Hotel bookings for Easter averaged over 70% of the number of bookings during the same period in 2019, President of the Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association Tony Zahra told The Malta Independent on Monday.85% of the hotel guests were non-Maltese, ...

After days of regrouping and reinforcing, the Russian military began a new and potentially climactic phase of the war in Ukraine by launching its long-feared, full-scale ground offensive to take control of the country's industrial heartland, the Donb...

Two more speed cameras are set to be installed on the Coast Road, the Local Enforcement System Agency (LESA) announced on Tuesday.The cameras will be fully installed in the coming days, and are being installed in the southbound direction of the Coast...

Malta Chamber of Commerce President Marisa Xuereb warned Monday that inflation is set to consistently hit Malta for the next six to 12 months as a result of the conflict in Ukraine.Speaking to The Malta Independent, Xuereb shared the difficulties fac...

KVIV, Ukraine — A Ukrainian military official said street battles have begun and evacuation is impossible in the town of Kreminna. That's one of only two spots where the Ukrainians said the Russians managed to break through on Monday along a fr...

Who should and shouldn’t be allowed to win government tenders?Well for one, those in court over serious criminal charges should definitely not benefit from public funds. For another, those without the knowhow in an area they are tendering for s...

 Cristiano Ronaldo took to social media on Monday to say one of his newborn twins has died.“It is with our deepest sadness we have to announce that our baby boy has passed away,” the Manchester United striker wrote in a post&nbs...

Adrian Delia has been granted a mega portfolio by PN leader Bernard Grech, while new MP Mark Anthony Sammut has been granted the energy sector.The shadow Cabinet was announced on Monday evening after PN leader Bernard Grech on Monday spent the day me...

A court has been told that a man from Gharghur allegedly threatened to shoot three children, including his 10-year-old daughter, during a domestic argument with his estranged wife on Easter Sunday.Inspector John Spiteri arraigned the 37-year-old man ...

Foreign Affairs Minister Ian Borg has requested that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy address the Maltese Parliament when it restarts.Borg was referring to a conversation he had with Ukrainian Foreign Affairs Minister Dmytro Kuleba. Kuleba, Bo...

The Department of Information has issued a right of reply on behalf of the government in response to the Malta Independent's editorial, which questioned whether Malta is doing enough to sanction Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.The right of reply ...

Frank Psaila and Alessia Psaila Zammit have become the latest to resign from the Nationalist Party, The Malta Independent can confirm.Psaila, who for many years presented current affairs programmes and was the third-most popular candidate in the 2019...

Four Covid-19 patients died over the Easter weekend, with two deaths being reported on Easter Sunday and another two on Monday, data published by health authorities at the start of the week showed.Malta’s Covid-19 numbers were not published at ...

An appeal against the refusal of a massive solar farm in Mgarr has been filed, with the minds behind plans to take up almost eight football pitches worth of Outside Development Zone agricultural land seeking to get the PA's verdict overturned.The app...

The Valletta Green Festival, the annual event which is synonymous with spring in Valletta, is taking place from Thursday 28th April till Sunday 1st May.The theme for this year’s edition is the importance of public spaces, the protection of natu...

Another hit to his team’s Serie A title ambitions left Napoli captain Lorenzo Insigne in tears following a 1-1 draw with Roma on Monday.Insigne converted an early penalty but then watched as Roma dominated the second half at Stadio Diego Armand...

Ukrainian fighters who were holed up in a massive steel plant in the last known pocket of resistance inside the shattered city of Mariupol ignored a surrender-or-die ultimatum from Russia on Sunday and held out against the capture of the strategicall...

A 48-year-old man was the latest victim of Malta’s roads, as he was hit by a car in a traffic accident on Monday morning.Police said in a statement that the man, who is Albanian and who lives in Nadur, Gozo, was hit by a Volvo S40 which was bei...

MOSCOW — Russia’s President Vladimir Putin says that the barrage of Western sanctions against Russia has failed.Putin said Monday that the West “expected to quickly upset the financial-economic situation, provoke panic in the market...

The war in Ukraine, following Russia’s invasion of the country, has continued unabated, even as the invaders face international condemnation and sanctions.In recent weeks, more and more evidence has emerged of how Russia has committed what can ...

Easter can only be understood through the heart because it “is a dilemma and an enigma to the mind: it defies logic,” said Archbishop Charles Scicluna during the Sermon he delivered at St John’s Co-Cathedral on Easter Sunday.The gos...

'I'm sure it could have been handled much better," former Foreign Affairs Minister Evarist Bartolo said, when asked if in hindsight he thinks Vitals Global Healthcare was a mistake.“The proof of this is the fact that the government is still try...

Malta’s Covid-19 numbers were not published at all by Maltese health authorities on Sunday – not even on the public health department’s open source database.While the daily update is usually published at around 12:30pm, as at 4:30pm...

The atrocities of the war in Ukraine have pushed millions to leave their home country to seek the safety of a new beginning, many of them settling in nearby countries bordering the besieged state.Others chose to move further away, with some finding s...

Actress Catherine Spaak has died, aged 77, Italian media report.Born in France to a Belgian family, Spaak became famous in Italy as an actress, singer, television presenter and dancer.Two years ago, she had suffered a cerebral haemorrhage.She took pa...

Archbishop Charles Scicluna prayed for people to seek out the fragrances of forgiveness, grace, and peace in his Easter Vigil homily on Saturday night, drawing parallels with the perfumery taken to Jesus’ tomb prior to the discovery of his resu...

The more cynical among us will say that trees breathed in relief when it became known that Ian Borg would no longer be the minister responsible for projects. Under his tenure, hundreds of trees, some of them much older than we all are, were uprooted ...

The latest phase of the Ukrainian people’s journey started more than six weeks ago but the actual origins of this war go back more than 400 years. What may have seemed as an opportune decision was taken in 1649 by then Ukrainian military leader...

Complete the sale of Chelsea inside four weeks and the new ownership will have an FA Cup final against Liverpool to attend.Who will be representing the club in the royal box at Wembley Stadium on May 14 is still to be determined.As the three rem...

KYIV, Ukraine — A regional official in eastern Ukraine says at least two people have been killed by Russian shelling.The Luhansk region’s governor, Serhiy Gaidai, said that at least four others were wounded Sunday when Russia forces fired...

Two motorcyclists were injured, one of them critically, in separate accidents on Saturday evening and Sunday morning, the police said.An Italian man, aged 32 and resident in Sliema, lost control of the Piaggio bike he was riding in Mikiel Anton Vassa...

On what is supposed to be Christianity's most joyful day, Pope Francis made an anguished Easter Sunday plea for peace in the “senseless” war in Ukraine and in other armed conflicts raging in the world, and voiced worry about the risk of n...

Her one-month campaign was not enough for her to make it to Parliament from the third district, but Mary Muscat has so much to contribute to the country.A former police inspector and a criminologist, Muscat tells us that she cannot live without her &...

In the Catholic Church, Easter is a time for new beginnings.The Resurrection of Jesus Christ, as Catholics around the world believe, brought with it new hope. It is the greatest example that one could use to show that a defeat could lead to a fresh s...

Russian forces accelerated scattered attacks on Kyiv, western Ukraine and beyond Saturday in an explosive reminder to Ukrainians and their Western supporters that the whole country remains under threat despite Moscow's pivot toward mounting...

Pope Francis on Saturday invoked “gestures of peace in these days marked by the horror of war” in an Easter vigil homily in St. Peter’s Basilica attended by the mayor of the occupied Ukrainian city of Melitopol and three Ukrainian l...

Two men were critically injured in a traffic accident on the Regional Road leading to the Santa Venera tunnels, northbound direction.The accident took place at around 4.50pm.It involved a Suzuki Alto driven by a 49-year-old man of Floriana and a Hond...

A commercial oil tanker carrying more than 750 tons of diesel ran aground overnight from Friday to Saturday in the Gulf of Gabès in southeastern Tunisia.According to the Environment Ministry, the ship sank late Saturday morning due to water se...

Valletta: New British Dispensary, 109/110, St John Street; Ħamrun: Remedies Pharmacy, 678, St Joseph High Road; Qormi: Tal-Ħlas Pharmacy, 60, Tumas Fenech Street c/w Mdina Road; Birkirkara: Pharmaplus, Ganu Street; Msida: Regal Pharmacy, 39...

A biker was critically injured on Saturday afternoon in a crash in Naxxar, the police said.The accident took place in Labour Avenue at 12.45pm.The biker, a 56-year-old Hungarian man resident in St Paul’s Bay, was riding a Honda Africa Twin that...

One more death of a patient was registered on Saturday as 314 new cases were recorded, statistics published show.The health authorities are no longer publishing data on their social media pages.Statistics published elseweher show that the total numbe...

A migrant boat has capsized off the Libyan coast, leaving at least 35 people dead or presumed dead, the U.N. migration agency said Saturday.The shipwreck took place Friday off the western Libyan city of Sabratha, a major launching point for the mainl...

Indignant over what it called Ukrainian strikes in Russian territory and following the stunning loss of its Black Sea flagship, Moscow threatened renewed missile attacks on Kyiv, where authorities said the bodies of more than 900 civilians were found...

Former Prime Minister Alfred Sant warned that in implementing further sanctions against Russia, the European Union must be careful not to impose punitive measures that end up wounding it more in the short to medium term than it does Russia.Otherwise,...

Police say a northwest Georgia man killed his grandmother by stuffing her in a freezer while she was still alive.Floyd County Police discovered the body of Doris Cumming, 82, late Thursday in the Armuchee home she shared with her grandson, 29-year-ol...

The tame back pass from John Stones trickled toward Zack Steffen. Just a simple clearance was needed by Manchester City’s backup goalkeeper with Liverpool already leading.One touch controlled the pass. The second touch was ... doing what? The d...

KYIV, Ukraine — Russian forces shelled an oil refinery in the Ukrainian city of Lysychansk on Saturday, and a large fire erupted, a regional governor reported.Luhansk regional governor Serhiy Haidai said it wasn’t the first time the refin...

A spectacular overhead kick from Álvaro Morata led to a stoppage-time score for Juventus to draw with nine-man Bologna 1-1 in Serie A on Saturday.Morata’s acrobatic effort was going wide until Dušan Vlahović met it with a hea...

Fourteen adults will be baptised by Archbishop Charles Scicluna during the Easter Vigil ceremony to be held at St John’s Co-Cathedral on Saturday evening.The adults will also be receiving the First Holy Communion and Confirmation sacraments.The...

The war in Ukraine loomed over the traditional Good Friday Colosseum procession in Rome, after the Vatican’s choice of a Russian woman to share bearing the cross with a Ukrainian woman had angered Ukrainians.In an apparent attempt to defuse the...

More than €3.1 million was collected for the Puttinu Cares organisation in a television marathon held on Good Friday.The money - €3,133,430 – will go for the purchase of a building in central London to accommodate Maltese patients who...

The mechanism put in place this year to increase female participation in politics had a noble cause at heart, but it also means that Malta’s already large Parliament has become even bigger. Following the addition of 12 new women MPs, the House ...

The Malta Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise and Industry has reiterated its call for vetting bidders properly in public procurement tendering processes for administrative compliance.This call comes days after a company linked to alleged kidnapper Chris...

Elliot Paul Busuttil, the main suspect in the murder of a man found dead in a car in Qormi last week, was charged with wilful homicide in Friday evening. He pleaded not guilty.Busuttil was one of four men arrested and questioned over the murder of Ma...

The First Hall of the Maltese Courts has revoked a warrant of impediment filed by Birdlife Malta aimed at stopping the opening of a limited hunt for the turtle dove, the hunting federation said.The courts had initially provisionally accepted a reques...

Strong winds and light rain over Malta and Gozo have led to the disruption and cancellation of Good Friday processions in most localities.Parishes in different localities, including Naxxar, Senglea and Żebbuġ Gozo, were forced to cancel the...

One patient who was positive for Covid-19 has passed away and 372 new cases were found on Thursday.There are currently 8,163 active cases. Total cases so far amount to 88,244.620 have recovered, for a total of 79,013 total recoveries. The death toll ...

80 years ago, on 15 April 1942, Malta was awarded the Commonwealth’s highest civilian decoration for courage and heroism, known as the George Cross, by King George VI of Britain. The George Cross is an award that many see as symbolising th...

The flagship of Russia's Black Sea fleet, a guided-missile cruiser that sank Thursday after it was heavily damaged in the latest setback for Moscow's invasion, was to have served to host a meeting between then US President George Bush and Soviet lead...

AC Milan maintained its lead in Serie A after beating relegation-threatened Genoa 2-0 on Friday.Rafael Leão and Junior Messias helped Milan move back two points ahead of Inter after the defending champion won at Spezia 3-1 hours earlier.Inter ...

On a day that saw Moscow suffer a stinging symbolic defeat with the loss of its Black Sea fleet flagship, Ukraine’s president hailed his people for their resolve since Russia invaded in February and for making “the most important decision...

Israeli security forces entered the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem before dawn as thousands of Palestinians were gathered for prayers during the holy month of Ramadan, setting off clashes that medics said wounded at least 67 Palestinians.Israel...

MOSCOW — The wife of a Ukrainian politician held by Kyiv on a treason charge has accused Ukrainian security services of torturing her husband and fabricating his escape from house arrest in a press conference held in Moscow on Friday.Oksana Mar...

Barcelona's European campaign has gone from bad to worse in its first season post Lionel Messi.First the Spanish powerhouse was eliminated from the lucrative Champions League, and now it has been knocked out of the second-tier Europa League by Eintra...

Valletta: Chemimart City Gate Pharmacy, City Gate; Ħamrun: St Gaetan Pharmacy, Kappillan Mifsud Street; Santa Venera: Lantern Pharmacy, Misraħ il-Kebbies; Birkirkara: St Jude Pharmacy, 213, Valley Road; Gżira: O'Hea Pharmacy, 128, Mano...

Pope Francis washed the feet of a dozen inmates at a prison near Rome in a Holy Thursday ritual that symbolizes humility and service and highlights his papacy's attention to those on society's margins.He arrived in a motorcade that included Italian p...

Four people were arrested in connection with the murder of Mario Farrugia, the police said in a statement on Thursday, with the main suspect being named as Elliot Paul Busuttil.Farrugia was found murdered in the boot of a car in Qormi on 5 April.At a...

A PN general election candidate and local councillor has quit the party, alleging that it had favoured another female candidate over her.Doris Borg – who was a general election candidate on the 2nd and 4th district and who, until Wednesday, was...

The challenges for the tourism sector are not yet over, however the fact that tourism is a resilient economic sector allows for optimistic forecasts to be made, stated Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association President Tony Zahra on Thursday. Re...

The mayor of the Gozitan village of Sannat has spoken out against permits being granted for “monstrous” apartment buildings, and pointed the finger of blame at the Planning Authority – saying that the decision to allow such developm...

Anglu Farrugia is expected to remain Speaker of the House for an unprecedented third term, with Prime Minister Robert Abela telling journalists on Thursday that he sees no need for change. Farrugia has served as Speaker since 2013. Speaking to journa...

Two Covid-19 patients have died while positive for the virus, while 431 new cases have been reported by health authorities on Thursday.700 people have recovered, meaning that the number of active cases currently stands at 8,412.2,779 swab tests were ...

Lawyers from the office of the State Advocate have told a court this morning that the 1,500 turtle doves which Maltese hunters would be allowed to kill if the spring hunting season is allowed to open represent “less than 1% of the global specie...

Andy Ellul has been appointed as the Labour Party’s parliamentary whip, replacing Glenn Bedingfield.The party announced the news in a statement on Thursday following a parliamentary group meeting.Bedingfield, who was re-elected to Parliament fo...

PARIS — France’s government says it has frozen 33 properties on the French Riviera, Paris and elsewhere that belong to Russian oligarchs targeted for sanctions over the war in Ukraine.The Finance Ministry this week published an updated li...

Rebecca Buttigieg and Alicia Bugeja Said have been sworn in as Parliamentary Secretaries, as Prime Minister Robert Abela puts in the final touches on his new Cabinet.Buttigieg will serve as the Parliamentary Secretary for Reforms and Equality within ...

Two women and a child were injured in a traffic accident on the Regional Road, close to the tunnels in St Julian's, on Thursday morning.The police said that the accident took place at around 7.45am.It involved two cars, a Toyota Yaris driven by a 57-...

We’re close to Easter and anyone who is a keen observer has already noticed that the number of tourists on our shores is getting bigger.For two years, the tourism industry has suffered tremendously because of the Covid-19 pandemic. With restric...

The Maltese Islands last month experienced the coldest start to spring since 1987, with the air temperature for March having averaged at 12.4°C. This average was closer to the February climate norm of 12.6°C than to the March norm of 14.1°...

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has refused to resign after being fined for breaking his government's pandemic lockdown rules, saying he would instead redouble his efforts to strengthen the economy and combat Russian aggression in Ukraine.London...

The presidents of four countries on Russia’s doorstep visited Ukraine on Wednesday and underscored their support for the embattled country, where they saw heavily damaged buildings and demanded accountability for what they called war crimes car...

Newly elected Rebecca Buttigieg and Alicia Bugeja Said will be appointed to Cabinet as parliamentary secretaries, the Office of the Prime Minister announced on Wednesday.Buttigieg will serve as the Parliamentary Secretary for Reforms and Equality wit...

A company linked to alleged kidnapper Christian Borg has been formally awarded a €250,000 tender by Transport Malta for the provision of 41 vehicles. Princess Operations is owned by Borg, who was arraigned on abduction and assault charges along ...

Former Prime Minister Joesph Muscat has taken to social media to defend the gender quota mechanism in place for Parliament as well as proposing that the Presidency role in Malta would alternate between a man and a woman. With 22 women now in Par...

The Spring Hunting season on European Turtle-dove cannot open on Sunday, after the courts on Wednesday provisionally accepted a request for an injunction on the hunting season filed by BirdLife Malta.In a statement announcing the news, BirdLife Malta...

The Russian soldiers forced more than 300 villagers into a school basement. Then, during weeks of stress and deprivation, some began to die.Residents of Yahidne, a village 140 kilometres (87 miles) from Kyiv, told The Associated Press about being ord...

Robert Cutajar has been appointed as the PN’s Parliamentary Group secretary, while the same parliamentary group has appointed 13 MPs to serve in the party’s executive. In a meeting between Nationalist Party Members of Parliament, a d...

Two Covid-19 patients have died while positive for the virus, while 408 new cases have been reported by health authorities on Monday.702 people have recovered, meaning that the number of active cases currently stands at 8,683.3,194 swab tests were ad...

Swinging the term around on multiple occasions, Russian President Vladimir Putin has abused of the term ‘denazification’ in order to confuse the brainwashed Russian citizen in supporting his invasion of Ukraine. With thousands of civilian...

The Maltese Diabetes Association welcomed the government’s announcement that Continuous Glucose Monitoring devices (CGMs) will be introduced for persons aged 17 to 21 years living with type 1 diabetes after the success of the pilot project for ...

In the end, it was Pep Guardiola getting the better of Diego Simeone in the battle of contrasting styles in the Champions League.Atlético Madrid couldn’t find a spark for its struggling attack and was held to a 0-0 draw by Guardiola's Ma...

A place in the Champions League semifinals secured. The dream of an unprecedented quadruple of trophies still intact. Key players rested amid a hectic schedule.Liverpool is in a good place entering the home straight of what could turn out to be the c...

 The European Commission has welcomed the swift adoption by the Council of the proposals to ensure the continued long-term supply of medicines from Great Britain to Northern Ireland and to address outstanding supply concerns in Cyprus, Ireland a...

Three passengers carrying €31,410 in undeclared cash were intercepted by Customs Malta at the MIA, the Customs department said on Wednesday.Gypsy the Customs Canine made a positive reaction towards two Syrian passengers travelling to Erbil, in I...

A woman was critically injured on Tuesday evening when she was hit by a car on the Marsa-Hamrun bypass, the police said.The woman, aged 34 of Santa Venera, was hit by a Mazda Demio driven by a 30-year-old man of Birkirkara at 9pm.The woman was taken ...

Vladimir Putin vowed Tuesday that Russia's bloody offensive in Ukraine would continue until its goals are fulfilled and insisted the campaign was going as planned, despite a major withdrawal in the face of stiff Ukrainian opposition and sig...

WARSAW, Poland – A top aide to Poland’s President Andrzej Duda says Duda and the presidents of the three Baltic nations have arrived in Ukraine, ahead of talks about material aid for country invaded by Russia.Pawel Szrot, chief of Duda&rs...

While the election result – Labour’s massive victory – came as no surprise, the electorate passed on a strong message in the 26 March general election, in the form of who it voted into Parliament, and those it left out. Perhaps the ...

Hili Ventures and its subsidiaries across Europe are supporting the humanitarian effort in Ukraine by extending financial support to charities working to help thousands of people in need at the border and on the ground. More than 10 tonnes of supplie...