The number of new positive Covid-19 cases is expected to again surpass the 300 mark today, this newsroom is informed.The number of Covid-19 cases over the past week has remained consistently high. In fact, the first time over 300 cases was registered...

Slow off the blocks in the race to immunize its citizens against COVID-19, Germany faces an unfamiliar problem: a glut of vaccines and not enough arms to inject them into.Like other countries in the European Union, its national vaccine campaign lags ...

An undisclosed amount of cash was stolen in a hold-up on a shop in San Gwann on Wednesday evening, the police said.A man armed with a firearm entered the shop in Naxxar Road and demanded money from the cashier, a 25-year-old Polish woman who lives in...

Two men were arrested by the police in connection with thefts, the police said today.The men, from Serbia and Macedonia, were arrested in connection with a robbery which took place in a shop in Constitution Street, Mosta, on 11 December.The Serbian m...

The Covid-19 vaccine is not a circuit breaker and will not reduce numbers in the immediate future, and mitigation measures need to be urgently escalated, the Malta College of Pathologists said.Calls for the stepping up of restrictive measures have in...

 For the fourth time so far, Standards Commissioner George Hyzler has found a breach of ethics by former Prime Minister Joseph Muscat.The latest case revolves around the lock-up of journalists at the Auberge de Castille after a 3am press confere...

New measures will be introduced in the coming hours, but a lockdown won’t be taken into consideration, Prime Minister Robert Abela told the press on Wednesday. This comes after a surge in Covid-19 cases, with the number active cases reaching 3,...

The number of new Covid-19 cases has dipped from the record 336 registered on Tuesday to 233, but fewer recoveries mean that the number of active cases has now shot up to a record 3,000.Information privded by the health authorities show that the numb...

The Standards Commissioner has found that former Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, prima facie, was in breach of ethics in the incident which saw journalists prevented from leave his office in Castille following a late night press conference.But George H...

Deputy Prime Minister Chris Fearne on Wednesday stood by his claim that a PN MP had asked him to skip the Covid-19 vaccine queue.Fearne first made the claim on Tuesday but, on Wednesday morning, the PN’s Parliamentary Group unanimously denied t...

A story showing PN MP Jason Azzopardi to be a ‘hypocrite’ will soon emerge, Prime Minister Robert Abela said today, arguing that the MP’s allegations about Mario Cutajar were an attempt to deviate attention.Nationalist MP Jason Azzo...

The Institute of Maltese Journalists (IGM) said on Wednesday it was deeply disappointed by the Speaker’s refusal to give it a copy of the Standards Czar’s report on the 2019 journalist lock-up at Castille.George Hyzler had investigated th...

Manoel Island is a critical part of Malta's history, and remains a much-loved part of the local landscape and culture.Preserving this unique heritage is at the heart of the revised MIDI Masterplan to restore and develop Manoel Island, the consortium ...

Family Minister Michael Falzon said that this strategy will provide support and aim to break the vicious cycle that people get themselves into with regards to drug use amongst teens. During a press conference at the Aula Magna Valletta Campus on...

More information regarding moratoriums will be announced in the coming days, Finance Minister Clyde Caruana said on Wednesday. The moratorium was introduced back in April 2020, where people were offered a moratorium on repayments on capital and ...

The most grueling and intense Premier League season appears to be catching up with Manchester United's misfiring players.It may yet cost them a place in next season's Champions League.There were worrying signs in United's third straight 0-0 draw, thi...

ranck Kessié scored a penalty with the last kick of the match to rescue a 1-1 draw for title-chasing AC Milan against Udinese in Serie A on Wednesday.Rodrigo Becão looked to have secured Udinese’s first win at Milan in nearly five...

Mosta booked a place in the quarter finals of the FA Trophy thanks to two second half goals against Santa Lucia.  Mosta deserved the win but the Saints were at times careless in their conclusions.Both teams made it to the round of sixteen after ...

The Malta Employers’ Association said today companies asked to take part in a survey on the Covid-19 pandemic say that recovery will take longer than anticipated.The survey covered more than 200 companies from all economic sectors, the MEA said...

The Malta Association of Public Health Medicine today called for an immediate increase in restrictive measures to curb the current high rate of new COVID-19 infections. Over the past week we have seen the highest number of new infections yet, MAPHM s...

A court has decreed that there is sufficient evidence to place lawyers Gianluca Caruana Curran and Charles Mercieca under a bill of indictment over an alleged attempt at bribing a Times of Malta journalist.Magistrate Natasha Galea Sciberras made the ...

An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of at least 6.0 struck central Greece Wednesday and was also felt in neighbouring Albania and North Macedonia, and as far as Kosovo and Montenegro.One man was injured by falling debris but there were no othe...

The prison agency never received a court judgment that said that an inmate was to be moved from a prison ward in Mount Carmel to the main hospital building, Home Affairs Minister Byron Camilleri said on Wednesday.The case was first flagged by Profess...

A woman with Cystic Fibrosis has urged authorities to import life-saving medication to Malta to help with her, as well as others who also suffer from the condition on the island.26 year-old Mandy Vella took to Facebook to explain her situation and ta...

Family doctor Joseph Ferriggi has strongly appealed for every person to look after their health and abide by all measures and regulations as the current situation in Malta is very worrying. This appeal comes following the high rise of Covid-19 c...

The variant of the coronavirus discovered in Britain is prevalent among Italy's infected schoolchildren and is helping to fuel a “robust” uptick in the curve of COVID-19 contagion in the country, the health minister said Tuesday.Roberto S...

Mario Cutajar categorically denied allegations levelled against him by PN MP Jason Azzopardi in Parliament on Monday.In a statement issued through the Department of Information, the head of the civil service said that while it is not his role to wade...

Nationalist MP Jason Azzopardi claimed on Tuesday that a top-level public officer was forced to hand in his resignation after being arrested on “made-up criminal allegations”.Speaking in Parliament on Tuesday, Azzopardi called for the res...

The Nationalist Party parliamentary group today denied that a PN MP tried to jump the vaccination queue, as alleged by Health Minister Chris Fearne.On Tuesday, Fearne said that a PN MP had asked to be pushed up the Covid-19 vaccination queue.In a sta...

Flimkien għal Ambjent Aħjar (FAA) has submitted its objection to an application that proposes the construction of 31 apartments close by to the Ggantija temples.The application proposes the demolition of a dwalling and the construction of t...

These past 12 months have taught us to be very careful with making predictions about how the Covid-19 pandemic will develop.Many countries, including Malta, have made many mistakes in the way they tackled the onset of the disease, often taking hasty ...

A record 336 cases of Covid-19 were recorded Tuesday, taking the number of active cases to a new high of 2,931, health authorities said.It is the first time that the number of cases has surpassed 300. The previous record was 263 on 28 February.It is ...

Addressing Parliament this evening, Deputy Prime Minister Chris Fearne spoke about the recent spike in Covid-19 cases and highlighted that the recent spike could be due to the Covid-19 variants present on the island.Fearne said that the record amount...

The government has rejected a shift to exclusive online teaching as opposed to teaching in-person, the Malta Union of Teachers (MUT) said.Speaking to The Malta Independent, MUT president Marco Bonnici said that the MUT is closely monitoring the rise ...

A 39-year-old Italian was arrested by the police in St Paul's Bay through a European Arrest Warrant, the police said.The man is wanted by the Italian police for organised crime and drug trafficking.Over the past days, the Central Intelligence and Ana...

The efforts of the health sector and the education sector to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic have been crushed by the Labour Party’s poor governance, the Nationalist Party said today.Spokesperson for Health Stephen Spiteri and Spokesperson for ...

If the daily cases continue to rise as they are right now, the daily cases will go into "the high hundreds", the Medical Association of Malta (MAM) president, Martin Balzan, warned. Speaking to The Malta Independent, Balzan said that the public ...

The husband of the late Miriam Pace said that his life will never be normal again, as he feels like a body without a soul, Carmel Pace said in a Facebook post.Miriam Pace, a 54 year old mother of two, was found dead under the rubble of her own house ...

The Government has to consider stricter enforcement and the introduction of new measures, MUMN president Paul Pace told The Malta Independent.This comes after Malta registered its highest number of daily new cases since the start of the pandemic, wit...

Measures to ensure that the pension of people currently entering retirement are not affected by the Covid-19 pandemic were announced on Tuesday.Social Justice Minister Michael Falzon and Finance Minister Clyde Caruana launched a new measure which eff...

Gżira United made it to the quarter finals of the FA Trophy defeating Tarxien Rainbows by a 4-2 scoreline. The Maroons turned the tables in their favour after going two goals down, drawing till full time and dominating in extra time.But the matc...

 A 15-point lead, 21 victories in a row, a club record-tying 28 games unbeaten.The extraordinary numbers are stacking up for Manchester City as Pep Guardiola’s winning machine powers to the Premier League title and — whisper it &mdas...

Álvaro Morata made a scoring return to set Juventus on its way to a 3-0 win over Spezia on Tuesday and boost its faltering title defense.Fellow substitute Federico Bernardeschi set up Morata moments after they had both come off the bench. Bern...

A senior World Health Organization official said Monday it was “premature” and “unrealistic” to think the pandemic might be stopped by the end of the year, but that the recent arrival of effective vaccines could at least help ...

A new health centre was inaugurated in Gudja today by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Health Chris Fearne and Parliamentary Secretary for Communities Alex Muscat.The press were not invited to this event.This centre will open daily from Monday t...

Former economy minister Chris Cardona was questioned by police after recent allegations that he was linked to the murders of Daphne Caruana Galizia and lawyer Carmel Chircop, Times of Malta reports.Cardona confirmed with the newspaper that he was tak...

Nationalist MP Jason Azzopardi has branded former economy minister Chris Cardona a “liar” after the latter said he was not cautioned when interrogated by the police on Saturday.Cardona confirmed he was taken in for questioning over his al...

A magisterial inquiry into allegations of money laundering and graft by former OPM chief of staff Keith Schembri and ex-Allied Newspapers managing director Adrian Hillman has been concluded. The inquiry, led by Magistrate Josette Demicoli, was p...

The court will be delivering a decree on the testimony of Vince Muscat, known as il-Koħħu, in the case against the Degiorgio brothers.The compilation of evidence against George Degiorgio and Alfred Degiorgio accused of planting and tri...

A 55-year-old Indian man was grievously injured on Monday after he lost control of his scooter and crashed in Gzira.The accident took place at around 10:15am in Rue D’Argens, the police said.The man, who lives in Swieqi, was riding a Peugeot Tw...

An application on a site overlooking the Ġgantija temples in Xaghra, Gozo, proposes the construction of an apartment complex on five levels.The site is located on Triq il-Parsott, Xaghra. It forms part of the Area of Archaeological importance, a...

Kino Lorber has acquired North American rights to Alex Camilleri’s feature debut, “Luzzu,” which world-premiered at Sundance where it won the Special Jury Award for its lead actor, Jesmark Scicluna, Variety reports.Penned, directed ...

A man and a woman were grievously injured in separate accidents in Qormi and Zabbar on Monday afternoon, the police said.In the first accident, at 4.30pm in Mdina Road, Qormi, a Toyota Vitz driven by a 37-year-old woman of Zebbug Gozo and a Kia Rio d...

Today marks one year since the tragic death of Miriam Pace.A wife, a mother, a daughter, she was an innocent, inside her home as her life was stolen away. We all like to think of our homes as a safe space, but that day changed so much for so many.54-...

The European Court of Auditors (ECA), in an opinion publoished today, raises some concerns over the recent proposal for a Brexit Adjustment Reserve (BAR).This €5 billion fund is a solidarity tool which is intended to support those Member States,...

The alleged organiser of an illegal rave held on Friday night will be charged by police and by commercial authorities over the party, a police spokesperson told The Malta Independent on Monday afternoon.This newsroom reported on Monday morning o...

Deputy Prime Minister Chris Fearne said in court today that Steward Healthcare was holding parallel talks with Konrad Mizzi as well as with the Office of the Prime Minister without his knowledge, while he was also holding negotiations with them. ...

2021 is shaping up to be a busy year for the Malta Gaming Authority. Online gambling is growing rapidly throughout Europe and a significant percentage of the newcomers will acquire their licenses in Malta.The MGA is arguably the most respected iGamin...

Civil society NGOs Repubblika and Occupy Justice held a protest in front of Parliament on Monday, saying they want to “cut off the tentacles that have taken hold of our institutions.”The protest was held after reports about the alleged in...

Vince Muscat will be testifying against Daphne murder suspects George and Alfred Degiorgio, a court heard today.Muscat had been charged over the murder together with the Degiorgios, but he was sentenced to 15 years last week in a plea-bargaining agre...

175 new cases of Covid-19 were reported on Monday as one more person died while positive for the virus.Authorities said that an 89-year-old woman passed away during the last 24 hours at St. Thomas Hospital. 316 people have now died in Malta while pos...

Standards Czar George Hyzler went beyond his legal remit when he investigated a complaint about the 2019 journalist lock-up at Castille, two government MPs have claimed.During a meeting of Parliament’s standards committee, ministers Byron Camil...

An illegal rave party which was in clear breach of the country’s mass event and social distancing rules took place at the White Rocks complex in Pembroke, The Malta Independent can confirm.Two videos were shared to the social media platform Ins...

The European Commission has taken legal action to minimise the finch trapping derogation in Malta, environmental NGO BirdLife said in a statement released this afternoon.The European Commission claimed that Malta has “no justification” fo...

The newest patrol boat of the Armed Forces of Malta (AFM) has taken to the water for the first time as works on it continue.The €48.5 million ship, co-financed by the EU as part of the Internal Security Fund, will be used for surveillance operat...

Ġorġ Agius, better known as Ġorġ tal-Mużew, has died aged 94.Agius, a member of the Maltese Society for Christian Doctrine (M.U.E.U.M), has for the past 67 years spent days in hospital visiting patients, particularly those wh...

A Paris court on Monday found French former President Nicolas Sarkozy guilty of corruption and influence peddling and sentenced him to one year in prison and a two-year suspended sentence.The 66-year-old politician, who was president from 2007 to 201...

Prime Minister Robert Abela said Monday that he will not remain passive before people’s suffering, hence why the waiting time for divorce will be slashed and, in some cases removed.He was speaking in Parliament in the debate on a Bill that will...

The PN agrees that divorce waiting times should be shortened, but the Bill presented by the government leads to discrimination and the possibility of abuse, Opposition Leader Bernard Grech said Monday.He was speaking in Parliament in the debate on a ...

The Planning Authortity has validated an application for a 113-room hotel in the Townsquare project in Sliema. The hotel is planned for a building which was previously earmarked as office space adjacent to the already approved main tower.  ...

The implementation of a new system for the issuance of masons’ licenses is in full swing, Planning Minister Aaron Farrugia and Construction Parliamentary Secretary Chris Agius said on Monday.They were speaking during a visit to a construction s...

The Nationalist Party is hoping that the rent reform announced by the government last Saturday is not an exercise to gain votes.Spokesperson for Social and Affordable Accommodation Ivan Bartolo and candidate for the First District Darren Carabott sai...

An elderly woman dies Monday morning after she was hit by a car in Qrendi, the police said.The accident took place in Tempesta Street at around 8am.The woman, aged 81 of Qrendi, was hit by a Volkswagen driven by a 30-year-old woman of Mqabba.Police s...

NGO Din L-Art Helwa (DLH) has raised concerns that proposed works at Gnejna Bay could encourage part of the area to continue being "illegally used for vehicular parking."A planning application has proposed coastal protection works, the construction o...

Health officials in Britain have identified six cases of a highly contagious coronavirus strain first identified in the Brazilian city of Manaus -- including one in a person who has not been traced.Scientists say the variant is more transmissible and...

Two teenagers were injured on Sunday evening after a car overturned in Rabat, the police said.The accident took place in Buqana Street just before midnight.The driver, a 19-year-old man of St Paul’s Bay, lost control of the Suzuki Samurai he wa...

Germany announced Sunday that travelers from France’s northeastern Moselle region will face additional restrictions because of the high rate of variant coronavirus cases there.Germany's disease control agency, the Robert Koch Institute, said it...

Provisional estimates indicate that the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for 2020 amounted to €12,823.8 million, registering a decrease of €768.4 million, or 5.7%, when compared to 2019.Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is an estimate of the value o...

There were a couple of major developments regarding Covid-19 over the past week, one which is quite worrying and the other which raises hope.The latter refers to the announcement that protocols and directives for relatives of people who are in elderl...

Prince Harry says the process of separating from royal life has been very difficult for him and his wife, Meghan.In an interview with Oprah Winfrey, Harry invoked the memory of his late mother, Princess Diana, who had to find her way alone after she ...

The current debate over whether betting companies – ranging from the established to the obscure – should be allowed to be kit sponsors on the shirts of English football teams has a Maltese connection to it, The Malta Independent on Sunday...

A record 263 new Covid-19 cases were registered on Sunday, the highest ever number of single day cases.In their daily update, the health authorities said that two more people died while positive for the virus on Sunday. Both were men, aged 76 and 57,...

The developers behind plans to build 71 apartments over pristine agricultural land in Nadur do not own part of the site that they are planning to build on, three objectors to the project have claimed.In representations filed with the Planning Authori...

The fact that the PL has taken energy proposals from the PN shows that the PN “is setting the agenda for the country”, PN MP Ryan Callus said on this week’s edition of Indepth.  The PN’s spokesman on energy was inter...

Currently, a voluntary registry is run by the Malta Developers’ Association, however Agius explained that a mandatory registry will be introduced. Both this mandatory registry as well as the licensing of contractors will be handled by the Build...

A fire had broken out at the former ITS site in Pembroke, the police confirmed with The Malta Independent.The police were informed about the situation at 7.10pm. CPD officials and police officers went on site and the fire was brought under control.No...

It is too early to say whether Malta could lose out on UK tourism if the country still has high Covid-19 numbers when Britain eases restrictions in June, MHRA President Tony Zahra told The Malta Independent on Sunday. This newsroom spoke with Zahra a...

Prime Minister Robert Abela described Rosianne Cutajar's decision to resign from her post as a Parliamentary Secretary pending the outcome of an investigation by the Standards Commissioner as a "mature" one.Cutajar has been under fire ever since it e...

Prime Minister Robert Abela is trying to wash his hands of the previous government, but he himself was an integral part of it, Opposition and PN leader Bernard Grech said in a political meeting in Haz-Zabbar."This was a particular week, where we were...

Malta’s reproduction number has climbed to 1.21 after a record week of Covid-19 cases, statistician Vincent Marmara said in his weekly exclusive video blog with The Malta Independent on Sunday.The reproduction factor of the virus is one of the ...

Prime Minister Robert Abela held not one, but two press conferences over the past week to tell us that the justice system and rule of law work just fine in Malta.He said this after one of the three men who had been accused of executing the murder of ...

A man has been charged with uttering threats and causing a disturbance after barging onto the grounds of Cyprus’ public broadcaster to protest what he said was the country’s “blasphemous” entry into this year’s Eurovisio...

Government's proposal to carry out a root and branch reform of the remaining pre-1995 tenancies is "a responsible and courageous political move," ADPD said in a statement."This government is shouldering the shortcomings of all its predecessors, which...

The Malta Chamber of Commerce has welcomed the Government's announced reform which is set to absorb up to €10,000 in rent for the pre-1995 residential rental agreements.On Saturday, Prime Minister Robert Abela announced reforms to the laws gover...

One of the most intriguing buildings in Valletta is surely that now housing the Ministry for Health, located on Merchants Street. This palace, formerly the seat of the Magna Curia Castellania - which presided over the civil and criminal courts during...

Two men were grievously injured in separate accidents in Mriehel and St Paul’s Bay, the police said.In the first accident (photo), on Saturday at 6.30pm, a Frenchman was hit by a car in St Paul’ Street, St Paul#s Bay.The 27-year-old was h...

The police are mulling taking action against Nexia BT, MaltaToday reports.The newspaper says that the former Managing Partner of the company, Brian Tonna, will post police bail on Monday and that charges over the financial operations of the audit fir...

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Another 237 Covid-19 cases were registered on Saturday, taking the total number of active cases to 2,651.The health authorities said that no new deaths were reported, so the total number of victims remains 313.In all, there have been 22,219 cases rec...

The President of the Republic George Vella has pledged to continue the process of achieving national unity, saying that one must start with small steps but with a determination to get to achieving one’s aims.President Vella was speaking at the ...