**Architects warn Malta’s construction frenzy is ‘eating the future’ – and the past** Valletta – Walk down any village street at 6 a.m. and the soundtrack is identical: pneumatic hammers, steel cutters and the low rumble of trucks dumping limestone dust into the dawn. To many Maltese, the noise has become the heartbeat of a…
**Local engineer uses AI to turn Malta’s 200-year-old constitution into a WhatsApp-forward that even nanna understands** By [Hot Malta Staff] VALLETTA – When software engineer Luke Camilleri tried to explain to his 82-year-old grandmother why she was entitled to a new pension supplement, he ended up chasing her around the kitchen with a 96-page PDF…
India, Iran join Belarus-Russia military drills – what it means for Malta’s neutral voice By Antoine Cassar, Hot Malta correspondent Valletta’s Grand Harbour usually wakes up to the low hum of cruise-liner engines and the clatter of cappuccino cups, not the rumble of distant tanks. Yet when news broke this week that India and Iran…
**HSBC Malta’s €200m Exit: The End of an Era for the Red-and-White Bank** Sliema’s Tower Road was already buzzing with Tuesday-morning espresso steam when the WhatsApp forwards landed: HSBC Malta is being sold to CrediaBank for €200 million. Within minutes, pensioners in the queue at the branch opposite Preluna Hotel were asking tellers if their…
Paola’s 60-year-old health centre closed its doors for the last time at 7 p.m. on Friday, and by Monday morning patients were already being greeted by sunlight, potted lavender and a bar-code check-in kiosk at the town’s new €14 million Primary Health Hub. The shift, which transferred 22,000 medical files overnight, marks the biggest upgrade…
**How Crypto and Stablecoins are Quietly Revolutionising Maltese Business – From Valletta Start-ups to Gozo Farmhouses** By *Hot Malta* Staff Writer Walk down Republic Street on a Saturday afternoon and you’ll still hear the clink of euros on café counters, but behind the scenes Malta’s economy is quietly morphing into something the Knights could never…
**Parliament to Tackle Drink-Drug Driving in Landmark Bill: “One Joint Can Cost a Life”** Valletta – A sweeping overhaul of Malta’s road-safety laws landed in parliament last night, promising zero-tolerance for drivers who mix wheels with weed, wine or white lines. The “Traffic Safety (Amendment) Bill, 2024” introduces roadside saliva swabs, instant 48-hour licence suspensions…
**Tougher measures against reckless drivers go before parliament** After yet another summer marked by twisted metal on our roads, Parliament will finally debate a sweeping package of amendments designed to scare speed merchants into behaving. The draft law, tabled by Transport Minister Aaron Farrugia on Monday, would let courts confiscate and auction vehicles used in…
Alien of the Deep: First Bigfin Squid Sighted Off Gozo, Sending Shockwaves Through Malta’s Fishing Community By Hot Malta Correspondent A creature straight out of science fiction has slipped into Malta’s azure backyard. Last Tuesday, at 03:17 a.m., Gozo Channel fisherman Darren “Dudu” Saliba felt his nylon long-line go piano-wire tense. Expecting a dentex or…
A sleek grey quadcopter lifts off above the Grand Harbour, its four rotors humming like an oversized wasp. From the Upper Barrakka Gardens, tourists point their phones skyward, expecting another influencer’s sunset reel. Instead, the drone suddenly freezes mid-air, shudders, and executes a neat U-turn back to the helipad of a nondescript white van parked…
**Pedestrian Injured in Victoria Accident: A Wake-Up Call for Gozo’s Capital** A 67-year-old local man was rushed to Gozo General Hospital yesterday evening after being struck by a car while crossing Republic Street in Victoria, sending shockwaves through the tight-knit community and reigniting long-standing concerns about pedestrian safety in the island’s bustling capital. The incident…
Robert Redford, the golden-haired icon who turned “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” into the cinematic equivalent of a Mediterranean sunset, has died at 89. News of his passing reached Malta just after dawn on Tuesday, flickering across phone screens in Sliema cafés and on fishing boats bobbing off Marsaxlokk. Within minutes the island did…
