The court case against John Dalli can finally kick off after the European Commission waived the former commissioner’s immunity from prosecution.A spokesperson for the Commission told the Times of Malta that after a lengthy process they had deci...

The Minister for Economy and Industry Silvio Schembri has rebutted the report by the National Audit Office on discrepancies and delays found in an audit on the first round of COVID-19 vouchers, saying that the problems were a question of reconciliati...

Religious feast enthusiasts have been left fuming after footage emerged of a Christmas-themed band drawing crowds in Valletta over the weekend.A video posted to a Facebook group calling for feasts to be allowed to take place in 2022 showed a band per...

Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned Sunday that Britain faces a “tidal wave” of infections from the omicron coronavirus variant, and announced a huge increase in booster vaccinations to strengthen defenses against it.In a televised statem...

Health Minister Chris Fearne this morning sounded a strong warning about the Covid-19 pandemic, saying that “everyone is terrified” about the omicron variant, which spreads more easily and on which little is known.Coupled with the onset o...

Today, Republic Day, represents an important date in Maltese history.47 years on, the country stops to commemorate the day when Malta shorn itself of its ties to the British crown – even if its ties to the British military would only be shorn f...

Animal Rights Minister Anton Refalo has told The Malta Independent on Sunday that he is personally “against the opening of more zoos”. In comments given to this newsroom, Refalo also insisted that an ongoing impact assessment on animal pa...

Requests to discuss the possibility of granting police unions the right to strike have been ignored by government, the secretary of the Malta Police Union Neville Mercieca told The Malta Independent on Sunday.In an interview with this newsroom, ...

An 82-year-old man became the latest person to die while positive for Covid-19 in Malta, health authorities said in their update on Sunday.78 cases were reported by the same authorities on Sunday, with 94 new recoveries also being reported.This means...

The Nationalist Party have asked Naxxar mayor Anne Marie Muscat Fenech Adami to resign from her post over an undeclared conflict of interest.The request came from party secretary Michael Piccinino after consultation with party leader Bernard Grech.Mu...

Valletta: Regent Pharmacy, 70, Merchants Street; Marsa: San Raffael Pharmacy, 247, Qormi Road; Qormi: Brown's Pharmacy, 278, Victory Street;Birkirkara: Mint Care Pharmacy, 5B-71 Brared Street; Msida: Regional Pharmacy, E. H. Furse Street; St Julian&r...

The most dramatic Formula One season in years should have ended with Max Verstappen's championship-deciding pass of Lewis Hamilton on the final lap of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.The conclusion instead came nearly five hours after Verstappen became the ...

NGOs, social workers and medical associations have expressed their concern over the government’s attitude towards the appeal to change the proposed cannabis law, saying that it is not listening to any of this country’s citizens. The organ...

The latest survey confirms what others before it had established – that the Labour Party is heading towards an even bigger victory in the coming election than the last two it achieved.The PL had won in 2013 and 2017 with 35,107 and 35,280 votes...

Hibernians opened an eightpoint gap over second placed clubs Floriana, Valletta and Birkirkara after a dominant victory over Gzira. Hibernians showed all their worth yesterday with a brilliant performance after an early setback and a rather difficult...

A drug user and former trafficker believes that the world should be more concerned about the harms and dangers of alcohol, rather than raise so much fuss about cannabis use.The legality of alcohol consumption makes it easily accessible, he argues, bu...

Cannabis results in impaired judgement, poor motor coordination and reaction time and studies have found a direct relationship between the level of THC in the blood and impaired driving ability, especially in people who consumed cannabis just before ...

Inter Milan gave an emphatic sign of intent as the defending Serie A champion moved to the top of Serie A with a crushing 4-0 victory over relegation-threatened Cagliari on Sunday.Lautaro Martínez scored and missed a penalty in the first half,...

January cannot come quick enough for Newcastle.The limitations of the squad inherited by Eddie Howe when he took over as Newcastle manager last month were exposed in a 4-0 loss at Leicester in the Premier League on Sunday.The result kept Newcastle in...

Nationalist Party Leader Bernard Grech has called on Prime Minister Robert Abela to demand Justyne Caruana’s resignation as Education Minister immediately. This comes following the revelation by the Standards Commissioner George Hyzler who...

The British government may need to introduce tougher restrictions to slow the growth of the omicron variant and prevent a new surge in COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths, British scientists said Saturday.U.K. health officials say omicron is spreadi...

Well-known magician Vanni Pule says he wanted to be a priest when he was young.He cannot go one day without listening to music, but he enjoys painting too.And he says that life is too short to watch a film twice.What was the last book you read? "Weir...

The new restrictive measure imposed by the health authorities this week – the mandatory wearing of face masks in public as of yesterday – has left many minds boggled. Not because Malta should not be cautious like many other countries arou...

A monstrous tornado, carving a track that could rival the longest on record, ripped across the middle of the U.S. in a stormfront that killed dozens and tore apart a candle factory, crushed a nursing home, derailed a train and smashed an Amazon wareh...

Anna Calleja was born in Paola on 27 December 1958 to Joseph Calleja and Rose nee Tedesco.  Describing her childhood, Anna went down memory lane with some nostalgia. “My childhood was fun and laughter and from a very young age I attended S...

The number of active Covid-19 cases has jumped above 1,400 for the first time since early August, figures released by the health authorities show Saturday.The daily cases recorded Saturday were 111, while 67 recovered, leaving 1,408 active cases.No d...

The Nationalist Party on Saturday called on Education Minister Justyne Caruana to immediately request the publication of the Standards Commissioner’s report into her alleged breach of ethics.The sooner the report is published and action is take...

Valletta: Empire Pharmacy, 77, Old Theatre Street; Ħamrun: Brown's Pharmacy, 706, St Joseph High Road; Santa Venera: Fatima Pharmacy, 82, Ferrovija Street; Birkirkara: Pharmaplus, Ganu Street; Msida: Deby's Pharmacy, 1, Misraħ il-Barrieri; ...

A petition to change the proposed cannabis law will close on Sunday, with NGOs pushing it calling upon the Petitions Committee to meet before Parliament votes on Tuesday.On Friday, the chairman of the Petitions Committee said it will not be discussed...

The Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association (MHRA) said Saturday that some of the hospitality industry could suffer irreparable damage if wage subsidies that support thousands of workers and which are in place till end 2021 are stopped by Gover...

A biker died early this morning in a crash in Sliema, the police said.The man, an Italian aged 45 resident in Gzira, lost control of the Honda bike he was riding and crashed.The man fell of the bike and hit the pavement, the police said.He was certif...

Strong winds have caused damage to the National Stadium canopy, forcing the Malta Football Association to postpone the matches that were to be held today.In a statement on its website, the MFA said that today's BOV Premier League match Valletta FC vs...

The English Premier League's top three kept up the furious pace of their title race by picking up hard-fought wins on Saturday, although all three needed second-half penalties to do so.Manchester City maintained its one-point lead after Raheem Sterli...

Juventus’ domestic problems deepened as it was held at relegation-threatened Venezia to 1-1 in Serie A on Saturday.Mattia Aramu scored in the second half for Venezia to cancel out Álvaro Morata’s opener.Juventus qualified for the r...

Mandatory wearing of face masks is back as from Saturday as the number of daily registered cases, active cases and hospitalisations has shot up.Malta has registered 2,240 cases of Covid-19 in the last 28 days, according to statistics on the Johns Hos...

DBRS Ratings GmbH (DBRS Morningstar) confirmed Malta’s Long-Term Foreign and Local Currency – Issuer Ratings at A (high), but says that the impact of Malta’s grey-listing by the Financial Action Trask Force “remains unclear&rd...

The winners of the 2021 National Book Prize were announced during a ceremony held at the Auberge de Castille under the auspices of the Office the Prime Minister and attended by the Minister for Education Justyne Caruana. The National Book Prize is pr...

A passenger in a car was grievously injured in a collision which took place in St Julian’s this morning, the police said.The accident took place in Mikiel Anton Vassalli Street at 7am.It involved a Toyota Corolla driven by a 38-year-old man of ...

A first Formula One championship for Max Verstappen was in reach after masterful Red Bull strategy helped the Dutchman overcome an early qualifying mistake to beat Lewis Hamilton for the top starting spot in the title-deciding Abu Dhabi GP.Verstappen...

In the resurrection of an issue which dominated the news cycle for quite a few days earlier in the year, environmental activists have again been proven right by independent institutions – this time on the building of a road in Dingli by Infrast...

Minister for Foreign and European Affairs Evarist Bartolo and the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Estonia Eva Maria Liimets held talks on security in Europe and the Mediterranean at meetings in Tallinn, Estonia. The two ministers spoke about the comm...

The fifth edition of the Malta Youth Film Festival 2022 (MYFF) was launched on Saturday by Aġenzija Żgħażagħ within the Ministry for Inclusion and Quality of Life and the Malta Film Foundation.MYFF is a platform for young fil...

Tighter restrictions to curb the coronavirus came into force in Britain on Friday, as the government faced new allegations that officials flouted rules they had imposed on the nation with lockdown-breaking parties last Christmas.Face masks are once a...

Facing a cold-weather surge in COVID-19 infections, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Friday that masks will be required in all indoor public places unless the businesses or venues implement a vaccine requirement.Hochul said the decision to reinst...

Cyrus Engerer has been entrusted by the Group of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament to lead negotiations on the Waste Shipment Regulation, a Labour Party statement said.This is the tenth report that the Member of the European Parliam...

The Responsible Gaming Foundation has provided financial assistance to the Baden Powell Scout Group of Żebbuġ, through which kayaks will be purchased enabling the scouts of this locality to continue with their work, which is complementary t...

The winners of the Premju Soċjetà Ġusta, which celebrates the work, commitment and dedication of various individuals in the disability sector, were announced on Friday.This is an annual event forming part of the activities organised ...

The Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries, Food and Animal Rights Anton Refalo has launched the ‘Sajjar Frisk u Lokali’ campaign to promote the use of local products and to appreciate products from Maltese and Gozitan farmers.The minister e...

For the thirteenth time in a row, Malta has been elected to the Council of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), the United Nations’ governing body in charge of regulating the maritime sector. This election took place yesterday in Lond...

Education Minister Justyne Caruana breached ethics when her ministry gave a €15,000 contract to former footballer Daniel Bogdanovic. Independent candidate Arnold Cassola said he had been informed by Standards Commissioner George Hyzler that...

88 new cases were reported by health authorities on Friday, as an elderly man became the 470th victim of the pandemic in Malta.Authorities said that the 470th victim is a 73-year-old man.59 people have meanwhile recovered from the virus, meaning that...

A petition calling for changes to the proposed cannabis legalisation law will not be discussed by Parliament’s petitions committee because it has till February before it elapses, the chairman of the committee said.Long-time PL MP Joe Mizzi, who...

A Briton who had spent time hiding in Malta and was eventually arrested and extradited has been convicted of torture and murder by a UK court. Harrowing details about the case emerged in court, including how Christopher Guest More had tried to slice ...

Italian critic Vittorio Sgarbi has described Maltese European Commissioner Helena Dalli as a “moron” and a “cretin” for attempting to cancel Christmas from the official European jargon.Speaking during Bruno Vespa’s highl...

The Court of Appeal has confirmed the 2018 judgement rescinding two contracts through which businessman Mark Gaffarena and his wife Josielle had received around €1.65 million through an irregular expropriation of their share of the part-ownershi...

The Met Office has issued a warning on strong winds that are to hit the Maltese Islands over the weekend.The Force 5 wind on Friday afternoon will increase to Force 7 by tonight and further to force 8 on Saturday.Rain is expected on Friday and Saturd...

MEP Alex Agius Saliba has launched the ‘Adopt a Tree’ Campaign in collaboration with Callus Garden Centre.This initiative will be implemented across a two-year span. The aim of this campaign is to increase the awareness and the need of mo...

The President of the Malta Institute of Accountants has called for a timely exit from the FATF grey-list, but not at the cost of stifling business with “over-regulation and excessive bureaucracy.” President of the Malta Institute of ...

The Minister for the Economy and Industry Silvio Schembri opened the new Ta’ Qali Crafts Village Scheme in a press conference on the site on Friday.The government acknowledges the true work and commitment which workers of businesses in Ta&rsquo...

A 58-year-old man was grievously injured on Friday after falling off a ladder, police said.In a statement, the police said that the accident took place at around 11:30am inside a residence in Triq Fra Guzeppe in Pembroke.Preliminary investigations sh...

The Nationalist Party harshly criticised the civil service chief’s “attack” on the Ombudsman, while accusing the government of undermining the institutions.In comments to the media earlier this week, the Principal Permanent Secretar...

Flimkien għal Ambjent Aħjar urgently called on Environment Minister Aaron Farrugia, responsible for the Planning Authority, to immediately stop the ongoing destruction of a farmhouse in Xewkija by issuing an Emergency Conservation Order wit...

The Nationalist Party is seeking an urgent meeting of parliament’s petitions committee to discuss the cannabis law before a vote is taken on Tuesday.In a statement, the PN said that it had made a formal request on 7 December and had also made c...

The Malta Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise and Industry appeals for caution and to keep in mind the national interest in matters related to energy provision.It is therefore imperative that we find ways of addressing concerns related to the existing ag...

As of Saturday, families and pensioners will start receiving the first payments related to Children’s Allowance, aid for Children with Disabilities, Supplementary aid and Financial aid for Individuals without a fixed address, Minister for Solid...

Rescue workers rushing to a highway accident found a horrific scene of death and injury after a freight truck jammed with as many as 200 migrants tipped over and crashed into the base of a steel pedestrian bridge in southern Mexico.The migrants insid...

Maltese European Commissioner Helena Dalli was in the international news for the wrong reasons these past few days.Her office came up with the idea of eliminating the use of the word “Christmas” in official greetings, going as far as to s...

The wearing of face masks will once again become mandatory in all public places as from this Saturday, Health Minister Chris Fearne announced.People walking in the street - both vaccinated and unvaccinated -  in their own will also be required t...

A British appellate court opened the door Friday for Julian Assange to be extradited to the United States by overturning a lower court ruling that found the WikiLeaks founder's mental health was too fragile to withstand the American criminal justice ...

The Nationalist Party has called on the government to scrap its contract with Electrogas, saying that failing to do so would be putting Malta’s EU funding at risk.The PN said that it had strongly criticised the Labour government when it jeopard...

Yorgen Fenech’s lawyers have asked the Criminal Court to declare 'inadmissible as evidence' the information Fenech had disclosed to the police whilst in a “vulnerable state”, after being promised that it would only be used in o...

A 64-year-old man has become the 469th person to die while positive for Covid-19 in Malta, as the country reported 81 new cases of the virus on Thursday.107 people have recovered, meaning that the number of active cases has decreased to 1,336.27 pati...

Claims that the government would have to pay €100 million to Electrogas if it builds a gas pipeline are “factually incorrect”, Energy Minister Miriam Dalli said on Thursday. Dalli said the government would only be paying the energy c...

A planning application to redevelop the existing Naxxar trade fair grounds car park into two medium-raise mixed use buildings was approved by the PA board on Thursday.The proposed development will include two separate buildings, one of 9 floors and a...

The courts have cancelled planning permission for a waterpolo pitch and other ancillary facilities in Marsascala Bay, following an appeal by NGO Moviment Graffitti.The same NGO announced that the permit – which was granted by the Planning Autho...

Rent subsidy scheme aimed at providing for up to 50% of businesses warehouse and storage rent expenses has been expanded and amended to include multiple sectors. CEO of Malta Enterprise Kurt Farrugia announced that throughout 2021, 16 businesses...

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Health Chris Fearne launched Crisis Resolution Home Treatment, a new mental health service in attempt to improve mental health care in the country.“The stigma around mental health has over the years been e...

Villarreal clinched the final place in the last 16 of the Champions League on Thursday, while Leicester failed to advance in the Europa League.Villarreal beat Atalanta 3-2 away in a game postponed from Wednesday because of heavy snow in northern Ital...

The World Health Organization says early evidence suggests the omicron variant may be spreading faster than the highly transmissible delta variant but brings with it less severe coronavirus disease -– though it’s too early to make firm co...

The last three months of 2021 (especially October) were encouraging for Air Malta, a spokesperson told The Malta Independent, but problems have since cropped up.“Ongoing lack of customer confidence in making bookings, social uneasiness, the con...

The Education Ministry has failed to make a distinction between the national education curriculum, the Malta Union of Teachers said in a statement on Thursday.In a statement reacting to an Education Ministry announcement on Tuesday – which said...

US President Joe Biden has nominated businesswoman and philanthropist Constance J. Milstein as Ambassador to Malta. The announcement was made on the official website of the White House. According to a biography uploaded on the website, Milstein is an...

Vaccine makers are racing to update their COVID-19 shots against the newest coronavirus threat even before it’s clear a change is needed, just in case.Experts doubt today’s shots will become useless but say it’s critical to see how ...

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced tighter restrictions Wednesday to stem the spread of the omicron variant, urging people in England to again work from home and mandating COVID-19 passes for entrance into nightclubs and large events.John...

A planning application seeking permission to redevelop the existing Naxxar trade fair grounds car park into two medium-raise mixed use buildings, with underlying four interconnected basement levels goes before the PA board, Thursday.The proposed deve...

Rachel Attard has resigned from The Malta Independent and has joined the Malta Chamber of Commerce as media and communication strategist.For the last eight years, Attard worked at TMI as news editor, editor-in-chief and lately as media consultant.The...

New Zealand's government believes it has come up with a unique plan to end tobacco smoking — a lifetime ban for those aged 14 or younger.Under a new law the government announced Thursday and plans to pass next year, the minimum age to buy cigar...

An elderly woman was seriously injured on Wednesday after falling in a street in Santa Venera, the police said.The accident took place in Ferrovija Street at 1pm.The woman, aged 93, from Santa Venera, was taken to Mater Dei Hospital with serious inju...

42% of businesses that responded to a survey by the Chamber of SMEs expect to see better sales during the festive season than 2020, while a further 11% of businesses feel that this festive season will be closer to 2019 levels.This shows that the majo...

The Commissioner for the Environment and Planning within the Office of the Ombudsman, Alan Saliba, has found that Infrastructure Malta did not follow procedure over road works in Dingli.The works in question had seen Moviment Graffitti organise prote...

The Courts of Malta issued new guidelines regarding the erasure of court judgements from the court's website.The removal or alteration of any judgements will take place if the director-general of the court believes there are valid grounds to do so. T...

Matthew Caruana Galiza has said that the issue concerning EU funding of a proposed gas pipeline connecting Malta and Sicily has brought about a "moral emergency" for the EU.Daphne Caruana Galizia's family has joined forces with two MEPs, Claudia Gamo...

87 new cases of Covid-19 were registered on Wednesday as 61 people recovered from the virus.This brings up the number of active cases in Malta to 1,363.Currently, 26 people are being treated at Mater Dei Hospital, four of whom are in the ITU.978,775 ...

Following the presentation to Parliament of a petition signed by 56 constituted bodies, organisations and individuals proposing a number of amendments to the cannabis reform Bill, the general public now has the opportunity to sign a petition directly...

On 25 November 2021, the Court of Justice of the European Union (the “CJEU”) delivered a preliminary ruling in StWL Städtische Werke Lauf a.d. Pegnitz GmbH (“StWL”) v. eprimo GmbH (“eprimo”) (C-102/20) on cert...

Through the GiFluid project, the Rabat local council will benefit from a €1 million investment to implement community projects to increase the efficient use of water, a government statement read.This project is being financed by the programme In...

A 66-year-old woman was seriously injured after falling from a height of one storey, the police said.The accident occurred at 11.15am in a residence on Triq ir-Ramla, Nadur. The woman fell down a shaft.She was taken to the Gozo General Hospital. Inve...

24 local councils ended the year 2020 with a deficit, while the capital cities of both Malta and Gozo were found to be in a most alarming financial state, the National Audit Office said in a report on Tuesday.22 out of the 24 local councils which inc...

Notice the way politicians answer questions put to them.They hardly ever give a straight answer, preferring to go round in circles, often arriving nowhere. By the time they finish answering, they would not even remember the question that they had bee...