Steward Healthcare will leave the Gozo General Hospital by the end of this month, PN MP Chris Said claimed on social media on Thursday evening.In a Facebook post, Said said that the hospital will return to government hands, adding that this is a grea...

Some three per cent of Malta’s population has been inoculated with the Covid-19 vaccine, Health Minister Chris Fearne said, putting the country among the front-runners in Europe’s campaign against the virus.Speaking on TVM’s Xtra on...

A global team of researchers arrived Thursday in the Chinese city where the coronavirus pandemic was first detected to conduct a politically sensitive investigation into its origins amid uncertainty about whether Beijing might try to prevent embarras...

The Vatican has confirmed that Pope Francis and Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI received the first shot of the coronavirus vaccine on Thursday.No photos of the 84-year-old pontiff and the 93-year-old retired pope receiving the shots have been released. Fr...

One of the first laws enacted by the Labour government under Joseph Muscat in 2013 was that to remove the statute of limitations on cases of corruption involving politicians.Through this law, any politicians caught in corrupt practices can no longer ...

A vaccine certificate will be useful but cannot b seen as the only way people will be allowed to travel, the Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association said.The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Health, Chris Fearne has in the last few days been p...

Labour MEP Alfred Sant has asked the European Commission to present a medium-term synopsis of its activity on pandemic insurance and to ensure a proper democratic debate on this crucial issue. He also called on the Commission to keep the European Par...

“I am convinced that Gavin Gulia contesting was not a devious plot to keep anyone out of Parliament,” Malta Council for Science and Technology (MCST) Chairman Jeffery Pullicino Orlando told The Malta Independent. On Tuesday, a casual...

Professor Elliot Berry, a graduate in medicine from the University of Cambridge, will be sharing his expertise on the Mediterranean Diet and its role in creating food security and good health for both humans and the planet. During his long and illust...

A number of Medical Specialist Associations have said that they are “disturbed and dismayed” by the resurgence in the number of Covid-19 cases and called for an increase in restrictive measures.Malta has had significantly high numbers of ...

121 new cases of Covid-19 were reported on Thursday along with the death of another patient suffering from the virus.127 people meanwhile have recovered from the virus – making this the first day in a while when the number of active cases decre...

11 olive trees and a small niche dedicated to Our Lady were stolen from leased land in Aħrax overnight, owner Joseph Scicluna said in a video, as he claimed that it was a certain group of hunters’ doing. During the early hours of Thur...

Robert Abela pressured Gavin Gulia to contest Tuesday’s casual election because he did not want either Charles Azzopardi or Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando to take Edward Scicluna’s seat, Labour Party insiders told The Malta Independent. Gulia ...

The Consumers’ Association has hit out at the news that HSBC Malta has introduced a €5 banking fee for services, saying that this move targets pensioners and low-income earners.The association said that customers of the bank received a not...

Kenneth Grech will be reinstated to the Covid-19 response team after he finishes his duties on the National Health Strategy, meaning that the Medical Association of Malta will be suspending its planned industrial action.MaltaToday quoted MAM Presiden...

Vulnerable Dar Bjorn residents should be considered for priority vaccination along with residents of care homes, Bjorn Formosa said on Thursday.In a Facebook post, Formosa – who suffers from ALS but has become a beacon for raising awareness on ...

The second round of Covid-19 vouchers will be issued when the situation improves and the number of Covid-19 cases decrease sharply, the Minister for Economy, Investment and Small Business Silvio Schembri told the Malta Independent.On Monday it was re...

The Barn Owl conservation project has entered its third phase, with the pairing of the first two birds, who have now been named Tyto and Alba. This was announced by Minister for the Environment, Climate Change and Planning Aaron Farrugia, who explain...

The Health Authorities have moved medical students who work in clinical settings up in the priority list to get vaccinated, Kunsill Studenti Universitarji (KSU) said.This comes after medical students urged the government to consider placing them on t...

The government needs to be more transparent when it comes to the vaccine rollout and inoculation process, the President of the Medical Association of Malta (MAM) Martin Balzan told The Malta Independent. "From MAM's side, we believe there n...

Two men were arrested on Thursday morning after they were caught red-handed trying to steal from a construction site in Qormi.In a statement, the police said that around half-past midnight they received a call with information that some people had go...

“Things are changing, and in many cases, it’s just not viable to bring in small quantities of pharmaceuticals anymore from the UK” Pierre Fava, Chemimart Group CEO told the Malta Business Weekly when contacted with about the impact ...

President Donald Trump was impeached by the U.S. House for a historic second time, charged with “incitement of insurrection” over the deadly mob siege of the U.S. Capitol in a swift and stunning collapse of his final days in office.With t...

There is no doubt that the Covid-19 pandemic has impacted everyone in some way, but concerns have been especially high over the impact the pandemic is having on the mental wellbeing and mental health of the elderly residing in residential care homes....

A 21-year-old man was arrested for arson, in connection with a vehicle fire in Tarxien, the police said in a statement."Days of investigations and observing the movements of the person in question led to the man being arrested in Valletta on Wednesda...

Flimkien għal Ambjent Aħjar (FAA) has welcomed the Planning Authority's decision to refuse the application for a five-storey plus penthouse block of apartments in the Xagħra Urban Conservation Area, which is within the 50m buffer zone ...

The Nationalist Party is urging the Tourism Minister not to-reappoint Gavin Gulia as chairman of the Malta Tourism Authority.Gulia resigned the post of MTA chairman after he was elected as an MP to replace Edward Scicluna in Parliament.But, minutes a...

A man made off with an undisclosed amount of cash in a hold-up on a Sliema store on Wednesday, the police said.The incident took place in Rudolphe Street at 7.30pm.The man, armed with a knife, entered the ship and demanded money from the salesgirl, a...

The current spike in Covid-19 cases has been directly attributed to private social gatherings during the Christmas and New Year period, where many chose to ignore the advice given by the health authorities to avoid mixing with members of different ho...

Gavin Gulia was sworn in as an MP on Wednesday and resigned just minutes later.Gulia had won a casual election to replace former Finance Minister Edward Scicluna in Parliament.In a brief statement, former PL MP Gulia said that Prime Minister Robert A...

Chairman of the Commission for the Rights of Persons with Disability, Oliver Scicluna, is expected to be co-opted to Parliament, the Times of Malta reports.He is expected to take up the seat vacated by Gavin Gulia, who resigned just minutes after bei...

Employees at the Civil Court Registry have been left enraged after they were told not to quarantine after two of their colleagues tested positive for Covid-19, sources have told The Malta Independent.This newsroom was informed that the remaining empl...

189 new cases of Covid-19 were reported on Wednesday as the number of active cases remained at a record high.107 people meanwhile have recovered from the virus, while no new deaths were reported.It means that the number of active cases now stands at ...

Internet services for Melita customers are returning to normal after they slowed down on Wednesday afternoon following a cyber attack by criminals aiming to extort money.Many customers took to social media on Wednesday to report that they were h...

Charles Azzopardi, the former Rabat Mayor who contested the casual election for the parliamentary seat of former Finance Minister Edward Scicluna and lost, has hit out at Gavin Gulia's resignation.Gavin Gulia won the casual election, but resigned jus...

Finance Minister Clyde Caruana said that the Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit (FIAU) received €1,364,928 in administrative fines that were issued between 1 January 2019 and 14 December 2020.The Minister was responding the a Parliamentary Que...

It has become a familiar pattern for Tottenham under Jose Mourinho this season: take the lead, retreat, invite opponents on, and eventually concede.The same thing happened again on Wednesday, and it cost the team a place in the Premier League’s...

Substitute Romelu Lukaku scored a last-gasp winner as Inter Milan beat Fiorentina 2-1 on Wednesday to set up an Italian Cup quarterfinal against crosstown rival AC Milan.Lukaku headed home a minute before the end of extra time in Florence, just as it...

The Malta Financial Services Authority has appointed Robert Ancilleri to occupy the role of 'competent person' for Pilatus Bank."As communicated on 22 March 2018, the Authority appointed a competent person in terms of Article 29(1)(c) and (d) of the ...

A minimum vote quota for political parties to automatically reach parliament is one of Repubblika’s proposed reforms for Parliament.This would see seat allocated to political parties in proportion with the amount of first-count votes they recei...

The Secretary of the Professionals, Finance and Services Section within the General Workers’ Union (GWU) has approached the Bankers Association to inform its members over proposing the possibility of them being vaccinated against Covid-19 earli...

So much confusion surrounded the number of days workers will be entitled to as vacation leave this year, and the years to come.The government tried to score cheap political points on this particular matter, but it ended up having to back-track and at...

It will be a different Carnival this year in Gozo, as the accommodation sector is facing a dry spell and is expected to get worse as the famous events in Nadur have been cancelled by the local council in view of the Covid-19 pandemic.The month of Feb...

The Opposition is contesting Speaker Anġlu Farrugia’s ruling that parliament’s standards committee cannot summon former prime minister Joseph Muscat on the basis that he is no longer a member of parliament.In a motion presented in pa...

Rapid Antigen Test to detect whether one has Covid-19 or not costs significantly higher in Gozo compared to Malta, with the price tag of €65 per test, The Malta Independent is informed. Instead of the normal PCR Covid-19 swab tests, one may opt ...

The Cabinet on Monday rejected a request for pardon submitted by one of the three alleged hitmen in the Daphne Caruana Galizia caseThe request by Vince Muscat, known as il-Kohhu, was discussed by the Cabinet on Monday.In a statement on Wednesday, the...

In 2018, Malta ranked the lowest out of all 27 EU member states with regards to the recycling of plastic packaging waste, recent Eurostat statistics have shown. This was also the case in 2017. Eurostat statistics published on Wednesday show...

Transport Minister Ian Borg has denied that he swore on live television, instead alleging that Nationalist Party media had edited a clip to make it seem like he did.A video shared widely on social media on Tuesday night shows the minister as a guest ...

Former Prime Minister Alfred Sant has again hit out against plans by Infrastructure Malta to build a flyover at Mriehel, using agricultural land.Last month, “my friend Minister Ian Borg” told us to judge on the idea when the plans are mad...

The Valletta Cultural Agency has launched an Expression of Interest for the European Capital of Culture 2031. The European Capital of Culture title may be granted to any city that applies, as long as criteria are satisfied, none of which are rel...

Having peaked at 25.8 degrees celsius, the maximum air temperature for Saturday 9 January went down on the Meteorological Office’s records as the highest temperature reached in the first month of the year since 1923.In a statement, the Malta In...

President Donald Trump is on the verge of being impeached for a second time, the House planning the unprecedented vote one week after he encouraged a mob of loyalists to “fight like hell” against election results and the U.S. Capitol beca...

A Kansas woman was executed Tuesday for strangling an expectant mother in Missouri and cutting the baby from her womb, the first time in nearly seven decades that the U.S. government has put to death a female inmate.Lisa Montgomery, 52, was pronounce...

240 new cases of Covid-19 were reported on Tuesday as the number of active cases of the virus exceeded 2,500.80 people meanwhile have recovered, while one Covid-19 patient has died.  The Health Ministry said an 85-year-old man who tested po...

The traditional Nadur carnival will not take place this year, the locality’s council said on Tuesday.In a statement, the local council said that it will not be holding any events and that it will not issue any permits for any activities.They sa...

Prime Minister Robert Abela is endangering public health through his hard-headedness, Opposition Leader Bernard Grech said. He was referring to the redeployment of Covid-19 team member Kenneth Grech, reportedly after he advised against the reopening ...

The Medical Association of Malta on Tuesday registered an industrial dispute with the government saying the transfer of a public health consultant for expressing his professional judgement “is unacceptable”.The decision was taken by the u...

Former PL MP Gavin Gulia will make his return to Parliament after winning the casual election to replace former Finance Minister Edward Scicluna.Three candidates who contested the seat were former Rabat mayor Charles Azzopardi, MTA chairman and forme...

The PN agrees with the proposed law to introduce more equality in the House, but amendments need to be made in order to improve it and give it greater equality, Opposition Leader Bernard Grech said in Parliament.The Opposition leader echoed PN MP Her...

Pope Francis has accepted a request by the Franciscan Order to have Fr Donald Bellizzi defrocked.Bellizzi is currently serving a three-year prison sentence after having been found guilty of sexually abusing a young man. The case took place between 20...

Deputy Prime Minister and Health Minister Chris Fearne said that the proposed Bill for parliamentary equality by itself is not enough but is a big step forward towards more equality between genders.“Today, we are making a big change in the hist...

It’s been a long, expensive and often turbulent journey, but Manchester United is back in a place it used to know so well.Top of the Premier League.A 1-0 win at Burnley on Tuesday, secured by a deflected volley from Paul Pogba, lifted United ab...

AC Milan beat Torino on penalties on Tuesday to reach the quarterfinals of the Italian Cup, where it could face Serie A title rival Inter Milan.After the match finished 0-0, Milan scored all its penalties and won the shootout 5-4, with Hakan Ç...

Some 500 people have objected to plans for a drive-in cinema on ODZ land in Marsascala, NGO Moviment Graffitti said in a statement. Last October, plans for a drive-in cinema on agricultural land in Marsascala were submitted to the Planning Autho...

The start of the Formula One season was delayed by one week on Tuesday after the Australian Grand Prix was postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic.With the race in Melbourne moved from March to November, the season will now start in Bahrain on Mar...

The restoration of ‘normality’ largely depends on the spread of the virus, the UHM – Voice of the Workers told The Malta Independent.The union was responding to a question posed by this newsroom about the temporary agreements made b...

PN MP Hermann Schiavone said that the gender equality mechanism for parliament should also include those who are from third parties and get elected into Parliament.  “It is not right that we are introducing laws that only include the two m...

In 2019 and 2020, over 600 planning applications that proposed partial or full developments in Outside Development Zones (ODZ) areas were approved by the Planning Authority (PA), despite the case officer recommending for their refusal.This informatio...

The Public Service Commission will soon be given wider powers, included for cases where public sector officials refuse to take a drug test, Home Affairs Minister Byron Camilleri said.Camilleri was replying to a series of Parliamentary Questions by PN...

The year 2021 will see Malta Freeport Terminals increase the potential for more work and the creation of more job opportunities, Economy Minister Silvio Schembri said on Tuesday.Speaking during a visit to the Freeport, Schembri said this is thanks to...

The European Medicines Agency said AstraZeneca and Oxford University have submitted an application for their Covid-19 vaccine to be licensed across the European Union. In a statement Tuesday, the EU regulator said it has received a request for t...

The Malta Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise, and Industry commended the government on its decision to postpone the second round of stimulus vouchers in the interest of public health. Yesterday, Economy Minister Silvio Schembri hinted that the issu...

There are many questions surrounding the next general election. While 2022 will mark five years since the 2017 election, it is not unheard of that a government would call one early.Prime Minister Robert Abela, on Sunday, said that before the 2017 ele...

Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Capital Projects Ian Borg visited the Għeriexem project, which has reached its final stages, where storm water culverts are being built in order to address the problem of water flooding in this area.In ...

An application that will see the construction of 71 apartments in Nadur would create a precedent to destroy existing fields, will be an eyesore and will result in other problems, Nadur residents who contacted The Malta Independent said.A recently fil...

Well-known Gozitan tourism entrepreneur Lino Cefai has passed away, aged 62.Cefai was the founder of the popular Ta’ Frenc restaurant and director of Gozo Village Holidays. He is considered to be one of the first people who started renovating o...

133 new cases of Covid-19 were reported by health authorities on Monday.95 people meanwhile recovered from the virus, and – in what is a rare occasion – no new deaths related to the virus were registered.This means that Malta now has 2,36...

The gender corrective mechanism can only work if more women take the initiative to run for elections, Prime Minister Robert Abela said in Parliament, which has started debating the bill proposing gender balance.The bill aims to increase the number of...

Parliament’s ethics committee has no remit to continue investigating Joseph Muscat over a consultancy role he had given to Konrad Mizzi because he is no longer an MP, Speaker Anglu Farrugia ruled on Monday.Standards czar George Hyzler had found...

Health consultant Kenneth Grech has been removed from the Covid-19 public health response team, prompting anger from doctors and members of public health, The Malta Independent can confirm.The Health Ministry have denied that Grech was dismissed outr...

A plane flying to Catania on Monday turned back to Malta after a passenger refused to wear a face-mask, resulting in her arrest.A court heard this afternoon how Freya Angeolova Moutafova, a 24-year-old Italian national resident in Bulgaria, boarded t...

After a long period of silence, former Parliamentary Secretary for Elderly Silvio Parnis addressed the criticism he received from the Opposition on his handling of elderly homes during the pandemic, saying he has always had people’s support and...

Prime Minister Robert Abela does not care about what experts say and prefers to simply take decisions by himself, PN leader Bernard Grech said on Monday.In a short video statement, Grech said that the removal of the head of the Covid-19 response team...

The second round of Covid-19 vouchers will be issued after consultation with the stakeholders, the Economy Ministry said on Monday.It was reported last week that the vouchers would be issued by mid-January, but the ministry's statement signalled that...

Air Malta has launched its second ‘lifeline schedule’, following the worsening of the Covid-19 pandemic all over Europe.The schedule, intended to ensure essential passenger and cargo connectivity to and from the Maltese Islands to key air...

Bitcoin traders have been warned against investing in the virtual currency after a huge drop in value over the weekend. The value of Bitcoin had reached a record high over the weekend, but prices dropped by around 12% on Monday. The UK’s Financ...

While many protocols and guidelines to physically protect the elderly from the Covid-19 pandemic are in place, further measures need to be developed to better care for the mental health and wellbeing of those staying in residential care homes, the Of...

In a Facebook post on Monday morning, in the week marking a year from his swearing in as Prime Minister, Prime Minister Robert Abela said that he was honest throughout the year, like his own government was.   Prime Minister Robert Abela was...

Infrastructure Malta issued almost €27 million worth of direct orders over the past two years.The information was tabled by Transport and Infrastructure Minister Ian Borg in reply to a Parliamentary Question by PN MP David Thake.The latter asked...

Hands up, who has a few items at home never used, never worn and are lurking at the back of a cupboard? Whilst most of us are guilty of an impulsive purchase, a change in taste or stashing away an unwanted gift, have you ever wondered what you could ...

Last night Air Malta flight KM423 from Brussels to Malta transported the first shipment of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine to the Islands. More consignments are expected in the coming weeks, Air Malta said in a statement.This vaccine is the second vacci...

A man was stabbed and another was arrested after a fight in Gzira, the police said.The incident took place at The Strand at around 11.30pm.The two men involved are an 18-year-old from Senglea and a 26-year-old man from Msida.The teenager was stabbed ...

Parliament is set to resume this week after the festive season break. Two of the first items to be discussed this week will be a report regarding certain changes to some electoral districts presented by the electoral commission, as well as the bill p...

A man who attempted to leave a residence via a roof fell onto the road and was seriously injured, the police said.The accident took place in Buttar Street, Santa Venera, at 11.30pm on Sunday.The man, a Filipino aged 37, and resident in Qrendi, found ...

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says the House will proceed with legislation to impeach President Donald Trump as she pushes the vice president and the Cabinet to invoke constitutional authority force him out, warning that Trump is a threat to democracy a...

The Covid-19 pandemic was one of those events nobody could have seen coming. As such, the impact on world economies was massive.In Malta, the impact on the tourism industry had a ripple effect on many other sectors. Coupled with restrictions, busines...

In 2019, Malta was at the bottom of the table in terms of the share of electricity coming from renewable energy, mustering only a measly 8% when compared to the average 34% of the EU, a Eurostat statistic shows. Compared to the previous year, this is...

Labour MEP Alfred Sant has asked the European Commission to provide concrete steps including a timeline regarding the setting up of a fund specialising in Initial Public Offerings for small and medium sized enterprises, a process of offering shares o...

A former high-ranking minister in the government of Saudi Arabia who is currently exiled in Canada and who claimed to be the victim of a state-sponsored assassination attempt is one of the names which has appeared on the most-recent list of people gr...

184 new cases of Covid-19 were registered on Sunday, the health authorities said in their daily update. This brings the number of active cases up to 2,322.On Sunday, 82 people recovered from the virus. In total, since the start of the pandemic, there...