Malta will “undoubtedly” meet all the requirements of the action plan and get off the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) grey list, FIAU deputy director Alfred Zammit told The Malta Independent on Sunday.Interviewed by The Malta I...

The Commissioner for Children has expressed her concern about the new recreational cannabis law, saying that the fact cannabis plants can be grown at home will give children easier access access to drugs and they could be exposed to passive smoking.I...

Roberta Metsola’s nomination for the presidency of the European Parliament is a breath of fresh air for Malta on the international stage.In the past years, Malta’s name has not been associated with good things. The John Dalli saga, the re...

Any disruptions arising from the introduction of any fragmented and disproportionate measures in response to the emergence of the new Omicron variant would have an immediate effect on Malta International Airport’s (MIA) traffic performance duri...

Actress Nakita Grima always knew what she wanted – she enjoyed drama at school and grew up to become a well-known face in drama circles, especially TV series. She has special memories of her childhood with her family and would want to spend mor...

The Labour government prides itself in being one “that listens” (gvern li jisma), but when it came to the introduction of new laws on cannabis use, it only listened to its own ambition to consolidate its youth voter base.The Cannabis refo...

Britain's government tightened travel restrictions Saturday amid concerns about the spread of the omicron coronavirus variant, saying all travelers arriving in England will need to take a COVID-19 test before they board their flight.Health Secretary ...

A man who was arrested after a six-hour manhunt in Mellieha on Thursday was charged with attempted murder on Saturday afternoon.The man, Aidan Bartolo, 24, of Ghaxaq, was also charged with the attempt to cause serious injury, causing injury to police...

The number of new Covid-19 cases recorded on Saturday was lower than the one registered in the past days, but the number of patients with Covid-19 in hospital continues to rise, figures released by the health authorities show.Fifty-nine new cases wer...

The Office of the Commissioner for Voluntary Organisations (OCVO) has launched a consultation process, VO Plus, with the aim of reforming the sector and ensuring it meets the present and future needs of voluntarism in Malta. The launch, which was hel...

Opposition Leader Bernard Grech said Saturday that he does not exclude that the Opposition would boycott Parliament in protest at the way in which the Speaker acts as a gatekeeper for the government. He was being interviewed by Andrew Azzopardi on 10...

Malta is carrying a disproportionate burden, being on the forefront of managing irregular migration along the Central Mediterranean, Minister for Foreign and European Affairs Evarist Bartolo said.He was addressing the 2021 Mediter...

Valletta: New British Dispensary, 109/110, St John Street; Ħamrun: Chemimart International Pharmacy, 650, St Joseph High Road; Qormi: Tal-Ħlas Pharmacy, Ħelsien Street; Birkirkara (Ta' Paris): Mackie's Pharmacy, L. Casolani Street; Pie...

Captain Morgan has decided not to build the Balluta jetty and is evaluating alternative sites after listening to the public’s concerns, the company said in a statement Saturday.The company’s goal has always been to invest in a new maritim...

The vaccine certificate will be indicating when the booster dose was taken, the government said in a statement.This will appear 14 days after the booster dose is administered, the statement added.For the certificate to be generated, people are to vis...

Two men were grievously injured in the past hours in separate accidents that took place in Floriana and Naxxar, the police said.At 6pm on Friday, a 28-year-old man of St Paul’s Bay lost control of the Audi TT he was driving and the car crashed ...

Pope Francis warned Saturday that the “easy answers” of populism and authoritarianism are threatening democracy in Europe and called for fresh dedication to promoting the common good.Arriving in Greece, the birthplace of democracy, Franci...

A new variant named omicron (B.1.1.529) was reported by researchers in South Africa on Nov. 24, 2021, and designated a “variant of concern” by the World Health Organization two days later. Omicron is very unusual in that it is b...

Defending champion Manchester City is on top of the English Premier League for the first time this season.And if Pep Guardiola's team keeps playing like this, it could be difficult to knock City off its perch — even in a tight title race that s...

Roma coach José Mourinho had a nightmare match against his former team as the capital side lost 3-0 at home to Inter Milan in Serie A on Saturday.Hakan Çalhanoğlu, former Roma forward Edin D?eko, and Denzel Dumfries scored in the f...

Valletta u Birkirkara figured out a goalless draw in the main match on Saturday with both teams giving more room for leaders  Hibernians to increase their lead at the helm.It was an interesting match with both teams having their moments though V...

Max Verstappen slapped the wall in the 27th and final turn of Formula One's newest circuit, handing the front row for the inaugural Saudi Arabian Grand Prix to Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes.Hamilton, the seven-time world champion, jumped to the top of ...

The regeneration of the old power station area in Marsa is a unique opportunity that should not be squandered for the development of more tourism infrastructure, ADPD – The Green Party Chairperson, Carmel Cacopardo said Saturday. This rege...

A proposal to declare the Mediterranean Sea an area where ships are obliged to switch to a cleaner fuel has so far gained the support of various Mediterranean states, with Malta still not declaring its position on this motion, BirdLife Malta said in ...

Libya’s foreign minister on Friday criticized a system of deterring migrants from reaching European shores that she argued fails to address the root of the problem and has so far only served the interest of EU states.Her comments are the latest...

Measures used to counter the delta variant should remain the foundation for fighting the coronavirus pandemic, even in the face of the new omicron version of the virus, World Health Organization officials said Friday, while acknowledging that th...

Germany's health minister said Friday that more than 1% of the population — almost a million people — are currently infected with the coronavirus, and called on citizens to get vaccinated if they haven’t done so yet.The country conf...

It was on Thursday that Tourism Minister Clayton Bartolo announced another government strategy: this time one for the tourism industry between 2021 and 2030.Bartolo described the strategy’s 22 objectives, goals and actions as “ambitious&r...

Minister for Foreign and European Affairs Evarist Bartolo has called for sound political leadership to calm the current turbulent political climate. Minister Bartolo said we again need détente in Europe and in the Mediterranean and said Malta ...

President of Malta George Vella presided over the annual Gold Medal 2021 Award ceremony, organised by the Malta Society of Arts (MSA), of which he is the patron. The MSA launched the Gold Medal Award in 1896 with the aim of presenting the Gold Medal ...

Montenegro’s parliament has voted to form an Inquiry Committee to investigate the Mozura wind farm project, which has been implicated in corruption allegations from the outset. In a statement, the Daphne Caruana Galizia Foundation reported that...

A priority throughout the COVID-19 pandemic has been to ensure hospital beds remain available for those who need them, Charmaine Gauci has testified in court.The Public Health Superintendent took the witness stand in a constitutional court case filed...

Having yielded 413.2mm of rainfall, last meteorological autumn, covering the period between September and November, became the wettest autumn since 1999, back when 473.1mm of precipitation were measured, the Malta International Airport’s meteor...

133 new cases of Covid-19 cases were reported by health authorities on Friday, as the higher number of cases continued.75 people have also recovered from the virus, meaning that Malta currently has 1,348 active cases of the virus.The number of people...

A body found at sea last week has been identified as that of 42-year-old Danilo Scolari, police said in a statement.Scolari – a diver by profession - was reported missing on 23 November, having last been seen in his camouflage wetsuit at the Fr...

A number of academics have penned a letter to three government ministers highlighting the need to help the country gain a workforce with the "right skill set", putting forward their proposals.The letter was penned to the Ministers for Finance and Emp...

A Libyan court ruled Thursday that a son of the late Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi can compete in upcoming presidential elections, overturning a decision by the country's top electoral body to disqualify him.A court in the southern province of Sabh...

Parliamentary Secretary for European Funds Stefan Zrinzo Azzopardi announced on Friday, that €10 million in EU funds will be invested in the justice sector, which will see the governance in Malta strengthened through the implementation of the ne...

A man who involved the police in a massive manhunt in woodland in the limits of Mellieha was arrested by the police early on Friday after a search that lasted more than six hours, the police said.The man, named by the police as Aidan Bartolo of Ghaxa...

A Libyan man has been reported missing to the police.The man, Alsagheer Mohamed Rajab Ali, aged 29, was reported missing from the Santa Marija rehabilitation centre in Luqa.He was last seen on 28 November.Anyone with information is asked to report to...

The Malta Union of Midwives and Nurses has urged President George Vella not to endorse the new Cannabis law until safeguards for patients and elderly people are included.The MUMN said that any nurse, doctor, or even a carer under the influence of Can...

Alec Baldwin said he feels incredible sadness and regret over the shooting that killed a cinematographer on a New Mexico film set, but not guilt.“Someone is responsible for what happened, and I can’t say who that is, but it’s not me...

A woman was grievously injured on Thursday evening in a traffic accident in Birkirkara, the police said.The accident took place in Dun Karm Street at 5.45pm.It involved a Piaggio Vespa GTS bike and a Toyota Funcargo. The rider of the bike, a 60-year-...

With Christmas approaching fast, businessmen are keeping their fingers crossed that it will be a different and better festive time for them than it was last year.In 2020, with the Covid-19 pandemic in full swing and the vaccination programme still to...

Flimkien ghal Ambjent Ahjar called on the Planning Authority to "drop the pretence" that it takes into account the well-argued views of its case officers and the public who will suffer most from abusive de...

A 12-year freedom of expression battle in the courts involving two former Times of Malta journalists has finally been brought to a close after Malta’s State Advocate conceded the case before it was due to be heard by the European Court of Human...

The police have issued a call for information seeking the whereabouts of a man wanted to be brought before the law courts.The police want to trace Merwar Elfetori Abdullah Ellafi, who is wanted to appear in front of the law courts, the police said on...

The Nationalist Party reaffirmed its commitment regarding the rights, needs and aims of persons with disabilities in Malta.In a statement in commemoration of the International Day of Persons with Disabilities (IDPD), the PN said that this year, the e...

A lawyer who published a Facebook post accusing former Prime Minister Joseph Muscat of blowing up journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia has been cleared of libel after neither Muscat nor his lawyer showed up for the case.The former Prime Minister, howeve...

Media organisations and NGOs have written a letter to the Prime Minister expressing concern about a Legal Notice granting the director general of the courts the ability to erase court judgements from the court website, urging the PM to revoke the not...

Police are filing charges against four people who urged a man to jump off the Valletta bastions last month.Shocking footage of the 19 November incident was published by Times of Malta.Passers-by stopped at the Valletta City Gate bridge to watch polic...

Europol has published footage in which the Maltese police arrested seven individuals as part of a money laundering investigation.Europol said it has supported the Maltese Authorities in investigating an organised crime group suspected of having laund...

138 new cases of Covid-19 were reported by health authorities on Thursday as the high number of virus cases persist.It’s the highest number of daily cases found since 27 July, when 142 cases were reported.61 people have also recovered, taking t...

Special emphasis on recovery was put into the newly introduced tourism strategy for the Maltese islands covering from 2021 up till the year 2030. Minister for Tourism and Consumer Protection Clayton Bartolo launched the strategy in a press conference...

The at-risk-of-poverty or social exclusion rate in Malta was estimated at 19.9% of the population in 2020, statistics issued by the National Statistics Office (NSO) show.This equals 100,712 people.Persons are considered to be at-risk-of-poverty or so...

A Valyou supermarket director told the Times’ editor Herman Grech that former journalist Ivan Camilleri had stolen anything between €11,000 to €18,000 in goods from the supermarket, when confronted by him and Allied Newspapers directo...

Workers in Malta’s disciplined forces have started getting their Covid-19 booster appointments, the Health Ministry announced on Thursday.The ministry said that SMS’ have been sent to the members of the Armed Forces of Malta, the Police F...

Germany has announced sweeping new restrictions for people who have not been vaccinated against Covid-19.Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Thursday that unvaccinated people will be barred from many public places, including non-essential shops and even...

Sitting high in the stand with a blanket covering his legs on a chilly night at Old Trafford, recently appointed Manchester United manager Ralf Rangnick was treated to a rip-roaring introduction to life in the Premier League.One of the most bizarre g...

Maltese Member of the European Parliament David Casa has been appointed as the European Parliament’s rapporteur on the multi-billion-euro Social Climate Fund. He reports to the European Parliament Committee on Employment and Social Affairs (EMP...

While some cases of Covid-19 have been reported among schoolchildren, the numbers are “within the normal range,” Education Minister Justyne Caruana told The Malta Independent yesterday. She also confirmed that there are no plans so far to...

The rapporteur, MEP Alex Agius Saliba, who will steer the legislation for a common charger for electronic devices through the European Parliament, had the first exchange of views on Wednesday in the Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee. ...

The COVID crisis has underlined the urgent need to ensure that essential workers, cleaners, health and agricultural workers earn a more adequate minimum wage, Labour MEP Alfred Sant said.He was addressing European Parliament during a debate regarding...

The booster dose of the Covid-19 vaccine will soon be included on people’s vaccine certificate along with their other doses, Superintendent of Public Health Charmaine Gauci has said.Gauci made the announcement on television during the programme...

A pandemic-weary world faces weeks of confusing uncertainty as countries restrict travel and take other steps to halt the newest potentially risky coronavirus mutant before anyone knows just how dangerous omicron really is.Will it spread even faster ...

The Head of Cabinet of European Commission Executive Vice President Frans Timmermans, Diederik Samsom, has urged Malta to become a beacon for new developments in offshore energy production.He spoke during a webinar that was organised by the Represent...

Tourism businesses that were just finding their footing after nearly two years of devastation wrought by the COVID-19 pandemic are being rattled again as countries throw up new barriers to travel in an effort to contain the omicron var...

The chief of the European Union's executive arm said Wednesday that EU nations should consider making COVID-19 vaccinations mandatory because too many people still refuse to get shots voluntarily.The EU-wide vaccination rate stands at 66%, and unexpe...

While current economic growth in several European countries has slowed since the end of the third quarter in 2021, Malta, the smallest of all EU-member states, has seen a substantial increase in inflation, around 0.7%, a low margin compared to Estoni...

Klaus-Heiner Lehne of the European Court of Auditors has defended himself and his colleagues against allegations of mismanagement revealed by a French newspaper, Euractiv.com reports.He does not rule out taking the case to court, the report adds.Last...

Following a 6.7 percent gain in the second quarter, real gross domestic product (GDP) increased at a rate of 2.1 percent in the third quarter of 2021.From the "advance" estimate given in October, the rise was revised up 0.1 percentage point. The U.S ...

Opposition Leader Bernard Grech made an interesting proposal in Parliament on Monday, to overhaul the composition of the Standards in Public Life Committee. Currently, the committee has the Speaker of the House as its chairman. Two PL MPs and two PN ...

A number of Church organisations and the Opposition have expressed their disappointment at the way the government ignored amendments they proposed for the Cannabis reform bill.The reform is one step closer to being implemented after it moved to the t...

The Corradino Correctional Facility is overcrowded and understaffed, an investigation by the National Audit Office (NAO) has found.In a report presented by Auditor General Charles Deguara to Speaker Anglu Farrugia, the NAO also says that local legisl...

The Nationalist Party has presented a Private Member’s Bill in Parliament to change the composition of the Standards in Public Life Committee and allow former parliamentarians to be placed under the committee’s scrutiny for ethical breach...

The Opposition will present a motion to repeal a Legal Notice that granted the Director General of the Courts power to erase judgements from the court’s website.The Opposition was reacting to a Legal Notice granting Malta’s director-gener...

The niche that decorated what was known as the Green House in Sliema should have been placed in a museum, and not incorporated in a design of a new block of flats, Alex Torpiano, Executive President of Din l-Art Helwa, told The Malta Independent.A ph...

The Constitutional Court has dismissed an appeal filed by Yorgen Fenech from a judgment rejecting his claim of having suffered a breach of his fundamental right to a fair hearing when his request to block testimony based on information he provid...

95 new cases of Covid-19 were registered on Wednesday, as 70 people recovered.This brings the number of active cases up to 1,213. The last time we had more than 1,200 active cases was on 5 August.Currently, 11 people are at Mater Dei Hospital with Co...

A disciplinary board has found that police authorities did not have tangible evidence that a Superintendent, who had been suspended after testing positive for cocaine, had anything to do with the drug, the Times of Malta reports.In January 2021, Malt...

Only two points separate Chelsea, Manchester City and Liverpool at the top of the Premier League. There's no doubting who the entertainers are with the most high-powered attack.Liverpool hit four goals for a third consecutive game by beating Everton ...

Junior Messias continued his scoring form by netting twice for AC Milan to help the Rossoneri get back on track in the league with a 3-0 win at relegation-threatened Genoa on Wednesday.Messias even overshadowed Zlatan Ibrahimović, who scored Mil...

It was every sports bettor's dream: Being able to bet on a game after it had already ended.But the 86 New Jersey gamblers who thought they were beating the system had their bets on a British soccer game voided, and the two betting companies involved ...

A new MapServer launched by the Planning Authority allows users to report an illegal development by clicking on a particular site.Users will also be given the option of remaining anonymous and of uploading photos of the alleged illegal works.The chan...

The Malta Police Union has issued directives over a registered dispute regarding Covid-19 booster shots during the festive period.The union is requesting that Police Officers be given their third dose before the yuletide period begins."The Executive ...

Across the globe, world powers like The US and Europe have slowly begun the integration of technology and digitization within their business sector. Studies show that 2020 saw a substantial increase in using digital technologies within the worldwide ...

Transport Malta, the Malta Road Safety Council and popular band ‘The Travellers’ have joined forces to campaign against drink driving during the Christmas holiday period.The slogan chosen for the campaign was extracted from The Travellers...

Several entrepreneurs may have come across various reasons to actively pursue business formation in Malta since its business sector appears to follow simple procedures and low taxation rates.Furthermore, many business owners may find multiple incenti...

The European Commission on Tuesday retracted internal communication guidelines that had proposed substituting the "Christmas period" with "holiday period" after an outcry by conservatives and the Vatican, which termed the document an attempt to "canc...

A World War II bomb exploded at a construction site next to a busy railway line in Munich on Wednesday, injuring four people, one of them seriously, German authorities said.A column of smoke was seen rising from the site near the Donnersbergerbruecke...

A research study on child-friendly towns and villages was launched on Wednesday by Commissioner for Children Pauline Miceli.Miceli stressed that children themselves should be involved in the study from beginning to end, so as to ensure that children'...

Doctor Walter Busuttil has been appointed as Chief Medical Officer, the Health Ministry announced on Wednesday.He takes over from Dr Dennis Vella Baldacchino, who was appointed Commissioner for Mental Health a few weeks back.Walter Busuttil graduated...

A pilot project has been launched in 4 schools aimed at educating youths about domestic violence and 'Safe Dates' during their Personal, Social and Career Development (PSCD) lessons.The project was launched by Education Minister Justyne Caruana and E...

Malta’s first ESG portal, allowing the general public and investors to evaluate the environmental, social and governance credentials of amongst the largest quoted companies in Malta and Gozo, was launched on Wednesday by the Minister for Energy...

Commemorating World AIDS Day today, the PN's Forum for Equal Opportunities (FOIPN) will strive to end new HIV transmission rates while standing against HIV/AIDS stigma and discrimination, the PN said."Malta has the highest rate of new HIV cases at a ...

Italian police have arrested a Maltese man, and 16 other people, as part of a drug ring operation bust.It is suspected that the criminal organisation moved drugs from Albania to  Puglia and Calabria and Malta. In total, 430kg of cannabis, cannab...

The Anti Poverty Forum Malta has asked the Central Bank of Malta to reconsider the measure that would not allow cheques of under €20 to be processed.The Forum wrote a letter to the Central Bank of Malta regarding a directive the latter issued wh...

A lawyer who is representing an arms dealer accused of breaching international sanctions against Libya has accused the police of arraigning his client in an attempt to divert attention away from the 2019 migrant pushback scandal.The compilation of ev...

A worker was grievously inured after he fell from a height of three-storeys in Mriehel, the police said.The accident occurred on Triq in-Negozju Mriehel.The victim, 31, from Cospicua, was given first aid on site by emergency doctors and members of th...

4,629 students graduated from tertiary level education in 2020, equivalent to a decrease of 4.9% over the previous year, statistics by the National Statistics Office reads.The largest share of tertiary graduates (55.5%) attained a qualification at IS...