President George Vella said Wednesday that there was no reason for him to resign for failing to sign the IVF bill into law.Vella has been harshly criticised for not signing the IVF bill into law “without delay”, as stipulated in the Const...

Former PN deputy leader has lashed out as PN leader Bernard Grech, saying that he (Grech) lied about his own party and to himself on national TV.In a post on Facebook, Arrigo said that an internal report on the Naxxar mayor was concluded months ago, ...

Tourism Minister Clayton Bartolo insisted on Tuesday that it is “impossible” to calculate how much the Malta Film Awards ceremony cost, as it formed part of a package worth €1.3m for the entire Malta Film Week. Questioned by this new...

A European proposal to tax aviation fuel will have a detrimental effect on Malta’s economy, national airline Air Malta said in a statement on Wednesday.The airline noted in its statement that the proposal, which has to be approved by all Europe...

Too many road works are taking place at the same time, former Prime Minister Alfred Sant writes today.In a post on Facebook, the Labour MEP said that this is causing endless frustration as people get stuck in traffic jams.The Pieta area has been ment...

Infrastructure Malta (IM) has begun works on a new flyover deck of the Kirkop Tunnels and Airport Intersection Project (KTAIP), which will offer a direct route from Luqa to the Kirkop tunnels. They began works on Tuesday night with the lifting into p...

Moviment Graffitti today announced it will be holding a public protest on Comino onSaturday 13th August 2022: Kemmuna ta’ Kulħadd – Reclaim Blue Lagoon. "As the Blue Lagoon continues to be hijacked by commercial interests that h...

The results of the 2021 census carried out by the Statistics Office confirmed what we have all known, or suspected, for years.Malta’s population has increased substantially, rising by 25% over a decade, which is the largest ever jump since reco...

U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi arrived in Taiwan late Tuesday, becoming the highest-ranking American official in 25 years to visit the self-ruled island claimed by China, which quickly announced that it would conduct military maneuvers in retaliatio...

Ten Yards Legal founder and lead advocate Dr Roselyn Borg is the new Chairperson of the Employment Relations Board. This consultative board brings together the representatives of employers and the unions where matters pertaining to industrial relatio...

A court has declared that there is sufficient evidence to justify indicting Sudanese national Al Mahy Ezzo Saeed of Gzira, over the murder of Egyptian national Adri Mohammed in July in Marsa.Saeed pleaded not guilty to the charges upon his arrai...

The construction sector in Europe is sizable, with so much upside potential for innovators. One way of measuring the size of this industry is by using the Gross Value Added (GVA). This is the GVA of the construction industry as a share of total GVA a...

A man has been charged after police discovered around 38kg of drugs, with an estimated market value of €1.5 million, inside a van that had just arrived from Sicily.28-year-old Bulgarian national Mustafa El Madhoun was arrested on Sunday after po...

The Planning Authority approved the sanctioning of Joseph Portelli’s illegally built swimming pools in an ODZ, during a PA meeting earlier this morning.The pools, which are located in an Outside Development Zone, were being built without any pl...

Mediterranean countries are using European funds to invest in clean solar and wind energy, to provide price stability to their people while reducing dependency on fossil fuels from third countries, PN spokesperson Peter Agius and PN MP Mark Anthony S...

The Malta Union of Midwives and Nurses has taken exception to the conclusions of an inquiry into the disappearance of a patient from St Vincent de Paul home, and has issued directives to nurses in protest.In a statement, the MUMN referred to the conc...

A man who hit the headlines after he ejaculated onto a woman on a crowded public bus has been handed a suspended sentence by a court.36-year-old construction worker Mohammed Mahmud Dirie made headlines last month after it emerged that he had masturba...

The Court of Criminal Appeal has ruled that a failed extradition case against suspected drug smuggler John Spiteri, who is wanted by the Italian judicial authorities, must start again from scratch, sending the case back to the court of magistrates fo...

94 new cases of Covid-19 were found by the health authorities on Tuesday.Meanwhile, the number of active cases has dwindled to 1,504 as 215 more people recovered.The total number of cases now stands at 112,973, while total recoveries amount to 110,27...

A man was grievously injured after he was involved in a traffic accident early on Tuesday morning.Police said that they were informed at around 10am by Mater Dei Hospital that a man had been admitted to hospital after he was involved in an accident w...

The European Union’s top court ruled Monday that national maritime authorities cannot impound ships involved in search-and-rescue work on suspicion that they might be overloaded due to the number of migrants they plucked from the sea.The Europe...

The Malta Film Commission has launched Jurassic World attractions in three cities around the country.The film 'Jurassic World - Dominion' was partly shot in Malta last June.The aim of this initiative is for Malta to take the opportunity and improve t...

Two armed and hooded men made off with an undisclosed amount of cash from a gambling outlet in San Gwann on Monday evening.The police said the armed robbery took place in an outlet in Naxxar Road at 10.45pm.A cashier, a 30-year-old woman, and a 24-ye...

If cyclists are saying that bicycle lanes in Malta are a joke, then they are.Cyclists who make use of road cycle lanes are of the opinion that these are being designed by people who never rode a bike and do not know what this entails. Juan Buhagiar, ...

There were 55,950 active business units in Malta in 2021, according to data published by the National Statistics Office. This signified an increase of 8.6%, or 4,430 units, over 2020. The largest increase in the number of active business units was ob...

The Environmental Health Directorate within the Superintendence of Public Health wishes to notify that until further notice bathing is not recommended due to the presence of microbiological contamination affecting the bathing water quality ...

As the sun was rising in Kabul on Sunday, two Hellfire missiles fired by a U.S. drone ended Ayman al-Zawahri's decade-long reign as the leader of al-Qaida. The seeds of the audacious counterterrorism operation had been planted over many mon...

The disappearance of Karmenu Fino from St Vincent de Paul was the result of shortcomings in the standard of care provided by employees rather than a systematic failure, according to the conclusions of an internal inquiry into the case.The conclusions...

A man who died outside a bar in Buġibba had fallen down a flight of stairs after being kicked in the head whilst bending to pick up his phone, a court has been told.The compilation of evidence against David Busuttil, who is accused of the murder...

Melvin Theuma, the self-confessed middleman in the Daphne Caruana Galizia murder, has told a court how one of the men accused of murdering journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, George Degiorgio, had once delivered a chilling message, via his brother Mar...

Malta's population has increased by 25% since 2011, amounting to an average rise of 10,000 people per year, according the preliminary report of the 2021 Census of Population and Housing.The country's headcount now stands at 519,562 after the highest ...

The Malta Film Commission has said that it is “not in a position” to identify specifically how much the Malta Film Awards event cost, as it refused a second Freedom of Information request on the topic filed by The Malta Independent.The Ma...

Joseph Zammit, who is currently serving a 30-year prison sentence for complicity in the killing of bank messenger Alphonse Ferriggi, 42, during a September 2000 bank robbery, is claiming to have suffered multiple breaches of his fundamental rights du...

It was unthinkable many years ago, that an online casino operator would ever consider blocking one of their regular customers access to their accounts, but those days are fortunately long gone.Thanks to some very stringent rules and regulations that ...

51 new cases of Covid-19 were found by the health authorities on Monday.Meanwhile, the number of active cases has dwindled to 1,625 as 201 more people recovered.The total number of cases now stands at 112,879, while total recoveries amount to 110,064...

HSBC Malta's profit before tax for the six months ended 30 June 2022 was €23.5m, an increase of €6m from the same period in 2021."Higher profits reflect a significant recovery on a non-performing loan partially offset by an increase in regu...

The Census of Population and Housing 2021 showed a significant increase of non-Maltese residents in Malta.The report showed that there has been a steep incline in the country's population since 2011. In the past 10 years, it grew by nearly a quarter,...

A 31-year-old man from Iklin suffered grievous injuries in an accident at around 9.30am.The accident on the St Paul's Bay bypass occurred between a Honda motorcycle, ridden by the 31-year-old, and a car being driven by a 58-year-old man from Mellieha...

Robert Arrigo has hinted that he was victim to the “politics of exclusion” as his time as the Nationalist Party’s deputy leader came to an end last weekend.In his last speech as deputy leader on Saturday, a visibly emotional Arrigo ...

The €500,000 Jackpot in the newly revamped Quaterno game held on Saturday 23rd July was won for the first time by three players just two weeks since its launch.Three local players who bought their tickets from Zejtun and Birgu, have come forward...

Nobody was injured after a boat burst into flames while it was moored near Comino last night.The 80-foot boat caught fire at around 12:15am last night, with the Civil Protection Department being called to extinguish it.Three people were onboard the b...

The nation has a tendency to love politicians and treat them as deity and hate those who challenge them, including journalists, a senior media lecturer told this newsroom in an interview published on Sunday. This statement is, unfortunately, one hund...

Complaints about President George Vella’s “alleged” delay in signing the IVF bill into law was in the nature of a “storm in a teacup,” Labour MEP and former Prime Minister Alfred Sant said.In an opinion article published...

The founder and chairperson of mental health organisation Richmond Foundation is resigning as Chair after almost three decades.Anthony Guillaumier founded Richmond Foundation in May 1993 to address the gap in mental health support services in Malta a...

The duo behind Kayak for Charity, Dorian Vassallo and Albert Gambina, are taking on a new challenge this year, with the aim of continuing to renew their support for Inspire Foundation Malta.This time, the pair will be paddling by canoes around the is...

In June 2022, the number of persons registering for work stood at 954, decreasing by 757 when compared to June 2021, according to data published by the National Statistics Office (NSO).The data shows that in June 2021 a total of 1,711 people were reg...

Two people are running to be Britain’s next prime minister, but a third presence looms over the contest: Margaret Thatcher.The late former prime minister dominated Britain in the 1980s, and has left a large and contested legacy. Critics se...

Part of the President’s duties is to sign bills approved by Parliament, allowing them to become law.But things have not always run smoothly. There have been occasions in Malta’s recent history where a President had an issue with a particu...

Given the shortage of workers everywhere and not just in Malta, it is clear that the Hospitality industry must “offer a competitive package to have good staff,” MHRA president Tony Zahra told The Malta Independent during an interview."You...

The nation has a tendency to love politicians and treat them as deity and hate those who challenge them, including journalists, said former journalist and senior media lecturer Rosemarie Calleja, in an interview with The Malta Independent.There are t...

Cyclists who make use of road cycle lanes are of the opinion that these are being designed by people who never rode a bike and do not know what this entails.“It is clear that the people who are designing these bicycle lanes are not bicycle user...

The National Federation of the Past Pupils and Friends of Don Bosco has organised an 11-day trip in Malta for 10 orphaned children coming from Ukraine. The war between Ukraine and Russia has been going on for just over five months and it is having a ...

A fire broke out at an open storage area in Kordin on Sunday, covering the area under a thick, black plume of smoke.A number of boats, vehicles and tyres were destroyed in the blaze.Earlier reports that the fire had broken out at a paper product...

Just when it seemed England might again be weighed down by expectations and history, Chloe Kelly made the breakthrough.Kelly's goal in the second half of extra time — the first time she had ever scored in a competitive international game &mdash...

A motorcyclist was grievously injured in a traffic accident in Sliema on Sunday afternoon.The police said that the accident took place at 1.45pm in Tigne.The biker, a 31-year-old Hungarian woman who resides in St Julian’s, lost control of the Y...

Veteran journalist and wartime researcher Martin Debattista said that printed newspapers have been in decline for years and the future for the printed version looks bleak, while the importance of online news gathers ground. “I am a true believe...

TVM journalist and newscaster Antonio Micallef tells us that her favourite actor is Al Pacino, that she is fussy with food and would like to see major changes in how social media operates.But what is her favourite type of pizza? And who would she lik...

Formula One champion Max Verstappen overcame a spin and his worst starting spot of the season to win the Hungarian Grand Prix on Sunday. His eighth win of the season pushed Verstappen's lead to 80 points over Charles Leclerc as F1 heads into its mids...

Like every one of us, President George Vella has a right to his opinions and, as a newspaper that believes in freedom of expression, we will be the first to defend him if this right is challenged.But the President also has his constitutional duties t...

The Santa Venera tunnels will remain open to traffic after a planned fireworks display was suspended.Originally, the transport authority had announced that the tunnels – part of one of Malta’s busiest roads – would be closed between...

58 new cases of Covid-19 were found by the health authorities on Sunday, while one more patient has died.Meanwhile, the number of active cases has dwindled to 1,775 as 222 more people recovered.The total number of cases now stands at 112,828, while t...

The President and Mrs Vella visited Maltese patients residing in the apartments of the Puttinu Cares Foundation in Sutton and in the residence of the Franciscan Sisters.Commenting at the end of the visit, the President explained that the purpose of t...

An Italian couple were injured on Saturday in an accident involving a quadbike in Gozo.The accident took place in Triq San Anard, Victoria, at around 6:30pm, the police said.The vehicle was being driven by a 29-year-old man. The woman, also 29, was r...

A Dutchman was grievously injured on Saturday evening after he was hit by a car in Gzira.The accident took place in Rue d’Argens at around 7pm, the police said.The man, 21, was hit by a Toyota Corolla that was being driven by a 28-year-old Syri...

Officials in New York City declared a public health emergency due to the spread of the monkeypox virus Saturday, calling the city “the epicenter” of the outbreak.The announcement Saturday by Mayor Eric Adams and health Commissio...

President Joe Biden tested positive for COVID-19 again Saturday, slightly more than three days after he was cleared to exit coronavirus isolation, the White House said, in a rare case of “rebound” following treatment with a...

The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations said there should no longer be any doubt that Russia intends to dismantle Ukraine “and dissolve it from the world map entirely.”Linda Thomas-Greenfield told the U.N. Security Council that the Unit...

The Nationalist Party has elected its new deputy leader today.Alex Perici Calascione was the sole contender for the post, and he obtained a 90 per cent endorsement by the councillors who voted.There were 1,571 eligible voters, of whom 1,102 cast thei...

Pope Francis acknowledged Saturday that he can no longer travel like he used to because of his strained knee ligaments, saying his weeklong Canadian pilgrimage was “a bit of a test” that showed he needs to slow down and one day ...

The Gozo Chamber of Advocates said Justice Minister Jonathan Attard has promised to address shortcomings being faced at the Gozo law courts.The pledge was made on Friday in a meeting the chamber had with the minister, a chamber statement said.In a pr...

Valletta: Collis Williams Pharmacy, 15, Republic Street; Ħamrun: Fra Diego Dispensary, 94, Villambrosa Street; Żebbuġ: Brown's Pharmacy, 47, Vjal il-Ħelsien; Birkirkara: The Local Dispensary, Kan. K. Pirotta Street; Ta' Xbiex: Rem...

Fifty-one new Covid-19 cases were registered Saturday, while one more death was recorded.Figures released by the health authorities show that the number of cases registered in Malta so far has reached 112,770, with 793 deaths.The number of active cas...

Home Minister Byron Camilleri got married today to Salome Catania.The celebration was held at the Fgura church.Byron and Salome met around seven years ago.The Malta Independent sends its  best wishes to the newly-weds. 

The Nationalist Party is demanding for more transparency on the agreements made with AUM following reports that the American University of Malta (AUM) is to waive tution fees for Maltese nationals, In a press statement signed by Justin Schembri,...

The American University of Malta is to give free admission to Maltese students in a bid to bolster its population.As it faces difficulties to reach contractual requirements - the AUM has only 200 students enrolled - it has now taken another step in a...

NEPTUNES VIDEOSLOTS....... 9SAN ĠILJAN JP PROJECTS.... 11(3-2), (2-1), (2-5), (2-3) San Ġiljan JP Projects defeated champions Neptunes Videoslots to take top spot in the league and take psychological advantage just days before they bat...

Darwin Nunez shaded Erling Haaland in their first matchup by scoring Liverpool's final goal as they beat Manchester City 3-1 in the Community Shield on Saturday.City, last season's English Premier League champion, and Liverpool, the FA and League Cup...

George Russell stole the show Saturday at the Hungarian Grand Prix by earning his first career pole and first of the season for Mercedes — on the same day F1 champion and current points leader Max Verstappen qualified a season-worst 10th.Russel...

An Israeli medical cannabis company, Panaxia, has announced a €6 million investment and is set to deepen its connection with Malta as it plans a further expansion to its local production plant – thus increasing its capital investment....

Air Malta workers are being used, yet again, as a political football, ADPD – The Green Party Chairperson Carmel Cacopardo said Saturday. Whereas before the general election Air Malta workers were promised employment on the same terms and condit...

A man has been reported missing to the police.Jon Charles Seabrook, aged 38, of Senglea, was last seen wearing a brown pair of shorts, a white T-shirt and brown hat.Anyone with information is asked to contact the police on 21224001 or the nearest pol...

A €170,000 investment by the Environment and Resources Authority (ERA) in a rigid-hull inflatable boat (RHIB) was launched to further strengthen enforcement in maritime activities. The RHIB was inaugurated in the presence of Minister for the Env...

Malta’s Public Service has been certified first in Europe in terms of eGovernment services. Malta obtained first place with an average score of 96%, followed by Estonia (90%) and Luxembourg (87%), as emerged from the ‘eGovernment Benchmar...

Moves by rich countries to buy large quantities of monkeypox vaccine, while declining to share doses with Africa, could leave millions of people unprotected against a more dangerous version of the disease and risk continued spillovers of the virus in...

A year has now passed since the public inquiry into Daphne Caruana Galizia’s death found that the state was responsible for creating an environment and culture of impunity which ultimately led to her murder.With that conclusion, the public inqu...

Pope Francis traveled to the edge of the Arctic on Friday to deliver an apology to the Inuit people for the “evil” of Canada’s residential schools, wrapping up his week-long “penitential pilgrimage” to Canada with a dram...

Russia and Ukraine accused each other Friday of shelling a prison in a separatist region of eastern Ukraine, an attack that reportedly killed dozens of Ukrainian prisoners of war captured after the fall of Mariupol, the city where troops famousl...

The Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture is again offering an opportunity for amateur fishermen to fish for lampuki.This was announced by the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Animal Rights Anton Refalo, together with the Parliamentary Secre...

The special edition of the Maltese International Food Festival is set to be held in Xewking square, Minister for Gozo Clint Camilleri said.The festival is to take place between Friday 5 and Saturday 6 August. These will be two nights of culinary cele...

The work on the restoration project of the convent of St Augustine is nearing its end as the Parliamentary Secretary for European Funds Chris Bonett went on site.Fondazzjoni Soċjo-Kulturali Ambjentali Augustina (FSKAA) is managing the works on t...

The Siggiewi local council has cried foul at a raft of illegal works being carried out on the site of a quarry in the locality’s rural area.In a complaint filed with the Planning Authority, the local council produced images showing a list of br...

Alfred and George Degiorgio gave a rare insight into the conditions of the ‘punishment division’ at Corradino Correctional Facility in a human rights case over their repeated denial of bail.The two brothers testified on Friday in a human ...

Inflation in the European countries using the euro currency shot up to another record in July, pushed by higher energy prices driven partly by Russia's war in Ukraine, but the economy still managed some meager growth.Annual inflation i...

The health authorities reported 88 new Covid-19 cases on Friday.Figures released show that the total number of cases registered in Malta is now 112,719 of whom 109,363 recovered.The total number of deaths stands at 792 with no new deaths being report...

A man was critically injured on Thursday evening after he was hit by a car, the police said.The accident took place in Valley Road, Qormi, at 8.15pm.The man, aged 59, of Qormi, was hit by a Toyota Vitz driven by a 41-year-old woman resident in Birkir...

There is no political will to address the challenges identified by the Daphne Caruana Galizia public inquiry, Repubblika President Robert Aquilina said on Friday.Addressing a press conference in front of the Auberge de Castille in Valletta, Aquilina ...

Beyond a 'decent' facade, the Msida police station is a “disgrace of a workplace fit for no one,” the Malta Police Union said on Friday.The union, which had previously released photos of the St Julian’s and Valletta police stations,...

Russian forces launched a missile attack on the Kyiv area for the first time in weeks Thursday and pounded the northern Chernihiv region as well, in what Ukraine said was revenge for standing up to the Kremlin.Ukrainian officials, meanwhile, announce...

29 July 2022 marks the first anniversary since the publication of the report of the board of inquiry appointed disheartenedly by former Prime Minister Joseph Muscat to investigate into the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia.It also marks one who...