Times of Malta
Storm prompts 700 distress calls, containers lost at sea
More than 700 emergency calls were made, and shipping containers fell into the sea during Storm Harry, Robert Abela revealed as he launched a government recovery action plan. The prime minister yesterday convened an extraordinary meeting to kickstart...
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‘Emergency’ Gozo ferry service amid rough seas
Gozo Channel resumed a limited ‘emergency’ service yesterday afternoon as Malta emerged from Storm Harry, but the authorities continued to warn people to avoid the coast because sea conditions remained dangerous. Ferry services between Malta and Gozo...
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Storm Harry batters Malta for more than 24 hours
Flights and ferries were diverted or cancelled, dozens of trees torn down and shop fronts wrecked as Storm Harry brought strong winds to Malta for more than 24 hours. The costs of damage are expected to mount into tens of thousands of euros after a...
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‘Stay indoors’
People should stay indoors unless they really need to go out, the home affairs minister warned late yesterday afternoon as the wind got stronger and the worst of Storm Harry was only expected to be over not before 4pm today. Addressing a hastily...
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Several water polo players probed over alleged match-fixing at Euros
A number of Malta national team water polo players are being investigated for allegedly betting on their own matches at the European Championships, Times of Malta has learned. Sources close to the investigation said the players, who are currently in...
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Gozo Channel to get two new custom-built ferries in 2029
Connectivity between Malta and Gozo will be bolstered with the addition of two newly commissioned passenger ferries but the new vessels will only be in place in 2029, the government said yesterday. The new vessels form part of a broader strategy to...
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Malta ‘won’t rush’ on US-Greenland row
Malta will not be rushed into taking a position on the row over US President Donald Trump’s wish to take over Greenland, Foreign Minister Ian Borg said yesterday. “Given that there is no common [EU] position [on Greenland], I ask why Malta should be...
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‘We lost our daughter, then had to fight years for justice’
The parents of Johanna Boni, a bright and loved 27-year-old who was crushed to death by a truck in a horrific road accident 10 years ago, have spoken of their decade of torment as they struggled through Malta’s justice system to hold someone...
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Maltese residents in US say fear of deportation shapes daily life
Maltese residents in the United States say they fear being stopped by enforcement agents and deported from their adopted country, with some citing their appearance as a source of added vulnerability. Despite speaking English fluently and holding valid...
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Revised Paceville tower ‘will overshadow Swieqi homes’
A proposed 40-floor tower in Paceville will cast morning shadows on homes in Swieqi and Paceville and cause “irreversible” changes to panoramic views from other parts of the island, according to a new environmental impact assessment. The report,...
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‘Record’ 150,000 visited Gozo over Christmas and New Year
A record 150,000 people crossed over to Gozo over Christmas and the New Year, according to the Gozo ministry. Figures provided to Times of Malta by the ministry show that 128,526 people took the Gozo Channel ferry from Ċirkewwa to Mġarr between...
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Fewer GP house calls as younger doctors turn to health centres
Traditional family doctors who carry out home visits are becoming increasingly rare, as younger doctors opt for health centre jobs rather than private practice, a veteran family doctor said. “I believe that the old-fashioned family doctor who does...
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Dozens believedkilled infire at Swiss ski resortNew Year party
Around 40 people were killed and 115 injured after a fire ripped through a crowded bar in the luxury Swiss ski resort of Crans-Montana as young revellers rang in the new year yesterday, with witnesses describing scenes of “panic”. Horrified bystanders...
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Plans to set up a new centre-left party shelved
A planned centre-left party aiming to challenge Malta’s twoparty system has been shelved, with its founders warning that further fragmentation risks entrenching the political status quo. The Partit Malta Progressiva (PMP), an initiative involving...
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Manoel Island activists are Times of Malta’s Person(s) of the Year
They began as a coalition of activists challenging a 25-year-old inevitability. They ended the year by forcing one of the most dramatic planning U-turns in Malta’s recent history. The Manoel Island activists behind the Manoel Island: Post Għalina...
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€40,000 life savings in cash stolen in Paola mugging
A woman who kept her life savings in cash rather than in a bank told a court yesterday how she was mugged just two weeks before Christmas, losing €40,000. She was testifying in criminal proceedings against Jonathan Felice, 37, from Qormi, and Ryan...
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Chief justice about to retire but no talks yet on his replacement
Talks to appoint a new chief justice are yet to begin, despite only five weeks remaining before the man who holds the post is set to retire. Chief Justice Mark Chetcuti will turn 68 on February 4. Under the constitution, judges and magistrates must...
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Festive season cab prebookings surge by 20%
The number of people booking cabs ahead of time over the festive period has increased by 20 per cent compared to 2024, a local cab company’s data shows. A spokesperson for eCabs said that, while instant bookings on the company’s ridehailing app also...
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Art teacher jailed for nine years over abuse of students
An art teacher who ran private lessons from a garage in Fgura has been sentenced to nine years in jail after a court found him guilty of corrupting five minors and subjecting them to sexually inappropriate behaviour over a period of time. Carmel...
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Alarm sounded over TikTok impersonators scamming Maltese victims
A well-known financial coach is raising the alarm over fake online profiles impersonating him, saying the inaction from social media platforms has led to people being scammed out of up to €1,000. Lecturer and financial coach Patrick DeBattista, who...
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Five-hour workday should be enough, employer insists
A five-hour workday is sufficient for most employees to produce high-quality work in today’s technology-driven economy, according to former Chamber of Commerce president Marisa Xuereb. Speaking on Times Talk, the long-time entrepreneur and employer...
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PL, PN declared just five big donations in six years
Malta’s two main political parties have only declared five donations large enough to require disclosure since 2018, despite raking in millions in contributions According to the law, any single donation of more than €7,000 must be disclosed...
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Doctor to be charged in child sex abuse images investigation
A medical doctor who will be charged over possession of child sexual abuse material has been suspended from his duties in the health sector, Times of Malta can confirm. Sources close to the investigation said the medic, whose job would place him in...
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Winter flu season hits early, putting pressure on doctors
The winter flu season has begun earlier than usual, with doctors facing increased pressure from growing numbers of patients presenting with symptoms or requesting home visits. Malta College of Family Doctors president Edward Zammit confirmed an early...
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Standards decision an ‘affront to decency’, says archbishop
A decision by the standards commissioner that found that MPs are not duty-bound to tell the truth drew incredulity yesterday from Archbishop Charles Scicluna and rule of law group Repubblika. “It beggars belief that an MP may be untruthful with...
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Third of working migrants ‘just survive’ and half of them ‘thrive’
More than a third of working migrants report they are just about managing to get by financially but nearly half say they are thriving, according to a new study. It found that 36% of the 436 respondents — 157 people — said they are “surviving”...
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One dead as 61 rescued after migrant boat capsizes
Sixty-one migrants were rescued after their boat capsized off Malta yesterday but one died in hospital later. Seven others were hospitalised. The men on board, 59 Bangladeshis and two Egyptians, were rescued by the Armed Forces of Malta minutes after...
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AUM head quits over ‘governance and oversight arrangements’
The rector of the American University of Malta (AUM) has resigned less than six months after taking up the role, blaming “governance and oversight arrangements” at the long-controversial institution. Victoria Fontan, who joined AUM in July, announced...
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Scrapyard that caught fire had stop order for missing hydrants
The scrapyard on Tal-Barrani Road was under an active stop-and-compliance order due to its failure to install fire hydrants when last month’s fierce fire erupted. The order was issued on November 7, 2022, by the Environmental and Resources Authority...
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St Aloysius’ first female and lay rector resigns after three months
Maria Montebello, the first woman and lay person to serve as rector of St Aloysius College, has resigned after three months in the job. Parents and guardians were informed Montebello had tendered her resignation from the role as college rector in a...
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Seven inmates to attend Pope’s Jubilee of Prisoners
Seven Maltese inmates will make history this weekend as they become the first prisoners to travel abroad while serving time to participate in the Pope’s Jubilee of Prisonersin Rome. The unprecedented two-day trip will see the seven selected inmates...
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At least 13 new supermarkets set to open after PA approvals
A fresh wave of supermarket development across Malta and Gozo is on the horizon, with at least 13 medium-to-large outlets in the pipeline following a series of planning approvals issued over the past few years. An analysis of approved PA applications...
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Waste-to-energy plant tender collapses as all bids disqualified
A delayed tender for a planned waste-toenergy plant in Magħtab was scrapped altogether yesterday, with Wasteserv announcing that procurement for the plant “closed without a successful award”. Despite the setback, the company said it “remains...
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Hacker steals company domain, then tries to sell it for €70,000
A hacker stole a website domain and tried to sell it off before he was caught by the police. Martin Laurent, 24, was yesterday accused of stealing the domain from a Maltese company that cannot be named by court order. He was handed a suspended...
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Famed Times photographer Frank Attard dies aged 97
Frank Attard, the man behind some of the most iconic photos of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II, has died aged 97. He started working at Times of Malta as a paperboy when he was 14 in 1942. It was the height of World War II and he would walk from Ħamrun...
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Teenager stabbed at Pembroke school
A 14-year-old boy was questioned by the police after a pupil was stabbed with a knife at St Clare’s College in Pembroke yesterday, as parents called for metal detectors to be installed in schools. The victim, another boy also aged 14, was taken to...
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Many doctors and nurses shun COVID booster vaccine — study
The majority of doctors and nurses surveyed in a study opted not to take the COVID-19 booster vaccine due to possible side effects and concerns about vaccine safety, according to research published in the Malta Medical Journal. The research found...
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Commissioner: Malta ‘key’ in EU’s Libya migration strategy
Malta’s relationship with Libya is key to European Union building a stronger relationship with Libya in order to reduce irregular migrant crossings, European Migration Commissioner Magnus Brunner said. The commissioner acknowledged criticism of...
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Pain Clinic doctor acquitted in ‘traumatic’ drug trafficking case
A doctor specialising in medicinal cannabis, who was controversially arrested three years ago on drug trafficking charges, has been acquitted of all charges. Andrew Agius, founder of the Pain Clinic, which administers medicinal cannabis prescriptions,...
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Theuma’s phantom job case ends with acquittals for all five accused
Keith Schembri, Yorgen Fenech and three others have been acquitted in connection with a phantom government job given to state witness Melvin Theuma. The court decision was handed down by Magistrate Monica Vella at a sitting yesterday morning....
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Malita chairperson resigns as Galdes is accused of meddling
Johan Farrugia has handed in his resignation as Malita Investments’ executive chair, just eight months after being appointed, Times of Malta has learned. Malita is a government holding company which finances large-scale development projects. Farrugia...
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Marsa scrapyard insurer refused €600k claim after previous fire
Insurers of a Marsa scrapyard that caught fire on Friday had refused a €600,000 payout claim for a previous blaze that engulfed the same site in September 2021, due to unsafe practices. The scrapyard on Marsa’s Triq Giuseppe Garibaldi caught fire for...
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Swieqi raid address was correct, police commissioner Gafà says
Armed police who detained four Swieqi residents during a raid were at the correct address but the residents were not suspects in the case, Police Commissioner Angelo Gafà said. “The address was not wrong but the people [detained] were not the suspects...
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Protest after armed police storm flat in botched raid
Four Swieqi residents have recounted the shocking moment 15 heavily armed police officers dressed in black and wearing balaclavas forced their way into their apartment, pointed guns at them and handcuffed them after getting the wrong address. The...
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Enemalta bid to recoup €60m in carbon credit certificates
Enemalta risks losing €60 million worth of carbon credit certificates and has hired UK and Swiss lawyers to try and avoid that, the state energy services provider confirmed. It acknowledged the legal issue in a press briefing yesterday, saying a...
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Legal battle over suspected spy’s role in company linked to Malta
Jan Marsalek, a fugitive and suspected Russian spy, has been named in a London civil court dispute as a secret financier of a 2016 Libyan oil project linked to a Maltese company. Marsalek’s alleged role in financing the 2016 purchase of three onshore...
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Maltese citizens are the main victims of hospitals deal — ICC
The primary victims of the government's hospitals privatisation deal were the citizens of Malta, an international tribunal said in a 200-page ruling. "Sadly, the concession for these hospitals turned out to be a failure and gave rise to different...
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Woman charged over death of pedestrian hit by pick-up truck
A woman who allegedly knocked over and killed a woman on a Fgura road has been charged with involuntary homicide and reckless driving. Chloe Caruana, 21, was also uninsured when she drove a Toyota Hilux pick-up truck on Hompesch Road and hit two...
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Roderick Cassar admits to wife’s murder, jailed 40 years
An abusive husband who murdered his wife as she drove to work has been jailed for 40 years after changing his plea to guilty. Roderick Cassar shot mother-of-two Bernice, 40, in her neck and chest at close range after he stopped her in traffic on her...
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White Rocks to be turned into national park — PM
The controversial White Rocks complex in Pembroke will be transformed into a national, open and green park for families, Robert Abela announced yesterday Speaking in parliament in reaction to the opposition leader’s budget address on Monday, the prime...
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No fraud found in Steward hospitals concession — PM
The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) found no fraud in the hospitals deal, Robert Abela said yesterday, hailing the decision as “meticulous”, which, he said, proved the government right. The prime minister said he was very satisfied by the...
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About half of foreign workers leave within three years — study
Around half of foreign workers in Malta leave the country within three years, a Central Bank study has found. The numbers start to fall within the first three months of employment, by which time 10% of foreign workers have already left the country,...
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Tributes pour in for father and son who drowned at Ramla Bay
A British father and son who died after drowning while on holiday in Malta have been named. Mohammad Qadoos, 37, and his son Ayan, 11, got into difficulties while swimming off Ramla Bay in Gozo on Monday. An Armed Forces of Malta helicopter was...
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Film commission budget halved, cash rebate scheme is cut again
The Malta Film Commission’s budget allocation was halved in the 2026 Budget, with its running expenses dropping to just €1.8 million. The entity has faced frequent accusations of lavish spending, including overshooting its budget on star-studded...
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Families big winners in Budget 26
Families with dependent children are the main beneficiaries of Budget 2026, as the government unveiled a fiscal plan aimed at tackling Malta’s fertility crisis. The measure, described as the largest tax reduction in Malta’s history for families with...
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Camp site outside parliament as activists oppose planning bills
Environmental activists yesterday set up camp outside parliament to pressure the government into dropping the planning reform bills for good. They descended on Valletta unannounced at 11am, and within three minutes had put up two dozen...
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‘I was sidelined’: Labour official on why she quit
Jennifer Tabone had been in office for the past five years. SCREENSHOT: FACEBOOK/AWLA Jennifer Tabone said she resigned as executive secretary of the Labour Party’s women’s section because she was sidelined for condemning personal attacks, adding she...
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Ex-presidents aide defends Binance deal
Various international organisations and local NGOs have accepted and made use of funding from Binances charity arm, an aide to former president Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca said. In comments to Times of Malta, Coleiro Precas aide, Carmel Briffa said...
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Revised metro plans would cost 2.8 billion, Abela says
Revised plans for a metro presented to the government would cost 2.8 billion to implement, Prime Minister Robert Abela told Times of Malta yesterday While initial plans for a metro, dating back to 2021, placed the cost at more than 6 billion, Abela...
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Clyde Caruana rejects mass transport proposals
Clyde Caruana has poured cold water on plans for a mass transportation system, warning that the country could be “royally screwed” if it went wrong. The finance minister was speaking weeks after the prime minister resurrected the idea of a possible...
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Strip-searched, held after ‘scratching’ officer’s car
A tourist claimed she was strip-searched and held in a cell overnight after being accused of scratching a car belonging to an off-duty police officer. Bilyana Puliyska said she was pressured to pay over €400 in damages and sign a waiver accepting...
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‘We’re stuck in that day’
Fifteen months after Lawrence Piscopo, 57, died from an electric shock in a rented garage, his family is still awaiting the conclusion of the magisterial inquiry. His wife, Anne, and son, Gabriel, have spoken to Times of Malta, sharing their pain and...
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Embassies backlash as Neville Gafà clears Daphne memorial
Government employee Neville Gafà has been filmed removing tributes to Daphne Caruana Galizia from the Great Siege Memorial hours after the eighth anniversary of her murder, in a move that has angered various embassies that placed wreaths. The hidden...
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PM clashes with president over rejected $39m Binance donation
Prime Minister Robert Abela has urged the Malta Community Chest Fund to reconsider its decision to reject a cryptocurrency donation from Binance, which is now valued at $39 million. Speaking to the press yesterday afternoon, Abela was reacting to...
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Binances $39m Community Chest Fund pledge scrapped
The Malta Community Chest Fund has walked away from a crypto donation from Binance now worth $39 million over reputational concerns about the source of funds, Times of Malta is informed. In 2018, at the height of Maltas ill-fated push to become a...
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Cat killer jailed for two years
A man who admitted to killing cats in Sliema has been sentenced to two years in prison and banned from owning animals for 40 years. Okamura Satoshi appeared in court yesterday morning. In August, Satoshi, admitted to harming and killing animals and...
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Welcome home
Freed Israeli hostages, their families and friends bounded into one anothers arms yesterday, beaming and crying with joy at the end of the captives two-year ordeal in Gaza. Wrapped in blue and white Israeli flags, those returning wailed and smiled...
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Traffic the biggest problem
Traffic, parking and public transport-related issues are now Maltas biggest headache, and by a large margin. New poll data published by Times of Malta suggests frustration with traffic-related issues has reached new heights, with people citing them...
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Malta Air flight was minutes from running out of fuel
A Malta Air flight from Pisa was forced to divert to Manchester after failed attempts to land in Scotland during a storm and was just minutes away from running out of fuel. Flight FR3418, operated by Ryanair, was scheduled to land at Glasgow Prestwick...
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