The economic effects of the war in Ukraine seems to have cost Malta €200 million in projected price increases this week, Finance Minister Clyde Caruana has said.Finance Minister Clyde Caruana and President of the PN Administrative Council and el...

Concerned that EU citizenship is for sale, the EU Parliament has proposed new common rules to address the many problems linked to ‘citizenship/residence by investment’ schemes.On Wednesday, MEPs adopted a legislative initiative report cal...

An airstrike on a hospital in the port city of Mariupol killed three people, including a child, the city council said Thursday, as Russian forces intensified their siege of Ukrainian cities, as the top Russian and Ukrainian diplomats met for the...

LONDON — Britain’s armed forces minister says Russia’s strike on a hospital in Mariupol is a war crime, and warned President Vladimir Putin that using chemical weapons in Ukraine could draw “an international response.”Ja...

A PL government does not truly care about educators, persons who want to make use of IVF services nor about the sport sector but is only addressing these issues because the election is round the corner, Opposition Leader Bernard Grech said at a polit...

Addressing constituents in Siggiewi, Deputy Prime Minister and Health Minister Chris Fearne focused on proposals which effect the pandemic and the health sector by announcing two new proposals from the PL manifesto aimed at aiding long-haul Covid-19 ...

The government will be doing everything possible to safeguard the Maltese economy from any shocks caused by the Ukraine-Russia crisis, Finance Minister Clyde Caruana said Wednesday.The government had already allocated millions to absorb the increase ...

Finance Minister Clyde Caruana announced that as from Monday 14 March, two sets of government cheques will start to be distributed to all those eligible. These two rounds will be including a total of more than 580,000 cheques. The two sets ...

The Institute of Maltese Journalists (IGM) has expressed its concern on the hostility directed towards a Times of Malta journalist while carrying out a vox pop among party supporters after Sunday’s rally.In a video that was posted online, a man...

Infrastructure Malta has called allegations that it is planning to build across farmland in Burmarrad as an "outright lie", saying that it has never had any plans for a new bypass in the locality.The agency was reacting to claims by independent candi...

 Real Madrid fans started the evening by applauding Kylian Mbappé and ended it by cheering Karim Benzema and celebrating another epic Champions League night the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium.Benzema responded to another goal by Mbapp&e...

With Manchester City's progress to the Champions League quarterfinals never in doubt, even backup goalkeeper Scott Carson could be brought off the bench for his first appearance in the competition in 17 years.The 36-year-old third-choice goalkeeper r...

The number of active cases of Covid-19 has spiked over the 1,000 mark again, as two more patients have passed away while positive for the virus.Health authorities said that two men aged 90 years old and 80 years old respectively had died while Covid-...

Scientists say they have found the sunken wreck of polar explorer Ernest Shackleton’s ship Endurance, more than a century after it was lost to the Antarctic ice.The Falklands Maritime Heritage Trust says the vessel lies 3,000 meters (10,000 fee...

Prime Minister Robert Abela has clarified that there is no LPG supply problem in Malta.Speaking to the press on Wednesday, he said that while there is an importer that has supply difficulties, Malta has a liberalised market for LPG and bulk LPG. &ldq...

The international humanitarian organization, MOAS,  has launched a fundraising campaign for a new program that aims to provide emergency mobile medical care to civilians affected by the war.MOAS will deploy Mobile Medical Units, and ambulan...

Ukrainian forces were bolstering defenses in key cities Wednesday as Russia's advance faltered amid fierce resistance in some areas, the general staff of Ukraine's armed forces said, while the strategic port city of Mariupol remained encircled as a h...

The Environment and Resources Authority (ERA) has committed €500,000 to six environmental projects supported through the Better Environment in our Local Urban Spaces (BELLUS) programme.This was announced by Minister for the Environment, Climate ...

A PN government will address issues related to the import-export sector to specifically address the high cost of living burdens on families and businesses, PN chief spokesperson Peter Agius said on Wednesday. The PN is proposing a national fund of &e...

A message of support to Ukraine, as it continues to face Russia’s unprovoked invasion, was drawn out in stone at Golden Bay in Mellieha.The message was stumbled upon by environmental activist Camilla Appelgren, who shared a picture of the beach...

McDonald's, Starbucks, Coca-Cola, PepsiCo and General Electric __ ubiquitous global brands and symbols of U.S. corporate might __ all announced Tuesday they were temporarily suspending their business in Russia in response to the country's invasion of...

Opposition Leader Bernard Grech defended the PN's proposal to fix the price of bread, saying the party wants to safeguard the wellbeing of all during this time of crisis.Grech first made the announcement on Tuesday evening. Local producers have warne...

MOSCOW - Russian President Vladimir Putin has blamed Ukrainian “nationalists” for hampering the evacuation of civilians from besieged Ukrainian cities.The Kremlin said that Putin discussed the situation in Ukraine in Wednesday’s pho...

On Tuesday 8 March 2022, the Parliament Magazine announced that MEP Alex Agius Saliba has been, nominated for the MEP Awards 2022. Agius Saliba is the only Maltese MEP nominated for this year’s edition of the MEP Awards organised by the Parliam...

A man was arrested by police in Floriana soon after being seen stealing from a car and then subsequently attacking its owner.Police said that on Tuesday at around 3:30pm they were informed that their assistance was required in Triq Emvin Cremona in F...

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dymtro Kuleba has expressed his appreciation for Malta’s commitment to uphold the sovereign rights and territorial integrity of Ukraine in international fora and  for the provision of medicine and humanitarian ai...

Torrent pharma announced a €22 million investment on Wednesday.The €22 million investment in a new production plant in Ħal Far will also include a large pharmaceutical testing lab set to generate around 120 new jobs.Torrent Pharma...

Our readers will probably wonder why once again we’re using our daily space for an editorial to write about Konrad Mizzi.Well, we’re just glad that he is retiring from politics, something he should have done a long time ago, at least sinc...

Prime Minister Robert Abela on Tuesday refused to say whether Malta would seize superyachts belonging to Russian oligarchs if they had to enter Maltese ports.Abela was asked by The Malta Independent whether it would follow the examples of countries s...

The country needs to start a discussion on the subject of euthanasia, said Prime Minister Robert Abela on Tuesday. Abela said as much on Tuesday after being asked by journalists whether such an issue would be mentioned in the PL’s general ...

A group of protestors gathered outside the Russian Embassy on Tuesday, calling for an end to the Russian invasion of Ukraine."On behalf of all peace-loving people of Malta, we call once again on the Russian authorities and the Russian military to sto...

Even though Russia has lost influence and friends since the collapse of the Soviet empire in 1989, the nuclear superpower still holds sway over several of its neighbors in Europe and keeps others in an uneasy neutrality.The Russian invasion of neighb...

The Labour Party has pledged to increase the eligibility bracket for energy benefits, Prime Minister Robert Abela said on Tuesday.The Energy Benefit is aimed to mitigate the effect of the increase in expenditure on water and electricity bills of low ...

A PL government first creates problems, solves them after being pressured, and then expects to be given praise and credit for doing so, Opposition leader Bernard Grech said at a political rally in Żebbuġ on Tuesday."First, Prime Minister Ro...

As golden passport programmes are under heavy fire, Henley & Partners said that Malta secured 1st place in the Global Citizenship Program Index for the seventh consecutive year.“The top three places in the Global Citizenship Program Index a...

Liverpool could cope with its first Anfield loss in a year to still overcome Inter Milan and reach the quarterfinals of the Champions League.Leading 2-0 from the last-16 first leg in Italy, Lautaro Martinez’s swerving shot that reduced the defi...

Striking harder at Russia’s economy, President Joe Biden on Tuesday ordered a ban on Russian oil imports in retaliation for Vladimir Putin’s onslaught in Ukraine. The major trade action, responding to the pleas of Ukraine&r...

A Bulgarian rider who was injured in a traffic accident on Sunday has died in hospital on Tuesday, the police said.The biker, Yani Kuzmanov from Bulgaria aged 38, was riding a Honda 600 Hornet which was involved in a collision with a Mitsubishi L200 ...

The Qattara project, which saw €10 million invested, has been completed, leading to better quality of water and less dependency on groundwater, the government said.During a press conference at the Qrendi reservoirs, Minister for Energy...

PN chief spokesperson Peter Agius has written to the European Commission asking it to investigate breaches of EU law by some Member States that are affecting the supply of basic foodstuffs to Malta. In a letter to the Commissioners for the Internal M...

159 new cases of Covid-19 were reported by health authorities on Tuesday, a significant spike in the number of cases which have been found when compared with previous weeks.An 82-year-old man has also died while Covid-19 positive, taking Malta’...

The PL has clearly shown that all it is doing is 'spinning' the PN's proposals in a negative light, PN candidate Ivan J Bartolo has said.Bartolo, while addressing a PN press conference today, said that the PL's politics landed the country on the FATF...

A Nationalist Party government will force a new tax upon businesses in order to finance private pensions, Economy Minister and PL candidate Silvio Schembri said on Tuesday.Speaking during a PL press conference which largely centred on the economy, Sc...

WASHINGTON — President Biden announced Tuesday that the U.S. is “targeting the main artery of Russia’s economy” by banning imports of Russian oil, the latest sanction intended to punish Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine.&ldqu...

The Electoral Commission has received 304 nominations from 173 candidates for the 26 March General Election. The period for submissions closed on Sunday. As expected, the Labour Party and the Nationalist Party have fielded the largest number of nomin...

The mass exodus of nurses from the profession and the controversial VGH hospital deal were the main topics of discussion in a meeting Opposition leader Bernard Grech had with the Malta Union of Midwives and Nurses (MUMN) at their new premises in...

The humanitarian crisis in Ukraine deepened Monday as Russian forces intensified their shelling and food, water, heat and medicine grew increasingly scarce, in what the country condemned as a medieval-style siege by Moscow to batter it into submissio...

Visa has announced that it is suspending all operations in Russia with effect from Thursday 10 March 2022 at 12:01am, Moscow time.In this regard, Visa cards issued in Russia will no longer work outside of Russia whereas any Visa card issued by f...

Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries, Food and Animal Rights Anton Refalo announced the allocation of €4.5 million for financial aid from the national funds of Malta towards farmers and farm animal breeders, due to the rising costs caused by the ...

A six-car crash in Santa Venera tunnel has caused a traffic jam in this major thoroughfare.Police said that the accident took place just after 11.15am.Six cars were involved, but none of the drivers or passengers was injured.The crash took place in t...

Opposition leader Bernard Grech said today that it is not true that Malta is at the forefront for IVF success rates, in fact, the success rate is quite low, amongst the lowest in Europe, he said.Speaking on a special programme for Women’s Day o...

Green walls set up at the Mosta Technopark last year have not last long.Most of the plants that formed part of the project have died or are in the process of dying, employees who work there told The Malta Independent.Pictures they sent us show a leve...

A 56-year-old partially blind man from San Gwann has been remanded in custody after being accused of sexually abusing his niece in 2018 when she was just five years old.Inspector Kylie Borg, together with prosecutors Nathanial Falzon and Yvette ...

It is hard to believe that two years have gone by since the first case of Covid-19 was detected in Malta.To many, it feels as though the last two years were a nightmare. Shops were closed for periods of time, as were restaurants, bars, gyms, social g...

Malta and the Vatican have appealed for a ceasefire in Ukraine and called for a diplomatic solution to the Ukrainian tragedy, Foreign and European Affairs Minister Evarist Bartolo said following talks on the telephone with Archbishop Paul Gallag...

“It is evident that the PL has no plan and is copying the PN’s electoral program, and all it has left to do is attack and lie,” Nationalist Party Leader Bernard Grech said on Monday.Speaking in Birkirkara, Grech saidthe business mea...

Addressing constituents in Marsaxlokk, Prime Minister Robert Abela assured Malta that work on removing the country from the infamous grey list is at an advanced stage and a visit by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is expected in the coming wee...

The magistrate assigned to preside over a libel case filed by former Prime Minister Joseph Muscat over a Facebook comment made by lawyer Christian Grima, has recused herself, explaining that she was friends with the defendant, whom she had also atten...

The Russian government has issued a list of ‘unfriendly’ countries, which include all Member States of the European Unions, including Malta.Moscow said it has approved a list of foreign states and territories “that commit unfriendly...

European Parliament President Metsola has called on the Russian authorities to free all anti-invasion peaceful protesters unjustly detained, at the opening of the plenary session in Strasbourg.As the shelling of Ukraine continues unabated and the num...

A 20-year-old man who was involved in a traffic crash over the weekend has succumbed to his injuries and passed away.The man has been identified as Robert Azzopardi, a football player with Rabat Ajax FC.The accident happened on Saturday at 6:45am in ...

A superyacht belonging to a Russian oligarch who is currently sanctioned is registered to a holding company in Malta, the Associated Press reports.The superyacht Dilbar (not the yacht pictured in the photo above) stretches one-and-a-half football fie...

Prime Minister Robert Abela and Opposition Leader Bernard Grech as well as representatives from other political parties are set to take part in the University General Election Debate on 10 March."The Malta University Debating Union, a joint initiativ...

PN leader Bernard Grech said today that the public is not following Covid-19 protocols as they have lost trust in Prime Minister Robert Abela following confusion and contradictions in the rules.Asked by this newsroom if Grech condones the disregard f...

A fearful police sergeant had to be warned not to hold back information on the witness stand as suspected kidnapper, fraudster and associate of Prime Minister Robert Abela, Christian Borg, was back in court on Monday, when the case in which he is cha...

Maria Farrugia, the oldest person in Malta, today celebrated her 110th birthday.Borg on 7 March 1912, Maria has lived through both world wars, remembering the first air raids on Malta during the Second World War, the Spanish flu pandemic, and now als...

An 80-year-old woman has died while positive for Covid-19, health authorities announced in their daily update on Monday.72 new cases were meanwhile reported, with 80 new recoveries bringing the number of active cases down to 861.42 patients are curre...

The second week of the electoral campaign in Malta has passed and was mostly overshadowed by international events.As happened in the first week of the election campaign, Russia's invasion of Ukraine was the main concern for many.As a result of the in...

Every election starts at 0-0 and that is a fact nobody can deny, Prime Minister and Labour Party leader Robert Abela said on Monday.Answering questions by the Malta independent at a press conference, Abela said that although several surveys results c...

Prime Minister and Labour Party leader Robert Abela has announced a new set of PL proposals, this time focusing on businesses and the ease of doing business.Addressing a PL press conference, Abela said that a PL government would introduce legislation...

The Electoral Commission has announced details for those voting at a number of homes for the elderly and at hospitals across the country in the upcoming general election. The notice is for those voting at St Vincent de Paul Residence, at 34 Home...

GENEVA -- The U.N. human rights office says it has been able to confirm the deaths of 406 civilians in Ukraine since the beginning of the Russian invasion.It said that another 801 injured civilians had been confirmed as of midnight Sunday. The rights...

The Court of Appeal has overturned a judgement by the Constitutional Court in the first instance regarding the gender corrective mechanism in Parliament, Independent Candidate Arnold Cassola has said.The 'corrective mechanism' will allow - in case on...

Opposition leader Bernard Grech announced a set of proposals concerning the education sector of the country, with the aim to strengthen the sector for students and educators alike. Work conditions for educators will be improved significantly by incen...

Malta received some good news from the FATF this week, and the country is cautiously optimistic about reaching its goal, to get off the grey list, sooner rather than later. When that does happen, another important journey – quite related to the...

The invasion of Ukraine by Russia has sparked an international outcry for the wronging being done on Ukrainian citizens as Russian troops attack major cities. The Malta Independent got in touch with Platon Dmitriyev, a Kharkiv born citizen who has ha...

“While raising awareness remains important, we do not have the time and luxury to wait. Climate change is a real, immediate threat and we need to act now.” Konrad Pirotta, Biology Head of Department within the Secretariat for Church Schoo...

FELTOM, the Federation for English Language Teaching in Malta, has welcomed the recent announcements made by government regarding the lifting and easing of a number of Covid-19 related measures.“As the year advances, FELTOM is filled with cauti...

The invasion of Ukraine by Russia has a number in common with World War I and World War II.We do hope that what is happening today will not develop into what many are predicting to be World War III but, if it unfortunately does, the date of Russia&rs...

The official global death toll from COVID-19 eclipsed 6 million on Monday — underscoring that the pandemic, now entering its third year, is far from over.The milestone, recorded by Johns Hopkins University, is the latest tragic reminder of the&...

Russia announced yet another cease-fire and a handful of humanitarian corridors to allow civilians to flee Ukraine starting Monday, but previous such measures have fallen apart and Moscow's armed forces continued to pummel some Ukrainian cities&...

A biker was critically injured in an accident in Zejtun on Sunday evening, the police said.The accident took place in President Anton Buttigieg Street at 7.45pm.The biker, a man from Bulgaria aged 38, was riding a Honda 600 Hornet which was involved ...

The Malta Union of Midwives and Nurses said that it had invited the Prime Minister and Opposition Leader to visit its new premises in Qormi on Tuesday.Prime Minister Robert Abela is still to confirm his attendance, while Opposition Leader Bernard Gre...

Some Labour Party officials disgruntled at their party’s leadership of the country will almost certainly be opting to tear up their vote in the coming general election, The Malta Independent on Sunday can reveal.Officials who spoke to this news...

The Labour Party will present its electoral programme on Friday, an announcer at a PL rally said on Sunday.The PN had presented its electoral manifesto in the first week of the campaign. Prime Minister Robert Abela had previously promised voters a pl...

With every general election and electoral manifesto come property proposals. This time round it was no different as Malta’s main two political parties have chosen to target youths and low-income earners in their proposals about property.Last we...

Malta’s electoral system is not presidential. We vote for individual candidates who represent different political parties, with a single-transferable vote that passes on from one to the other until candidates obtain enough preferences to give t...

A march in celebration of Women’s Day was held at Valletta Sunday morning, organized by NGOs Moviment Graffitti, Young Progressive Beings, Women's Rights Foundation and Doctors for Choice.The event, which was named “Jum il-Mara Kuljum,&rd...

Prime Minister Robert Abela urged people not to be complacent, but rather go out and vote in the election. “Others are trying to make you believe that the election will not change much. There are those who want the people to believe that they c...

Opposition Leader Bernard Grech said that Prime Minister is only capable of hiding and running, saying that during the electoral campaign, Abela has been avoiding criticism from the public and journalists especially. Addressing a political mass rally...

A double from Kevin De Bruyne. A double from Riyad Mahrez. The double completed by City over United in this season's Manchester derbies.Just further confirmation of the divergent paths these one-time rivals are on in the Premier League.The 4-1 victor...

Olivier Giroud is proving to be the difference for AC Milan this year as the veteran forward again scored against one of its direct rivals to help the Rossoneri win 1-0 at Napoli on Sunday and keep them on course to win a first Serie A title for more...

No new deaths related to the Covid-19 virus were reported on Sunday, with 99 new cases being reported by health authorities.74 people meanwhile have recovered from the virus, taking the number of active cases up to 870.45 patients are currently recei...

VIENNA, Austria — The International Atomic Energy Agency has said Russian forces are tightening their grip on the Zaporizhzhya nuclear plant, Ukraine’s largest, that they seized last week.The director general of the agency, Rafael Mariano...

Tomorrow marks the second anniversary of Covid-19’s arrival in Malta.It was an inevitable situation. The virus was already spreading through parts of the world, including Europe.On 7 March 2020, the news of the first three Covid-positive patien...

Audrey Friggieri, Commissioner on Gender Based Violence & Domestic Violence, loves anything that is Italian, except for football. She would support anyone playing against Italy, she says.She loves tennis, and picks a Game of Thrones character as ...

The electoral campaign is only two weeks old, but we have already seen three massive U-turns by the Labour Party. The first was the decision to take a piece of virgin land in Zonqor back from the Sadeen Group.The second was to scrap the planned Marsa...

Two tracts of land have been transferred to Puttinu Cares and Richmond Foundation respectively so that two projects can be built and carried out, following the signing of an agreement presided over by Prime Minister Robert Abela.The land transfer wil...

Russian President Vladimir Putin warned Saturday that Ukrainian statehood is in jeopardy and likened the West's sanctions on Russia to “declaring war,” while a promised cease-fire in the besieged port city of Mariupol collapsed ...