A car plowed into a busy outdoor Christmas market in the eastern German city of Magdeburg on Friday, killing at least two people and injuring at least 60 others in what authorities called a deliberate attack.The driver was arrested at the scene short...

Hundreds of gifts for children in need were collected in Castille Square this year, the fifth edition of the "Gift of Love" initiative that came to an ened yesterday.Spearheaded by the Prime Minister's wife Lydia Abela, the event was held over five d...

The Meteorological Office is forecasting a week of rain and strong winds will wall take us through this weekend to at least Boxing Day.Until last Thursday, the office was predicting a cloudy day on Christmas Day, but this forecast has changed to one ...

Former Minister Clayton Bartolo has been rebuked by the Standards Commissioner for not being forthcoming in his answers during an investigation on a gift cruise given to ITS CEO.The commissioner was ruling on a complaint filed by independent candidat...

An elderly woman and a two-year-old boy were injured when they were hit be vehicles in two separate accidents on Friday.The first accident took place in Naxxar Road, Birkirkara at 11.30am.A 72-year-old woman from Mosta was hit by a Peugeot 307 driven...

A court in Sicily Friday found Italian Vice Premier Matteo Salvini not guilty of illegally detaining 100 migrants aboard a humanitarian rescue ship in 2019, when he was interior minister.The court in the city of Palermo dropped all the charges agains...

Din l-Art Ħelwa expressed its deep concern regarding the recent post planning development permission scheduling of Villa St Ignatius.Both Villa St Ignatius and Fort Chambray were granted development permissions prior to their classification in t...

When Parliament reconvenes in the new year, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) will launch a new investigation that is expected to shed more light on activities within the Ministry for Tourism and the Ministry for Gozo between 2020 and the present y...

Instead of coming clean and answering some very pertinent questions about their actions and their people, Bernard Grech's Nationalist Party is desperately trying to shift focus, the Labour Party said Friday.Their latest desperate attempt has been thi...

Maltese Prime Minister Robert Abela addressed the EU Council summit which focused, among others, on the shifting realities affecting the war on Ukraine and possible solutions to irregular immigration.In comments after the meeting Prime Minister Abela...

Villa St Ignatius in St Julian's which was under considerable scrutiny in the past has been granted a Grade 2 protection status by the Planning Authority (PA).This designation underscores the villa's historical, architectural, and cultural significan...

An Indiana man convicted in the 2017 killings of two teenage girls who vanished during a winter hike was sentenced to a maximum of 130 years in prison Friday in the case that's long cast a shadow over the teens' small hometown of Delphi.All...

Wirt Għawdex said Friday intends to appeal, together with other NGOs, the Planning Authority's decisions on Fort Chambray. Earlier this month, a mega-development proposed within Fort Chambray in Gozo and the dismantling of a British ba...

France's anti-terrorism court on Friday convicted eight people of involvement in the beheading of teacher Samuel Paty outside his school near Paris four years ago, a horrific death that shocked the country.Paty, 47, was killed by an Islamic...

A Swedish man has been acquitted by a Maltese court of charges that he raped and harassed his female colleague five years ago.The magistrate ruled that the man's version of the events that took place in a Swieqi apartment in 2019 was more credible th...

Tijjani Reijnders got the only goal and Milan got a much-needed three points in a 1-0 win away at lowly Verona in Serie A on Friday.The Dutch striker finished superbly after a Youssouf Fofana pass opened the Verona defense early in the second half.Th...

On Sunday, 29 December 2024, Archbishop Charles Scicluna will inaugurate the Jubilee Year 2025 in the Archdiocese of Malta under the theme "Pilgrims of Hope". This event follows the official opening of the Holy Year by Pope Francis on Christmas ...

At the end of November 2024, Central Government debt stood at €10,362.7 million, an increase of €784.7 million when compared to 2023, the NSO said Friday.The increase reported under Malta Government Stocks (€791.9 million) was the main...

Gisèle Pelicot spoke of her "very difficult ordeal" after 51 men were convicted Thursday in the drugging-and-rape trial that riveted France and turned her into an icon, expressing support for other victims whose cases don't get such atten...

Malta’s electoral system is, in many ways, rigged in order to favour Malta’s two major political parties.The proportional representation with a single transferrable vote (PR-STV) system which is used in Malta is in actual fact designed in...

The Ministry of Health and Active Ageing has announced that a tender for the expansion and development of the Emergency Department at Mater Dei Hospital has been published. The total cost of this tender amounts to just over €80 million, excludin...

Paintings by Ukrainian children will be on display as part of activities related to Milied Melliehi, to be held over the next few days leading to Christmas in the main square of Mellieha.The paintings, which were brought over to Malta by PN whip Robe...

A year after their first free Christmas Day Lunch at their newly opened 'LOVE 1C13' community centre, David Abela and Claudia Mulè Stagno, will be hosting the second edition of the same event on Christmas Day 2024.The event is targeted at indi...

A court in Sicily is expected to announce its verdict Friday on whether Italy's vice premier, Matteo Salvini, was guilty of illegally detaining 100 migrants aboard a humanitarian rescue ship when he was interior minister.Salvini faces up to six ...

Inflation and the environment are the major concerns for Maltese citizens according to the latest Eurobarometer survey, published Thursday by the the European Commission Representation in Malta.The national report outlines the main findings of the fi...

16 local councils are in financial trouble as at the end of 2023 they owed more money than they had, a report by the National Audit Office has highlighted.The NAO said in a report that there were 16 local councils which ended the 2023 financial year ...

Works have started to add 60 kilometres of new underground cables, through collaboration between Enemalta, Infrastructure Malta, and Transport Malta, the three entities said in a statement Thursday.These new medium-voltage cables "will further streng...

The Nationalist Party on Thursday expressed its full confidence in John Rizzo and trusts the decisions he makes, including in the present circumstances.The history of our country shows that John Rizzo is a person of unwavering integrity and the highe...

Marc Guiu's first-half hat trick helped Chelsea ease past Shamrock Rovers 5-1 on Thursday to complete the league phase of the UEFA Conference League with a 100% record.The 18-year-old forward, who netted twice in a 3-1 win over Astana in the previous...

The Labour Party has asked the Nationalist Party to speak up and say what its (the PN's) position is on John Rizzo, who represents the PN on the Permanent Commission Against Corruption.Yesterday, it was revealed that police officer Kurt Rizzo, who fo...

A court in France on Thursday sentenced the ex-husband of Gisèle Pelicot to a maximum 20 years of imprisonment for drugging and raping her and allowing other men to rape her while she was knocked out, in abuse that lasted nearly a decade.The s...

Shadow Minister for Justice Karol Aquilina today testified in extradition proceedings against Daniel Joe Meli which are currently being reheard after Parliament passed amendments to the law related to extradition.Daniel Joe Meli, 27, is charged ...

The President of the European Parliament Roberta Metsola stated that while in 2024, Europe stood-up, “in 2025, we need to step-up if we are truly serious about asserting Europe’s place on the world stage. We have little other choice.&rdqu...

A comment made by a priest on social media has wider implications than the people it was aimed for.Last Saturday, Vittoriosa's Fr John Avellino complained that a music concert that the parish had organised was not well attended.Not even the people wh...

Prime Minister Robert Abela has taken part in the EU and Western Balkans leaders' meeting in Brussels.The meeting served as an opportunity to maintain momentum for the strategic partnership between the European Union and the Western Balkans, the OPM ...

Malta will be participating in the Jubilee of the Pilgrims of Hope 2025, in which there will be the presence of a number of prisoners as part of their rehabilitation, the Ministry for Home Affairs said on Thursday.The Ministry said that the commitmen...

It should be a stormy weekend that precedes Christmas, according to the weather forecast on the MIA website.And there should be thundery showers and a string wind on Christmas Eve, so anyone planning a dash for last-minute shopping should take this i...

The granting of land in Siggiewi for the building of a new Enemalta electricity distribution centre has been approved by the Ministry for Lands and the Implementation of the Electoral Programme, the government said on Thursday.This decision, the Mini...

Just weeks after the €70,000 phantom consultancy scandal involving Minister Clint Camilleri granting a contract to the wife of former Minister Clayton Bartolo, it has become evident that this was not an isolated incident but part of a repeated p...

The Labour Government is pushing a "Permit Authority" instead of a Planning Authority that safeguards the national heritage and plans the country's future based on a clear and transparent vision, the Nationalist Party said Wednesday.Once again, the C...

The Nationalist Party is not credible on many issues, the Planning Authority being one of them, the Labour Party said Wednesday.Reacting to a Nationalist Part statement saying that Malta needed a Planning Authority, not a Permit Authority, the PL sai...

The ex-deputy mayor of St Paul's Bay, Carlos Zarb, has gone to social media to say that the St Paul's Bay Local Council has missed its 15 December deadline to hold its Annual General Meeting (AGM) as instructed by law. As a result, he has reported th...

A second police officer is being investigated over suspected information leaks to third parties, following the arraignment of a first officer a few weeks ago, media report.Times of Malta reports that the officer in question was suspended from all dut...

Wied Inċita, a 20,000 square-metre green space in the heart of the country, is now open for public enjoyment following months of restoration work by Ambjent Malta. This initiative transformed the area into a family-friendly destination and marks...

The Ministry for Social Policy has announced that the first of two additional cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) payments for 2025 will be paid over this coming weekend.The Minister for Social Policy, Michael Falzon, stated in a press conference on Wed...

The Constitutional Court has dismissed an appeal filed by Terence Cini, which challenged the legal framework preventing the conversion of his criminal trial into drug court proceedings due to the severity of his charges.On 16 December 2024, the Const...

Malta Union of Teachers president Marco Bonnici aired the union's disappointment and anger as discussions over a new collective agreement for MCAST lecturers have not reached a satisfactory conclusion, three years after the previous accord expired.Ad...

A former leader of the Church of England has resigned as a priest following allegations that he failed to properly handle the case of a priest accused of sexual misconduct.George Carey, who was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1991 to 2002, qu...

As expected, all the votes taken in Parliament last Monday went the government's way.The Labour Party's strong majority in the House of Representatives enabled it to see through the budget 2025 estimates along with the controversial drugs law - which...

The National Audit Office has criticised the Gozo Ministry for how it handled a major roadworks project in Nadur, saying that there was insufficient planning and poor management which resulted in the project being substantially more expensive than it...

HSBC Bank Malta announced Wednesday that the extraordinary general meeting to seek authorisation for the disclosure of information in relation to the potential transfer of a substantial shareholding will be held on 13 February.In a statement in Novem...

A Police inspector detained under a defective police warrant was yesterday awarded €20,000 by the Court after it was confirmed that his fundamental human rights had been breached.Elton Taliana instituted Constitutional proceedings in 2021, where...

The Commissioner for Standards in Public Life has just concluded that there is "no basis" for the complaint lodged by Minister for Justice Jonathan Attard against PN MPs Karol Aquilina and Claudette Buttigieg to be further investigated, the PN said i...

Following the success of Season 1, the satirical Maltese series Il-President returns with 12 brand-new episodes brimming with drama, sharp comedy, and bold commentary on Malta's political class.Acclaimed actor Fabian Scerri de Carlo reprises his awar...

 A report by the National Audit Office reveals that out of 17 recommendations to improbve matters at the Corradino Correctional Facility, only three were implemented in three years, the Nationalist Party said Tuesday. This confirms that the Labo...

The NGO Doctors for Road Safety (D4RS) has lamented how the long-promised Transport Safety Investigative Commission has missed the deadline of its establishment by yet another year.“Doctors for Road Safety has to once again note the horrific cr...

A senior Russian general was killed Tuesday by a bomb hidden in a scooter outside his apartment building in Moscow, a day after Ukraine’s security service levelled criminal charges against him. A Ukrainian official said the service carried out ...

Parliament has officially approved the 2025 Budget estimates for all government ministries.The decision confirms the allocation of funds to various sectors, reflecting the government's plans for fiscal, social, and economic development for 2025.Key h...

Yesterday evening, in Parliament, the people had another confirmation, not because they ever had a doubt, that the former Nationalist leader Simon Busuttil still has a strong grip on the PN, the Labour Party said Tuesday.Bernard Grech voted against t...

11 local councils did not submit their audited financial statements by the deadline, the National Audit Office (NAO) said.Auditor General Charles Deguara presented to the Speaker of the House of Representatives Anġlu Farrugia the Annual Report o...

In an interview with The Malta Independent on Sunday, an urban planner said that to improve the country's public transport, bolster tourism and boost people's quality of life, Malta must invest in modern trams, also referred to as Light Rail Transit ...

In the last session of the year, Parliament has passed government’s drug reform bill, which is to reform Malta’s drug court, and shot down the Nationalist Party’s pet sitting motion, proposing to regulate the standards for operating...

Chancellor Olaf Scholz lost a confidence vote in the German parliament on Monday, putting the European Union's most populous member and biggest economy on course to hold an early election in February.Scholz won the support of 207 lawmakers ...

A court decision dismissed the pleas made by the ADPD in a constitutional action challenging the manner in which additional seats were allocated to the two main political parties following the 2022 general election, and ADPD Chairperson Sandra Gauci ...

November's rainfall brought some relief to the drought across the Maltese Islands, the Meteorological Office said. However, the monthly precipitation still fell short of meeting the average quota for the month. In fact, a total of 82.8 mm of rain was...

The scheme to collect plastic bottles is seen more of a burden rather than a contribution, the president of the Association of Catering Establishments said, adding however that by ensuring a more efficient service, the cultural change that is require...

Thirteen organisations have highlighted the urgent need for swift and effective judicial remedies for women who have suffered rape and sexual assault.In a statement, the organisations said that these remedies must recognise that rape does not solely ...

The General Workers' Union has said that an impending vote by the Nationalist Party against changes to a deed that will allow the union to legally sublet its premises to commercial entities is a "punitive bid to undermine the trade union's work."&nbs...

The driver of a car can count themselves lucky after escaping unscathed from their car when it overturned and caught fire.Police said that the accident happened at around 5:30pm in Manikata and the driver was the only person involved.In the accident,...

Inter Milan scored four times in a 12-minute spell either side of halftime and added another couple late on to rout Lazio 6-0 in a lopsided contest of Serie A title contenders on Monday.Lazio was unbeaten at home in Serie A and it matched Inter for m...

Any hope that Gozo will one day be spared of the rampant over-development that has taken over Malta was put to bed last Thursday.This was after a mega-development proposed within Fort Chambray in Gozo and the demolition of a British barracks building...

The total number of vehicles registered in Malta has increased by 125,653 since 2012, according to statistics tabled by Transport Minister Chris Bonett in parliament on Monday.The statistics are up until the second quarter of 2024Minister Bonett was ...

A biker was critically injured on Sunday evening following a crash with a car, the police said Monday.The accident happened in Mgarr Road, Xewkija, at 8.30pm.It involved a Toyota Tercel, driven by an 86-year-old woman from Xewkija, and a Benelli bike...

Solitude is the pandemic of our country, Nationalist MP Ivan Bartolo said Monday.Addressing the media, Bartolo said that "we must take care of each other all year long not just at Christmas time."A study by the Faculty of Social Wellbeing carried out...

79% of respondents to a survey from Malta said that having the euro is a good thing for Malta, while 17% said it is a bad thing, a flash Eurobarometer survey found.The rest responded with don't know or can't decide.On behalf of the European Commissio...

A man was grievously injured on Monday morning when he lost control of the dumper truck he was driving and it overturned.The accident took place at 11.15am in Mgarr Road, Qala.The man, aged 49 from Ghana, was taken to Gozo General Hospital for treatm...

Prime Minister Robert Abela has said that the proverbial line “has completely been crossed” as he reacted to news that former PN MP Jason Azzopardi had filed a request for Clint Camilleri and his wife Deborah Camilleri to be investigated ...

Labour MEP Thomas Bajada called for a "bottom-up" approach towards politics which thinks beyond the immediate term and acknowledges the public's frustration towards traditional politics."We need to change the way politics is done," said the 29-year-o...

Former PN MP Jason Azzopardi has filed a request for a magisterial inquiry into a new “racket” in Gozo which he alleges spans both the Gozo Ministry – headed by Clint Camilleri – and Transport Malta – where his wife work...

'Bethlehem in Ghajnsielem' inaugurated: a showcase of Gozitan "community spirit"- Clint CamilleriThe popular annual live crib held in Ghajnsielem, Gozo was inaugurated on Sunday by Minister for Gozo Clint Camilleri who sees it as an opportunity to sh...

Through his Facebook post, Robert Abela confirmed that he is terrified of the truth and justice because he knows that, like his predecessors, he is leading a Government plagued by corruption, with one Minister after another being implicated in seriou...

NGO Repubblika on Sunday condemned what it described as an explicit threat by Prime Minister Robert Abela to remove the citizens' right to seek a magisterial inquiry in cases where the police do not take action.Abela said that he had asked the Justic...

It is only the Labour Government's fault that the Ta' Qali Animal Hospital is closed, the Nationalist Party said in response to an article published by The Malta Independent on Sunday last week.In an interview, the Parliamentary Secretary for Aquacul...

To improve the country's public transport, bolster tourism and boost people's quality of life, Malta must invest in modern trams, also referred to as Light Rail Transit, LRT, John Ebejer an urban planner and an academic at the University of Malta, sa...

Malta commemorated half a century since becoming a Republic on Friday - marking another milestone in the country's history. The legacy of what happened on 13 December 1974 is still, for many, up for debate, and its history largely unknown. ...

Each winter, thousands of small black-and-white birds arrive in the Maltese Islands, staying from October until early spring. You may have spotted them around or heard their particular tseee-tsick call as they fly overhead. These birds are known as W...

Amad Diallo struck a 90th-minute winner as Manchester United staged a stunning late comeback to beat Manchester City 2-1 in the Premier League on Sunday.Four-time defending champion City led the Manchester derby 1-0 going into the 88th minute at the ...

Bologna striker Jens Odgaard scored Sunday in a 1-0 victory over Fiorentina, ending the Florence-based club's eight-match winning run in the Italian league.The Danish player broke the deadlock near the hour-mark at the end of a fine collective move.F...

Prime Minister Robert Abela said that MCAST lecturers have before them a package worth €35 million in salary increases alone before them as he spoke at a Labour Party activity on Sunday.Abela was speaking outside the Labour Party’s general...

"I'm fed up of certain people crying victim when, in reality, they weren't victims at all. Being involved in the sale of the three hospitals doesn't make you a victim. Being mentioned in the Panama Papers doesn't make you a victim...

As opposed to the government’s management of Gozo by crisis and its treatment as merely the “13th district”, PN Leader Bernard Grech said that Gozo is “special” and cannot be a “photocopy” of Malta. Speaking ...

The average citizen does not give so much importance to what credit rating agencies say about Malta. The reports they issue periodically about the country's progress - or lack of it - are full of technical jargon on a subject that does not create the...

The President of the European Parliament and Maltese MEP Roberta Metsola was featured during Google’s 2024 ‘Year in Search.’ The search engine published its annual “optimistic, editorial reflection of the year.” Google u...

Vittoriosa priest Fr John Avellino has taken to social media to lament the lack of attendance of parishioners for a concert that was organised on Saturday."One organises, spends money, brings over a choir from outside the parish and our people do not...

At Damascus' international airport, the new head of security - one of the rebels who marched across Syria to the capital - arrived with his team. The few maintenance workers who showed up for work huddled around Maj Hamza al-Ahmed, eager to...

A Colombian man charged Saturday in connection with the case of a dismembered body found in a suitcase in the sea off the Sliema Ferries promenade has been remanded in custody after pleading not guilty.The police are ruling out murder charges at this...

Former football player Mikheil Kavelashvili became president of Georgia on Saturday, as the ruling party tightened its grip in what the opposition calls a blow to the country's EU aspirations and a victory for former imperial ruler Russia.Kavela...

The motorcyclist who was seriously injured last Wednesday on the St Paul's Bay by-pass died in hospital on Saturday, the police said.The biker, an English man aged 54 of Mellieha, crashed into a skip, the police said on the day the accident happened....

A man who attempted to break into the Gozo Cathedral has been arrested, the police said.The attempt was made on Wednesday morning, at around 5am.The man, aged 38, from Zebbug, Gozo, was one of two persons who tried to force their way into the cathedr...