German Maestro Christoph von Dohnányi Dies at 95: The Conductor Who Once Whispered to Malta’s Waves By [Author Name], Hot Malta Culture Desk Valletta’s limestone balconies stood a shade quieter on Wednesday as news reached the island that Christoph von Dohnányi—the German conductor whose baton once teased a Mediterranean breeze during Malta’s 2005 Valletta International…
Valletta wakes up to shockwaves from the Gulf: Israeli airstrikes on Doha that reportedly eliminated Hamas politburo chief Ismail Haniyeh have rattled Malta’s tight-knit Arab diaspora, triggered emergency consular checks and reignited debate on the island’s role as a neutral bridge between Europe and the Middle East. The pre-dawn explosions, which Qatari authorities blame on…
Cacopardo ‘not surprised’ by PN voters dispute, says he was told he could vote By Hot Malta Staff Sliema’s coffee shops were still humming with post-election cappuccino post-mortems when Arnold Cassola dropped the bombshell: “Hundreds of non-members appear on the PN electoral list.” Within minutes, the phone rang in Carmel Cacopardo’s Valletta apartment. “Did you…
Valletta – A 34-year-old Maltese national has been handed a six-month effective jail term after admitting he used a forged French passport to try to slip out of Malta undetected, reigniting debate on how far islanders will go to sidestep Schengen visa rules and reach the continent. Magistrate Natasha Sciberras heard how Kurt Micallef, unemployed…
**Watch: Fireworks linked to blaze that destroys buses but enthusiasts blame owner** A dawn inferno that gutted three tourist coaches in Qormi on Sunday has reignited Malta’s perennial fireworks debate, after amateur video showed a rocket streaking into the depot seconds before flames erupted. While investigators remain cautious, the footage—shared thousands of times by Monday…
Borg, Delia hold first meeting after PN election: a coffee, a handshake, and the ghost of 2017 Valletta’s Café Cordina was still perfumed with pastizzi steam yesterday morning when Bernard Grech’s two erstwhile rivals met for the first time since Saturday’s bruising Nationalist Party leadership contest. Adrian Delia, the ousted leader who refuses to leave…
Debate flares over restoration works in Mosta’s Speranza Valley ————————————————————- By [Author Name] | Hot Malta Correspondent MOSTA – A dawn mist still clung to the terraced fields when the first pneumatic drill bit into the limestone. Within minutes, a Facebook live-stream pinged across village group chats: “They’re destroying the valley!” By sunset, the quarrel…
School camp organisers lumped with bill five times higher than agreed price Żebbuġ primary school’s annual “Kamp tan-Natura” was supposed to end with toasted marshmallows and teary farewells last Friday. Instead, 47 eight-year-olds watched their teachers argue with Gozo campsite managers while a credit-card machine beeped “declined” in the background. The bill had ballooned from…
**Tragedy Across the Atlantic: Malta’s Mexican Community Mourns as Train-Bus Crash Claims 10 Lives** The Mediterranean morning was just beginning to warm when WhatsApp messages started pinging across Malta’s tight-knit Mexican community. By 7am, the group chat that usually buzzed with plans for Sunday salsa nights at Havana Club and where to find proper corn…
Shock and ash spiralled over Naxxar yesterday afternoon as three Arriva-era buses were turned to blackened shells in a ferocious blaze that erupted inside the old Magnolia Depot behind the parish church. By the time the last hose was rolled up at 6.42 p.m., little remained except smouldering frames, the acrid smell of burnt rubber…
**Cab driver who crashed into hair salon while drunk avoids prison time** A 42-year-old taxi driver who smashed his cab into a Sliema hair salon while more than twice the legal alcohol limit has walked free from court with a suspended sentence, reigniting debate about how Malta treats drunk-driving offences. Magistrate Rachel Montebello sentenced the…
**Young Voices, Big Dreams: Gozo’s Next Generation Takes the Mic** *A new public-speaking course on Malta’s sister island is turning shy schoolchildren into confident storytellers—and giving Gozo’s dialect a proud new stage.* XAGĦRA, GOZO—On a breezy Thursday afternoon, the usually quiet parish hall in Xagħra echoes with applause. A 10-year-old wearing her brother’s oversized blazer…
