Malta Independent
Driver dies in crash with trailer in Qormi
A 27-year-old Indian national living in Paola died in a traffic accident in Ħandaq Road, Qormi, on Tuesday morning, the police said. The collision occurred at approximately 11:45am and involved a Toyota Toyace truck driven by the victim and a trailer...
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‘Under Labour, no one can touch me’: Theuma recalls Fenech’s post-murder confidence
“Under Labour, no one can touch me.” According to self-confessed middleman Melvin Theuma, those were Yorgen Fenech’s words as the two men discussed the murder of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia and what might happen in its aftermath. The statement...
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Resuscitation Council wants publicly accessible AEDs registered and available 24/7
The Malta Resuscitation Council has called for automated external defibrillators (AEDs) to become more accessible across Malta, saying that too many of these life-saving devices remain hidden inside offices, hotels and other private buildings where...
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‘I was convinced I'd be killed or put in prison’: Melvin Theuma on why he recorded Yorgen Fenech
The trial by jury of Yorgen Fenech reached one of its most anticipated moments on Friday as self-confessed middleman Melvin Theuma took the witness stand, spending hours recounting how he says Fenech commissioned, financed and remained in contact with...
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Doctor tells court Fenech said: ‘If I go down, everyone will go down with me’
The trial by jury of Yorgen Fenech continued on Thursday with former family doctor Adrian Vella recounting the businessman’s cocaine addiction and deteriorating mental state, and the events leading up to his arrest, while telling jurors he heard Fenech...
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‘No Valletta, No Party’, ‘Sassicaia’: Fenech’s chats with Malta’s most powerful shared with jury
Yorgen Fenech’s close relationship with a network of high-profile people in Malta was laid bare to the jury tasked with hearing his trial on Wednesday, as investigators shared details from the tycoon’s online messaging accounts. These chats included a...
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Jurors shown texts revealing close friendship between Fenech and ex-deputy police chief Silvio Valletta
Jurors in the trial against businessman Yorgen Fenech on Tuesday were shown Signal messages in which former Deputy Police Commissioner Silvio Valletta described the businessman as his “best friend,” as the court also heard from the businessman’s former...
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Matthew Caruana Galizia pinpoints Electrogas as top story Daphne was working on before her death
Matthew Caruana Galizia pinpointed Electrogas as the top story that his mother was working on before her assassination in a car bombing, as he told a jury on Monday that “Yorgen Fenech seemed to be at the centre of everything” when it came to the power...
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‘I learned about it from the media,’ MTA CEO on Noma Island
The chief executive of the Malta Tourism Authority, Carlo Micallef, told The Malta Independent that he learned about Noma Island through local media. He said the MTA did not push for its entry into Maltese waters. During an interview with this...
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Training voyage
On Friday, 24 July, the Italian Navy sailing vessel Chaplin paid a three day port visit to the Armed Forces of Malta as part of the Marina Militare's annual Summer Training Campaign for Naval Academy cadets. Commanded by her skipper, Commander...
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‘Of course not’: Keith Schembri repeatedly denies murder allegations
Former OPM chief of staff Keith Schembri on Thursday firmly denied ever asking anyone to kill either Daphne Caruana Galizia or murder middleman Melvin Theuma as defence lawyer Giannella de Marco pressed him on a series of allegations made by...
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Schembri tells jury that Fenech indirectly revealed role in murder
Keith Schembri told jurors on Wednesday that Yorgen Fenech indirectly revealed his involvement in the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia before his arrest, leaving the former OPM chief of staff "frozen" and convinced that his greatest mistake was not...
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Schembri alleges €400,000 bribe but witness refuses to answer questions
Former Office of the Prime Minister chief of staff Keith Schembri told jurors on Tuesday that Johann Cremona had been offered up to €400,000 by Yorgen Fenech’s lawyers to testify in the businessman’s favour, only for the witness to repeatedly refuse to...
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Police were told to seize only what Keith Schembri pointed out to them, jury hears
Police officers conducting a search at Keith Schembri's Mellieħa residence in November 2019 only collected electronic devices pointed out by Schembri himself, despite other phones being visible inside the house, a jury hearing the trial of Yorgen...
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Father, five-year-old son die after boat collides with dinghy at Ġnejna Bay
A 43-year-old man and his fiveyear-old son from St Paul’s Bay lost their lives in a tragic maritime accident after the dinghy they were travelling in was struck by a boat off Ġnejna Bay in the early hours of Sunday. Police said the incident happened...
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Two police officers shot, one seriously, before armed suspect surrenders in St Julian’s
Two police officers were injured, one of them seriously, after an armed man opened fire on officers during a tense hours-long standoff in St Julian’s on Friday, before eventually surrendering to police. Two men have been arrested. The seriously...
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18-hour operation
A major firefighting operation that lasted more than 18 hours came to an end on Thursday morning after Civil Protection Department crews successfully extinguished a blaze that broke out at a commercial premises on Wednesday afternoon. 55 firefighters...
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Record electricity demand puts Malta’s electricity grid under strain, leaving thousands in the dark
A sweltering heatwave led to what Enemalta said was record electricity demand which placed significant pressure on Malta’s electricity grid: pressure which ultimately left thousands in the dark and in the heat throughout Tuesday night and...
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Spain’s World Cup heroes return home
Players from Spain's national football team celebrate at Cibeles Square in Madrid on Monday night, after Spain defeated Argentina in the FIFA World Cup final in East Rutherford, N.J., near New York. Photo: AP/Bernat Armangue.
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Andy Burnham becomes the UK’s seventh prime minister in a decade after Starmer resigns
Prime Minister Andy Burnham acknowledged his precarious perch Monday as the seventh British leader in just over a decade as he set out an ambitious but vague vision to create a new political and economic establishment. Burnham used his inaugural...
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Under siege: Three towers currently planned around the same Gzira roundabout
Development applications filed with the Planning Authority could turn the area around a single roundabout in Gzira into a skyscraper haven, with three towers planned to be built next to the Empire Stadium. Three significant projects – two of which are...
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Tragic accident
A 74-year-old man from Mellieħa tragically lost his life Friday morning after being caught between a truck and a mechanical shovel. The victim was in the process of unloading a mechanical digger from a truck when, for reasons yet to be determined, he...
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Police detail Melvin Theuma’s wealth as court shown cash recovered from his home
Police on Thursday detailed the investigation into self-confessed middleman Melvin Theuma’s finances and the evidence recovered following his arrest, with jurors shown photographs of hundreds of thousands of euros in cash, gold, jewellery and other...
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Two found dead in car in Marsaskala garage died of accidental carbon monoxide poisoning
A man and a woman were found dead in a parked car in Marsaskala on Tuesday night, the police said on Wednesday morning. The police have excluded that third parties were involved in the case, and in a statement later on Wednesday said that autopsies...
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‘They wanted Daphne dead, not injured,’ convicted hitman tells jury
Convicted hitman Vince Muscat, known as il-Koħħu, told jurors on Tuesday that the group behind Daphne Caruana Galizia’s assassination wanted to ensure she was killed rather than injured, saying the bomb planted beneath the drivers’ seat inside her car...
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Guns, bombs, leaks, and €150,000: Convicted hitman details how Daphne Caruana Galizia was killed
Prosecution witness Vince Muscat, known as il-Koħħu, on Monday gave the jury a detailed account of how the plot to assassinate journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia was organised, telling jurors about meetings, surveillance operations and payment...
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Plans for five-star tourist complex at ODZ British barracks site set for refusal
Plans for the construction of a five-star tourist complex at an ODZ British-era barracks site in Mosta have been recommended for refusal by a Planning Authority case officer. The application, filed by Manatura Operations Ltd, linked to businessman...
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Lincoln pool repairs Jurors hear how bomb which killed Daphne Caruana Galizia was under her car seat
Jurors on Friday heard testimony from several forensic experts who explained how they reached the conclusion that the bomb which killed journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia was placed inside her car, under the driver’s seat. Yorgen Fenech, 44, has...
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New police recruits
27 police patrol and community support officers (pictured above) together with 18 new inspectors were inducted into the Malta Police Force in a ceremony on Thursday.
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Yorgen Fenech knew where Daphne Caruana Galizia’s laptop was, court told
In his fourth and final day of court testimony, lead investigator into the Daphne Caruana Galizia murder Keith Arnaud told jurors that Yorgen Fenech seemed to know that the journalist’s laptop had ended up in Germany. Defence lawyer Giannella De Marco...
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Investigators never found Keith Schembri’s phone and laptop, jury hears
Jurors in the trial by jury of businessman Yorgen Fenech on Tuesday heard lead investigator Assistant Commissioner Keith Arnaud confirm that police never recovered former OPM chief of staff Keith Schembri’s mobile phone or laptop, as his...
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Colours of Pamplona
Revelers celebrate as the txupinazo, the traditional rocket marking the start of the San Fermín festival, kicks off nine days of uninterrupted festivities in Pamplona, Spain,
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'Malta is still 100 years behind on enforcement,' Borg Manché says
Enforcement remains Malta's greatest weakness despite years of economic growth, newly appointed PN MP and Shadow Minister for Home Affairs Conrad Borg Manché said, arguing that stronger policing, more visible law enforcement and a more effective...
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Jury hears detailed account of investigation into Daphne assassination
Assistant Police Commissioner Keith Arnaud, the officer who led the investigation into the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia, on Friday spent an entire day guiding jurors through the police investigation that began within minutes of the 16...
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Vatican declares ultraconservative society in schism, excommunicates bishops
The Vatican responded aggressively Thursday to a traditionalist society that consecrated bishops without the pope’s consent, declaring the Society of St. Pius X in schism, excommunicating its bishops and priests and warning its faithful they too face...
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Yorgen Fenech trial over murder of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia begins
A breakaway group of traditionalist Catholics directly defied Pope Leo XIV by consecrating four bishops without his consent Wednesday, dismissing the resulting excommunications and schism by declaring it was a “sacred duty” to defend the Catholic...
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Gozo bus use up by 11%
One month after Gozo's public transport service has been fully electrified, Gozo's bus service has recorded more than 332,000 passenger journeys across more than 16,220 trips, reflecting an 11% increase in passenger usage when compared to the same...
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'Warning signs are not enough': Mayor urges closure of part of Imġiebaħ Bay amid safety fears
Mellieħa mayor Gabriel Micallef has called for part of Imġiebaħ Bay to be closed off from the general public amid safety concerns over a rock fissure appearing in the swimming area’s cliffside. Micallef expressed these concerns made by himself and the...
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Castillo says PN must build on election momentum
The Nationalist Party's reduced electoral deficit, despite not being a victory, nevertheless reflected a significant shift in public sentiment driven by a positive campaign, strong policy proposals and the leadership style of Opposition Leader Alex...
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PN Leader Alex Borg officially announces his Shadow Cabinet
Nationalist Party leader Alex Borg announced the official appointment of his Shadow Cabinet on Friday morning, ending days of speculation as to which MP would be shadowing which ministry. In a statement, the PN said this Shadow Cabinet is made up of...
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Palace tapestries restored
The historic tapestries of the Grand Master's Palace have returned to their home following an extensive two-year conservation project in Belgium. They were officially unveiled during a ceremony held under the patronage of President Myriam Spiteri...
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‘We haven’t even started yet,’ Borg tells activists at general council
Nationalist Party leader Alex Borg has pledged to press ahead with an ambitious programme of reform aimed at bringing the PN closer to voters, insisting that despite losing the 2026 General Election, the party has emerged stronger and better positioned...
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FIAU imposed €1.34 million in penalties as suspicious transaction reports rose by 13% in 2025
The Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit (FIAU) imposed a total of €1,340,242 million in administrative penalties and issued 71 enforcement measures in 2025, as the number of suspicious transaction reports received by the authority increased by 13%...
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Abela says Malta will stand against imposition of EU-wide taxes
Prime Minister Robert Abela told Parliament on Monday that Malta would stand against the imposition of any EU-wide taxes in order to sustain its budget. Speaking in a Ministerial Statement in Parliament on Monday, Abela told MPs of the European Summit...
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Government agrees deal with BP for Malta’s LNG supply till May 2027
The government has reached an agreement with global energy giant BP for Malta to be supplied Liquid Natural Gas (LNG) until the end of May 2027, as the country’s current hedging deal reaches its end date, the Prime Minister announced on...
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Fiscal Council endorses government’s 2026 economic forecasts
The Malta Fiscal Advisory Council (MFAC) has endorsed the government’s fiscal projections for 2026, concluding that they fall within an acceptable range and are consistent with the assumptions outlined in the Annual Progress Report 2026. In its...
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US and Iran sign initial deal to end war, ease sanctions and open strait as nuclear talks continue
President Donald Trump signed an agreement with Iran on Wednesday that calls for Tehran to dilute its stockpile of highly enriched uranium and waives U.S.backed sanctions on the country, immediately allowing Iran to sell its oil freely in a major...
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Major hurdle cleared for Second Interconnector as seabed route is secured for cable laying
Interconnect Malta said Wednedsay it has successfully completed the critical identification and clearance campaign for the offshore route of the Second MaltaSicily Interconnector (IC2) project, paving the way for the next phase of offshore works ahead...
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Three new PN candidates elected to Parliament in casual elections; four others retain seats
Seven Nationalist candidates were elected to Parliament this morning in casual elections held to fill seats vacated by other MPs who were elected twice. The counting process took place at the Naxxar Counting Hall, with three of the MPs elected being...
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Ministries to keep track of proposals’ progress through internal monthly updates
In the first MCESD meeting of this legislature, Cabinet Secretary Ryan Spagnol said that every ministry will be appointing a project manager to oversee the overall implementation of all electoral pledges under its cap. This project manager will also...
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‘Tourism is a new form of colonialism’: Activist launches anti-overtourism campaign
A newly launched Instagram page campaigning against overtourism in Malta is rapidly attracting attention by documenting what its creator describes as the everyday consequences of a tourism model that has prioritised visitor numbers over residents’...
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Labour casual elections: Two new faces in Parliament, six others make return
Eight Labour Party candidates were elected this morning in casual elections held to vacate seats of MPs who were elected from two districts in the general election held on 30 May. The exercise yielded four women and four men as new Labour MPs. In...
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St Peter’s Pool cliffside in danger of collapse, Public Works Department warns
The Department of Public Works has warned that the fractured cliffside at St Peter's Pool continues to pose a serious danger to the public, as it confirmed that access to the area was closed off on Thursday morning. In a statement issued following...
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Illegal Armier development continued despite notice for stop works, PA says
The Planning Authority has confirmed that an enforcement notice was issued against both Franklin Mangion and the Lands Authority over unauthorised development in a Natura 2000 site in Armier, Mellieħa, saying the contravener ignored instructions to...
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Delta Airlines inaugurates first ever direct service between Malta and New York
Delta Airlines has inaugurated the first-ever direct service between New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport and Malta International Airport, at an event attended by Prime Minister Robert Abela. The inaugural flight touched down at Malta...
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Mountaineer Rita Saliba becomes first Maltese woman to summit Denali
Maltese mountaineer Rita Saliba has become the first Maltese woman to reach the summit of Denali, completing the feat on 3 June and marking another milestone in her quest to conquer the Seven Summits, the highest mountains on each continent. Saliba,...
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Government issues full list of ministerial responsibilities under Abela’s new Cabinet
The government has published the full list of responsibilities assigned to each ministry and parliamentary secretariat on Friday. The detailed breakdown, issued by the Department of Information, outlines the entities, sectors and responsibilities...
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Ministers take oath of office in Valletta ceremony, speak of challenges they will face
The new Cabinet of Ministers was sworn in yesterday, with 21 ministers and two parliamentary secretaries taking the oath of office at the Palace in Valletta. The list of ministers and parliamentary secretaries was announced on Wednesday evening...
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Robert Abela announces 24-person Cabinet
Prime Minister Robert Abela formally announced his new Cabinet on Wednesday night, having spent the better part of the day meeting most his newly elected MPs. Abela’s team features a whopping 21 ministers and two Parliamentary Secretaries. Adding...
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ADPD’s Sandra Gauci misses out on Parliament seat due to gender quota ignoring non-PN/PL candidates
ADPD chairperson Sandra Gauci will miss out on a seat in Parliament, despite securing results that surpassed those of candidates expected to benefit from Malta’s gender corrective mechanism. The gender corrective mechanism excludes candidates who do...
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The voters who stayed home deserve to be heard too
Election day has come and gone, the votes have been counted, and attention has naturally turned to the winners and losers of Malta’s 2026 general election. Yet amid the celebrations, analyses and political calculations, there is another group whose...
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The messages sent by the voters
The Labour Party has won its fourth election in a row, becoming the first ever political party to achieve such a feat. Robert Abela will be sworn in as Prime Minister of the country in a ceremony to be held on Monday morning, as thousands of Labour...
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Malta heads to the polls today as voters choose the next government
Malta is heading to the polls today as voters across the country cast their ballots in a general election that will determine who governs the country for the next five years. Polling stations, most of which are located in State schools across the...
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Election campaign comes to an end as day of silence comes into force
A short and sharp electoral campaign came to an end on Thursday, with Friday being a day of silence where political commentary or promotion cannot be done. Malta’s two major political parties – the Labour Party and Nationalist Party – ended their...
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Abela, Borg clash over economy, quality of life and credibility in final election debate
In the final debate of the electoral campaign, Prime Minister Robert Abela and Nationalist Party Leader Alex Borg faced off in a debate dominated by competing visions for Malta’s future, with both leaders focusing heavily on the economy, taxation,...
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Alex Borg pledges to resign if metro fails as Robert Abela skips debate
Nationalist Party leader Alex Borg has pledged to resign if a PN government fails to deliver an operational metro line within its first five years in office, making one of the boldest commitments of the election campaign during a debate that Prime...
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US Memorial Day
Michael Harper the bugle at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial on Memorial Day on Monday in Washington. Photo: AP/Allison Robbert.
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Borg apologises for PN’s past mistakes in appeal to disillusioned voters
Nationalist Party Leader Alex Borg ended a mass meeting in Sliema with a direct apology to former Nationalist voters who had drifted away from the party, saying the PN had “done a lot of good” during its years in government but had also “made...
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PN presents plans for underground mass rapid transport system linking the airport to Pembroke
The Nationalist Party on Friday presented plans for the construction of an underground transport system linking the airport to Pembroke. The PN promised to build the first line in the next legislature, with eight stations being constructed...
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King strikes chord
Britain's King Charles III plays a ukulele while meeting members of the Loughries Men's Shed Ukulele Ensemble at Ards Allotments, near Strangford Lough in Newtownards, Northern Ireland, Thursday. Photo: Henry Nicholls/PA via AP
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STMicroelectronics takes next step with KK3 factory handover
The official handover of levels 0 and 1 of the KK3 Factory at STMicroelectronics took place on Wednesday, with government describing the project as a strategic investment in the country’s future economy. Addressing a press conference during the...
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Abela and Borg clash over economy, population and procurement in SMEs debate
At an election debate hosted by the Malta Chamber of SMEs on Tuesday, Prime Minister Robert Abela and Opposition leader Alex Borg clashed over economic policy, labour shortages, public procurement and Gozo’s development, at times having a heated...
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Cheers and jeers dominate first election debate between party leaders
There was no shortage of cheers, chants, jeers, heckles, or boos in the first debate between party leaders in this general election campaign, on Monday afternoon, at the University of Malta. On Monday, at the Sir Temi Zammit Hall on University campus,...
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Abela says Labour electoral manifesto is a ‘contract and guarantee’ with the people
Prime Minister Robert Abela said that Labour’s electoral manifesto is a “contract and guarantee” with the public, adding that only Labour has the experience and team capable of implementing its proposals and continue leading the country through...
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Naxxar families evacuated after structural failure at construction site
Several families living near a construction site in Naxxar were evacuated on Thursday night after part of the foundations of a building under development failed, prompting an emergency response by the authorities. The Building and Construction...
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