As the omicron coronavirus variant spreads in southern Africa and pops up in countries all around the world, scientists are anxiously watching a battle play out that could determine the future of the pandemic. Can the latest competitor to the world-d...

The U.S. will stage a diplomatic boycott of the upcoming Winter Olympics in Beijing t o protest Chinese human rights abuses, the White House confirmed Monday, a move that China has vowed to greet with “firm countermeasures.”Whit...

San Gwann residents are complaining about loud Christmas carols being played from loudspeakers in the streets of the locality, which they say is causing an inconvenience.Residents writing in the San Gwann Residents group on Facebook have said that th...

Transport Malta has suspended all driving tests pending further notice.The agency said on its Facebook page that as a precautionary measure and to align with the guidelines issued by the Maltese Health Authorities, the DPTTU (Driver Permits, Testing ...

Malta’s position on the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) grey list is an issue that, as more time passes, will see more negative effects on the country.FIAU deputy director Alfred Zammit told The Malta Independent on Sunday during an ...

81 new cases of Covid-19 were reported by health authorities on Monday, as the number of hospitalisations increased.61 people meanwhile have recovered, and with no new death reported it means that the number of active cases has risen to 1,313.22 pati...

The Chamber of Pharmacists has joined a chorus of voices calling on President George Vella not to sign the cannabis reform Bill. The Bill has reached it third and final reading stage. Several NGOs, the Church and the Opposition have complained that t...

Minister for Equality, Research and Innovation Owen Bonnici said today that there will be adequate fines for those who expose cannabis to minors, both publicly and in private residencies.Speaking to the Malta Independent, Bonnici said that there are ...

A 71-year-old man from Valletta who was charged late last month with sending threatening letters to public figures was released on bail on Monday after a court heard more victims testify in the criminal proceedings against him.Joseph Mary Borg had be...

Alessandro Farrugia has resigned as Communications Director of the Nationalist Party.In a statement, the PN said Farrugia has resigned due to “personal reasons.”Simon Vella Gregory has been appointed Acting Communications Director of Info...

WasteServ has appealed to people to separate their waste in a more effective manner, although they noted that while landfilling remains high, 2021 was a productive year for recyclables.Although the landfilling figures are an improvement over prior on...

Money laundering proceedings filed against Yorgen Fenech continued briefly on Monday, with the court reprimanding the prosecution for failing to summon sufficient witnesses to fill the hour-long sitting.Fenech stands accused of committing acts o...

The Auditor General, Charles Deguara, presented the Annual Audit Report on the Public Accounts for 2020 to Speaker of the House of Representatives Anglu Farrugia yesterday.It comprises 42 write-ups on the operations of several Government Ministries, ...

The Nationalist Party is presenting a motion in Parliament with the aim of annulling Legal Notice 456 regarding the Regulation on the Online Publication of Court Judgements.The Legal Notice gives complete discretion to the director-general of the cou...

Malta International Airport on Saturday welcomed the first two flights from Zagreb and Parma, which will be operated on Tuesdays and Saturdays throughout winter by Lauda Europe and Malta Air respectively, both of which are part of Ryanair Holdings.&n...

A corporate service provider has been handed a fine by the Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit (FIAU) over their failure to submit a suspicious transaction report and/or a suspicious activity report to the authority in relation to three of their cli...

An 84-year-old man is in danger of dying after he lost control of his car and crashed in a traffic accident in Gozo on Monday morning.Police said that they were informed of the incident at around 10:15am, in Triq Tas-Srug in Xaghra, Gozo.Preliminary ...

A €200,000 investment by the Malta Council for Science and Technology (MCST) was crucial for the creation of a collaborative project between scientists from the Department of Physics (including members of the Electromagnetics group) and the Inst...

The Labour Party has collected €577,221 in its last fund-raising activity of the year, held on Sunday.In a statement, the PL said party leader and Prime Minister Robert Abela thanks all those who contributed.

Italy is making life more uncomfortable for unvaccinated people as the holidays draw near, excluding them from indoor restaurants, theaters and museums to reduce the spread of coronavirus and encourage vaccine skeptics to get their shots.Starting Mon...

The Nationalist party today issued several proposals to help the voluntary sector.PN MPs Kevin Cutajar, Claudette Buttigieg and Ivan Bartolo presented an extensive list of the party's proposals for the sector. They said that the PN will exempt VAT wh...

Politicians, businessmen and other top officials managed to avoid paying traffic fines for the last five years after a LESA employee continuously deleted them from the authority’s database.According to a report in the Times of Malta, the offici...

Gwida, the oldest magazine in Malta, will stop being published in the current format as from 2022, its outgoing editor said in the last edition.The magazine, which largely covers entertainment and television, was first published in 1962. For many yea...

The students at Marsaskala’s St. Anne primary school are the latest from the local community to voice their concerns against the government’s proposed yacht marina at the locality’s bay.The Marsaskala St. Anne Primary School took to...

After a prolonged campaign of public opposition, Captain Morgan on Saturday finally listened and dropped its plans to build a ferry jetty at Balluta Bay in St. Julian’s.The company said that they had taken the decision because “the sentim...

Motorists have been advised by police to avoid Regional Road in the direction of St. Julian’s due to an oil spill.Police said on Facebook that motorists should seek alternative routes.Heavy traffic stretching back to the Kappara flyover has bee...

A cyclist from Gambia was grievously injured after he was hit by a car on the Marsa-Hamrun by-pass on Sunday evening, the police said.The cyclist, a man from Gambia, aged 32 and resident in Swieqi, was hit by a Mazda Demio driven by a 21-year-old man...

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...

69 new cases of Covid-19 were reported by health authorities on Sunday, as the number of people who have recovered from the virus has now started to increase.In fact, 123 people have recovered from the virus, taking the number of active cases down to...

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...

A Norwegian Cruise Line ship with at least 10 passengers and crew members infected with COVID-19 docked Sunday in New Orleans, where health officials said they were trying to disembark people without worsening the spread of the coronavirus ...

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...

 Opposition leader Bernard Grech’s trust rating has dropped to 26.5% since taking over for the PN, whilst Prime Minister Robert Abela’s trust rating rose to 51.1%, according to a MaltaToday survery.The trust gap is at its widest sinc...

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...

Pope Francis returned Sunday to the Greek island of Lesbos to offer comfort to migrants at a refugee camp and blast what he said was Europe's indifference and self-interest “that condemns to death those on the fringes.”“Please, let ...

Juventus put aside its off-the-field problems as the Bianconeri beat relegation-threatened Genoa 2-0 in Serie A on Sunday but coach Massimiliano Allegri had a touchline spat with one of his own players.Juan Cuadrado and Paulo Dybala scored at either ...

A man was caught on security camera footage stealing a box of coins from a Paola petrol station. The man is seen stopping his car next to a station to inflate a tyre. The footage shows the man opening the doors of the car to hide himself while he for...

Hibernians maintained their unbeaten record at the end of the first round after a scoreless draw against Floriana. It was a lucky escape for the leageue leaders who were dominated for long stretches by a better Floriana side.The Greens can consider t...

 San Giljan ASC have announced that their international player Dino Zammit has joined Sliema.In a post on Facebook, San Giljan ASC confirmed that they accepted an offer from Sliema ASC for the transfer of player Dino Zammit.Dino joined the ...

A 90-minute performance of off-the-ball intensity by Cristiano Ronaldo. A rare clean sheet. And something even more unlikely — a goal by Fred, off his weaker right foot.Ralf Rangnick is already working his magic at Manchester United.The 63-year...

The increasingly tense Formula One title fight between defending champion Lewis Hamilton and his formidable challenger, Max Verstappen, will head to the last race of the season with the fierce rivals level on points.Next weekend's Abu Dhabi showdown ...

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...

A motorcyclist was seriously injured in a traffic accident early this morning. Police said that the Italian motorist, 28, lost control of his vehicle, a Honda CB600F, and fell at Triq Valletta, Mosta. A passenger on the same motorcycle, a 30-year-old...

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...