Government pussyfoots around dockyard
By Ray Abdilla and Kurt Sansone
Dockyard workers aged 56 and over opting for an early retirement scheme were going to lose the customary Lm2,000 service bonus but in a sudden change of heart that could cost taxpayers an additional Lm800,000, government has decided to offer an ex gratia sum equivalent to the bonus. READ MORE >>

Inflation hits a high
According to statistics released yesterday by the National Statistics Office, last January Malta registered its highest rate of inflation since April 1996. At a rate of 3.27 per cent, the figure breached the three per cent mark for the first time since August 1998. READ MORE >>

Aznar visits Malta
Spanish Prime Minister Aznar arrived late last night in a lightening visit where he met the Prime Minister Eddie Fenech Adami and other top government officials. Spain presently holds the presidency of the Council of Ministers of the European Union Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar has claimed that Spain feels that EU presidency will be "a great opportunity for us to apply the policies we believe in." READ MORE >>