Malta Independent
Navanethem 'Navi' Pillay wins the Nobel Peace Prize for her work in international justice
Former U.N. human rights chief Navanethem "Navi" Pillay, a judge on the International Court of Justice, won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday in Oslo, Norway. The South Africa-born Pillay, 85 years old, was recognized for her efforts to promote peace...
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Planning Authority approves Malta’s first crematorium in Siġġiewi amid strong objections
The Planning Authority has approved Malta's first crematorium in Siġġiewi by a 7-2 vote, despite fierce opposition from local residents, the local council, former minister John Dalli, and former Nationalist MP Karol Aquilina. Proposed by funeral...
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Three years on
People carrying Israeli flags walk through an installation marking the third anniversary of the 7 October, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel, on the beachfront in Tel Aviv,
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Energy subsidies have cost Malta more than Covid, Clyde Caruana says; COLA to be 'around €5'
Energy subsidies have cost Malta significantly more than the COVID-19 pandemic, Finance Minister Clyde Caruana said on Tuesday, as he defended the government's decision to keep shielding households and businesses from soaring international energy...
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Spain’s prime minister calls early elections aiming to seize momentum over housing crisis
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced early general elections on Monday, aiming to seize momentum from housing protests that have roiled the country and frame the vote around affordability issues. The election is scheduled for November 29,...
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Human tower
Members of Castellers de Lleida form a "castell" human tower during the 30th Concurs de Castells, or Human Tower Competition, in Tarragona, Spain on Saturday.
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PA orders removal of unauthorised restaurant structure in Sliema
The Planning Authority on Friday issued an enforcement notice ordering the immediate removal of an unauthorised structure erected in front of a catering establishment at The Strand in Sliema, following complaints over the use of public space,...
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Chief Justice urges government, Opposition to find ‘mature’ solution for his successor
Chief Justice Mark Chetcuti has told the Government and the Opposition that he will remain in post until Parliament chooses his successor, urging them to find a "just path" and a solution that shows maturity, and saying the way the matter had been...
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Energy subsidies to continue, but Caruana refuses to confirm €1,000 Super Bonus for 2027 Budget
The government will continue subsidising fuel and electricity prices in next year's budget, Finance Minister Clyde Caruana said on Wednesday, arguing that maintaining the measures is necessary to protect households and the Maltese economy from...
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Talks on next Chief Justice should continue immediately, Justice Minister says
Talks on who should be Malta’s next Chief Justice should continue immediately, Justice Minister Clifton Grima has told The Malta Independent. Chief Justice Mark Chetcuti’s term was meant to have ended in February earlier this year as he reached...
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Swift sets VMA record
Taylor Swift, left, accepts the award for video of the year for "The Fate of Ophelia," from Snoop Dogg during the MTV Video Music Awards on Sunday, at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. The pop powerhouse also received the inaugural Artist Director...
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Man, 31, found dead after argument in St Julian’s; alleged aggressor arrested
A 31-year-old Moroccan man was found dead following an argument in Spinola Gardens on Sunday morning, with police later arresting a 27-year-old Polish man in St George's Bay. Police were informed at around 6.30am that a man who appeared to be lifeless...
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‘Dare to trust’ as suspicion threatens global cooperation, PM tells UN
Trust, or rather the erosion of it, was at the centre of Prime Minister Robert Abela’s address to the United Nations General Assembly on Friday, as he argued that growing suspicion between governments, institutions and citizens was undermining the...
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Activists storm conference to call for Planning Authority chief’s resignation
Moviment Graffitti and Friends of the Earth Malta have escalated their campaign against Planning Authority CEO Johann Buttigieg, following a high-profile direct action protest staged at the db Group hotel in St Julian's. The demonstration disrupted a...
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Wied Dalam rehabilitated
Following extensive restoration, Wied Dalam has been transformed into a new space for discovery, welcoming visitors for the first time as part of an enhanced experience at Għar Dalam and Museum in Birżebbuġa. Photo: Heritage Malta.
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Prosecution appeals Yorgen Fenech acquittal in Daphne Caruana Galizia murder case
The prosecution has filed an appeal against the acquittal of Yorgen Fenech in the trial over the murder of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia. Lawyers from the Office of the Attorney General filed the appeal on Tuesday, a day before the deadline for...
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Tabone renews call for dedicated Gozo drug squad amid rising cocaine treatment figures
Gozo shadow minister Frank Anthony Tabone has renewed his call for a dedicated police unit to tackle drug-trafficking in Gozo, telling The Malta Independent that cocaine use is spreading “across all strata of society” on the island, at a time when...
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PN Leader’s office to move to Valletta to be closer to the people, Borg says
Nationalist Party leader Alex Borg announced that the office of the PN leader will move outside of its headquarters in Pieta to Valletta, to be closer to the people, in a move he described as the “next step to Castille.” Speaking on Sunday, on the eve...
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Reserve juror in Yorgen Fenech trial arrested as police widen investigations
A reserve juror who served in the trial of Yorgen Fenech was arrested on Friday morning and was expected to be questioned by police later in the day, Times of Malta reported. The arrest comes a day after other jurors in the case were arrested and...
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Jurors from Yorgen Fenech trial arrested, questioned by police
Several jurors who served in the trial of Yorgen Fenech have been arrested and questioned by police today in an investigation which is related to the trial, reports have revealed. In a statement Thursday evening, the police did not mention any arrests...
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107 months on: Thousands protest for justice for Daphne Caruana Galizia in Valletta
Valletta’s Republic Street was packed with thousands of demonstrators and hundreds of signs as citizens marched through the capital appealing for justice for Daphne Caruana Galizia, exactly a fortnight since Yorgen Fenech was acquitted from his charges...
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Wounded wings
A European Roller with multiple shotgun injuries on its wings is seen flying over Buskett on Monday afternoon. Hundreds of migratory species made landfall in Malta on Sunday to take shelter from bad weather in the Mediterranean, with BirdLife Malta...
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Vatican exhibition
Pope Leo XIV, left, looks at the installation "Diluvium" by French artist Jean Rene, known as JR, as he arrives at the Vatican Library on Monday, during a press preview of the exhibit "AQVA, Catastrophe and Wonder," which will be open to the public...
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Alex Borg proposes selfregulating media agency to oversee journalist warrants
Nationalist Party leader Alex Borg has proposed the establishment of a self-regulating media agency that could be responsible for issuing warrants to journalists, arguing that such powers should not be placed in the hands of a government...
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Fenech’s lawyers say jury verdict is under attack ‘on the basis of malicious lies and fabrications’
Yorgen Fenech's defence lawyers have issued a letter to the media in which they stated that it is "unacceptable that a practically unanimous verdict should be the subject of attack on the basis of malicious lies and fabrications." Fenech's lawyers...
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Robert Abela says Malta cannot support EU taxation as 2028-2034 budget talks begin
Prime Minister Robert Abela and European Council President António Costa discussed the EU’s long-term budget, competitiveness, migration, Ukraine and the situation in the Middle East during talks in Malta on Thursday. Costa met Abela at the Auberge de...
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Muscat ‘baffled’ by Fenech jury verdict, says he treated Daphne’s murder as a ‘terrorist attack’
Former Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said on Wednesday that he is “baffled” by the verdict reached by jurors in the trial of Yorgen Fenech, as he addressed the media in a press conference a week after the businessman walked free of charges in connection...
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Bishop urges Malta to pursue ‘victories’ of life, truth and integrity on Victory Day
Auxiliary Bishop Joseph GaleaCurmi has called on the Maltese people to focus not only on the historic victories commemorated on Victory Day but also on the moral and social "victories" that Malta must strive to achieve today. Delivering his homily at...
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Matthew Caruana Galizia seeks Yorgen Fenech retrial and State accountability
Matthew Caruana Galizia has slammed the recent acquittal of Yorgen Fenech in the assassination of his mother, investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, declaring that Fenech "got away with murder" and demanding an immediate retrial. Fenech was...
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Abela says he has full faith in Attorney General, blasts PN remarks as undermining possible appeal
Prime Minister Robert Abela has said that he has full faith in Attorney General Victoria Buttigieg and simultaneously blasted the Nationalist Party for its “dangerous” remarks which he says may jeopardise any potential future appeal on the jury trial...
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Alex Borg attempt to discuss motion on Daphne inquiry rejected by government
The government on Friday rejected a discussion on a motion presented by the Opposition Leader, calling upon the government to implement the Daphne Caruana Galizia public inquiry recommendations by the end of October. The request for the discussion on...
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Parliament to convene urgently today to discuss Fenech verdict
Prime Minister Robert Abela said the government has agreed for Parliament to be convened urgently to discuss the aftermath of the Yorgen Fenech trial, but said he hoped the debate will be carried out within certain parameters that will not prejudice...
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Yorgen Fenech NOTGUILTY
A jury on Wednesday acquitted businessman Yorgen Fenech of masterminding the 2017 assassination of investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, bringing the long-running murder case against him to an end. Fenech, a prominent businessman, had been...
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Judge continues evidence review as Fenech trial moves closer to jury deliberations
Madam Justice Edwina Grima on Tuesday continued taking jurors through the evidence heard during the Yorgen Fenech trial, revisiting testimony concerning the alleged murder plot, Melvin Theuma’s contacts with people around him and the subsequent police...
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‘You are sovereign judges of fact’: Fenech jury told to ignore emotion, follow the evidence
The trial of Yorgen Fenech has entered its decisive stage, with Judge Edwina Grima beginning her final address to the jury on Monday after two months of testimony and evidence in the case concerning the assassination of journalist Daphne Caruana...
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Nepal’s flood aftermath
A drone view of the aftermath of flash flooding at the confluence of the Trishuli and Tadi rivers in the Devighat area of Nuwakot district, Nepal, Saturday. Photo: AP/Rajesh Kumar Singh
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Fenech’s actions prove he was behind Daphne’s murder, prosecution says as defence attacks Theuma’s version
Prosecutor Anthony Vella told the jury that the evidence against Yorgen Fenech forms a chain leading directly to him as the person who ordered Daphne Caruana Galizia’s assassination, arguing that his financial interests, his relationship with middleman...
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Defence rests case after three witnesses as prosecution says evidence proves Fenech’s guilt
The defence in Yorgen Fenech’s trial by jury closed its case in half a morning on Thursday, calling just three witnesses before resting, as the proceedings moved into the final stage with the prosecution beginning its closing submissions, telling...
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A daughter remembered NSO survey shows strong support for gender equality
An overwhelming majority of adults in Malta believe household responsibilities should be shared equally between partners and reject traditional gender stereotypes, according to the latest National Statistics Office (NSO) omnibus survey. However, the...
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‘There are your fingerprints all over this murder’: Prosecution ends Fenech cross-examination
Prosecutor Godwin Cini accused Yorgen Fenech of having his “fingerprints all over” the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia on Tuesday, bringing a heated three-day cross-examination to an end before the defence launched an attack on Melvin Theuma’s...
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Yorgen Fenech tells jury he felt betrayed by Keith Schembri
Yorgen Fenech told jurors on Monday that he felt betrayed by former OPM chief of staff Keith Schembri as he continued to deny any involvement in the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia. Fenech was being cross-examined by prosecutor Godwin Cini,...
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Floriana Council to close doors in symbolic protest over depopulation
The Floriana Local Council will close its doors on Tuesday 25 August as it stages a symbolic protest over what it describes as the locality’s worsening depopulation crisis. Speaking to The Malta Independent, Deputy Mayor James Aaron Ellul said the...
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I had no role in Daphne murder, Fenech tells jury
Yorgen Fenech told the jury on Friday that Keith Schembri was the person who drew him into dealings with Melvin Theuma after Daphne Caruana Galizia's assassination, including passing on warnings about police investigations. Taking the witness stand in...
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‘She died investigating’: Prosecution closes case with testimony from Daphne’s son
Daphne Caruana Galizia’s son Andrew told jurors about his mother’s investigative work, her fears in the weeks before her assassination and the devastating impact her death had on the family, as his testimony brought the prosecution’s case in Yorgen...
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Wildfire aftermath
A view of a burned area a day after a wildfire in Peristeria village on the island of Salamina, west of Athens, Greece.
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‘Very unusual’: Malta records no loggerhead turtle nests despite 11 nesting attempts - Nature Trust
Nature Trust – FEE Malta has described this year’s loggerhead turtle nesting season as “very unusual”, after Malta recorded 11 nesting attempts but not a single confirmed nest so far this summer. Nature Trust – FEE Malta, together with the Environment...
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Two education investigations resolved following commitments on consultation and forward planning
Two investigations which were being conducted by the Commissioner for Education, Chief Justice Emeritus Vincent A. De Gaetano, concerning matters affecting students with disabilities have been closed following developments during the investigations and...
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‘There’s no bigger liar than you’: George Degiorgio tells Theuma in furious courtroom clash
A furious confrontation erupted between convicted hitman George Degiorgio and self-confessed murder middleman Melvin Theuma during Yorgen Fenech’s trial by jury on Thursday, with Degiorgio branding Theuma “the biggest liar” before security officers...
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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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