Since the first week of the New Year, Benna, (Malta Dairy Products Ltd.) has increased its prices on several of their dairy products. Confirmed by local grocery stores and supermarkets, Benna has provided them with a new list of prices at which their...

The Care Home Operators Executive Committee within The Malta Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise and Industry, is concerned about the shortage of nurses within care homes and across the health sector.The Malta Chamber urged the Government to meet the pri...

Sliema murder suspect Abner Aquilina is expected to be arraigned in court at around 6pm today, The Malta Independent is informed.He was released from Mount Carmel Hospital yesterday and his police interrogation resumed.The 20-year-old is suspected of...

The country will bid a final farewell to Dr. Victor Calvagna, in a Celebration of Life service being held this afternoonCalvagna passed away on Tuesday, a week after he was hit by a car in Qawra. He was 63 years old. The popular oncologist, who was o...

It is good that politicians, in particular ministers, speak up when they see something wrong in matters not directly related to their responsibilities.When they do, they would be going beyond what is required of them in their official capacity. As we...

Ten years have passed since the Costa Concordia cruise ship slammed into a reef and capsized off the Tuscan island of Giglio. But for the passengers on board and the residents who welcomed them ashore, the memories of that harrowing, freezing night r...

Over the period of a few days, Opposition Leader Bernard Grech turned his own version over the advice given by the health authorities regarding Covid-19 upside down, the Labour Party said."On 8 January he said that he was in favour of the new regulat...

A number of unions have demanded clarity over rumours that the government plans to make vaccination mandatory for employees in certain sectors. In a letter to the Prime Minister, F.O.R.U.M president Paul Pace called for an urgent meeting of the Malta...

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Cyprus is changing its compulsory quarantine rules for school children in an effort to keep pupils in school amid surging coronavirus infections, the country's health minister said Wednesday.Under the new system, schoolki...

The Nationalist Party has called on the government to scrap the measures set to be introduced on 17 January, “which effectively make the vaccine booster mandatory.”Given that two-thirds of the country have already taken the booster while ...

Four people have died while positive for Covid-19, the health authorities said in their daily update.Three of the four victims were men - aged 77, 87 and 88. The fourth victim was an 86-year-old woman. In total, 496 people have died since the start o...

Sliema murder suspect Abner Aquilina has been released from Mount Carmel Hospital and his police interrogation will resume, The Malta Independent can reveal. Sources said Aquilina will immediately return to a state of arrest and will have to be arrai...

A Homicide Squad inspector has confirmed that several senior Electrogas officers are not being investigated in relation to the murder of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, as he defended the 2019 decision to release former Electrogas Director Yorgen ...

Parliamentary Speaker Anglu Farrugia on Wednesday dismissed a breach of privilege complaint filed by ex-PN MP David Thake’s against tourism minister Clayton Bartolo, which was related to the former’s tax arrears.Recent revelations have sh...

23 clients of deceased notary Ivan Barbara have filed judicial proceedings against the notary’s widow, demanding she refund a total of approximately €165,000 held in escrow by the notary as deposits and taxes relating to various property c...

Australia’s prime minister said Thursday his government’s tough policy toward visitors who were not vaccinated for COVID-19 had not changed, as it nears a decision on whether to deport Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic.The men’s te...

The Malta Chamber of Commerce has called for the disqualification of businesses that do not pay taxes from public procurement processes."The Malta Chamber is unequivocable in its position that operators who are not tax compliant are putting compliant...

People who recently tested positive for Covid-19 and who cannot take the booster for now will be exempted from rules that will come into force on Monday, Deputy Prime Minister Chris Fearne told Parliament on Monday.He was replying to a parliamentary ...

Substitute Alexis Sánchez scored with the last kick of the match to help Inter Milan win the Italian Super Cup with a 2-1 victory over bitter rival Juventus after extra time on Wednesday.Sánchez’s goal, helped by an error from the...

Even before celebrating his first anniversary as manager later this month, Thomas Tuchel has achieved a first with Chelsea.Defeating Tottenham in the League Cup semifinals means Tuchel has reached every major final unlike any predecessor at the west ...

Roselyn Borg Knight has stepped down as the PN’s International Secretary. Developments in her professional career are cited as being the reason behind her decision.On Facebook she said: “I have taken the decision to step down from my post...

The Nationalist Party has called for clarity on the national airline after reports that talks between the government and the European Commission on state aid for Air Malta have concluded. MaltaToday said on Wednesday that Finance Minister Clyde Carua...

The Covid-19 wage supplement, which has served as a road to recovery for businesses in various sectors following the blow of the pandemic, is being revised to determine which sectors can benefit from it beyond the month of January. Prime Minister Rob...

A surge of absenteeism caused by covid related absenteeism has negatively affected companies, a survey done amongst Malta Employers’ Association members said. A total of 325 employers responded to the survey where it was reported that 32% ...

Covid-19 measures that come into force on Monday will add further pressure on an industry which has already been hit hard by the pandemic, the Association of Catering Establishments (ACE) said on Wednesday.The government had announced in December tha...

A total of two-thirds (67%) of adults who are residents in Malta have received the booster dose against Covid-19, Minister for Health Chris Fearne said in a tweet on Wednesday. Fearne greeted the news with satisfaction, particularly following th...

A two-year government under Prime Minister Robert Abela has shown that he is incapable of taking tough decisions to improve Malta's status and reputation, PN candidate Ivan J Bartolo said.."It is not that Abela does not know the difference between ri...

Prime Minister Boris Johnson apologized Wednesday for attending a garden party during Britain’s coronavirus lockdown in 2020, but brushed aside opposition demands that he resign for breaching the rules his own government had imposed. Johns...

Matthew Caruana Galizia testified in court in the compilation of evidence against brothers Adrian and Robert Agius (known as Tal-Maksar), Jamie Vella and George Degiorgio.He had to revisit the day his mother was assassinated and give testimony again,...

The Faculty for Social Wellbeing has published a document to serve as a guide for political parties as they prepare their electoral manifesto proposals.The document, titled 'A Social Pact', was drafted after what is described in the document as proba...

A court will decide whether or not to amend the freezing order imposed over all of the assets belonging to Nexia BT Financial controller Katrin Bondin Carter, who is undergoing criminal proceedings after allegedly laundering money for disgraced forme...

Scientists are seeing signals that COVID-19′s alarming omicron wave may have peaked in Britain and is about to do the same in the U.S., at which point cases may start dropping off dramatically.The reason: The variant has proved so wil...

The prosecution in the case brought against two prison warders who stand charged with criminal responsibility over an inmate’s suicide has wrapped up its evidence stage.The compilation of evidence against Annabelle Cauchi, 51, from Żebbu&#...

The balconies have still not been reinstated on the protected building in Balluta which houses the Piccolo Padre and Barracuda restaurants.Works on the building started over the New Year's weekend, despite the application for the project being curren...

The number of new coronavirus infections in the last week jumped by about 55%, although the number of deaths remained stable, the World Health Organization said in its latest pandemic report.In the weekly report issued Tuesday night, the U.N. health ...

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Spain’s medical community has scored a victory after a court ordered that a regional government must compensate doctors with up to 49,000 euros ($56,000) for having to work without personal protection suits during ...

SummaryOn the 13 October, 2021, the Court of Appeal (Inferior Jurisdiction) (the “Court”), presided by the Honourable Mr Justice Lawrence Mintoff, in the case of Jean Luke Azzopardi (the “Complainant”) versus BNF Bank p.l.c. (...

Malta has lost two giants of a man in a matter of days.Between Christmas and New Year, we learnt of the sudden demise of cardiologist Albert Fenech and the traffic accident which would, one week later, lead to the death of oncologist Victor Calvagna....

Lawyers for Melvin Theuma have asked a court to make the State a party to a case for damages filed by the family of murdered journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia against those responsible for her murder. Madam Justice Anna Felice will be issuing a ...

The court has shot down a constitutional challenge that was filed by independent candidate Arnold Cassola over the gender corrective mechanism that was approved by Parliament in April.The 'corrective mechanism' will allow - in case only two parties a...

Three elderly people have died while they were positive for Covid-19, health authorities said in their latest update on Tuesday.Authorities said that two men aged 77 and 81 and an 81-year-old woman had died in the last 24 hours while they were positi...

The government has appointed a committee of experts on the media sector, which includes a number of members of the press, in fulfillment of one of the recommendations of the public inquiry into the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia. The board was...

The duties of the President of the European Parliament will be designated to Roberta Metsola as First Vice-President of the European Parliament, this newsroom can confirm.She will assume the duties after EU Parliament President David Sassoli died at ...

The Ombudsman ignored proposals for new procedures for constitutional overseeing institutions, the public service said in a right of reply sent to this newsroom on Tuesday. The right of reply was in response to an article published on Monday tit...

Novak Djokovic knew he had tested positive for COVID-19 when he attended a newspaper interview and photo shoot at his tennis center in Serbia last month, saying Wednesday he made an “error of judgement" and should have immediately gone into iso...

In 2021, 3,347 drug tests were carries out in the Corradino Correctional Facility, and 15 people were found to be positive, Home Affairs Minister Byron Camilleri has said.He was responding to a Parliamentary Question posed by PN MP Beppe Fenech Adami...

Environment Minister Aaron Farrugia said that a Bill presented in Parliament regarding the Environment Proterction Act promotes good governance and complete transparency.Minister Farrugia presented the second reading of a bill aimed at reforming the ...

The government has allocated €3.5 million to the Carer at Home scheme.Active Ageing Minister Michael Farrugia said that through the funds, elderly persons will be granted financial aid to employ qualified carers of their choice to help them in t...

The Turkish government has appealed to the Maltese authorities not to allow the development of a multi-storey garage complex right next to the Turkish Cemetery in Marsa.Speaking to The Malta Independent, Turkish ambassador Kerem Ahmet Kiratli&nb...

During a meeting of the Employment Relations Board held with the participation of the Superintendence of Public Health, the Data Protection Commissioner and the CEO of the Health and Safety Authority, Chamber of SMEs CEO Abigail Agius Mamo presented ...

In order to upgrade and modernize Malta's national Research and Innovation (R&I) framework, the Maltese government is adopting a new Smart Specialization Strategy.The strategy will also facilitate access to EU funding for R&I in selected econ...

Making femicide a criminal offence is “pointless” because the crime of voluntary homicide already carries the highest possible punishment – life imprisonment – Justice Minister Edward Zammit Lewis said on Tuesday. He was asked...

The possible promotion to a top Vatican position for Archbishop Charles Scicluna could lead to his being replaced as the head of the Maltese Church, sources told The Malta Independent.On Monday, Pope Francis announced changes to the set-up of the Con...

Opposition Leader Bernard Grech has written to the Prime Minister requesting an urgent Parliamentary debate on a letter sent by the Ombudsman to the Speaker. In the letter, Ombudsman Anthony Mifsud accused the head of the civil service, Mario Cu...

 A man was seriously hurt when he fell off a ladder on Tuesday, the police said.The accident took place in a farmhouse in Hal Farrug Road, Siggiewi at 8.30am, with the police saying it was notified at noon.The man, aged 65 of Santa Venera, was t...

The government will go over the 12 bills presented by the Nationalist Party, based on the legal recommendations made in the Daphne Caruana Galizia inquiry, Minister for Justice and Governance Edward Zammit Lewis said today. The government will consid...

Justice Minister Edward Zammit Lewis said that it was the Attorney General's discretion as to whether or not to grant Darren Debono, known as il-Topo, a pardon, and that he does not interfere in such decisions.Darren Debono, known as it-Topo, se...

A new 3,251 square metre Lidl supermarket is being proposed in Qormi, on the site of the former General Soft Drinks Complex.The site is on Mdina road and Triq il-Vitorja.The application, filed by Mizzi Organisation LTD & Lidl Immobiliare Malta Lt...

Minister for the Economy and Industry Silvio Schembri launched a new digital strategy which focuses on funds for research on Artificial Intelligence, in collaboration with the Malta Digital Innovation Authority (MDIA).€125,000 will be allocated ...

David Sassoli, an Italian journalist who worked his way up in politics while defending the downtrodden and repressed to become president of the European Union’s parliament, died at a hospital in Italy early Tuesday. He was 65.European Council P...

As we enter the fifth year since Daphne Caruana Galizia's assassination, Malta must not waste any more time in implementing reforms that will prevent future deaths and ensure that the country is set on the right path, a statement by the Daphne Caruan...

The outline application for the construction of a waste to energy plant at the Magħtab landfill has been recommended for approval, and is set to go before the Planning Authority’s board on Thursday.The flagship waste management project aim...

Lawyers for former Education Minister Justyne Caruana yesterday filed an application in her constitutional proceedings against the State Advocate and a judicial protest against the Speaker of the House, asking that the Speaker be admitted as a party ...

The Erasmus Student Network (ESN) Malta has announced that the University of Malta has made special arrangements together with the Malta Public Health Authorities for international students registered at the University of Malta to receive the booster...

 Italy targeted the unvaccinated with a host of new coronavirus restrictions Monday, with proof of vaccination or recovery from a recent infection required to enter public transport, cafes, hotels, gyms and other popular venues.The new “su...

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — The head of the Serbian Orthodox Church Patriarch Porfirije has tested positive for COVID-19, the church said on Tuesday, amid a surge in infections in the country and elsewhere in the Balkan region.Porfirije has develop...

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson faced more allegations that he and his staff flouted coronavirus lockdown rules, this time by holding a garden party in 2020 while Britons were barred by law from mingling outside the home.Opposition politicians c...

The 2022 election will see two new party leaders face each other. Neither has contested a general election as leader of their party.The past two years have seen a lot of changes made. Joseph Muscat was made to resign, Konrad Mizzi is no longer a Labo...

A biker was grievously injured in a crash in San Gwann on Monday evening.The accident happened in Naxxar Road, at 8pm.The biker, a 30-year-old man from San Giljan, was involved in a crash with a Kia Sportage driven by a 35-year-old Libyan who resides...

The prime ministers of Australia and Serbia on Tuesday discussed Novak Djokovic's precarious visa after the top-ranked Serbian tennis star won a court battle to compete in the Australian Open but still faces the threat of deportation because he is no...

PN MP David Thake blamed cash flow problems the outstanding VAT dues of one of his companies, saying that he preferred to pay his employees than pay the government on time.Fielding questions from journalists about VAT issues which two of his companie...

Ombudsman Anthony Mifsud has fired back at civil service chief Mario Cutajar, accusing the latter of unleashing a “direct frontal attack” on his office in a recent report.The Ombudsman was referring to a report titled ‘Governance Ac...

437 cases of Covid-19 were reported by health authorities on Monday, as Malta reported another death related to the virus.Health authorities said that an 84-year-old woman had died while she was positive for Covid-19.489 people have now died in Malta...

A tract of ODZ land in Mellieha which was offered up as a tender for beekeeping “will not be touched”, PN MP Robert Cutajar told his followers following a meeting with Prime Minister Robert Abela.Cutajar, who was elected from Mellieha&rsq...

Two departments at Mater Dei Hospital will be named after Albert Fenech and Victor Calvagna, two giants of the medical profession who recently passed away.The news was announced by Health Minister Chris Fearne in Parliament on Monday.The Cardiology D...

Andy Ellul has been officially co-opted to Parliament after he was chosen for the post by the Labour Party.Ellul was sworn in on Monday when Parliament reconvened after the Christmas holidays.He replaces Silvio Grixti, who resigned after it emerged h...

Malta currently has the highest rate of Covid-19 boosters administered in Europe, and subsequently the lowest number of Covid-19 patients in hospital in the continent as well, Health Minister Chris Fearne said on Monday.Quoting a dataset from the web...

The Nationalist Party has supported a call by a business lobby group to further reduce quarantine periods for Covid-19 cases to five days, as has been done in the United States.In a statement, the PN said that it supported the call of the Chamber of ...

Mariella Dimech has been appointed as the first Executive Chairperson of the Authority on the Responsible Use of Cannabis which has been established by means of Act LXVI of 2021, which came into force on the 18th of December 2021, the government...

European Parliament president David Sassoli has been hospitalized in Italy due to abnormal functioning of his immune system, his spokesman said Monday.Roberto Cuillo said in a statement that Sassoli has in the hospital since Dec. 26 and all his activ...

There were 41 pregnancies from the IVF cycles in 2021, a government statement read, adding that it was a positive year for the Embryo Protection Authority and that this was a higher number than in 2020.In 2021, the authority was relocated to a new bu...

Three local councils together with several organisations and residents have filed two court actions against the approval of the massive db Group project on the ex-ITS site, a statement by the group of dissenters read.One court action appeals the appr...

New vaccine certificate rules have imposed an unnecessary hurdle for Maltese residents to travel, Malta International Airport has warned.MIA urged the health authorities to halt the introduction of further unnecessary and haphazard travel restriction...

A Planning Application proposing the redevelopment of the Pulvic Explosives Factory in Dingli to tourism bungalows has been withdrawn by the applicant, the Planning authority's website shows.The application had proposed the demolition of the existing...

Darren Debono, known as it-Topo, is set to testify about the 2010 attempted armed robbery of the HSBC headquarters later this month as the compilation of evidence against Vincent Muscat continues.Debono was last week sentenced to 10 and a half years ...

It took one of Malta’s new MPs who wasn’t a career politician to speak out about something which we know happens on an all-too-common basis in Maltese politics.Oliver Scicluna, who was co-opted to Parliament last year by the Labour Party,...

Minister for the National Heritage, the Arts and Local Government José Herrera announced an investment of €750,000 to implement a Digital Strategy for the local governments.This comes after it was said that there are shortcomings in the t...

Pope Francis suggested Monday that getting vaccinated against the coronavirus was a “moral obligation" and denounced how people had been swayed by “baseless information” to refuse one of the most effective measures to save lives.Fra...

MADRID (AP) — Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez says that amid falling lethality rates for COVID-19, Spain wants European officials to consider whether to move away from the detailed tracking that the pandemic has required until now t...

PN MP David Thake has resigned from the Nationalist Party’s shadow cabinet and suspended himself from the party’s parliamentary group pending the outcome of a standards investigation into him.The news comes after Thake was the subject of ...

Politicians should work for all the Maltese and Gozitans, not just for the people in their district, PL MP Oliver Scicluna told The Malta Independent on Sunday.“We should lead by example because certain people will not stop asking favours for v...

The Malta Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise and Industry said that it is pleased to note that the Opposition has taken the initiative and put forward concrete legislative proposals to address the shortcomings identified by the public inquiry into the m...

Suspected Daphne Caruana Galizia murder mastermind Yorgen Fenech is in quarantine, a court was told on Monday.The 17 Black owner was due to appear in court for a an appeal filed by the Office of the State Advocate against a contempt of court ruling g...

Tennis star Novak Djokovic won a court battle Monday to stay in Australia to contest the Australian Open despite not being vaccinated against COVID-19, but the drama might not be finished, with the government threatening to cancel his visa a second t...

Hospitals worked Monday to save the lives of multiple people gravely injured by smoke in a fire that killed 19 people, including nine children, in a Bronx apartment building.Dozens of people were hospitalized, and as many as 13 were in critical condi...

The number of Covid-19 cases reported by health authorities has continued what appears to be a downward trend, with 563 new cases of the virus reported on Sunday.However, a 63-year-old man became the 488th person to pass away while positive for the v...

In 2019, government started a debate on the decriminalisation and regularisation of prostitution in Malta. The main aim of the reform would be to “protect vulnerable people from being exploited as sex workers and at the same time further enhanc...

Last Sunday Malta woke up to the grim news that a young Polish girl had been found murdered in Sliema.The circumstances of the crime immediately gripped the attention of many, and the social media was taken by storm as everyone wanted to have a say o...

Bob Saget, the actor-comedian known for his role as beloved single dad Danny Tanner on the sitcom “Full House” and as the wisecracking host of “America’s Funniest Home Videos,” died while on a stand-up tour. He was 65.De...

Justyne Caruana is only the latest in a list of Labour politicians who were found to have breached ethical standards in their behaviour in public life.Caruana resigned in the week leading up to Christmas after the Standards Commissioner established t...