A French Navy military jet had to cut short a flight and land in Malta after it encountered problems with refuelling mid-air last night.A Malta International Airport spokesperson confirmed with The Malta Independent that a French Dassault Rafale mili...

The Gozitan village of Sannat has adopted a new way of protecting its animals: by introducing a Community Animal Care Steward.The steward’s job is to take care of the street animals and pets which call Sannat – a largely rural Gozitan vil...

A 55-year-old man was grievously injured on Sunday evening after he was hit by a car in a traffic accident in Luqa.Police said that they were informed of the accident at around 19:00 in Triq Hal-Qormi in Luqa.Preliminary investigations on the scene r...

Government’s newly proposed law, which introduces the concept of femicide to Malta’s Criminal Code, is, owing to a particular stipulation within it, discriminatory, some of the country’s top legal minds have said.Former European Cou...

Malta’s newly proposed law recognising femicide was the talk of last week for mostly good reasons, but was also the talk of this newspaper’s front-page on Sunday after the fully published Bill showed a point which was glaringly discrimina...

Former Prime Minister Joseph Muscat would not comment on speculation about a possible political return.Speculation has been rife as to whether Muscat will be making a political return following a Facebook video he posted soon after his house was sear...

Four people have died while positive for Covid-19, while health authorities reported 158 new cases of the virus.Authorities said on Sunday that an 87-year-old woman and three men aged 38, 82, and 90 respectively had died while positive for Covid-19.&...

Prime Minister Robert Abela announced on Sunday that he will be contesting the fifth electoral district, but the date of the general election itself – which some though may be confirmed today – remains shrouded in mystery.Abela was addres...

A Maltese blood specialist has spoken about a “landmark” achievement after two of the first human patients to be treated with a revolutionary therapy that engineers immune cells to target specific types of cancer still possess cancer-kill...

A group of 36 organisations came together on Sunday to commemorate that 1,971 people who have either died or gone missing trying to cross the Mediterranean in 2021.The UNHCR says that over the past decade, the number of people who have died in transi...

Most of us were told this story when we were young.A young boy entered a sweet shop with his mother, and while the shop assistant was looking elsewhere, picked a sweet and put it in his pocket. His mother saw him, and all she did was smile. No reprim...

Opposition Leader Bernard Grech has challenged Prime Minister Robert Abela to publish his law firm’s controversial the €17,000 a month retainer contract with the Planning Authority. The Times of Malta had reported that a Planning Authority...

Auxiliary Bishop Joseph Galea-Curmi called for a “zero tolerance” approach to any threat to life at any stage of it, and noted that life begins at conception, and that life is not determined according to the quantity of cells present.Gale...

The increase in pensions and other measures introduced by government have cushioned the impact of rising inflation among elderly people, the Commissioner for Older Persons, Mary Vella, has told The Malta Independent on Sunday. Over the past weeks and...

Floriana extended their unbeaten run to seven matches when in a match played at the Tony Bezzina Stadium they beat Balzan by the odd goal in three. On the other hand it was another setback for Balzan who have now gained just one point from their last...

First the FA Cup's most successful team. Now the holders.Nottingham Forest reached the fifth round by ousting Leicester 4-1 on Sunday, building on the second-tier side's previous elimination of 14-time winner Arsenal.It wasn't the biggest upset of th...

Dušan Vlahović made a dream debut for Juventus, scoring the opening goal in a 2-0 win over Verona in the Italian league on Sunday.The coveted striker completed a 70-million-euro ($80-million) transfer from Fiorentina on Jan. 28 on his 22n...

As the United Kingdom marked the 70th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II’s rule on Sunday, the queen looked to the future of the monarchy.In remarks delivered in time for Sunday morning’s front pages, the queen expressed a “sincere w...

Aġenzija Sapport has received a Mark of Quality from the European Union Programming Agency for the European Solidary Corps for its Sharing Lives service, through which the agency has accommodated and facilitated opportunities with voluntary orga...

Planning applications cannot continue to be considered in isolation, St Julian’s mayor Albert Buttigieg told The Malta Independent on Sunday.The St Julian’s-Pembroke area has become a hotspot for high-rise proposals, with a number of proj...

For months, there has been speculation that Joseph Muscat will make a return to politics. To say that this would be problematic for incumbent Prime Minister and Labour leader Robert Abela would be a gross understatement. Abela knows that a Muscat ret...

Many know Kenneth Vella as an expert journalist on horse-racing. But he is also the head master at the Mater Boni Consilii St Joseph School Paola and non-resident Ambassador of Malta to Estonia and Finland.Here he tells us about his passion for horse...

Ray Vella was born on 11 January, 1959. He is the son of Nazzareno Vella and Karmena nee Camilleri. Ray is married to Mariella Vella.Vella started recalling his early days on this planet. ‘In those years it was football all around. But I rememb...

Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor wasn’t born to wear the crown. But destiny intervened.The woman who became Queen Elizabeth II will mark 70 years on the throne Sunday, an unprecedented reign that has made her a symbol of stability as the United...

Russia on Saturday sent a pair of long-range nuclear-capable bombers on patrol over its ally Belarus amid spiraling tensions over Ukraine.The Russian Defense Ministry said the two Tu-22M3 bombers practiced interacting with the Belarusian air force an...

Five more patients with Covid-19 have died as the number of cases reported on Saturday was 195, health authorities said.The five latest victims, which take the tally to 565, are two women aged 84 and 87, and three men aged 80, 83 and 86.The health au...

Two siblings were each fined €50 by a court after being found guilty of breaching the peace when they fought on a church parvis on who was to read during their mother’s funeral mass.The case took place four years ago when three siblings ca...

The Nationalist Party has filed a constitutional case against the Public Broadcasting Services, arguing that the station has become the “Labour Party’s parrot.”The PN has long been accusing the national broadcaster of being under th...

On 9 February 1992, 140 passengers arrived at Malta International Airport on board a direct flight from Moscow. These passengers were the first to be welcomed at Malta’s new air terminal building, which had been inaugurated the previous day.Nex...

Floriana: Vilhena Pharmacy, 3, St Anne Street; Marsa: Trinity Pharmacy, 32, Marsa Road; Qormi: St George's Pharmacy, 21, Main Street; Birkirkara (Fleur-de-Lys): Marrit Pharmacy, 1st of May Street; Msida: Regal Pharmacy, 39B, Antonio Bosio Street; St ...

MEP Josianne Cutajar, together with a number of other MEPs from the Socialist Group, signed a letter calling for a European Charter for Digital Rights, a Labour Party statement said.In the letter to the President of the European Commission, the Counc...

NGO Repubblika has written separately to the Auditor General and the Standards Commissioner to investigate government spending on the Labour Party media.The letters were sent following the publication of a supplement on the PL newspaper Kulhadd on 16...

Olivier Giroud again showed why he can never be written off, scoring two late goals as AC Milan rallied to beat city rival Inter Milan 2-1 on Saturday and re-ignite the Serie A title race.Milan moved one point behind defending champion and leader Int...

When the FA Cup fourth-round game entered stoppage time, West Ham was facing a humiliating loss to sixth-tier side Kidderminster.Alex Penny had scored in the 19th minute for the National North division’s third-place team which was outplaying th...

Jefferson De Assis scored three goals inside the space of seven minutes to lead Gzira to a stunning and crushing victory over champions Hamrun Spartans. The match sparked off in the second half after a rather dull first fourty five minutes. On the re...

When 25-year-old Princess Elizabeth was proclaimed queen on Feb. 6, 1952, the British Empire stretched across the world, royalty was widely revered and televisions were still a novelty item.The world has undergone profound changes since then and so h...

You know that a general election is around the corner when the government starts showering us with gifts. On Thursday, a jubilant Prime Minister announced that all workers will be receiving a €100 cheque in the mail, with elderly people getting ...

Around 670 families and businesses in Baħrija and its surrounding areas will be benefitting from a new distribution system to reinforce the electricity infrastructure and improve the service Enemalta provides to its clients, energy minister Miri...

A biker was grievously injured in a crash with a car in Gozo this morning, the police said.The accident took place in Frangisk Portelli Street, Gharb, at 7am.It involved a Yamaha bike and a Toyota Dyna, driven by a 64-year-old man of Gharb.The biker,...

At these critical times what is needed is focused assistance and not haphazard gift-giving, ADPD – The Green Party Chairperson Carmel Cacopardo said“We do not need a ‘Father Christmas’ policy but real social solidarity ai...

Austria is about to become the first country in Europe to require most adults to get vaccinated against COVID-19, but few other nations appear likely to join it as many turn their attention to loosening restrictions.The mandate for people 18 and over...

NEW YORK (AP) - Propelled in part by the wildly contagious omicron variant, the U.S. death toll from COVID-19 hit 900,000 on Friday, less than two months after eclipsing 800,000.The two-year total, as compiled by Johns Hopkins University, is greater ...

Covid-19 measures are to be eased as from Monday as the government continues with its exit plan to bring the country back to normality.Deputy Prime Minister and Health Minister Chris Fearne said that the four-household limit imposed for indoor home a...

Carlos Schembri, the alleged victim of a Rabat abduction earlier in January was threatened with having his fingers cut off, and his sister raped, a court heard on Friday.Testifying in court, Schembri explained how on the day of the incident, he was a...

Murder suspect Abner Aquilina refused medication and threatened doctors he would use his ‘demonic powers’ on them, a psychiatrist has testified in court.Aquilina told doctors there was a demon inside him, in a relapse incident he had two ...

Pharmacies will be opening on Sunday afternoons as from this weekend as part of a deal reached by the government and the Malta Chamber of Pharmacists, which will also include the expansion of other services linked to the Pharmacy of Your Choice (POYC...

Malta and Spain held talks on common challenges facing the two Mediterranean EU members states when Minister of Foreign Affairs Evarist Bartolo and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation of Spain, José Manuel Albares m...

A video showing a large construction vehicle that toppled over in Victoria Gozo is making the rounds on social media.The vehicle seems to have toppled over, blocked a road and hit a parked car in the process. The exact location is not yet known. ...

The Nationalist party came out with several proposals to further invest in the fight against cancer.The party spoke of the need to improve care for cancer patients, by making better use of European research and tools that allow access to specialist h...

Environmental NGO Rota has put forward a set of proposals ahead of the upcoming general election which all aim to be in line with a vision for sustainable mobility. “The bicycle should not just be an afterthought in the planning and infras...

Cancer medicines are being sold at exorbitant prices, President George Vella said on Friday.Taking part in a digital conference organised by the National Cancer Platform, President Vella said that due to high prices, such medicines could not be procu...

Manchester United made an embarrassing early exit from the FA Cup after losing to second-tier side Middlesbrough in a penalty shootout at Old Trafford on Friday.The fourth round got off to a stunning start when the English Premier League giant arguab...

Chinese President Xi Jinping declared the Winter Olympics open Friday night, inviting the world back — sort of — for the pandemic era’s second Games, this time as an emboldened and more powerful nation whose government’s autho...

Members of the diplomatic service have been instructed by UHM Voice of the Workers not to use electronic means of communication following an industrial dispute with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.The Malta Independent reported on Wednesday that dipl...

Independent candidate Arnold Cassola is asking for another investigation from the Standards Commissioner, this time about the office leased to former Prime Minister Joseph Muscat as part of his severance package.“Sorry to bother you again&rdquo...

A local wine producing company, Marsovin Winery Ltd, is investing €4 million to modernize their machinery and move towards a more sustainable and efficient way of operating.This was announced by the Minister for Energy, Enterprise and Sustainabl...

The Valletta Cultural Agency has announced its cultural programme for January - June 2022.The programme includes new productions and collaborations, with the involvement of several artists, that mark the essence of Valletta's cultural, artistic and s...

An elderly man has died while positive for Covid-19, while 214 cases of the virus were reported by health authorities on Friday.The man who died was 78 years old, authorities said, and he is the 560th victim of the pandemic in Malta.280 people meanwh...

With an investment of €1 million, students will be provided with free internet for another consecutive year for students in their first year of post-secondary studies.Through this scheme, more than 3,300 students will enjoy free internet for a y...

Civil society NGO Repubblika has written to the head of the civil service, the Standards Commissioner and the Lands Authority over the severance package payments that were given to former PM Joseph Muscat, including an office at Sa Maison.Prime Minis...

A 75-year-old man was seriously injured on Friday after he was hit by a car in Ghaxaq.The accident took place in Dawret Ħal Għaxaq at around 10:30am, the police said.The victim, an Englishman who lives in Ghaxaq, was hit by a Toyota Corolla...

Minister Aaron Farrugia announced a new visitors’ centre for families and all those who visit Buskett gardens. Ambjent Malta will be starting the demolition, construction and finishing works of the visitors’ centre. Once complet...

The illegal killing of birds remains rampant during the year 2021 as illegally shot birds triple in the past four years compared to the previous four, BirdLife Malta said. During 2021, the number of protected birds known to BirdLife Malta that h...

The European Commission proposed Thursday to extend by a year the use of COVID certificates aimed at facilitating travel across the 27-nation bloc during the pandemic, until the end of June 2023.Despite the announcement by the director of the World H...

A 71-year-old man died on Thursday afternoon after he was hit by a truck in Birzebbugia. The accident took place in Triq Wied il-Qoton at around 1pm, the police said. The man, who is from Mgarr, was helping a colleague manoeuvre the truck in a narrow...

After so much pomp, the first edition of the Malta Film Awards has come and gone, and more than a renewed sense of appreciation for the local film industry, it has left a bitter taste in the mouths of many.The first aspect which has riled up much of ...

Prime Minister Robert Abela has inaugurated a three-star hotel in Mellieħa with an investment of €8 million.The hotel, named Viu 57 Hotel, consists of 57 rooms and overlooks Għadira bay. During the visit, Abela explained how the govern...

Four of Boris Johnson’s most senior staff quit on Thursday, triggering new turmoil for the embattled British prime minister.Johnson’s office said chief of staff Dan Rosenfield and principal private secretary Martin Reynolds had both tende...

It was the captain of the oil tanker El Hiblu who had approached the three men accused of hijacking it, calling them into his cabin after seeing them calming down the panicking migrants it had rescued, one of the rescued men has told a magistrate.The...

Workers and students will be receiving cheques worth €100, with pensioners and people on social benefits getting up to €200 as part of a cash injection to the economy, Prime Minister Robert Abela said on Thursday. This is over and abov...

Former Finance Minister Tonio Fenech has reacted to the government’s announcement of a new set of tax rebates by calling the measure a vote-buying exercise.“This is no tax refund,” Fenech – who served as Finance Minister when ...

The Ministry for Inclusion, Social Wellbeing and Voluntary Organisations has allocated €15,000 for the purchasing and training of guide dogs for the Malta Guide Dogs Foundation.Former doctor David Debattista, who now suffers from visual impairme...

A court has rejected a request by Melvin Theuma’s lawyers to have the State made a defendant in a case for damages filed by the Caruana Galizia family.The brief decree, denying the request was issued this morning by Madam Justice Anna Felice. I...

It remains unclear as to whether convicted bank robber Daren Debono ‘it-Topo’ will be allowed to testify against co-accused Vince Muscat, after a magistrate decreed that her court did not have the power to rule on a request for additional...

The Nationalist Party has taken aim at Tourism Minister Clayton Bartolo over recent claims.Prime Minister Robert Abela has been reported as saying that no action would be taken against Clayton Bartolo after it was reported that Bartolo's girlfriend A...

Three more Covid-19 patients have died, while 240 new cases of the virus have been reported by health authorities.Authorities said that two men – aged 63 and 93 respectively – and an 87-year-old woman had died while positive for the virus...

An office in Sa Maison former Prime Minister’s Joseph Muscat’s is using made part of the severance package given to him following his resignation as prime minister in January 2020, Prime Minister Robert Abela confirmed on Thursday. Follow...

Paulina Dembska’s family found themselves in yet another devastating and shocking situation on Thursday night after her body did not arrive in Poland, sources told The Malta Independent. On Tuesday Dembska’s body was released for bur...

MEP Josianne Cutajar was appointed Vice Chair of the SEArica Intergroup at the European Parliament, focusing on islands, seas, rivers and coastal areas.In this role, Cutajar will be focusing her work, in particular, on Small and Medium-sized Enterpri...

The director of the World Health Organization’s Europe office said Thursday the continent is now entering a “plausible endgame” to the pandemic and that the number of coronavirus deaths is starting to plateau.Dr. Hans Kluge said at ...

The Prime Minister is unable to feel the pressure from the rise in the cost of living, being someone who was receiving €17,000 a month from public funds, PN spokesperson Peter Agius said Thursday.Addressing a press conference in response to the ...

The nomination of George Hyzler to represent Malta at the European Court of Auditors is not being done to get rid of him as Standards Commissioner, but because he has the prerequisites for the post, Prime Minister Robert Abela said today.Replying to ...

Talks with the General Workers Union and other representatives of different workers within Air Malta have concluded and an agreement has been reached on the employment conditions for those workers who apply for a transfer out of the national airline,...

An expression of interest that could lead to “unqualified” individuals taking on diplomatic roles, together with other unresolved issues, has led the Maltese Diplomatic Service to declare an industrial dispute, with the possibility of str...

The announcement by Robert Abela that workers are to get cheques over and above the tax refund is a desperate pre-election attempt by a panicked Prime Minister who was caught taking €17,000 per month in government contracts, the Nationalist Part...

A man was grievously injured in a hit and run in Balzan early on Thursday morning.Police said in a statement that the incident happened at around 6am on Thursday in Triq il-Wied in Balzan.District police investigations found that the man had been inj...

The European Union hopes to deliver more vessels to the Libyan coast guard before the summer when irregular sea crossings are expected to increase, an EU official whose work focuses on relations with Libya and migration said on Wednesday.Henrike Trau...

PARIS (AP) — France says it will start administering Pfizer’s coronavirus antiviral drug this week, the first pill for treating COVID-19 approved in the 27-nation EU.The country is still reporting among the world's highest per-capita dail...

Prime Minister Robert Abela can always claim that his decision to send George Hyzler to be Malta’s representative on the European Court of Auditors is meant to be a promotion. After all, the post is prestigious and carries a lucrative package w...

The court will give the maximum penalties for the crime of femicide, if circumstances are satisfied, Minister for Justice Edward Zammit Lewis said on Wednesday.He addressed a press conference, together with reforms minister Owen Bonnici, on legal ame...

The motorbike rider who died in a traffic accident this morning has been identified as Steven Sargent.The 42-year-old man, a father of one, was a senior manager with GO Telecommunications.The accident occurred at 10am, on Triq Ħal Tarxien , Gudj...

Five Covid-19 patients have died, as the death toll in Malta shows no sign of ceasing, health authorities said in their latest update on the pandemic situation.Authorities said that five men aged 78, 79, 80, 83, and 86 respectively had died while pos...

Christian Ehler, the EPP Group Spokesman on the fifth list of the so-called Projects of Common Interest (PCI), has expressed concern over the Malta-Italy gas pipeline project due its possible ties to Yorgen Fenech and Electrogas.The projects on the l...

Energy Minister Miriam Dalli and Nationalist MP Jason Azzopardi squabbled over a party that was organised by Dalli’s ministry in November, and which ended up being the subject of a parliamentary question submitted by the PN member.Azzopardi ask...

The Faculty for Social Wellbeing will be collaborating with Caritas Malta on a project related to substance abuse. Caritas is a Maltese organization which aims to alleviate poverty and promote human development and social justice. On February 2,...

Protocols for seated events, such as the Malta Film Awards "are clear" the Superintendent of Public Health Charmaine Gauci has said, adding that deviances are investigated, the Times of Malta reports.It reports that Gauci refused to speak about the a...

The Archdiocese of Malta has suspended an application to rehabilitate an abandoned property in Rabat in order to clarify issues highlighted by the Environment and Resources Authority (ERA) which were the subject of what the Curia described as “...

C-Planet, the IT company being sued by hundreds of individuals over the online leak of a database containing the personal information of nearly every individual Maltese voter, has pointed at travel agency Untours as the source of their data, a court ...

The EU’s General Court has dismissed an action filed by Pilatus Bank plc which sought the annulment of the European Central Bank’s 2018 decision to withdraw the bank’s authorisation to act as a credit institution.Pilatus Bank plc an...