Emma Muscat has failed to lead Malta to the Eurovision final night, as she bowed out of the competition in Thursday night’s semi-final.Emma was not among the top 10 in the Eurovision’s second semi-final on Thursday, meaning that she drops...

The elimination of Emma Muscat from the Eurovision Song Contest final has made sure that Malta retained – and extended – a particular record.Malta holds the record of the longest wait for a first win, having debuted in 1971.Cyprus has tak...

The Kremlin warned about taking retaliatory “military-technical” steps after Finland’s leaders came out in favor of applying to join NATO, and Sweden could do the same within days, in a historic realignment triggered by Russia's inv...

KYIV, Ukraine —Ukrainian officials say their forces took out another Russian ship in the Black Sea.Oleksiy Arestovych, an adviser to the Ukrainian president, said late Thursday the Vsevolod Bobrov logistics ship was struck as it was trying to d...

Selmun Palace is to receive a facelift according to a planning application that was filed.The application was filed by Selmun Palace Hotel Co Ltd, a company owned by the government, proposing the restoration of facades including the courtyard, roof s...

Part of Balluta Bay on Thursday turned white after construction waste from a development on the shore seeped into the sea.The images of the scene were uploaded by St. Julian’s mayor Albert Buttigieg on his personal Facebook.The waste is seeping...

Commissioner for Animal Welfare Alison Bezzina has presented the fourth set of recommendations to the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries, Food and Animal Rights Anton Refalo, and parliamentary secretary Alicia Bugeja Said.The three new recommendatio...

100 new cases of Covid-19 were reported by health authorities on Thursday.161 people meanwhile have recovered from the virus, meaning that the number of active cases currently stands at 2,515.1,483 swab tests were carried out in the last 24 hours, eq...

9 million young people between the ages of 15 to 30 in Europe are suffering from mental health problems, according to Mental Health Europe (MHE).The Office of the Commissioner for the Promotion of Rights of Persons with Mental Disorders presented thi...

Finland’s leaders Thursday came out in favour of applying to join NATO, and Sweden could do the same within days, in a historic realignment on the continent 2 1/2 months after Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine sent a ...

Former Labour Prime Minister and leader Alfred Sant said he is "unconvinced" on the idea of having an airfield in Gozo. "I remain unconvinced by the proposal for Gozo to develop an airport able to receive arrivals of planes from Malta carrying u...

Irish President Michael D. Higgins is in Malta on a state visit which will last for three days.Higgins is being hosted by President George Vella, and will meet Prime Minister Robert Abela and Opposition leader Bernard Grech while he is in the country...

For the seventh year in a row, Malta continues to occupy the number one spot on the Rainbow Europe Map, with a score of 92%.Published on Thursday, May 12, at the IDAHOT+ Forum in Cyprus, the ILGA-Europe's annual Rainbow Map and Index r...

Ukraine offered to release Russian prisoners of war in exchange for the safe evacuation of the badly injured fighters trapped inside a steel mill in the ruined city of Mariupol, as Kyiv began preparing for its first war crimes trial of a captured Rus...

A motorcyclist suffered grievous injuries after he was involved in an accident on Thursday morning in Naxxar.Police said in a statement that they were advised of a traffic accident in Triq Margaret A. Murray in Naxxar at around 7:15am.Preliminary inv...

MOSCOW — A top Russian official says that there is a growing threat of the fighting in Ukraine spilling into a direct conflict between Russia and NATO.Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy head of Russia’s Security Council chaired by President Vlad...

The Malta Chamber of SMEs and the Childcare Centres Providers Association (CCPA) are insisting that the authorities remove Covid restrictions affecting operations in this sector. To exert pressure, the chamber and association said that with immediate...

Despite our nation's tiny size, Malta boasts an agricultural industry so strong that an unending range of products we make use of on a daily basis can be supplied through local means.Given the hard work that farmers, fishermen, and all other industry...

From 14 to 16 June, a joint delegation from the EP’s EU monitoring UNCRPD Framework will join the 15th session of the Conference of States Parties to the CRPD (COSP15) that will take place at the United Nations Headquarters.MEP Alex Agius Salib...

In his usual style, Archbishop Charles Scicluna passed on a strong message in his homily during the Mass held last Saturday as part of the State opening of Parliament, the 14th legislature since Independence.One of his main points is that we should w...

Finland's president and prime minister said Thursday they’re in favor of applying for NATO membership, paving the way for the alliance to expand amid Russia’s war in Ukraine.The dramatic move by Finland was announced by President Sau...

Maltese journalists Neil Camilleri and Giuseppe Attard are producing a documentary about their recent experience in Ukraine, with the aim of raising funds for refugees living under the care of the Salesians of Don Bosco. Camilleri and Attard, who are...

Bernard Grech has been deemed as idoneous to contest for the post of leader of the Natioanlist Party, the party’s electoral commissioner said in a statement.Peter Fenech said in a statement that the Chairperson of the PN’s Candidate&rsquo...

Customs Malta intercepted a record breaking 1.494 tonnes of cocaine at the Malta Freeport.Customs officials, stationed at the Freeport Scanning Facility, seized 50 bags containing 1,494 blocks of cocaine, weighing one kilogram each, during a day-long...

Adrian 'Tal-Maksar' Agius had claimed in a sworn statement that Ryan Schembri had transferred €25 million to Dubai.This came out on Wednesday in court, during the compilation of evidence against Ryan Schembri, who is facing money laundering and ...

An ORNIS committee meeting had to be suspended after a “physical attack” by the chief executive officer of the hunting federation, Birdlife Malta said on Wednesday.“BirdLife Malta is shocked at the aggressive attitude and physical a...

Emergency services on Wednesday rescued a man who fell down a deep shaft inside a construction site in Rabat.The police later said that the man, from Turkey, suffered grievous injuries.The police were informed about the incident, which took place nea...

Businesses that availed themselves of a tax postponement measure that had been launched back in March 2020 are going to have to start paying their bills.As part of the packet of Covid-19 financial aid, the finance ministry in March 2020 had implement...

Prime Minister Robert Abela stressed on the government’s proposal to improve access to IVF treatment during a speech in Parliament, while also calling out Opposition Leader Bernard Grech for “disrespectful” comments made towards IVF...

With his four-goal burst and "Zen" celebration, Kevin De Bruyne did his best impersonation of a future Manchester City teammate on Wednesday.Erling Haaland is joining City next season as one of the most sought-after strikers in world soccer and ...

Inter Milan remained on course for a league and cup double by beating Juventus 4-2 after extra time in the Italian Cup final on Wednesday.Ivan Perišić scored twice in extra time after Hakan Çalhanoğlu had converted a controver...

The government’s Department of Information on Tuesday chose to totally ignore statements made by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Malta’s resistance to a total ban on Russian oil exports and on the golden passport scheme as he a...

The Malta Independent's Editor-in-Chief Neil Camilleri and videographer Giuseppe Attard will be travelling to Ukraine to cover the current conflict and give daily, first-hand reports on the situation from the front lines.The aim of their journey will...

MITA Chairman Tony Sultana has been appointed as the new Chief Permanent Secretary, replacing the soon to be retiring Mario Cutajar.Sultana was nominated for the post by Prime Minister Robert Abela and approved by Cabinet.  His nomination was th...

The Malta Union for Midwives and Nurses (MUMN) has decided not to attend Wednesday's planned meeting with the Ministry for Health to discuss the situation surrounding Joseph Pace, a Mount Carmel Hospital (MCH) nurse and manager who is accused of misc...

A man was grievously injured on Wednesday afternoon after he fell off a ladder.The accident took place inside a residence in Triq Adeodato Gatt, Żebbuġ, at around 1:30pm, the police said.The man, 64, from Dingli, fell from a height of aroun...

The Malta Union of Midwives and Teachers is prepared to call a strike among nurses if the charges against a Mount Carmel Hospital (MCH) nurse over unprofessional conduct in 2017 and MCH manager Joseph Pace, are not dropped immediately, President of t...

A man was grievously injured when he fell one storey when a bean gave way on a construction site, the police said.The accident took place on Wednesday morning at 9am in Triq il-Farfett, Marsa.The man, from Mali, and aged 25, was taken to hospital wit...

The wearing of face-masks onboard flights will no longer be obligatory as from 16 May, after the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control announced a relaxation in its Covid-19 measures.The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and E...

The Malta International Airport is positive about the recovery of air traffic and passenger numbers for the upcoming year due to the easing of restrictions.Speaking at the 30th annual general meeting, MIA chairman Nikolaus Gretzmacher gave a brief in...

108 new cases of Covid-19 were reported by health authorities on Wednesday.191 people meanwhile have recovered from the virus, meaning that the number of active cases currently stands at 2,576.1,468 swab tests were carried out in the last 24 hours, e...

BirdLife Malta is urging the Prime Minister to intervene and revisit a proposed change to the law that could jeopardize scientific bird studies.In a statement Wednesday, BirdLife Malta said it sincerely believes that PM Robert Abela is being misled a...

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Kyiv's military has made small gains in the east, pushing Russian forces out of four villages near Kharkiv, as his country's foreign minister suggested Ukraine could go beyond just forcing Russia back to a...

WASHINGTON — The U.S. House emphatically approved a fresh $40 billion Ukraine aid package Tuesday as lawmakers beefed up President Joe Biden’s initial request, signaling a magnified, bipartisan commitment to thwart Russian President Vladi...

Director of the Academy of Malta's Disciplined Forces John Charles Ellul issued an apology on Monday for a statement he made on Facebook.Ellul’s original comment that caused quite an uproar had read: "Is it possible that there aren't any e...

A female journalist for Al Jazeera was shot and killed while covering an Israeli raid in the occupied West Bank town of Jenin early Wednesday. The broadcaster and a reporter who was wounded in the incident blamed Israeli forces, while Israel claimed ...

The Malta Rugby Football Union will play host to the Rugby Europe 7s Conference 2 competition this June, with Malta facing off against five countries in their quest for promotion up Rugby Europe’s ladder.In a statement, the MRFU announced that ...

Malta must completely block Russian exports and the golden passport schemes to aid in the fight against Russian aggression on Ukrainian land, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.Addressing the Maltese House of Representatives on Tuesday, Ze...

On 7 April 2022, the Court of Justice of the European Union (“CJEU”), in delivering a ruling in the case of Fuhrmann-2-GmbH v. B., adopted a consumer friendly approach by clarifying that for consumers to be validly bound by an electronica...

A worker has died in an accident at the Wasteserv incinerator in Marsa, the police told The Malta Independent.The worker has been identified as a 38-year-old from Marsaxlokk, who has been named as Joseph Ellul.The incident happened at around 9am near...

NFT or Non-fungible Token is a type of token representing any particular asset in digital form. The term non-fungible means the items that are irreplaceable for their innovative attributes. Now, this could be anything, starting from art to real estat...

Stakeholders from the iGaming industry have expressed their worry that Malta’s implementation of the measures imposed onto it by the Financial Action Task Force will lead to an “over-regulated” industry. During a panel discussi...

An Irish pensioner who suffered catastrophic injuries and was left wheelchair bound after being hit by a drunk driver while in holiday in Malta has settled an Irish High Court action for €3.1 million, according to Irish media reports.The Irish E...

123 new cases of Covid-19 were reported by health authorities on Monday, while two new deaths were also reported.167 people meanwhile have recovered from the virus, meaning that the number of active cases currently stands at 2,659.1,527 swab tests we...

Revisions for the expanded Champions League format have been agreed on by UEFA officials, clubs and leagues with a scaled-back first phase and a curb on how past performances can earn qualification.The reformatted group stage would still grow from 32...

The government is showing that it does not care about the nursing and midwife professions, as the working conditions for nurses and the lack of nurses in Malta has become a national crisis, President of the Malta Union of Midwives and Nurses Paul Pac...

Liverpool has ensured the Premier League's thrilling title race will stretch into the final week of the season.A come-from-behind 2-1 win at Aston Villa, sealed by a 65th-minute header by Sadio Mane, showed Liverpool's heart for the fight and moved J...

Minister for the Economy, European Funds and Lands Silvio Schembri and Parliamentary Secretary for European Funds Chris Bonett held a consultation meeting with a number of social partners and associations on the Recovery and Resilience Funds.The Reco...

Minister for Gozo Clint Camillieri has announced an extensive restoration project for the iconic Gozo aqueducts. The project, which will cost an estimated €2 million, will give new life to the British-built aqueduct and will include works t...

Former judge Patrick Vella has passed away at age 78.Vella had been made a judge in 1998. He had served as a magistrate for 12 years before.Vella had originally become a lawyer in 1967.He had been arraigned in 2002 together with former Chief Justice ...

A pro-choice activist was assaulted on the roadside on Tuesday, the NGO Doctors for Choice said on social media.Professor Isabel Stabile is a well-known pro-choice activist and gynaecologist who is a founding member of Doctors for Choice – an N...

A team of Public Interest Litigation Network (PILN) lawyers and the Daphne Caruana Galizia Foundation are challenging Malta’s Freedom of Information Act (FOI) in the Constitutional Court, arguing that the remedies it provides are unconstitution...

A construction worker is in danger of dying after he fell around four storeys at the site he was working at in Gozo.Police said that their assistance was requested at around 11:45am at a construction site at Triq Manwel Magro in Marsalforn.Preliminar...

The government will remain consistent in giving its support the iGaming industry, said Minister for Economy Silvio Schembri on Tuesday. During a press conference hosted by the Chamber of Commerce in collaboration with WHPartners celebrating 20 y...

A new mental health hospital close to Mater Dei Hospital should be built next year, whilst the mental health sector needs to be made a government priority for the coming years “as it is a growing problem”, according to the Dean of Social ...

Russian President Vladimir Putin marked his country’s biggest patriotic holiday Monday without a major new battlefield success in Ukraine to boast of, as the war ground on through its 11th week with the Kremlin's forces making little or no prog...

One of the Ukrainian fighters holding out in the Mariupol steelworks said Monday they were still defending the city.Valeri Paditel, who heads the border guards in the Donetsk region, said the fighters were “doing everything to make those who de...

A 24-year-old Syrian man has pleaded not guilty to murdering a co-national in Marsalforn on Saturday.Maher Aljasem, who lives in Marsalforn, was charged with the murder of Fawez Najem, 25, who was stabbed in the heart.Aljasem was taken to the Gozo co...

The Director of the Academy of Malta's Disciplined Forces John Charles Ellul has apologised for saying that PN MPs should be pelted with eggs and tomatoes, after Home Affairs Minister Byron Camilleri asked the official to remove the social media post...

The President of the European Parliament Roberta Metsola has said that the Future of Europe conference has proven that there was “a gap between what people expect, and what Europe is able to deliver at the moment.” “This is why...

The global price increase due to the Russian - Ukraine conflict has prompted the government to provide financial assistance in the agricultural and fishing industry in order to stabilise prices. The areas of Ukraine and Russia are the world&rsqu...

The PN has called for the setting up of a committee to put forward proposals to change Parliament’s Standing Orders. The announcement was made by PN Deputy Leader David Agius and PN Whip Robert Cutajar in a press conference on Monday. ...

The Director of the Academy of Malta’s Disciplined Forces John Charles Ellul has been the subject of a letter sent by NGO Repubblika to Home Affairs Minister Byron Camilleri over a Facebook post where he called on people to pelt PN MPs with egg...

Deputy Prime Minister and Health Minister Chris Fearne on Monday tabled a Bill proposing amendments to the IVF law in Parliament, as was promised in the PL's electoral pledges.Speaking about Mother's Day, which was celebrated last Sunday, he said tha...

The government should stop ignoring the work life balance directive now that it has until August to implement it, and must stop lagging behind and act immediately, Opposition leader Bernard Grech said on Monday.Speaking in Parliament, Grech added tha...

Agriculture Minister Anton Refalo was in no mood to reply to questions about his interrogation by police over the presence of a historical artefact inside his home on Monday.Refalo was asked a range of questions by journalists after it emerged last w...

70 new cases of Covid-19 were reported by health authorities on Monday, while two new deaths were also reported.It is the first time since 7 March this year that less than 100 cases of the virus have been reported in a single day.188 people meanwhile...

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday sought to cast Moscow's military action in Ukraine as a forced response to Western policies and a necessary move to ward off a potential aggression.Speaking at a military parade on Red Square marking the Wor...

A planning application proposing the restoration of parts of the iconic Balluta Buildings has been filed.The site enjoys Grade 1 protection.The Restoration Method Statement that was submitted to the Planning Authority as part of the application, stat...

Following the end of this year's spring hunting season, BirdLife Malta notes that it was once again a season 'riddled with illegalities', mainly the targeting of protected birds including the European Turtle-dove (Gamiema)."While Minister Clint Camil...

Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Animal Rights, Anton Refalo, together with Parliamentary Secretary for Fisheries, Aquaculture and Animal Rights, Alicia Bugeja Said, launched the AgriFair 2022 on Monday, a Fair that will see representatives fr...

Russian forces pushed forward Monday in their assault on Ukraine, seeking to capture the crucial southern port city of Mariupol as Moscow prepared to celebrate its national Victory Day holiday.Determined to show a success in a war now in its 11t...

April brought busier days for Malta's International Airport, as 513,979 passengers travelled through the terminal during the month, a statement issued by the airport read.This figure marks a recovery of 78.7% of pre-pandemic passenger numbers, which ...

On PL MEP Alfred Sant's initiative, the Socialist and Democratic (S&D) Group at the European Parliament put forward a plenary amendment calling on the European Commission to pay due attention to the impact of state aid decisions on the connectivi...

Parliament officially opened on Saturday, as MPs took their oaths and the Speaker of the House was re-elected.This legislature, Malta has the largest number of MPs in history - 79.There are a few things that this newsroom would like to see done diffe...

A comic book designed by WasteServ to help educate children on waste separation and how students can make a difference in protecting the environment has been drawn up.The comics tell the story of two characters - Commander Yellow and General Buzz - a...

TOKYO — Prime Minister Fumio Kishida says Japan will slowly phase out Russian oil imports in unity with the Group of Seven’s effort against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.Leaders from the G-7 countries met online Sunday and announced ...

A man was killed in a fight in Marsalforn on Saturday evening, the police said.The victim is a Syrian man, aged 25, who was certified dead at Gozo General Hospital.The police said that a fight broke out in an apartment in Triq il-Wied, with several o...

A complex of tourist bungalows has been proposed as a replacement for two existing disused farms inside a Natura 2000 site in Marsaxlokk.Located in an area known as Il-Ballut, which contains sensitive saline marshlands, the application seeks to demol...

A protest in front of the Russian Embassy was held by the Ukrainian community in Malta on Sunday, denouncing the 'bloody and cruel' invasion of Ukraine.Sunday marked the Day of Remembrance and Reconciliation for those who lost their lives during the ...

Nurses are an indispensable human resource in any hospital. It is safe to say that Malta has already had a taste of what such a nursing shortage could cause to its health department, as during the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic nursing staff was stret...

A woman who was raped as a child has told The Malta Independent on Sunday that she wondered why she wasn’t getting paid for the abuse, like her mother, who worked as a prostitute. Yolanda Bonello spoke with this newsroom about the abuse she end...

119 new Covid-19 cases were reported on Sunday, as one more person has died with the virus.There are currently 2,825 active Covid-19 cases on the island.Since the start of the pandemic, Malta has had 92,848 cases of Covid-19, 88,918 of which have rec...

The compiling of the shadow Cabinet may not be as important as that of the list of ministers and parliamentary secretaries that make up the government but, nonetheless, it carries its own particular significance.Through it, the Opposition Leader dist...

Manchester City started celebrations to mark a decade since its first Premier League title by trying to prevent the sixth success being as tense or dramatic with a rout started and ended by Raheem Sterling.What had been a tight title race is now more...

Sandro Tonali celebrated his 22nd birthday by scoring two goals that took AC Milan a step closer to its first Serie A title in 11 years.Milan won 3-1 at Hellas Verona on Sunday thanks mainly to a goal in each half from Tonali after Davide Faraoni had...

His first day racing around the new Formula One circuit in Miami was absolutely horrible. Then he made a mistake in qualifying that cost him a spot on the front row.By the time race day rolled around, Max Verstappen had knocked it all out of his syst...

KYIV, Ukraine — The Ukrainian army said Sunday that Moscow was focusing its main efforts that day on destroying airfield infrastructure in eastern and southern Ukraine, in order to prevent Ukrainian air forces from operating effectively.At leas...

Dozens of Ukrainians were feared dead Sunday after a Russian bomb destroyed a school sheltering about 90 people in the basement as Moscow's invading forces kept up their barrage of cities, towns and villages in eastern and southern Ukraine.The govern...

Davina Sammut Hili, a former mayor of Floriana, was one of the six women candidates who were elected to Parliament thanks to the gender-corrective mechanism.Here she tells us about her favourite pastimes, the food she likes and what she will take wit...