The Swieqi local council is standing its ground against Infrastructure Malta’s plan to turn Qasam road into a one way road by including a hair-pin junction as part of the second phase to the on-going works on St. Andrew’s road, Swieqi may...

Għargħur residents yesterday gathered at the "contentious corner" where no less than four blocks rising to 6 storeys are to be built just 70m away from Għargħur parish church and flanking the Urban Conservation Area (UCA), NG...

The British government put dozens of soldiers on standby Monday to help easy fuel supply problems caused by a shortage of truck drivers, a situation that has spurred panic buying of gasoline across the country.As unions called for emergency workers t...

A federal judge said Monday that John Hinckley Jr., who tried to assassinate President Ronald Reagan four decades ago, can be freed from all remaining restrictions next year if he continues to follow those rules and remains mentally stable.U.S. Distr...

Someone said, half-jokingly, that it took much less time for the Red Arrows to return to their base in England than for those who went to watch their display to go back home after the show from the Qawra and Bugibba area.Photos published on the socia...

UEFA has been forced to abandon its attempt to ban Super League clubs Barcelona, Juventus and Real Madrid from the Champions League due to court action over the governing body's attempt to punish the rebellion.A Spanish court injunction in June led t...

Prime Minister Robert Abela said Monday that he wants to see a national debate on electoral reform, including on the electoral districts.Speaking to journalists after a Cabinet meeting, Abela said would not say what his own views on the subject are, ...

Lawyers for a man contesting his extradition to the US have successfully contested the validity of the arrest warrant issued in Malta, arguing that he is not indicted for an arrestable offence or unlawfully at large.Lawyers Giannella De Marco, Stefan...

A race-track of international standards will be built at Hal-Far, Prime Minister Robert Abela announced today.He was speaking at the start of a Cabinet meeting which was held at the Ta’ Qali basketball pavilion. The meeting discussed Malta's st...

13 new cases of Covid-19 have been reported by health authorities as the number of active cases continued to dip.43 people have recovered, taking the number of active cases down to 391.17 patients are currently being treated at Mater Dei Hospital Hos...

Education Minister Justyne Caruana has said on Monday that the claims made by the Malta Union of Teachers (MUT) that primary state schools are facing a shortage are ‘made up’ and ‘false’.Shortly before the press conference hel...

Some 150 primary school classes were without teachers while the Education Ministry was claiming that everything was set for the start of the new scholastic year, the Malta Union of Teachers said in a press conference on Monday.The MUT decried how in ...

The current shortage of teachers across the islands reveals how the government’s “serious” lack of forward planning has become ‘endemic’, the Nationalist Party said Monday.Addressing a press conference, PN education spok...

The compilation of evidence in the case against Keith Schembri’s wife has been postponed to next month because one of the prosecuting inspectors is abroad.Josette Schembri Vella was last month charged with money laundering. The case was se...

A new scheme that encourages businesses to make the workplace more accessible was launched on Monday by Malta Enterprise.Through a consultation with the Commission for the Rights of Persons with Disability (CRPD), this scheme will cover up to 90% of ...

The National Foreign Direct Investment Screening Office (NFDIS) was inaugurated on Monday by Economy Minist Silvio Schembri.It will serve as a tool to ensure good governance by protecting Malta’s investment interests. The Office will ensur...

Edward Scicluna has lost a libel case against Simon Busuttil over a 2019 tweet stating that the then-Finance Minister was being investigated for money laundering.Magistrate Rachel Montebello ruled on Monday that Busuttil’s tweet, which centred ...

Ambjent Malta is investing over €300,000 to provide eleven local councils with funds to establish green recreational zones in the urban cores of their localities.Whilst it is important to invest in afforestation projects around the island in are...

The door-to-door garbage collection service will definitely continue, Minister for the Environment, Climate Change and Planning Aaron Farrguia told The Malta Independent on Monday.This was in reply to The Malta Independent asking Farrugia about the p...

The current partner of a Nationalist MP has been acquitted of threatening his estranged wife, after the latter took to Facebook to reveal he was having an affair. Flavia Borg Bonaci had been accused of threatening and harassing Marica Azzop...

The Nationalist Party has pledged to help environmental NGOs where the Labour government has “failed.”While the PN recognises the fact that certain environmental NGOs were given the right of land of numerous environmental and historical s...

A motorcyclist was grievously injured in a traffic accident in Gudja on Monday morning, police said in a statement.The police said that they were informed of an accident at Dawret il-Gudja in Gudja at around 9am on Monday.Preliminary investigations s...

An application that would see an off-roading facility take the place of a disused quarry in Mellieha is set to be discussed by the Planning Authority Board on Thursday.The site is on the ‘Barriera Ta' L-Ahrax’. This application would incl...

A court judgement wherein Edward Scicluna lost a libel suit against Simon Busuttil shows that his Central Bank position is “absolutely not tenable,” the NGO Repubblika said.The NGO was reacting to a court decision wherein Magistrate Rache...

Germany's center-left Social Democrats won the biggest share of the vote in a national election Sunday, narrowly beating outgoing Chancellor Angela Merkel ’s center-right Union bloc in a closely fought race that will determine who suc...

The current rate of construction has caused a lot of problems in the country. Towns and villages have been ruined by bad planning, unbridled construction, hotch-potch streets, dust, and the list goes on.Obviously construction is needed, but at t...

San Marino residents on Sunday voted overwhelmingly to legalize abortion, rejecting a 150-year-old law that had criminalized it and making the tiny republic the latest majority Catholic state to approve the procedure under certain circumstances.Some ...

266,553 people were in employment during the second quarter of 2021, which is 3.2% higher when compared to the previous year, the National Statistics Office has said.It was quoting from Labour Force Survey estimates for the second quarter of 2021."La...

Britons are encouraged these days — though in most cases not required — to wear face coverings in crowded indoor spaces. But Prime Minister Boris Johnson regularly appears in the packed, poorly ventilated House of Commons cheek-by-jowl wi...

Labour MP Jonathan Attard has taken exception to comments made by former Nationalist Party candidate Kevin Cassar in an opinion piece published on Sunday, named “Abela’s consent”.In a right of reply, Attard said that he was never in...

Next month, 13-year-old Kai Naudi will be swimming from Gozo to Malta – a feat that will seek to raise important funds for Inspire and bBrave. The crossing between the two islands is being planned for the second weekend of October, weather perm...

The health authorities will wait for direction by the European Medicines Authority before they start administering the Pfizer vaccine to children under the age of 12, a health ministry spokesperson has told The Malta Independent on Sunday. Pfizer sai...

Former Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said he has nothing to hide, after a report read that foreign experts that looked into the operations of Pilatus Bank said further investigative steps should be taken to get to the bottom of claims surrounding Egra...

The Nationalist Party has given further details on its ODZ protection proposal, which it says starts with the creation of a ‘holistic rural plan’.It is changes to said rural plan that would require a 2/3rds Parliamentary majority approval...

September has ushered in the last potential year of this administration.“Potential” is the key word here, because it is likely that we will be voting much earlier than that.A general election in Malta must be held by the end of five years...

The Malta Union of Teachers has described the moving around of teachers to address a primary school educator shortage before the start of the scholastic year as "one of the most messy exercises carried out in the last decade."Earlier this week, the E...

The Nationalist Party promises to substantially increase the amount of paternity leave for fathers, PN leader Bernard Grech said on Sunday.In addressing a live NET TV interview in Gharghur, Grech added that if elected to government he will also incre...

If people want a better world, then countries need to work together, Prime Minister Robert Abela said on Sunday.During a brief interview on ONE radio, Abela spoke about his statement during the UN General Assembly, and said that countries must work t...

Birkirkara failed to catch up with leaders Hibernians, who on Saturday dropped their first points of the season, when they could only draw with Gzira United in a tight encounter.It was a hard nut to crack for the Stripes, with Gzira still fresh from ...

 However bad things have seemed for Arsenal over the last decade, beating Tottenham at the Emirates Stadium can usually be relied on.Just not usually as emphatically as Sunday's north London derby triumph — a 3-1 victory helping to clear t...

aulo Dybala left the field in tears shortly after scoring to set Juventus on the way to a 3-2 victory over Sampdoria in Serie A on Sunday.Dybala has endured a number of muscular injuries over the years and it appeared as if he had suffered another on...

Germany's center-left Social Democrats were locked in a very close race Sunday with outgoing Chancellor Angela Merkel’s bloc in the country's parliamentary election, a vote that will determine who succeeds the long-time leader after 16 years in...

Malta’s footballing season has now kicked off across the whole of the country’s pyramid, with the professional players in the Premier League and the amateurs in the country’s bottom tier all having tasted the action for the 2021/22 ...

Among the many contributions of the Order of St. John to Malta was the provision of excellent medical services to the local population, particularly through the Knights’ hospital in Valletta, known as the Sacra Infermeria.Opened in the 1570s, i...

13 new Covid-19 cases were registered on Sunday, and 35 people have recovered from the virus, the health authorities said.The number of active cases currently stands at 421.There are currently 18 patients at Mater Dei Hospital, four of whom are in th...

Author and researcher Sergio Grech tells The Malta Independent on Sunday what he likes and dislikes by answering a set of questions aimed to let us know more about him.He tells us who his favourite singer is, who also happens to be one of the four pe...

Switzerland voted by a wide margin to allow same-sex couples to marry in a referendum on Sunday, bringing the Alpine nation into line with many others in western Europe.Official results showed the measure passed with 64.1% of voters in favor and won ...

The government has signed a number of new guardianship deeds with eNGOs, for the protection and use of sites that are important from both an environmental and a historical point of view.The sites in question and the NGOs that will be respon...

Iceland has elected a female-majority parliament, a landmark for gender equality in the North Atlantic island nation, in a vote that saw centrist parties make the biggest gains.After all votes were counted Sunday, female candidates held 33 seats in I...

Opposition Leader Bernard Grech delivered a rousing speech at the Granaries on Monday evening, but the PN’s Independence Day activity was marred by an unfortunate incident involving his predecessor, Adrian Delia. While many were congratulating ...

German voters are choosing a new parliament in an election that will determine who succeeds Chancellor Angela Merkel after her 16 years at the helm of Europe's biggest economy.Polls point to a very close race Sunday between Merkel's center-right Unio...

The Taliban hanged a dead body from a crane parked in a city square in Afghanistan on Saturday in a gruesome display that signaled the hard-line movement’s return to some of its brutal tactics of the past.Taliban officials initially brought fou...

Lewis Hamilton became the first Formula One driver to win 100 races with victory in the Russian Grand Prix on Sunday to retake the championship lead from Max Verstappen.Hamilton dropped to seventh place when he was boxed in at the first corner but fo...

The European Commission Representation in Malta teamed up with the swimming record breaker Neil Agius and the NGO Wave of Change to launch the EU Green Deal Campaign. On Saturday 25 September several divers and other volunteers turned up for a sea cl...

Rome has been invaded by Gauls, Visigoths and vandals over the centuries, but the Eternal City is now grappling with a rampaging force of an entirely different sort: rubbish-seeking wild boars.Entire families of wild boars have become a daily sight i...

In a U-turn, Britain said Saturday it will issue thousands of emergency visas to foreign truck drivers to help fix supply-chain problems that have caused empty supermarket shelves, long lines at gas stations and shuttered pumps.Prime Minister Boris J...

All State schools are ready to welcome students for the start of the academic year on Wednesday, the Education Ministry said in a statement.All protocols are in place and they have been verified independently by assessors appointed by the ministry.La...

A staggering 51% of participants in a pilot project carried out recently said that they had experienced hearing problems, a government statement said.The research was carried out by the Inclusion and Quality of Life Ministry with Labour MEP Alex Agiu...

The British Red Arrows gave a splendid display of precision today over Malta’s skies as part of the Malta International Air show.The Red Arrows had flown almost 5,000 displays in 57 countries, by the beginning of 2021.This is the Reds’ 9t...

Malta must shift away from its dependency on construction, Finance Minister Clyde Caruana said on Friday.The Labour government’s credibility in the field of employment and in the economy is recognized by the majority of people, but “we mu...

Construction should not be considered as an enemy, the Malta Developers Association said.It was replying to comments made by Finance Minister Clyde Caruana who said that Malta’s economy should shift away from dependency on the construction indu...

Ħamrun Spartans returned to winning ways when they defeated Floriana by the odd goal in three. For the Greens this was their first seasonal defeat.Floriana went into this match still unbeaten following three draws with Santa Lucia, Sliema Wander...

Like grandfather, like father, like son.There was a third generation of the Maldini family to score in Serie A on Saturday as Daniel Maldini helped AC Milan to a 2-1 win at Spezia.Daniel Maldini scored his first Serie A goal 13 years, 179 days after ...

Manchester City reasserted its Premier League title credentials on a day all of its big rivals dropped points.City delivered a statement performance in a 1-0 win at Stamford Bridge on Saturday to move second in the league standings, level on points w...

As of next week, voluntary organisations can apply in a third call for solar panels, the government said.With an investment of €160,000, eligible applicants can apply to benefit from the free installation of 12 or 24 PV panels on their property....

Floriana: Chemimart Pharmacy, 14, St Anne Street; Marsa: San Raffael Pharmacy, 247, Qormi Road; Qormi :Tal-Ħlas Pharmacy, Ħelsien Street; Birkirkara: Rational Pharmacy, 74/75, Valley Road; Msida: Remedies Pharmacy, 5, Tagliaferro Mansions, ...

A boy was injured when the bike he was riding was hit by a car on Saturday afternoon, the police said.The accident took place in Flora Street, Qormi, at 4.30pm.The boy was hit by a Hyundai Getz being driven by a Filipino man, aged 27, who resides in ...

Sixteen new cases of Covid-19 were registered on Saturday, while 44 recovered.The number of people receiving treatment in hospital is now 17, four of whom are in intensive care, health authorities said.In all, there are now 443 active cases, while th...

Prime Minister Robert Abela said that multilateralism is the key to a strong and sustainable future, urging world leaders to come together and forge ahead with plans that demonstrate determination and commitment to a strong recovery from the COVID-19...

Many leaders saying many things about many topics that matter to them, to their regions, to the world: That's what the U.N. General Assembly invariably produces each year. And each year, certain voices dominate. Here, The Associated Press takes the o...

The Nationalist Party said that in the last month and a half PBS aired 109 comments from the government side against zero from the opposition.In a statement, the PN said it will continue to insist for balance and impartiality on the national broadcas...

South-westerly winds yesterday favoured a peak in observed migration of birds of prey, with BirdLife Malta and Committee Against Bird Slaughter (CABS) teams witnessing rampant illegal hunting across various locations on Malta and Gozo. Several birds ...

Ambjent Malta (AM) will be conducting interventions to restore the landmark structure of the Vaulted Grotto in Buskett, Minister for the Environment, Climate Change and Planning Aaron Farrugia said.This landmark, left by the Grandmasters of the ...

Lando Norris took pole position for the first time in a rain-hit qualifying session for the Russian Grand Prix on Saturday after timing his final fast lap to perfection on a drying track.The McLaren driver set the pace with a time of 1 minute, 41.993...

Third-country nationals can now apply online for their temporary residence permit, the government said.With the launch of this new digital platform, the Identity Malta Agency will further simplify its processes. Following the successful digitalisatio...

When Hungary and Poland joined the European Union in 2004, after decades of Communist domination, their citizens thirsted for Western democratic standards and prosperity.Yet 17 years later, as the EU ramps up efforts to rein in democratic backsliding...

Minister  for Foreign and European Affairs Evarist Bartolo told Maltese and Gozitans living in New York that Malta is better than half of the countries of the European Union and better than 160 other countries in a world of 193 countries, when h...

The Union of Professional Educations will be issuing directives to its members after registering a trade dispute with the Education Ministry.This comes as no surprise, the union said in a statement. Anyone who has followed this saga knows that many p...

Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Capital Projects Ian Borg was in Monaco participating at the Monaco Yacht Show, the world’s leading superyacht event. During the visit the Minister held a number of meetings with key industry players t...

The Local Councils Association has come up with a proposal to gradually eliminate door-to-door waste collection. Instead, what it is suggesting is having a network of public waste containers, above and below ground, where waste could be disposed of.I...

Former Prime Minister and Head of the Labour Party Delegation at the Socialist and Democratic Group (S&D) at the European Parliament Alfred Sant described the US withdrawal from Afghanistan as equivalent to “a second Vietnam” because ...

The victim of a shooting has told the court compiling evidence against the man accused of firing at him that he hadn’t seen anyone with a shotgun and didn’t know where the gunshot came from.Ryan Sultana, 24, of Iklin stands charged w...

The government should start giving Continuous Blood Glucose Monitors free of charge to Type 1 diabetes patients who are 16 or older, the Nationalist Party said.The PN was backing a call made by the Malta Diabetes Association.It said that, after it st...

Thirteen new Covid-19 cases were recorded today as one more patient died, the health authorities said today.The latest victim is a 94-year-old woman, with the toll now reaching 457.Twenty-nine people have recovered, which means that the number of act...

Main photo shows the updated design (left), vs the original one (right) The St Julian’s Local Council has “listened to the people” and has published a new design for the controversial Balluta stairs project which was previously...

A court hearing evidence against a woman accused of murdering her partner has been told that she had been suspecting an affair.44-year-old Mayumi Santos Patacsil from the Philippines stands accused of the murder of Marcelino Montalban Saraza, her par...

The Valletta Cultural Agency has proposed that by 2030, only electric vehicles would be permitted to enter Valletta.This is one of a number of proposals the agency has made to the government and other authorities."Following the success of Valletta's ...

The Health and Tourism Authorities said that. as from today, 24 September 2021, Malta will officially recognise the digital Covid-19 vaccine certificate of Kuwait and Singapore. The vaccine certificates will be recognised by vaccines approved by...

A magisterial inquiry into Pilatus Bank’s operations identified several instances where suspicious activity was not reported to authorities, the court heard on Friday.The compilation of evidence against Pilatus Bank and its former MLRO Claude-A...

The Nationalist Party is considering taking legal action against Public Broadcasting Services if propaganda favouring the government continues, David Agius, Nationalist Party deputy leader, said on Friday.In a press conference, Agius called out PBS f...

On Saturday 25 September, Misraħ San Filep and Sciortino Road in Zebbug will be closed off between 5pm and 11pm as the Zebbug town square becomes pedestrianised for an evening.Parking vehicles on these roads after 2pm on Saturday will be prohibi...

A public consultation document concerning investments amounting to €29 million, which Malta will benefit from through the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund, has been launched.This is another document in a series of public consult...

Prime Minister Robert Abela has said that the tourism sector in Malta will continue being supported by the Maltese government following the Covid-19 pandemic. During a consultation meeting held on Friday, on the 2022 Budget with the Malta Hotels and ...

Earlier this month, Gozo Police assisted by Wild Birds Regulation Unit (WBRU) officers confiscated around 300 wild finches from a Gozo property after these were possibly smuggled into the country from Italy to be used as live decoys for illegal bird ...

Tiny San Marino is one of the last countries in Europe which forbids abortion in any circumstance — a ban that dates from 1865. On Sunday, its citizens can vote in a referendum calling for abortion to be made legal in the first 12 weeks of preg...

A 10-year-old girl was seriously injured in a traffic accident in Paola on Friday morning, the police said.The accident took place in Triq Ħal Tarxien, at around 9:30am.Preliminary investigations revealed that the girl was hit by a Mazda Demio, ...

By the end of August 2021, the Government’s Consolidated Fund reported a deficit of €753.2 million, a statement by the National Statistics Office read.In the first eight months of 2021, the recurrent revenue amounted to €3,221.5 milli...

Last week, The Malta Independent carried a short story about how Malta’s Permanent Representative at the United Nations was watching a football game while she was attending a meeting on Malta’s behalf.She had posted a photo showing her mo...

The Nationalist Party has proposed lowering the VAT rate for hotels and restaurants to seven from 18%.The existing rate of 7% on accommodation only would be extended to all other hotel services and, most importantly to restaurants which now purchase ...