Valletta’s Grand Harbour usually greets cruise-ship horns and summer fireworks, but last Tuesday the harbour-front bar TVs were tuned to a different spectacle: ARTE Europe Weekly’s sobering report “Is Russia’s hybrid war entering a new phase?” Patrons who expected the usual Euro-drama found themselves watching analysts trace disinformation arcs from the Baltic to the Mediterranean….
**Keith Schembri’s Assistant Messaged Yorgen Fenech Hours Before His Arrest: A Nation Left Reeling** In the early hours of November 20th, 2019, as Maltese families prepared for another Wednesday morning, a WhatsApp message pinged on Yorgen Fenech’s phone. The sender: Kathleen Bezzina, personal assistant to then-Prime Minister Joseph Muscat’s chief of staff Keith Schembri. The…
MUT makes tax, pension proposals in suggestions on the Budget ————————————————————— By Hot Malta Newsroom | Tuesday, 14 May 2024, 7:45 am The Malta Union of Teachers has lobbed a fresh set of demands into Castille’s letterbox ahead of this October’s Budget, and—true to form—they’re not asking for flashy gimmicks. Instead, the 8,000-member union wants…
By 2050, Malta’s youngest citizens will be pushing 40, its pensioners will out-number under-15s two-to-one, and the sea lapping Valletta’s bastions could be 65 cm higher than it is today. “Vision 2050: goals for better lives”, adopted quietly by Parliament last month, is the island’s first long-term national strategy that dares to look beyond electoral…
**Money Market Report: Maltese Savers Reap Quiet Wins as European Rates Hold Steady** *Week ended 19 September 2025* Valletta – While the rest of Europe argued over ECB minutes and German factory orders, Malta’s money market hummed to the gentler rhythm of festa fireworks and the clink of espresso cups in Republic Street cafés. For…
**Global Trade is Winning Donald Trump’s War on It – And Malta’s Feeling the Ripple** Valletta’s Grand Harbour, usually buzzing with cargo chatter and the clatter of containers, has become an unlikely barometer for Donald Trump’s global trade wars. While the former US President promised to “make America great again” by slapping tariffs on Chinese…
**Maltese Travellers Breathe Easy as Copenhagen, Oslo Airports Reopen After Drone Chaos** Maltese travellers heading north for their winter getaways can finally exhale after Copenhagen and Oslo airports resumed operations following a dramatic day of drone-related closures that saw flights diverted across Scandinavia. The disruption, which began early Tuesday morning, forced Malta International Airport (MIA)…
On a wind-lashed afternoon in Għar Lapsi, while most Maltese fishermen were still mending their nets, Croatian freediver Budimir Šobat was preparing to do what science once swore was impossible: stay alive without breathing for 29 minutes and 30 seconds. The record, ratified last week by Guinness World Records, did not fall in the Red…
Watch: A pope, a dog, and a life’s savings – scam victims’ unbelievable tragedies ================================================================================= Floriana pensioner Maria* thought she was answering a call from the Archbishop’s Curia. Instead, she handed €42,000 – her deceased husband’s ġemma tal-pensjoni – to a man who promised a papal blessing and a 300 % “miracle” return. Three weeks…
Valletta advocate Jason Azzopardi’s warning to the police last August that a multi-million-euro valuation had been “hidden” from the courts is now reverberating through every village bar and Facebook forum on the islands. The document – a 2018 assessment that put the value of a prime St Julian’s development site at €110 million, not the…
Feast-to-Fireworks: How the Announcements of 23 September 2025 Are Rewriting Malta’s Calendar By Hot Malta staff | 23 September 2025 Valletta’s Grand Harbour woke up to more than just the usual clang of church bells this morning. As the sun crept over the fortifications, Principal Permanent Secretary Mario Cutajar stepped onto a makeshift stage outside…
Letters to the Editor – September 23, 2025: The Island Speaks Back By Luke Caruana | Hot Malta Valletta’s morning cafés were still clinking with espresso cups when the Times of Malta’s letters page landed on doorsteps and screens island-wide. By 8 a.m., WhatsApp groups from Marsaxlokk to Mellieħa were buzzing about the same thing:…
