Abner Aquilina, who is accused of the rape and murder of 29-year-old Polish student Paulina Dembska, has been readmitted to Mount Carmel Hospital, according to reports.The compilation of evidence against 20 year-old Aquilina is expected to continue t...

Independent candidate Arnold Cassola is asking for another investigation from the Standards Commissioner, this time about the office leased to former Prime Minister Joseph Muscat as part of his severance package.“Sorry to bother you again&rdquo...

The European Commission proposed Thursday to extend by a year the use of COVID certificates aimed at facilitating travel across the 27-nation bloc during the pandemic, until the end of June 2023.Despite the announcement by the director of the World H...

A 71-year-old man died on Thursday afternoon after he was hit by a truck in Birzebbugia. The accident took place in Triq Wied il-Qoton at around 1pm, the police said. The man, who is from Mgarr, was helping a colleague manoeuvre the truck in a narrow...

After so much pomp, the first edition of the Malta Film Awards has come and gone, and more than a renewed sense of appreciation for the local film industry, it has left a bitter taste in the mouths of many.The first aspect which has riled up much of ...

Four of Boris Johnson’s most senior staff quit on Thursday, triggering new turmoil for the embattled British prime minister.Johnson’s office said chief of staff Dan Rosenfield and principal private secretary Martin Reynolds had both tende...

It was the captain of the oil tanker El Hiblu who had approached the three men accused of hijacking it, calling them into his cabin after seeing them calming down the panicking migrants it had rescued, one of the rescued men has told a magistrate.The...

Workers and students will be receiving cheques worth €100, with pensioners and people on social benefits getting up to €200 as part of a cash injection to the economy, Prime Minister Robert Abela said on Thursday. This is over and abov...

Former Finance Minister Tonio Fenech has reacted to the government’s announcement of a new set of tax rebates by calling the measure a vote-buying exercise.“This is no tax refund,” Fenech – who served as Finance Minister when ...

The Ministry for Inclusion, Social Wellbeing and Voluntary Organisations has allocated €15,000 for the purchasing and training of guide dogs for the Malta Guide Dogs Foundation.Former doctor David Debattista, who now suffers from visual impairme...

A court has rejected a request by Melvin Theuma’s lawyers to have the State made a defendant in a case for damages filed by the Caruana Galizia family.The brief decree, denying the request was issued this morning by Madam Justice Anna Felice. I...

It remains unclear as to whether convicted bank robber Daren Debono ‘it-Topo’ will be allowed to testify against co-accused Vince Muscat, after a magistrate decreed that her court did not have the power to rule on a request for additional...

The Nationalist Party has taken aim at Tourism Minister Clayton Bartolo over recent claims.Prime Minister Robert Abela has been reported as saying that no action would be taken against Clayton Bartolo after it was reported that Bartolo's girlfriend A...

Three more Covid-19 patients have died, while 240 new cases of the virus have been reported by health authorities.Authorities said that two men – aged 63 and 93 respectively – and an 87-year-old woman had died while positive for the virus...

An office in Sa Maison former Prime Minister’s Joseph Muscat’s is using made part of the severance package given to him following his resignation as prime minister in January 2020, Prime Minister Robert Abela confirmed on Thursday. Follow...

MEP Josianne Cutajar was appointed Vice Chair of the SEArica Intergroup at the European Parliament, focusing on islands, seas, rivers and coastal areas.In this role, Cutajar will be focusing her work, in particular, on Small and Medium-sized Enterpri...

The director of the World Health Organization’s Europe office said Thursday the continent is now entering a “plausible endgame” to the pandemic and that the number of coronavirus deaths is starting to plateau.Dr. Hans Kluge said at ...

The Prime Minister is unable to feel the pressure from the rise in the cost of living, being someone who was receiving €17,000 a month from public funds, PN spokesperson Peter Agius said Thursday.Addressing a press conference in response to the ...

The nomination of George Hyzler to represent Malta at the European Court of Auditors is not being done to get rid of him as Standards Commissioner, but because he has the prerequisites for the post, Prime Minister Robert Abela said today.Replying to ...

Talks with the General Workers Union and other representatives of different workers within Air Malta have concluded and an agreement has been reached on the employment conditions for those workers who apply for a transfer out of the national airline,...

An expression of interest that could lead to “unqualified” individuals taking on diplomatic roles, together with other unresolved issues, has led the Maltese Diplomatic Service to declare an industrial dispute, with the possibility of str...

The announcement by Robert Abela that workers are to get cheques over and above the tax refund is a desperate pre-election attempt by a panicked Prime Minister who was caught taking €17,000 per month in government contracts, the Nationalist Part...

A man was grievously injured in a hit and run in Balzan early on Thursday morning.Police said in a statement that the incident happened at around 6am on Thursday in Triq il-Wied in Balzan.District police investigations found that the man had been inj...

The European Union hopes to deliver more vessels to the Libyan coast guard before the summer when irregular sea crossings are expected to increase, an EU official whose work focuses on relations with Libya and migration said on Wednesday.Henrike Trau...

PARIS (AP) — France says it will start administering Pfizer’s coronavirus antiviral drug this week, the first pill for treating COVID-19 approved in the 27-nation EU.The country is still reporting among the world's highest per-capita dail...

Prime Minister Robert Abela can always claim that his decision to send George Hyzler to be Malta’s representative on the European Court of Auditors is meant to be a promotion. After all, the post is prestigious and carries a lucrative package w...

The court will give the maximum penalties for the crime of femicide, if circumstances are satisfied, Minister for Justice Edward Zammit Lewis said on Wednesday.He addressed a press conference, together with reforms minister Owen Bonnici, on legal ame...

The motorbike rider who died in a traffic accident this morning has been identified as Steven Sargent.The 42-year-old man, a father of one, was a senior manager with GO Telecommunications.The accident occurred at 10am, on Triq Ħal Tarxien , Gudj...

Five Covid-19 patients have died, as the death toll in Malta shows no sign of ceasing, health authorities said in their latest update on the pandemic situation.Authorities said that five men aged 78, 79, 80, 83, and 86 respectively had died while pos...

Christian Ehler, the EPP Group Spokesman on the fifth list of the so-called Projects of Common Interest (PCI), has expressed concern over the Malta-Italy gas pipeline project due its possible ties to Yorgen Fenech and Electrogas.The projects on the l...

Energy Minister Miriam Dalli and Nationalist MP Jason Azzopardi squabbled over a party that was organised by Dalli’s ministry in November, and which ended up being the subject of a parliamentary question submitted by the PN member.Azzopardi ask...

The Faculty for Social Wellbeing will be collaborating with Caritas Malta on a project related to substance abuse. Caritas is a Maltese organization which aims to alleviate poverty and promote human development and social justice. On February 2,...

Protocols for seated events, such as the Malta Film Awards "are clear" the Superintendent of Public Health Charmaine Gauci has said, adding that deviances are investigated, the Times of Malta reports.It reports that Gauci refused to speak about the a...

The Archdiocese of Malta has suspended an application to rehabilitate an abandoned property in Rabat in order to clarify issues highlighted by the Environment and Resources Authority (ERA) which were the subject of what the Curia described as “...

C-Planet, the IT company being sued by hundreds of individuals over the online leak of a database containing the personal information of nearly every individual Maltese voter, has pointed at travel agency Untours as the source of their data, a court ...

The EU’s General Court has dismissed an action filed by Pilatus Bank plc which sought the annulment of the European Central Bank’s 2018 decision to withdraw the bank’s authorisation to act as a credit institution.Pilatus Bank plc an...

The Malta Union of Teachers has a filed a police report over comments which they allege amount to hate speech and incitement of violence against particular educators.In a statement, the MUT referred to Facebook comments written under a news article.T...

Late-night disco partying. Elbow-to-elbow seating in movie theaters. Mask-free bearing of faces in public, especially in Europe and North America: Bit by bit, many countries that have been hard-hit by the coronavirus are opening up and easing their t...

Italian cinema star Monica Vitti has died, Italian media report.She was 90 years old.She had last made a public appearance in 2011, when she received an award from the Italian government for her lifelong services to the cinema industry.The actress wa...

Independent candidate Arnold Cassola has asked the Standards Commissioner to investigate a report in which it said that a minister’s girlfriend is employed in another ministry but is not reporting for work.Cassola was referring to a report on L...

Former Minister Konras Mizzi will not be attending the meeting of the Public Accounts Committee on Wednesday on medical grounds.Late last year Mizzi was admitted to hospital for treatment and it is understood that a follow-up appointment was schedule...

Rosianne Cutajar told a court on Wednesday that any chance of reaching a settlement in a libel case she filed against Mark Camilleri has been quashed by the latter’s “constant insults.”The former Parliamentary Secretary had sued Cam...

The Principal Permanent Secretary has, through the Department of Information, issued yet another right of reply, this time in response to The Malta Independent on Sunday’s Editorial last weekend. The editorial, titled ‘Institutions, ...

The dissolution of Parliament brings with it the complete halt to all proceedings that are still ongoing in the House of Representatives.This includes laws that have been tabled but are not yet passed. Anything that is in progress will have to be re-...

People undergoing the procedure often ask general questions about porcelain veneers cost in Turkey. Some of these questions include: How much is it? If the procedure is cheaper than it is in other countries, should I expect a lesser quality product?&...

Two men were grievously injured in separate traffic accidents in the early hours of Wednesday morning, police said.In the first case, a Filipino, who is 47 years old and lives in Tarxien, suffered grievous injuries after being hit by a car.Police sai...

The World Health Organization chief said Tuesday that 90 million cases of coronavirus have been reported since the omicron variant was first identified 10 weeks ago — amounting to more than in all of 2020, the first year of the COVID-19 pandemi...

LISBON, Portugal (AP) — Portugal's Socialist Party leader António Costa announced Tuesday he has tested positive for COVID-19, two days after his landslide election victory and just as he starts forming his new government.Costa said in a...

Denmark took the European Union lead Tuesday by scrapping most pandemic restrictions as the Scandinavian country no longer considers COVID-19 “a socially critical disease.” European nations elsewhere had a patchwork of different approache...

Minister for Environment Aaron Farrugia said in Parliament on Tuesday that the tender for the Maghtab incinerator will be re-issued after no bids were submitted for the operation of the waste-to-energy facility. Farrugia was asked by PN Whip Robert C...

The concept of femicide will be introduced in the criminal code, Prime Minister Robert Abela said on Tuesday, contradicting previous statements by the justice minister. In a Facebook post, Abela said he was satisfied that, after fruitful dialogue wit...

Steward Health Care Malta’s parent company has strongly disputed an article which appeared in MaltaToday over the weekend, and has also admitted that it is trying to achieve a “complete renegotiation” of the terms of the hospitals c...

A petition with over 200,000 signatures that calls for an EU directive against SLAPP suits was delivered on Tuesday to the European Commissioner for values and transparency, Vera Jourová.The petition was presented by representatives of the Coa...

Malta's former permanent representative to the EU Richard Cachia Caruana has been awarded €1,000 in libel damages, in a case he had filed against Labour MP Joe Mizzi, and Kurt Farrugia as editor of One TV in 2012.The case had been filed after Mi...

A woman has become the latest victim of Covid-19 in Malta, while 249 new cases of the virus were reported by health authorities on Tuesday.The woman was 57 years old, authorities said.266 people have recovered from the virus, meaning that the number ...

The National Statistics Office conducted the Census of Agriculture for the year 2020, in collaboration with the Agriculture Directorate within the Ministry for Agriculture, Fisheries, Food and Animal rights (MAFA), to assess activities being carried ...

Paulina Dembska’s body has been released for burial, with her funeral expected to take place in Poland in the coming days. Her relatives were in Malta recently to identify her body at Mater Dei Hospital. Dembska’s body was found...

Seventy-four people died with Covid-19 during January, making it the fourth worst month in terms of fatalities since the pandemic started in March 2020.The worst month for deaths from Covid-19 remains November 2020, when 79 people died, followed by t...

Nationalist Party MP Karl Gouder and candidate Alex Mangion today called for proper investment in the film industry while lamenting the use of the Malta Film Awards as a political showcase.The Malta Film awards, which occurred last week, supposedly h...

The two most successful coronavirus vaccines developed in the U.S. – the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines – are both mRNA vaccines. The idea of using genetic material to produce an immune response has opened up a world of research and potentia...

A bomb threat has been made at Smart City, The Malta Independent can confirm.A police spokesperson told this newsroom that a bomb threat was made to offices at Smart City at around 10:20am.TVM are reporting that the offices which have been threatened...

A biker who suffered serious injuries in a crash on the Coast Road last Sunday urged fellow motorcyclists to wear protective gear at all times.It’s a miracle, Christopher Briffa wrote on his Facebook page.The man was riding a bike along the Coa...

Independent candidate Arnold Cassola has filed a request to the National Audit Office to investigate the expenses of the Malta Film Awards. Cassola has asked the NAO to investigate the claims that the Malta Film Awards invited presenter, David W...

An Amnesty International delegation is in Malta this week, calling for charges to be dropped against three rescued migrants accused of commandeering a merchant ship in 2019 and forcing it to go to Europe rather than back to Libya.The Amnest...

Anyone walking in Republic Street in Valletta this morning was greeted with an unfamiliar site - the Maltese flag raised upside down at the Law Courts building.For some, it was something to smile about.Then again, raising the national flag upside dow...

The number of pending enforcement notices at the Planning Authority is staggering.The 5,382 pending enforcement notices stem from between the years of 1993 and 2021, the information shows. 14 of these notices date back to 1993. The total number is, h...

The Chamber of Geologists was established in January to protect the environment, ensure public safety and promote responsible use of natural resources whilst also promoting the importance of the application of geology, its President Peter Gatt told T...

Minister for Education and Sport Clifton Grima announced the launch of Games of the Small States of Europe (GSSE), which will be held in Malta between 28 May and 3 June of 2023, marking the third time that the country will be hosting these games sinc...

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Denmark on Tuesday became one of the first European Union countries to scrap most pandemic restrictions as the Scandinavian country no longer considers the COVID-19 outbreak “a socially critical diseas...

Antoinette Vassallo has been appointed as the new Commissioner for Children, replacing Pauline Miceli.Vassallo graduated as a nurse in 1978 and worked in the profession until 1985. She served as a mayor of Ta’ Xbiex for 14 years until 2013.She ...

The European economy slowed noticeably at the end of last year as surging COVID-19 cases driven by the omicron variant piled on top of supply shortages and rising energy prices that dented consumer purchasing power. The result: An economic ...

The owners of three properties adjacent to a construction site, alleged to have caused the 2020 building collapse which claimed the life of Miriam Pace, have started court proceedings of their own against the developers and contractors involved in th...

A cocaine trafficker has been jailed for 13 years and fined €30,000 after being convicted by a jury, over 12 years after his initial arrest.In a decision handed down last Thursday by Mr Justice Aaron Bugeja, Nigerian Kofi Otule Friday was found ...

Prime Minister Robert Abela’s involvement in a contract with the Planning Authority which enabled his law firm to receive €7,300 per month in 2013, had doubled to €17,110 in 2019, over a period of six years, the PN said.“This ef...

Three more elderly people have died while positive for Covid-19, as the death toll as a result of the pandemic continues to rise.Health authorities said in their daily update that two men, 86 years old and 93 years old respectively, and an 88-year-ol...

Air Malta has extended the deadline given to employees to register their interest in being provided alternative government employment.According to reports, the airline extended the deadline because “too few” workers had applied but govern...

The Malta Chamber of SMEs proposed a VAT reduction to 15.5% from the current 18% to help small businesses recover from the impact of the pandemic, which resulted to increase in costs, lower sales, and less spending power.The reduction of VAT was prop...

 British Prime Minister Boris Johnson apologized Monday for lockdown-flouting parties in Downing Street — but insisted that he and his government can be trusted.Johnson told lawmakers in the House of Commons that he would make changes to t...

The Nationalist Party has filed a motion to repeal a Legal Notice published later last year on the removal of court judgements from the online court database.The motion was put forward by MPs Karol Aquilina and Therese Comodini Cachia.Since 2014, aro...

There are over 5,000 pending enforcement notices at the Planning Authority, The Malta Independent can reveal.The statistics were provided by the Planning Authority in response to a question sent by this newsroom, asking for the number of enforcement ...

The Malta Police Union has criticised a decision to force police officers to vote in the upcoming general election a week before anyone else, saying that they had not been consulted on the matter.Amendments to the General Elections Act enacted on 25 ...

Principal Permanent Secretary Mario Cutajar has, through the Department of Information issued a right of reply to an opinion piece penned by Kevin Cassar, and said that it is not true that he lashed out at the Ombudsman.The full right of reply can be...

An Albanian man has been hospitalised after he lost control of his motorcycle early on Monday morning.In a statement, police said that at around 7am the Albanian, who is 32-years-old, lost control of his Niu N1S motorcycle in Triq il-Mitjar in Luqa.T...

Two armed and hooded men made off with an undisclosed amount of cash in a hold-up in a Zejtun shop on Sunday evening.The incident occurred in Bishop Galea Street at around 8pm.The man, armed with knives, entered the shop and demanded money from the c...

A Filipino national who resides in Mosta was grievously injured in a fight in Msida early on Monday morning, the police said.The incident occurred on the Ta’ Xbiex promenade, at around 3am.The police said that a group if unidentified persons at...

A motorcyclist was grievously injured on Sunday afternoon in an accident on the Coast Road, limits of Salini.The biker, aged 35 of Naxxar, lost control of the Kawasaki he was riding and crashed.He was taken to Mater Dei Hospital with grievous injurie...

Opposition Leader Bernard Grech is hopeful that the PN could close the gap to the Labour Party in the coming weeks and months.The Labour Party has enjoyed a substantial lead over its political rivals since 2013, winning each and every election by a l...

More than a year after a bout with COVID-19, Rebekah Hogan still suffers from severe brain fog, pain and fatigue that leave her unable to do her nursing job or handle household activities.Long COVID has her questioning her worth as a wife and mother....

MOSCOW (AP) — Russia's daily count of new coronavirus infections surged to more than 121,000 on Sunday, an eightfold increase compared with the beginning of the month as the highly contagious omicron variant spreads through the country.The stat...

With a general election seemingly imminent and matters in certain Parliamentary committees – particularly that involving Konrad Mizzi – heating up, many have questioned what happens to the Parliamentary process when an election is called....

The developers behind the Villa Rosa area project in St George’s Bay have told The Malta Independent on Sunday that they are aiming for “high quality tourism” through their new plans.Plans to change the proposed development on the l...

The composition of Parliament as it is now is substantially different from the day when the newly-elected MPs all filed in for the opening ceremony to take their oath of office soon after the 2017 election.We often say that resignations in Malta are ...

Nationalist Party Leader Bernard Grech is hopeful that the PN can continue to close the gap with the Labour Party in the coming weeks. The Malta Independent on Sunday interviewed Grech on Friday, amid rumours that government could call a March electi...

Two men died while positive with Covid-19, the health authorities said on Sunday.The men were aged 75 and 85. This brings the total number of deaths since the start of the pandemic up to 547.191 new cases of the virus were registered, while 401 peopl...

A woman was grievously injured in a traffic accident at noon on Sunday.The accident occurred on Triq il-Kbira San Ġużepp, in Hamrun.  The 63-year-old woman from Qormi was hit by a car being driven by a 71-year-old Hamrun resident. The ...

Maltese nationals make up over 60% of people who sponsor Ugandan orphans through a Romania-based NGO. The founders of Help one chid thrive told The Malta Independent on Sunday they have no idea how this happened, but put it down to the generosity of ...

'You can never hide the truth,' Opposition Leader Bernard Grech said about the energy billing system."The government had to admit that they were, are and will continue to steal from your water and electricity bills," he said.The PN Leader was address...

TV presenter and model Pauline Marie Chetcuti is making a name for herself on her daily Net show #kikkrate .Like many, she cannot imagine herself without her mobile phone, loves spring and says Lady Gaga is her favourite singer.But which invention sh...

The Central Link Project was officially inaugurated on Sunday and Prime Minister Robert Abela stressed the importance of this project as well as others like it.The project spans from Rabat to Mriehel. While it has been inaugurated, work at Mriehel is...

Champions Hamrun Spartans and Floriana battled it out to a 2-2 draw yesterday at the National Stadium, a result that favours league leaders Hibernians who maintain their advantage over the same Floriana and HamrunFor the Greens it was an even better ...