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Thirty-five entries from around the world added to 2020 list of national traditionsSauna culture in Finland, sourdough making in Malta, Budima dancing in Zambia and a grass mowing competition in Bosnia and Herzegovina have been added to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation’s prestigious list of intangible cultural heritage.The entries were among the 35 from around the world added to the list...

The murder of the Maltese anti-corruption journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia in 2017 plunged the country into turmoil. Guardian journalist Juliette Garside, who has been investigating Caruana Galizia's death, speaks with Matthew Caruana Galizia about his mother, his family's quest for justice, and how tragedy may be uniting the country over political divides Continue reading...

Savvas Kourepinis is the captain of the Astral, a humanitarian boat patrolling the Mediterranean Sea to rescue people attempting to cross the main maritime route from north Africa to Europe. For most of this year, the Covid-19 pandemic forced these vital search-and-rescue missions to cease in what is often referred to as the deadliest migration route in the world. As Kourepinis and his crew set...

Keith Schembri is under investigation for money laundering linked to sales of passports to rich foreignersPolice in Malta have arrested Keith Schembri, the former prime minister Joseph Muscat’s chief of staff, as part of an investigation into alleged kickbacks connected to the sale of Maltese passports.Schembri was arrested shortly after midnight on Tuesday, hours after a court issued a wide-ranging order for all his...

Detective tells court Daphne Caruana Galizia’s murder was motivated by desire to suppress informationPolice believe that the anti-corruption journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia was killed for what she was about to reveal about a government-sponsored power station deal, a court in Malta has heard.At the start of 2017, Caruana Galizia received a cache of 600,000 emails leaked from an energy company partly owned by Yorgen...

Joseph Muscat formally interviewed for first time in connection with investigationMalta’s former prime minister Joseph Muscat has been questioned by police in connection with the investigation into the murder of the anti-corruption journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia.Muscat resigned as leader of the EU member state in January after the widening political scandal surrounding the journalist’s death threatened to bring down his government. Continue reading...

The go-between in the car bombing of the Maltese journalist was found in a pool of blood despite 24-hour police guardThe self-confessed middleman in the murder of Maltese anti-corruption journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia has suffered serious knife injuries to his throat and torso, authorities and local media said, hours before he was due to give evidence in the case.Melvin Theuma, a former taxi driver,...

Women in Malta, where abortion is banned, have been unable to travel abroad for terminationsWomen in Malta seeking an abortion during the pandemic are being forced to procure their own miscarriage or keep an unwanted pregnancy, even when the child has a severe abnormality.Overseas charities have reported large increases in requests for abortion pills from women in Malta during the pandemic. Women On Web,...

Lawrence Cutajar allegedly interfered with investigation into death of journalist in 2017Malta’s police force has been ordered to open an inquiry into the country’s former police chief Lawrence Cutajar, following allegations that he interfered with the investigation into the 2017 murder of the prominent journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia.The order to “formally” investigate him was made on Monday by a magistrate who is presiding over...

Family of murdered journalist call on Malta to prosecute Ali Sadr Hashemi Nejadin, whose Pilatus Bank was shut down for money launderingThe US department of justice has made an unusual decision to drop charges against a prominent Iranian banker who was convicted of bank fraud in March after prosecutors in New York said they did not have the resources to continue to prosecute the...

Foreign ministry condemns Valletta for not abiding by international rules and ordering stricken boat to Sicily at gunpointThe Italian government  has confirmed that Malta’s armed forces turned a migrant boat away at gunpoint from Maltese waters, after giving them fuel and the GPS coordinates to reach Italy.Police in Sicily are investigating and the prosecutor’s office may open an investigation against Malta in the next few days. Maltese officers...

Survivors say an armed forces’ patrol vessel intercepted an overloaded dinghy, giving the refugees fuel and GPS coordinates for SicilyCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageThe Armed Forces of Malta (AFM) allegedly turned away at gunpoint a boat carrying migrants from their waters, after giving them fuel and the GPS coordinates to reach Italy.Exclusive footage is said to show an AFM vessel refusing...

Investigation centres on claims Beijing has spied on EU from Malta’s embassy in Brussels Malta’s ties to China have come under the spotlight after Belgium’s intelligence services confirmed they have been investigating suspicions that Beijing has been spying from the country’s embassy opposite the European commission’s headquarters in Brussels.A spokesman for Belgium’s homeland security service, the Veiligheid van de Staat, made the unusual disclosure...

IOM alarmed over apparent breach of law against returning asylum seekers to countries where they risk persecutionA United Nations agency has voiced alarm after a migrant boat stranded in Maltese waters carrying 49 people was returned to Libya, where hundreds have gone missing since the start of the year.The International Organization for Migration said it was “alarmed by this apparent breach of international law”,...

Son of murdered journalist says Robert Abela is ‘continuity candidate’ and must break with ‘corrupt legacy’ Malta’s new prime minister, Robert Abela, has a few days to prove whether he will break with “the corrupt legacy” of the past, a son of the murdered journalist Daphne Caruana Galiziahas said.Abela, an outsider who beat the favourite to become leader of Malta’s ruling Labour party on...

Robert Abela elected as Labour leader after PM Joseph Muscat resigned amid controversy surrounding investigation of journalist’s deathOutsider Robert Abela is set to become Malta’s new prime minister after the downfall of previous leader Joseph Muscat over the investigation into the murder of an investigative journalist.Abela, who is seen as representing continuity, was elected leader of the Labour party on Sunday, meaning he automatically...

Brussels calls for fast-track measures in response to Daphne Caruana Galizia murder caseThe European commission has urged the Maltese government to fast-track measures to end political interference in criminal prosecutions in response to revelations about the investigation into the murder of the journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia.The European justice commissioner, Didier Reynders, said recent developments in the case had highlighted systemic problems in the Maltese...

Media coalition wants guarantee of impartial investigation into murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia Malta’s prime minister, Joseph Muscat, is facing renewed pressure to quit immediately as EU leaders are urged to take a stand on the “desperate” situation in the country at a summit this week.Muscat, who is under fire over his role in the investigation into the murder of the journalist Daphne Caruana...