President George Vella again refused to say this morning who will be signing the IVF bill into law.Asked by The Malta Independent on Friday, Vella would not be drawn into committing himself to signing the controversial law, simply stating that &ldquo...

Japan’s NHK television says former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has died after being shot during a campaign speech.Abe was shot from behind minutes after he started his speech Friday in Nara in western Japan. He was airlifted to a hospital for eme...

Five years after Joseph Muscat’s government gifted the Sadeen group with a huge tract of virgin land at Zonqor point, Robert Abela’s government says it has taken it back.“We stuck to our promise of giving Zonqor back to the public,&...

A motorcyclist was grievously injured in a traffic accident in St Julian’s on Thursday afternoon.The accident took place on Triq Mikiel Anton Vassalli, at around 1:30pm, the police said.The casualty, 76, from Ta’ Xbiex was riding a Kymco ...

The Malta Chamber of SMEs has once again won first prize at the National Supporting Business Awards under the remit of the Ministry for the Economy. The Award was won on the basis of supporting businesses in their sustainable transition and support e...

A Conservative leadership contest will take place in coming weeks after British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced Thursday he is resigning as the party's leader — though he will continue to serve as prime minister until a success...

Nationalist MP Carm Mifsud Bonnici said he would have voted against the IVF bill, but he was unable to be in Parliament on Wednesday because he is positive to Covid-19.He becomes the fourth PN MP to express his dissent towards the bill. On Tuesday, A...

President George Vella insisted on Thursday that the new IVF bill will be signed into law, but was not clear on whether he would be signing it himself. On Wednesday, Parliament approved a bill that will see the introduction of pre-implantation geneti...

A 35-year-old man from Tarxien has pleaded not guilty to charges relating to the alleged rape and defilement of a 15-year-old girl during a sleepover at his house.Inspector Joseph Busuttil told magistrate Josette Demicoli that the accused, Keith Vell...

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson resigned Thursday, acknowledging that it was “clearly the will” of his party that he should go.He stepped down immediately as leader of his Conservative Party but plans to remain as prime minister whil...

He was the mayor who basked in the glory of hosting the 2012 London Olympics, and the man who led the Conservatives to a thumping election victory on the back of his promise to “get Brexit done.”But Boris Johnson's time as prime mini...

As restoration works continue at a steady pace at the Grand Master’s Palace, the remains of a nymphaeum that used to adorn the palace’s orange garden have been discovered. Upon the project’s completion, the public will be able to se...

There were 624 new Covid-19 cases reported to the authorities, figures released by the health authorities on Thursday show.This has taken the number of active cases to 7,941, the higher they have been since 15 April.One other death was reported, taki...

Foreign analysts say Russia may be temporarily easing its offensive in Ukraine as the Russian military attempts to reassemble its forces for a renewed assault.On Wednesday, Russian forces made no claimed or assessed territorial gains in Ukraine "for ...

The metal crowd barriers which surround Parliament will not be going anywhere any time soon, with Speaker Anglu Farrugia saying that they will remain in place until a “permanent solution” to ensure the protection of the building is found....

Rafael Nadal withdrew from Wimbledon because of a torn abdominal muscle on Thursday, a day before he was supposed to play Nick Kyrgios in the semifinals.It is the first time since 1931 that a man pulled out of the oldest Gran...

Ons Jabeur's steady progress from year to year — up the tennis rankings, through the draws of various tournaments and, now, at Wimbledon — has carried her to a Grand Slam singles final, the first African woman and Arab woma...

While one cannot expect the government to fully offset the impact of inflation, there needs to be a balance between this and controlling the deficit, economist JP Fabri has told The Malta Business Weekly. This newsroom reached out to Fabri and Clint ...

When Paceville is in the news it is almost always for the wrong reasons.The most famous locality for nightlife in Malta inevitably is also a place where tempers flare very easily, probably because of the high levels of alcohol that are consumed. It o...

Nine environmental awareness groups from all across the Maltese islands have united as a new coalition, Koalizzjoni għal Futur Sostenibbli (KFS), in the fight against litter.This coalition consists of Nadur Nadif, Din l-Art Ħelwa Mellie...

An Italian worker was grievously injured after he fell off a ladder in Mellieha.The accident took place in a residence in Triq il-Marfa, at around 8:30am, the police said.The man, 51, from St Paul’s Bay, was taken to Mater Dei Hospital by ambul...

Parliament has approved amendments to the IVF law, which will see the introduction of genetic testing. Most Opposition MPs voted in favour of the amendments, but three refused to toe the party line and voted against. The three MPs were former PN lead...

Carmelo Abela told a court that police had no questions for him when he recently voluntarily made himself available to the investigation into the 2010 HSBC heist.Former Minister Carmelo Abela took the stand in an ongoing libel case he filed agai...

The government will be refunding the Sadeen group the money it spent on architects and Planning Authority applications, according to a resolution that was approved in Parliament on Wednesday evening. The resolution will see Sadeen renounce its e...

The PN’s motion to repeal a legal notice that allows the playing of loud music in Valletta until 1am was rejected in a vote in Parliament on Wednesday.Following several controversial views by the Opposition, as well as protests by Valletta resi...

Parliamentary Secretary Alison Zerafa Civelli has drawn anger and ire from Valletta residents, after saying in Parliament that they felt ashamed about saying where they are from.Zerafa Civelli – who is Robert Abela’s sister-in-law –...

Pope Francis has announced his intention to continue giving top roles to women in the Roman Curia, particularly by appointing two women to the body that helps the pontiff appoint new bishops.In an interview with Reuters, Francis spoke of his intentio...

Wincing from abdominal pain, unable to ply his customary relentless style of tennis, Rafael Nadal thought he might need to stop playing in the Wimbledon quarterfinals against Taylor Fritz.Up in the Centre Court stands, N...

The Nationalist Party is demanding that the government gives an account of the way in which two Direct Orders were given to a private company to set up a tracking system that follows school children on their way to and from school. This comes fo...

A biker was grievously hurt on Wednesday morning when he lost control of the bike he was riding and crashed.The biker, aged 35 of Qormi, was riding a Honda CBH in Triq ix-Xatt at 9am when the accident happened.He was taken to hospital with grievous i...

The Labour Party on Wednesday marked its first 100 days in office following the general election in March. During a press conference on Wednesday, PL Deputy Leader Daniel Micallef and PL MP Cressida Galea gave a brief roundup of the proposals th...

614 new cases of Covid-19 were reported by health authorities on Wednesday, as another patient died while positive for the virus.549 recoveries from the virus were reported, taking the number of active cases up to 7,845.2,263 swab tests were carried ...

Ukrainian Eurovision song winner Jamala will be performing at a peace concert in Malta on 8 July.Since the war in Ukraine, Jamala has been campaigning for her country and has performed in peace concerts across the world. The One Love, Celeb...

The Maltese flag registered a record increase of over 51% in the registration of superyachts over 24 metres – thus making the Maltese flag the jurisdiction of choice and one of the leaders in this sector with over 1,030 super yachts r...

European Union lawmakers voted Wednesday to include natural gas and nuclear in the bloc's list of sustainable activities, backing a controversial proposal from the bloc's executive arm that has been drawing fierce criticism from environment groups.Th...

George Degiorgio has confessed to his role in the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia, saying in an interview with Reuters that he will not “go down alone” for the murder.Degiorgio told Reuters that the assassination was “just business...

The government has announced three measures aimed to help business and reduce bureaucracy.The measures were announced during a meeting Economy Minister Silvio Schembri had with the Enterprise Consultative Council. One of the problems faced by busines...

In May 2022, the number of persons registering for work stood at 961 decreasing by 1,040 when compared to the corresponding month in 2021, the National Statistics Office said on Wednesday.It is two people less than the 963 people who registered for u...

The National Audit Office questioned the lack of documents concerning the 2015 negotiations for a new public transport service provider, with the Auditor General saying that he could not give the process a thumbs up as a result.Auditor General Charle...

How many times has this phrase been uttered in Parliament by MP’s right before they turn any argument into a political football? The phrase is as useful as telling someone not to get offended right before you offend them. Politicians must reali...

A defiant British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was battling to stay in power on Wednesday after his government was rocked by the resignation of two top ministers, who said they could no longer serve under his scandal-tarred leadership.His first chall...

A court has found that a billing method used by Automated Revenue Management Services Ltd (ARMS) resulted in the illegal over-charging of a Lija resident on his electricity bills between 2016 and 2017.In a judgement which could set a significant lega...

A court has been told that the Attorney General “forced” the police to arraign Pilatus Bank official Claude Anne Sant Fournier while, at the same time, withholding the majority of the evidence collected during the magisterial inquiry into...

The Ministry for the Environment, Energy and Enterprise is finalising all the aspects to put into force a new Legal Notice regulating utility bills, as promised in the Budget for this year, the Ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.The statement ca...

Two of Britain’s most senior Cabinet ministers resigned on Tuesday, a move that could spell the end of Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s leadership after months of scandals. Treasury chief Rishi Sunak and Health Secretary Sajid Javid re...

NGO Repubblika has formally called on Attorney General Victoria Buttigieg to issue criminal charges against Pilatus Bank officials, saying that a magisterial inquiry had instructed her office to do so months ago, and that the AG should be held accoun...

The former Faculty of Law Dean, Kevin Aquilina, has said that an independent judicial inquiry should be appointed to investigate the running, output and performance of the Attorney General and her office.The inquiry should be appointed to investigate...

The Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) has officially presented National Lottery plc with its licence. The company has become the operator of popular lotteries Lottu, Super 5 and others, taking over from Maltco. The licence is valid for 10 years and is sub...

661 new cases of Covid-19 were found on Monday and three other patients have passed away, according to data published online.There were 251 recoveries, which means that the number of active cases is now 7,781.The total number of cases so far has reac...

For several months now, Birkirkara Hill in St Julian’s has been plagued by a rat infestation.Rats, some of which have grown the size of small cats, roam freely on the pavements on both sides of the road.The problem started several months ago wh...

It says a lot about Novak Djokovic that a two-sets-to-none hole at Wimbledon on a day he was hardly at his best never seemed insurmountable. Not to him. Not to anyone watching.Says a lot about his history of overcoming that sort o...

Local champions Hibernians yesterday suffered a heavy defeat in Ireland against Shamrock Rovers in the first leg of the first qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League.It will be practically impossible for the Paolites to cancel the deficit in th...

Gzira could only obtain a 1-1 draw against Andorra’s Atletic Escaldes in the Conference League yesterday at Ta’ Qali.It was a balanced affair and the result can be considered a fair one. Gzira will now play their chances in the away match...

A gunman on a rooftop opened fire on an Independence Day parade in suburban Chicago on Monday, killing at least six people, wounding at least 30 and sending hundreds of marchers, parents with strollers and children on bicycles fleeing in terror, poli...

A court has ordered the blocking of thousands of IP addresses which have been identified as having been illegally broadcasting Italian and Spanish league matches via IPTV service subscriptions and will now be blocked from continuing to provide conten...

A number of Santa Venera and Birkirkara residents have been without electricity for over 12 hours after a series of faults in the distribution system.In a social media post, Enemalta said a fault developed on an 11kV underground cable on Monday eveni...

The Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) would have been as high as €16 or €17 per week this year if it wasn’t for government subsidies, Finance Minister Clyde Caruana said on Monday.Speaking in Parliament during adjournment time, XCaruan...

At the end of March, General Government debt stood at €8,672.2 million, or 57.6% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the National Statistics Office said.This equates to an increase of €1.17 billion over the corresponding quarter in 2021, large...

Five organisations on Tuesday launched a crowdfunding campaign for legal actions against the Planning Authority’s decision to approve yet another obscene Joseph Portelli development: a swimming pool in the Marsalforn valley of Gozo on ODZ land....

After more than four months of ferocious fighting, Russia claimed a key victory: full control over one of the two provinces in Ukraine's eastern industrial heartland.But Moscow's rout of the last remaining bulwark of Ukrainian resistance in Luhansk p...

A gunman who killed three people when he opened fire in a crowded shopping mall acted alone and apparently selected his victims at random, Danish police said Monday, all but ruling out that the attack was related to terrorism.Authorities fi...

Hundreds of homes have been inundated in and around Australia's largest city in a flood emergency that was causing trouble for 50,000 people, officials said Tuesday.Emergency response teams made 100 rescues overnight of people trapped in cars on floo...

Final works are underway by Infrastructure Malta to complete a project, with an investment of around €500,000, to embellish the belvedere, the stairs, and the sidewalks in the Saqqajja area in Rabat. This was announced by Min...

It has been a problem for quite a while, but it is clear that the situation has become worse in the past few years.The Malta Union of Midwives and Nurses said last week that the shortage of nurses is creating serious problems to the provision of serv...

No request for a free vote on the amendments to the IVF bill was made during Parliamentary Group meetings, the Nationalist Party said. In a statement issued on Monday afternoon, the party reiterated that no request for a free vote was made durin...

Health Minister Chris Fearne announced in Parliament on Monday that an IVF bill that will see the introduction of pre-implantation genetic testing will go back to committee stage and a vote will be taken in plenary on Wednesday.The final vote on the ...

A group of Valletta residents protested in front if parliament against a legal notice allowing for establishments play music till 1am in several streets in Valletta, including some residential areas.Some of the streets included in the legal notice ar...

The nurses’ union said it will be writing to the Health Minister to start a “serious discussion” on staff shortages after a court threw out an injunction filed by the health authorities. Mr Justice Spiteri Bailey ruled on Monday tha...

An Englishwoman drowned in Bugibba on Monday afternoon.The police said they were informed at around 1230pm that a woman had found herself in difficulty while swimming near Triq Dawret il-Gżejjer.Upon arriving at the scene, officers were told tha...

The head of the Nationalist Party’s Equal Opportunities Forum has hit back at MPs who have said they will not back the proposed IVF amendments, saying that some arguments being made are “an insult to people’s intelligence and to cou...

During a press conference held at the Eden Cinema, Malta Comic Con was launched after a two-year absence. The family-oriented, action-packed event will take place over the weekend of the 29th-30th October 2022 at MFCC, Ta’ Qali to celebrate pop...

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday declared victory in the eastern Ukrainian region of Luhansk, one day after Ukrainian forces withdrew from their last remaining bulwark of resistance in the province.Russia’s Defense Minister Sergei Sho...

A 92-year-old woman has been taken to hospital and is at risk of dying after she fell out of a window at the St. Vincent de Paul home for the elderly.Police told The Malta Independent that the accident happened at around 7:30am this morning.The woman...

The Malta Developers Association has said that it will direct its members to continue any construction works that have been brought to a halt due to a lack of LESA officials from next week – irrespective of whether there will be officials or no...

The Chamber of Advocates has blasted a suggestion by three student organisations to give more power to the Justice Ministry when it comes to the issue of law warrants. In a statement, where it referred to a different statement issued by three st...

Prosecutors for the office of the Attorney General have been warned not to bury the evidence against a Pilatus Bank official by exhibiting reams of unnecessary, and in some cases, irrelevant, documentation and witness testimony.When the compilation o...

 Nick Kyrgios stepped into a nearly full Centre Court to polite applause at precisely 1:30 p.m. on Monday, exited about 3 1/2 hours later to a louder ovation and, somehow, the 100-year-old stadium survived the experience...

488 new cases of Covid-19 were reported by health authorities on Monday.275 recoveries from the virus were reported, taking the number of active cases up to 7,374.1,977 swab tests were carried out in the last 24 hours, equating to a positivity rate o...

Two and a half years into the COVID-19 pandemic, most of the world has seen a dramatic improvement in infections, hospitalizations and death rates in recent weeks, signaling the crisis appears to be winding down. But how will it end? Past epidemics m...

A humanitarian NGO based in the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv is seeking to find sponsors as it expands its operations in the outskirts of the city. The NGO is the same one interviewed by The Malta Independent a few weeks ago. TMI journalists Neil Camill...

A gunman opened fire inside a busy shopping mall in the Danish capital Sunday, killing three people and critically wounding three others, police said.A 22-year-old Danish man was arrested after the shooting, Copenhagen police inspector Søren T...

The 12th Edition of the Volleyball Marathon that got under way on Friday was over at midnight on Sunday but not before the sum of €519,721 was raised for Id-Dar tal-Providenza .  The players went through 53 hours of volleyball challenged by...

The Scout Association of Malta has taken umbrage at the use of the term “boy scout” in an opinion piece, saying that the term is “antiquated and derogatory.”The term was used in an opinion piece written by Saviour Balzan on Ma...

A man has been hospitalised with grievous injuries after he fell a storey and a half off the balcony of his residence.Police said that the accident took place at around 4am on Monday in Triq il-Genista in Kalkara.Preliminary investigations showed tha...

A large chunk of an Alpine glacier broke loose Sunday and roared down a mountain in Italy, sending ice, snow and rock slamming into hikers on a popular trail on the peak and killing at least six and injuring nine, authorities said, warning that the t...

Most of us are in agreement: fuel powered cars are destructive to the environment, lethal to pedestrians and drivers, and contribute greatly to climate change, yet imagining a car free future is almost impossible to fathom. The benefits of getting ri...

Romania's Foreign Ministry said Sunday that a tourist from the country was killed in a shark attack while vacationing in Egypt, making it the second shark attack death there in recent days.A 68-year-old Austrian woman died on Friday after l...

The Mosta fireworks factory accident that occurred last month proved that in a moment of crisis, the health and safety regulations did work, former politician Dr Godfrey Farrugia said. What happened at the factory, which was built according to the Pl...

Profiles of children up for adoption cannot be shared because of privacy issues, the Foundation for Social Welfare Services CEO Alfred Grixti, told The Malta Independent on Sunday.“As an entity entrusted by the State with the responsibility of ...

The second Robert Abela government will be celebrating its first 100 days in office this week.They were not uneventful, as the government embarked on its mission to accomplish all that it promised its election campaign.What has stood out is a reduced...

Five hundred new Covid-19 cases were identified on Sunday and one person has died, according to data published online.The number of active cases has now risen to 7,161, while the total number of cases so far ahs reached 104,919. The death toll now st...

The CEO of the Malta Freeport and his wife have been arrested in connection with a police investigation into possible money laundering and corruption, Times of Malta reports.The investigation is reportedly linked with a multi-million euro contract th...

The PN will be voting in favour of embryo testing as part of the government’s amendments to the IVF reform, Opposition Leader Bernard Grech said Sunday, but former PN leader Adrian Delia has expressed different opinions.Speaking on a phone call...

Russia claimed control Sunday over the last Ukrainian stronghold in an eastern province that is key to achieving a major goal of its invasion. But Ukraine's president said the fight for the city of Lysychansk was ongoing.If confirmed, a Russian seizu...

Malta 68 Armenia 84 (19-15, 11-24, 18-23, 20-22)There was a bright light shining throughout this final, as the naturalised american, Chris Jones, was unstoppable, and dictated play, to lead the Armenian side to the Gold.This was the first ever compet...

Malta has just emerged from the FATF grey list, something which involved work from a number of institutions, one of which being the MBR. What work was carried out over the course of the past year in order to reflect the recommendations put forward by...

Even knowing what an unusual Wimbledon this has been, what with so many unexpected results and new faces popping up, and so few top seeds — and major champions — remaining, surely Novak Djokovic would not lose to a wild-car...

Carlos Sainz Jr. won his his first career Formula One race on Sunday with a victory at the British Grand Prix — the most dramatic race so far this season. It began with a frightening first-lap crash and ended with intense wheel-to-wheel battles...

Tourism is booming again in France — and so is COVID-19. French officials have “invited" or “recommended” people to go back to using face masks but stopped short of renewing restrictions that would scare visitors away or ...

Lara Azzopardi will be returning to her character on Ic-Caqqufa later this year, a role which enabled her to win the best female actress award in 2017.A nurse clinical specialist by profession, she wanted to be a vet when she was young and, given her...