The Covid-19 wage supplement, which has served as a road to recovery for businesses in various sectors following the blow of the pandemic, is being revised to determine which sectors can benefit from it beyond the month of January. Prime Minister Rob...

A surge of absenteeism caused by covid related absenteeism has negatively affected companies, a survey done amongst Malta Employers’ Association members said. A total of 325 employers responded to the survey where it was reported that 32% ...

Scientists are seeing signals that COVID-19′s alarming omicron wave may have peaked in Britain and is about to do the same in the U.S., at which point cases may start dropping off dramatically.The reason: The variant has proved so wil...

ROME (AP) — Police in Italy have arrested a nurse on charges that he faked giving coronavirus vaccinations to at least 45 people so they could get a health pass fraudulently, ditching vaccines in a bin and even putting bandages on his “pa...

Malta has lost two giants of a man in a matter of days.Between Christmas and New Year, we learnt of the sudden demise of cardiologist Albert Fenech and the traffic accident which would, one week later, lead to the death of oncologist Victor Calvagna....

Lawyers for Melvin Theuma have asked a court to make the State a party to a case for damages filed by the family of murdered journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia against those responsible for her murder. Madam Justice Anna Felice will be issuing a ...

The court has shot down a constitutional challenge that was filed by independent candidate Arnold Cassola over the gender corrective mechanism that was approved by Parliament in April.The 'corrective mechanism' will allow - in case only two parties a...

Three elderly people have died while they were positive for Covid-19, health authorities said in their latest update on Tuesday.Authorities said that two men aged 77 and 81 and an 81-year-old woman had died in the last 24 hours while they were positi...

The government has appointed a committee of experts on the media sector, which includes a number of members of the press, in fulfillment of one of the recommendations of the public inquiry into the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia. The board was...

The duties of the President of the European Parliament will be designated to Roberta Metsola as First Vice-President of the European Parliament, this newsroom can confirm.She will assume the duties after EU Parliament President David Sassoli died at ...

The Ombudsman ignored proposals for new procedures for constitutional overseeing institutions, the public service said in a right of reply sent to this newsroom on Tuesday. The right of reply was in response to an article published on Monday tit...

Novak Djokovic knew he had tested positive for COVID-19 when he attended a newspaper interview and photo shoot at his tennis center in Serbia last month, saying Wednesday he made an “error of judgement" and should have immediately gone into iso...

In 2021, 3,347 drug tests were carries out in the Corradino Correctional Facility, and 15 people were found to be positive, Home Affairs Minister Byron Camilleri has said.He was responding to a Parliamentary Question posed by PN MP Beppe Fenech Adami...

Environment Minister Aaron Farrugia said that a Bill presented in Parliament regarding the Environment Proterction Act promotes good governance and complete transparency.Minister Farrugia presented the second reading of a bill aimed at reforming the ...

The government has allocated €3.5 million to the Carer at Home scheme.Active Ageing Minister Michael Farrugia said that through the funds, elderly persons will be granted financial aid to employ qualified carers of their choice to help them in t...

The Turkish government has appealed to the Maltese authorities not to allow the development of a multi-storey garage complex right next to the Turkish Cemetery in Marsa.Speaking to The Malta Independent, Turkish ambassador Kerem Ahmet Kiratli&nb...

During a meeting of the Employment Relations Board held with the participation of the Superintendence of Public Health, the Data Protection Commissioner and the CEO of the Health and Safety Authority, Chamber of SMEs CEO Abigail Agius Mamo presented ...

In order to upgrade and modernize Malta's national Research and Innovation (R&I) framework, the Maltese government is adopting a new Smart Specialization Strategy.The strategy will also facilitate access to EU funding for R&I in selected econ...

Making femicide a criminal offence is “pointless” because the crime of voluntary homicide already carries the highest possible punishment – life imprisonment – Justice Minister Edward Zammit Lewis said on Tuesday. He was asked...

The possible promotion to a top Vatican position for Archbishop Charles Scicluna could lead to his being replaced as the head of the Maltese Church, sources told The Malta Independent.On Monday, Pope Francis announced changes to the set-up of the Con...

Opposition Leader Bernard Grech has written to the Prime Minister requesting an urgent Parliamentary debate on a letter sent by the Ombudsman to the Speaker. In the letter, Ombudsman Anthony Mifsud accused the head of the civil service, Mario Cu...

 A man was seriously hurt when he fell off a ladder on Tuesday, the police said.The accident took place in a farmhouse in Hal Farrug Road, Siggiewi at 8.30am, with the police saying it was notified at noon.The man, aged 65 of Santa Venera, was t...

The government will go over the 12 bills presented by the Nationalist Party, based on the legal recommendations made in the Daphne Caruana Galizia inquiry, Minister for Justice and Governance Edward Zammit Lewis said today. The government will consid...

Justice Minister Edward Zammit Lewis said that it was the Attorney General's discretion as to whether or not to grant Darren Debono, known as il-Topo, a pardon, and that he does not interfere in such decisions.Darren Debono, known as it-Topo, se...

A new 3,251 square metre Lidl supermarket is being proposed in Qormi, on the site of the former General Soft Drinks Complex.The site is on Mdina road and Triq il-Vitorja.The application, filed by Mizzi Organisation LTD & Lidl Immobiliare Malta Lt...

Minister for the Economy and Industry Silvio Schembri launched a new digital strategy which focuses on funds for research on Artificial Intelligence, in collaboration with the Malta Digital Innovation Authority (MDIA).€125,000 will be allocated ...

David Sassoli, an Italian journalist who worked his way up in politics while defending the downtrodden and repressed to become president of the European Union’s parliament, died at a hospital in Italy early Tuesday. He was 65.European Council P...

As we enter the fifth year since Daphne Caruana Galizia's assassination, Malta must not waste any more time in implementing reforms that will prevent future deaths and ensure that the country is set on the right path, a statement by the Daphne Caruan...

The outline application for the construction of a waste to energy plant at the Magħtab landfill has been recommended for approval, and is set to go before the Planning Authority’s board on Thursday.The flagship waste management project aim...

Lawyers for former Education Minister Justyne Caruana yesterday filed an application in her constitutional proceedings against the State Advocate and a judicial protest against the Speaker of the House, asking that the Speaker be admitted as a party ...

The Erasmus Student Network (ESN) Malta has announced that the University of Malta has made special arrangements together with the Malta Public Health Authorities for international students registered at the University of Malta to receive the booster...

 Italy targeted the unvaccinated with a host of new coronavirus restrictions Monday, with proof of vaccination or recovery from a recent infection required to enter public transport, cafes, hotels, gyms and other popular venues.The new “su...

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — The head of the Serbian Orthodox Church Patriarch Porfirije has tested positive for COVID-19, the church said on Tuesday, amid a surge in infections in the country and elsewhere in the Balkan region.Porfirije has develop...

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson faced more allegations that he and his staff flouted coronavirus lockdown rules, this time by holding a garden party in 2020 while Britons were barred by law from mingling outside the home.Opposition politicians c...

The 2022 election will see two new party leaders face each other. Neither has contested a general election as leader of their party.The past two years have seen a lot of changes made. Joseph Muscat was made to resign, Konrad Mizzi is no longer a Labo...

A biker was grievously injured in a crash in San Gwann on Monday evening.The accident happened in Naxxar Road, at 8pm.The biker, a 30-year-old man from San Giljan, was involved in a crash with a Kia Sportage driven by a 35-year-old Libyan who resides...

The prime ministers of Australia and Serbia on Tuesday discussed Novak Djokovic's precarious visa after the top-ranked Serbian tennis star won a court battle to compete in the Australian Open but still faces the threat of deportation because he is no...

PN MP David Thake blamed cash flow problems the outstanding VAT dues of one of his companies, saying that he preferred to pay his employees than pay the government on time.Fielding questions from journalists about VAT issues which two of his companie...

Ombudsman Anthony Mifsud has fired back at civil service chief Mario Cutajar, accusing the latter of unleashing a “direct frontal attack” on his office in a recent report.The Ombudsman was referring to a report titled ‘Governance Ac...

437 cases of Covid-19 were reported by health authorities on Monday, as Malta reported another death related to the virus.Health authorities said that an 84-year-old woman had died while she was positive for Covid-19.489 people have now died in Malta...

A tract of ODZ land in Mellieha which was offered up as a tender for beekeeping “will not be touched”, PN MP Robert Cutajar told his followers following a meeting with Prime Minister Robert Abela.Cutajar, who was elected from Mellieha&rsq...

Two departments at Mater Dei Hospital will be named after Albert Fenech and Victor Calvagna, two giants of the medical profession who recently passed away.The news was announced by Health Minister Chris Fearne in Parliament on Monday.The Cardiology D...

Andy Ellul has been officially co-opted to Parliament after he was chosen for the post by the Labour Party.Ellul was sworn in on Monday when Parliament reconvened after the Christmas holidays.He replaces Silvio Grixti, who resigned after it emerged h...

Malta currently has the highest rate of Covid-19 boosters administered in Europe, and subsequently the lowest number of Covid-19 patients in hospital in the continent as well, Health Minister Chris Fearne said on Monday.Quoting a dataset from the web...

The Nationalist Party has supported a call by a business lobby group to further reduce quarantine periods for Covid-19 cases to five days, as has been done in the United States.In a statement, the PN said that it supported the call of the Chamber of ...

Mariella Dimech has been appointed as the first Executive Chairperson of the Authority on the Responsible Use of Cannabis which has been established by means of Act LXVI of 2021, which came into force on the 18th of December 2021, the government...

European Parliament president David Sassoli has been hospitalized in Italy due to abnormal functioning of his immune system, his spokesman said Monday.Roberto Cuillo said in a statement that Sassoli has in the hospital since Dec. 26 and all his activ...

There were 41 pregnancies from the IVF cycles in 2021, a government statement read, adding that it was a positive year for the Embryo Protection Authority and that this was a higher number than in 2020.In 2021, the authority was relocated to a new bu...

Three local councils together with several organisations and residents have filed two court actions against the approval of the massive db Group project on the ex-ITS site, a statement by the group of dissenters read.One court action appeals the appr...

New vaccine certificate rules have imposed an unnecessary hurdle for Maltese residents to travel, Malta International Airport has warned.MIA urged the health authorities to halt the introduction of further unnecessary and haphazard travel restriction...

A Planning Application proposing the redevelopment of the Pulvic Explosives Factory in Dingli to tourism bungalows has been withdrawn by the applicant, the Planning authority's website shows.The application had proposed the demolition of the existing...

Darren Debono, known as it-Topo, is set to testify about the 2010 attempted armed robbery of the HSBC headquarters later this month as the compilation of evidence against Vincent Muscat continues.Debono was last week sentenced to 10 and a half years ...

It took one of Malta’s new MPs who wasn’t a career politician to speak out about something which we know happens on an all-too-common basis in Maltese politics.Oliver Scicluna, who was co-opted to Parliament last year by the Labour Party,...

Minister for the National Heritage, the Arts and Local Government José Herrera announced an investment of €750,000 to implement a Digital Strategy for the local governments.This comes after it was said that there are shortcomings in the t...

Pope Francis suggested Monday that getting vaccinated against the coronavirus was a “moral obligation" and denounced how people had been swayed by “baseless information” to refuse one of the most effective measures to save lives.Fra...

MADRID (AP) — Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez says that amid falling lethality rates for COVID-19, Spain wants European officials to consider whether to move away from the detailed tracking that the pandemic has required until now t...

PN MP David Thake has resigned from the Nationalist Party’s shadow cabinet and suspended himself from the party’s parliamentary group pending the outcome of a standards investigation into him.The news comes after Thake was the subject of ...

Politicians should work for all the Maltese and Gozitans, not just for the people in their district, PL MP Oliver Scicluna told The Malta Independent on Sunday.“We should lead by example because certain people will not stop asking favours for v...

The Malta Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise and Industry said that it is pleased to note that the Opposition has taken the initiative and put forward concrete legislative proposals to address the shortcomings identified by the public inquiry into the m...

Suspected Daphne Caruana Galizia murder mastermind Yorgen Fenech is in quarantine, a court was told on Monday.The 17 Black owner was due to appear in court for a an appeal filed by the Office of the State Advocate against a contempt of court ruling g...

Tennis star Novak Djokovic won a court battle Monday to stay in Australia to contest the Australian Open despite not being vaccinated against COVID-19, but the drama might not be finished, with the government threatening to cancel his visa a second t...

Hospitals worked Monday to save the lives of multiple people gravely injured by smoke in a fire that killed 19 people, including nine children, in a Bronx apartment building.Dozens of people were hospitalized, and as many as 13 were in critical condi...

The number of Covid-19 cases reported by health authorities has continued what appears to be a downward trend, with 563 new cases of the virus reported on Sunday.However, a 63-year-old man became the 488th person to pass away while positive for the v...

In 2019, government started a debate on the decriminalisation and regularisation of prostitution in Malta. The main aim of the reform would be to “protect vulnerable people from being exploited as sex workers and at the same time further enhanc...

Last Sunday Malta woke up to the grim news that a young Polish girl had been found murdered in Sliema.The circumstances of the crime immediately gripped the attention of many, and the social media was taken by storm as everyone wanted to have a say o...

Bob Saget, the actor-comedian known for his role as beloved single dad Danny Tanner on the sitcom “Full House” and as the wisecracking host of “America’s Funniest Home Videos,” died while on a stand-up tour. He was 65.De...

Justyne Caruana is only the latest in a list of Labour politicians who were found to have breached ethical standards in their behaviour in public life.Caruana resigned in the week leading up to Christmas after the Standards Commissioner established t...

Caretaker governments should not be allowed to pass new laws and issue permits or allocate government land and housing, a draft Bill drawn up by the Opposition proposes. The draft Bill is one of twelve put forward yesterday by Opposition Leader Berna...

Despite challenges and setbacks, including those caused by the global pandemic, many of the recommendations put forward by the Animal Welfare Commissioner have made it to full or partial implementation, while others are in the process of being implem...

Third-round exits in the FA Cup don't come along very often for Arsenal.Unless, that is, Nottingham Forest is the opponent.Failing to transfer its improved Premier League form to the world's oldest knockout competition, Arsenal was beaten 1-0 by seco...

José Mourinho left Italy more than a decade ago as a Champions League winner, Serie A champion and Italian Cup victor after guiding Inter Milan to a memorable “tripletta” — treble.Flash forward a dozen years and the outspoken...

PN leader Bernard Grech has no moral authority to take action against those who “put him” in his role as party leader, Prime Minister Robert Abela said as the opposition leader faces pressure over his handling of one of his MP’s tax...

The current PL government is not capable, or does not want to do the right thing, despite the damage it has caused over the past few months, said Opposition leader Bernard Grech in an interview with NET News on the program Analiżi.“The rea...

BERLIN (AP) — Germany's ruling parties are hitting the brakes on plans for compulsory coronavirus vaccinations, saying it may take months for lawmakers to properly debate the contentious measure in parliament.Berlin daily Tagesspiegel on Sunday...

A biker was grievously injured in a crash in Zejtun on Saturday evening, the police said.The accident took place in Toni Zahra Street at 8pm.The biker, an Indian man aged 26, was riding a Sym Symphony which was involved in a crash with a Toyota Vitz,...

A man who had been reported missing a few days ago was found “safe and sound”, the police said.Englishman John Davis, who lives in Kercem, had been reported missing on Friday.The police said Sunday that the man was found by officers durin...

An important element of the Valletta Sacra Infermeria of the Knights of St. John was the pharmacy, known as the spezieria. Its role was to prepare the medicines to be used within the Infermeria itself, as well as in other places, such as the Order&rs...

For more than 40 years, Twanny Scerri has been a hallmark of radio broadcasting, first on Malta’s national radio stations and now on Calypso Radio.It was always his wish to be behind a microphone, and his love for Italian music and connections ...

When a priest preaches hate, you know that there’s something very, very wrong. When a priest says that being gay is worse than being possessed by a demon, you know that we still have a long way to go as a country, as far as tolerance goes. Towa...

After four nights in an Australian immigration detention hotel, Novak Djokovic will get his day in court Monday in a deportation case that has polarized opinions and elicited heartfelt support for the top-ranked tennis star in his native Serbia.Djoko...

If you’re planning to go to Gozo in the next few months, you will likely experience delays arriving at Cirkewwa as road works at Ghadira begin on Monday.Infrastructure Malta said on its Facebook page that it is working with the Water Services C...

Thousands of jellyfish washed up at Armier over the weekend, a phenomenon that occurs every year according to marine biologist Alan Deidun.Adult mauve stingers, he wrote on Facebook, come up from the bottom of the sea to lay their eggs before they di...

The number of people requiring hospital treatment is up by four on Saturday, compared to Friday, while two more patients have died, health authorities said.On the brighter side, the number of mpeople who recovered from the virus, for the second day r...

MUMN is seeking a meeting with the Health Minister related to “the problems which employees are going to face regarding the different quarantine days issued to persons (and their children) according to their boosters.”How can parents who ...

Two women were injured when the car they were in crashed into a wall and overturned, the police said.The accident took place in Mdina Road, Rabat, at 11 am on Saturday.The car, a Volkswagen Bora, was being driven by a 25-year-old man of Mosta.The two...

The Nationalist Party on Saturday announced a package of 12 legislative bills aimed to implement the major findings of the public inquiry into the assassination of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia and to fight corruption.In a press confere...

Valletta: Royal Pharmacy, 271, Republic Street; Ħamrun: Darwin Pharmacy, 152, St Joseph High Road; Santa Venera: Collis Williams St Venera Pharmacy, 532, St Joseph High Road; Birkirkara: Mint Care Pharmacy, 5B-71 Brared Street; Msida: Brown's Ph...

U.K. government advisers have recommended against giving a fourth dose of COVID-19 vaccine to nursing home residents and people over 80 because data shows that a third shot offers lasting protection against admission to the hospital.For people over 6...

Sliema residents on Saturday gathered in support of Flimkien għal Ambjent Aħjar and the Sliema Local Council in denouncing what the organisation described as “the Planning Authority’s connivance with developers to ruin Sliema&rd...

The Malta Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise and Industry said Saturday that the latest announcement on quarantine letters oblige employers to be aware of their employees’ vaccination status. Consequently, it is imperative that employers have the ...

Polish Ambassador to Malta Tomasz Czyszek has said he was “profoundly touched” by the solidarity shown by the Maltese citizens as well as Poles living in Malta following the gruesome murder of a 29-year-old Polish girl last Sunday.Paulina...

Troops have been deployed to London hospitals. Health care workers infected with COVID-19 are treating patients in France. The Netherlands is under a lockdown, and tented field hospitals have gone up in Sicily.Nations across Europe are scrambling to ...

At least Newcastle’s fight to stay in the English Premier League won’t be hampered by a deep run in the FA Cup.In further embarrassment for a club with the world’s richest owners, Saudi-controlled Newcastle was beaten by third-tier ...

Novak Djokovic's lawyers filed court papers Saturday in his challenge against deportation from Australia that show the tennis star tested positive for COVID-19 last month and recovered, grounds he used in applying for a medical exemption to the count...

BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — Tighter pandemic measures came into force in Romania on Saturday as authorities hoped to quell sharply rising coronavirus cases amid concerns that the next virus wave could overstretch the country’s health care s...

The murder of Paulina Dembska is one which shocked the nation.The Polish language student was found dead last week in a garden in Sliema which she used to frequent to feed the colony of cats that lives there, with an autopsy later finding that she ha...

As countless millions of people in Europe waste hours in lines for COVID-19 tests and scour their nasal passages with self-test kits at home, at the other end of the chain, workers are straining to meet the demand.At NG Biotech, production lines are ...

ABBA party leader Ivan Grech Mintoff said Saturday that there is no connection between the party and the suspect in the murder of a Polish woman.In a statement, Grech Mintoff said that “the blatant attacks on Christian entities (parties, church...

An investment company has been handed a hefty fine by the Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit (FIAU) over a number of anti-money laundering shortcomings which saw millions be invested without robust controls in place.Southern Cross SICAV plc were fi...