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Two men died while positive with COVID-19 overnight, bringing the number of deaths related to the virus in Malta up to 423. The victims were aged 95 and 86, died at Mater Dei Hospital. Another 91 new COVID-19 cases were registered in the past 24 hours, as 125 patients recovered. The new cases were found from 3,862 swab tests. This means there are currently

Facebook / Alessandra Dee Crespo Tista' taqra bil- Malti . Bernard Grech, Opposition Leader, has invited Prime Minister (PM) Robert Abela to meet to act concretely with regards to the conclusions of the public inquiry into the death of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia. In a letter penned to the PM, Grech stated that the conclusions are soon to be

A man who stole a cash register from a grocery store at gunpoint, has avoided prison after showing the court that he was seeking professional help to change his ways. 49-year-old Themistocles Attard of Birżebbuġa was arrested in December 2018 on suspicion of being involved in an armed robbery at a Sta Venera store earlier that month. An armed robber

Reading Time: 3 minutes July 28 (Reuters) – American star gymnast Simone Biles withdrew from a second event on Wednesday, winning wide support from other Olympians at the Tokyo Games and sporting authorities for spotlighting the mental health issues faced by athletes. Here’s what you need to know about the Tokyo Games: BILES Biles pulled out of a second

The Planning Authority said that a number of illegal development cases carried out in ODZ areas in Gozo and Malta have been closed off during the past weeks. This, after officers working within the Planning Authority’s Compliance & Enforcement Directorate intervened and put pressure on the contraveners to remove the illegal development or face further

Richard ‘Dickie’ Toledo, active during the 1945 plague epidemic. Photo courtesy of the National Archives The scary outbreak of bubonic plague in Malta in June 1945 hardly hit the islands like the traditional bolt from the blue. After the devastating pestilence of 1813, which killed over 4,500 victims, Malta had remained relatively plague-free, except

Nationalist MP Jason Azzopardi has once again linked packets of cocaine sent to him and a number of other Nationalist MPs to Yorgen Fenech, the man accused of masterminding the journalist’s murder. Following today’s sitting in the compilation of evidence against Fenech Azzopardi shared two posts in which he made reference to cocaine. In the first,

A self-confessed human trafficker was jailed for three years on Tuesday after admitting to assisting the illegal movement of persons in and out of Malta. Omar Adam, a 26-year old Somali national living at Zabbar, was arrested following a tip-off to police. He was charged with having, on July 20 and the preceding months, received payment for assisting

Italian singer Gianni Nazzaro has died in an Italian hospital, Italian media report. He was 72. Nazzaro was mostly famous in the 1970s with songs such as "Quanto è bella lei", "L'amore è una colomba", "Non voglio innamorarmi mai", "A modo mio", "In fondo all'anima". Nazzaro took part in the prestigious Sanremo Festival six times. He also acted in soap

Miguela Xuereb An increasing number of EU member states are planning to opt for vaccine passports to be shown upon entry to hospitality venues such as bars and restaurants this summer France adopted new laws which will see vaccine passports become a key part of daily life. The French parliament voted for the new laws after a compromise between the

Portugal has asked other European countries for supplies of coronavirus vaccines to help accelerate its inoculation campaign, Health Minister Marta Temido said on Tuesday. Lisbon "has made a huge effort" to "receive more vaccines", the minister said at the end of a meeting of experts to review the health situation. Around 45 per cent of the population

The global economy will expand by six per cent this year, but disparities between nations are widening as advanced economies accelerate while developing countries fall behind, the International Monetary Fund said on Tuesday. While the forecast for global growth is unchanged from the previous estimate in April, the United States is projected to see

French health and security authorities on Tuesday warned against honey and gel products being marketed as natural aphrodisiacs but which, in fact, contain ingredients not marked on labels that may have dangerous side effects. Anyone who has bought the products “should above all not consume them but destroy them”, French anti-fraud, customs and health

The EU’s executive on Tuesday gave a fresh green light to a German bailout for charter airline Condor, after a court rejected an earlier approval following a challenge from Ryanair. The European Commission said it was giving its backing to a €525 million package “for damages suffered as a result of the coronavirus outbreak”. “The aviation sector has

Amazon on Monday denied a report that the e-commerce giant planned to begin accepting Bitcoin payments by the end of this year, but acknowledged an interest in cryptocurrency. City AM cited as unnamed insider as saying Amazon would start taking cryptocurrency, citing a recent job posting by the company for someone with digital currency and blockchain

MAPFRE Middlesea On the occasion of MAPFRE Middlesea’s 40th anniversary, the company has enhanced its facilities so that the employees could enjoy a nicer environment whilst having a series of health benefits such as a gym, a recreational area with table tennis, a new canteen and chill out area. As part of the renovations and improvements, there are

An international team of scientists led by a prominent Harvard astronomer announced a new initiative Monday to look for evidence of technology built by extraterrestrial civilisations. Called the Galileo Project, it envisages the creation of a global network of medium-sized telescopes, cameras and computers to investigate unidentified flying objects,

Bitcoin soared close to $40,000 on Monday after electric carmaker Tesla expressed fresh support for the world's most popular cryptocurrency. The unit leapt 15 per cent in Asian trade to a one-month high at $39,681, buoyed also by reports that US retail titan Amazon was mulling the use of crypto technology. The cryptocurrency later stood at $38,289

It has been almost 17 months since the curtain came down on the Malta Amateur Dramatic Club’s (MADC) last production before COVID-19 struck last year. The island’s oldest theatre company was forced to miss its  annual appointment at San Anton Gardens in 2020 and, initially, it looked like they might have to forego this year too. “With ever-changing

British author Kazuo Ishiguro could win his second Booker Prize after judges Tuesday named him among 13 finalists on this year's longlist for one of literature's most prestigious awards. Ishiguro, who first landed the prize in 1989 with The Remains Of The Day as well as the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2017, was nominated for his latest novel Klara

Although there are laws to limit the marketing of gambling providers and prohibit the direct marketing of gambling to children, data gathered in the last couple of years has shown that gambling logos appear regularly in football-related products and media. Keep reading below to find out more about the visibility of gambling sponsorship in football

Britney Spears has launched a legal bid to remove her father from a controversial guardianship controlling her finances and replace him with an independent accountant, according to court documents filed Monday. Mathew Rosengart, who was appointed as the pop star's attorney this month, had pledged to move swiftly to remove Jamie Spears after the singer

Summer Triangle Dark Sky image over Gozo | Photo by Dr Joseph Caruana Visitors are invited to experience magical, star-filled dark skies at Ta’ Sopu, on the outskirts of Nadur and one of the least light-polluted areas in Gozo on Sunday 8 th August 2021 from 7.30 pm to 10.30 pm. There will also be the opportunity to see inside the fully-restored 17

Photo: Din L-Art Ħelwa Volunteers of Din l-Art Helwa will be opening the Interactive Section of the newly restored Torri l-Abjad (the White Tower) at l-Ahrax, Mellieha to the public each Sunday between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. This centre provides educational fun for both children and adults focusing on marine biodiversity and the importance of our oceans,

Reading Time: < 1 minute WASHINGTON, July 27 (Reuters) – U.S. President Joe Biden and his White House team will be prepared to wear masks again if guidance from officials indicates it is necessary, White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters on Tuesday. “We will be prepared to wear masks again,” Psaki said ahead of an expected announcement from

Reading Time: < 1 minute India reported 29,689 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours, the health ministry said on Tuesday, for the lowest daily rise since March 17, according to a Reuters tally. India’s total of 31.44 million infections now ranks second only to the United States. via Reuters

Reading Time: 2 minutes One in four EU citizens reported feeling lonely during the first months of the coronavirus pandemic, according to a study  from the Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC). The report contains the latest scientific evidence on loneliness and social isolation in the EU, and analyses the survey by the European Foundation for

Reading Time: < 1 minute California and New York City will require government workers to get vaccinated against COVID-19 or be regularly tested for the virus, officials said on Monday, signaling a new level of urgency in their effort to stem a wave of infections caused by the Delta variant. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said on Monday that the

Former St Andrew’s, Rangers and Scotland defender Ally Dawson has died aged 63 after a long illness, his family have said. Dawson, capped five times by his country, spent 12 years at Ibrox before joining Blackburn in 1987, the BBC reports. He also featured for Limerick and Airdrie. After playing for and managing Maltese side St Andrews, he managed

World-record holder Kaylee McKeown upstaged American arch-rival Regan Smith to claim the 100m Olympic backstroke crown on Tuesday as Russia and Britain clinched titles to limit powerhouse United States to a single gold. Australian sensation McKeown, who shattered Smith’s world record last month, flew through the water at the Tokyo Aquatic Center to

Ħamrun Spartans are set to continue to strengthen their squad as they are closing in on signing attacking midfielder Faissal El Bakhtaoui. The French-born forward, who also holds a Moroccan passport, is currently in advanced talks with the Malta champions over personal terms and a deal could be reached in the coming days, the Times of Malta can confirm

Manchester United have agreed a deal to sign France defender Raphael Varane from Real Madrid, according to several British media reports. Varane had been a longstanding target for United, who last week completed the transfer of England winger Jadon Sancho from German club Borussia Dortmund for a reported £73 million ($100 million). Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s

Brazil’s Italo Ferreira claimed Olympic surfing’s first-ever gold medal on Tuesday, as American Carissa Moore won the women’s event. Ferreira, who learned to surf standing on the foam box his father sold fish from, snapped his board on the first wave of his final against Japan’s Kanoa Igarashi. He had to wait in the sea as a team official brought him

Email correspondence between Yorgen Fenech and his publicist Chris Mifsud at MPS shows that the man who would be charged for ordering the killing of Daphne Caruana Galizia hired UK lawyers ACK Law to consider “picking a victim” to stop reporting and commentary in Malta that could damage the business of his business empire. Yorgen Fenech says in the

The tourism industry is once again going through a difficult patch because, as many had anticipated, the war against COVID does not appear to be anywhere near won. In the situation, the hotel and catering lobby has appealed to the government to let them tap into yet more taxpayer money to stimulate their businesses back to growth. There is no doubt

The Gozo Tourism Association told The Malta Independent that the domestic tourism market can never f ully compensate for the lack of foreign tourists. Malta’s tourism market took another hit this summer, when the government had to change the travel restrictions when the number of daily Covid-19 cases began to spike. Now, only people in possession of