malta, Italy, Germany, Poland and the Netherlands. This project...

The Speaker of the House of Representatives has chosen to turn down a request from the Opposition to hold an urgent debate on a motion of no confidence in the Justice Minister, Edward Zammit Lewis, which was filed by the Opposition last Monday.Anglu ...

British police said Thursday they have made 11 arrests in connection with the online racial abuse of England soccer players following their team's loss to Italy in the final of the European Championship last month.Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bu...

Restrictions surrounding the mandatory quarantine period in the case of a fully vaccinated person being a close contact of a Covid-19 case have been relaxed, while the government has announced plans for a booster vaccine shot to be given out to selec...

A last-minute legal challenge with Sicilian authorities by another competing operator, which objected to Ponte’s use of the Augusta Port, has forced the ferry operator to delay the start of its Sicily service. Ponte Ferries said in a state...

Virtu Ferries said that it has made no legal challenge against its' rival's application to use a berthing area in Sicily.In a statement, Virtu Ferries said: "A section of the media and social media have associated Ponte Ferries' excuse, for not comme...

95% of Malta's Covid-19 cases are of the Delta variant, with the remaining 5% being of the Gamma variant, Health Minister Chris Fearne said on Thursday.Addressing a press conference where he gave details about the Covid-19 situation in Malta, Fearne ...

Former Police Sergeant Simon Schembri has been given financial compensation by the government.In a statement, the Home Affairs Ministry said that on 15 May 2018, Schembri was involved in an incident while on duty, that left him with serious physical ...

Marsascala went some 15 hours without electricity supply between Wednesday and Thursday, leaving residents reeling from the effects of the current heatwave.Many residents of the seaside town took to social media to vent their frustrations, particular...

Premier League champion Manchester City broke the British transfer fee record on Thursday to sign midfielder Jack Grealish from Aston Villa.City paid a fee of 100 million pounds ($139 million), Villa chief executive Christian Purslow confirmed. That'...

Barcelona said Thursday that Lionel Messi will not stay with the club after Spanish league financial regulations made it impossible for a deal to be reached between the club and the player.Barcelona said in a statement that a deal for a new contract ...

Motorcycling great Valentino Rossi is retiring at the end of the season.The nine-time MotoGP world champion announced his decision Thursday at the Styrian GP — at the venue where Rossi took his first grand prix podium in the 125cc class in 1996...

The Malta Entertainment Industry and Arts Association (MEIA) have lamented on how their industry remains “the only one suffering from sustained discrimination”, seeing as Malta’s health authorities still haven’t permitted the ...

78 new cases of Covid-19 were reported by health authorities on Thursday, as an elderly woman became the 424th person to die in Malta while positive for the virus.204 people meanwhile have recovered from the virus, meaning that the number of active c...

A significant €2.3 million decrease in surplus was registered by the Archdiocese of Malta in comparison to that of 2019 which has been attributed to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.€1.2 million surplus was documented in 2020 whereas &eu...

In an attempt to enable all government schools in Malta to achieve the same teaching standards, 23 teachers from the Govanni Curmi Higher Secondary School (GCHSS) will be transferred to other schools wherein teachers have been struggling to keep up w...

Proposals to protect farmers and the land they farm are being worked on by the Nationalist Party, the PN said in a statement.PN spokespersons Peter Agius and PN candidate Clifford Zahra Fenech have expressed their concerns over the future of around 4...

The government should compensate consumers who suffered frequent power cuts as a result of the government’s irresponsibility, Nationalist Party spokesman Ryan Callus said.Addressing the media, Callus said that the Labour government had won the ...

Moviment Graffitti along with the Maltese Association of Social Workers and aditus foundation today held a symbolic activity in front of the Law Courts to reiterate its position regarding the “inhumane and unjust judgement” whereby two mi...

Energy Minister Miriam Dalli said today that it is “unacceptable” that in this day and age Malta is experiencing power cuts with such frequency, and that she has demanded an explanation about the situation from Enemalta. “The issue ...

In what will be determined as a blow for event organisers, standing events will continue to be barred throughout the month of August, although the capacity for seated events is set to increase from later this month.Addressing a press conference, Heal...

Four former Speakers of the House of Representatives have turned down an invitation by the current Speaker Anglu Farrugia to take part in a symposium he will be organising next week.Farrugia will be holding a symposium on the 100th anniversary of the...

The Latest on the Tokyo Olympics, which are taking place under heavy restrictions after a year’s delay because of the coronavirus pandemic:MEDAL ALERTSpanish teenager Alberto Gines Lopez has won the first Olympic gold medal in sport climbing, r...

The man who coined the term 'Blockchain island' for Malta back in 2016 has said that the term has become a 'moniker of the most nefarious significance.'Steve Tendon, in an email to members of the Blockchain Island Club (BIC), which he had founded bac...

Malta Enterprise CEO Kurt Farrugia together with Energy and Enterprise Minister Miriam Dalli announced that the MicroInvest scheme has been extended to “provide a further support structure for businesses during the pandemic.” Since t...

The President and the Prime Minister have held separate meetings with the family of murdered journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia.The meetings were held a week after the publication of the report compiled by three judges entrusted with a public inquiry ...

Total inbound visitors for June 2021 were estimated at 70,300, while total nights spent amounted to 639,768, the NSO said.During the month under review, a total of 59,639 inbound tourists visited Malta for holiday purposes, followed by 6,606 tourists...

Close relationships which could lead to favouritism between businessmen and politicians are “not okay”, Chamber of Commerce President Marisa Xuereb told The Malta Independent when asked about the business-related findings from the Daphne ...

The Naxxar local council recently proposed the enactment of a by-law to tackle the rising number of caravans along the coast road, however this has fallen through due to the government stalling on the issue, Naxxar mayor Anne Marie Muscat Fenech Adam...

How has Brexit impacted importation and logistics sector? Franco Azzopardi, CEO of Express Trailers explains the repercussions and the new challenges that Brexit brought about in an interview with Dayna Camilleri Clarke.What are the new importation s...

Italy stepped up pressure Wednesday on fellow EU nations to open their ports to migrants rescued by humanitarian ships as political tension simmers in the Italian government's coalition over a sharply rising number of arrivals this summer on the coun...

We have known it for quite a while that most politicians think of the rest of the population as being in their grasp and can be easily manipulated.They smile, pose, shake hands and mingle with others simply because they need the people’s vote t...

An 84-year-old man was grievously injured when the car he was driving crashed into a wall, the police said.The man, from Ghaxaq, was driving his Peugeot Partner along tal-Barrani Road at 3.30am when the accident happened.He was taken to Mater Dei Hos...

The U.K. plans to offer coronavirus vaccines to 16 and 17-year-olds in the next few weeks after the independent body of scientists that makes vaccine recommendations to the government changed its advice.The four nations of the U.K. all accepted the c...

Australia’s most populous state is reporting the worst day of its outbreak of the coronavirus delta variant, with a record 262 new local infections and five deaths from COVID-19.New South Wales state Premier Gladys Berejiklian said Thursday tha...

82 new Covid-19 cases were registered on Wednesday, while 293 people recovered, the health authorities said.This brings the active cases down to 1,333. No new deaths were registered.Since the start of the pandemic, 34,590 cases of the virus were regi...

Melvin Theuma has been asked to show proof that he owned a Mosta flat allegedly used in the 2010 HSBC bank heist as a safehouse by the criminals.Theuma, the self-confessed middleman in the murder of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, made a brief app...

Former Opposition Leader Simon Busuttil has said that the President of Malta George Vella should resign from his post.Busuttil, who currently occupies the position of Secretary-General of the EPP Group in the European Parliament, said: "Such is the s...

The Malta Community Chest Fund Foundation has categorically denied that patient data or information was ever to be transferred to any third party, including the Blockchain Charity Foundation."All patient information is treated as strictly confidentia...

A fraud who posed as a priest collecting money for charity wept in the dock as he was remanded in custody pending sentencing after pleading guilty to defrauding a 90-year-old man of some €3,000.This afternoon, Dillon Kenneth Junior Bartolo, 28, ...