**In need of equity: Why Maltese start-ups are struggling to keep pace with Europe** When 28-year-old game developer Martina Camilleri walked into the Bank of Valletta branch in Birkirkara last February, she carried two years of audited accounts, a 40-page business plan and the confidence that her mobile-puzzle studio had just hit one million downloads….
**St Michael Takes Centre Stage: Gozo’s La Stella Hosts Rare Exhibition Celebrating the Archangel’s Local Legacy** Victoria’s historic La Stella theatre has transformed into a spiritual gallery this week as it hosts an extraordinary exhibition dedicated to St Michael the Archangel, drawing hundreds of Gozitans and visitors eager to explore the island’s deep-rooted devotion to…
RAW: Artist Veronica Lee on the beauty of imperfection In a sun-drenched studio overlooking Valletta’s Grand Harbour, Veronica Lee dips a cracked ceramic bowl into a basin of seawater she collected at dawn from Sliema’s shoreline. The bowl, once destined for a Żabbar charity-shop shelf, will become part of her new series “Kisses of the…
**Digital Platforms and Their Consequences for Democracy: A Maltese Wake-Up Call** On a humid August evening in Valletta, while tourists sip spritzes on Strait Street, a different kind of intoxication is unfolding on Maltese smartphones. Facebook groups buzz with political conspiracy theories, TikTok influencers shape youth opinions on abortion, and Telegram channels coordinate protests against…
**In the Hush of the Harbour: How “Wens, Comfortable Silence” is Teaching Valletta to Listen Again** Valletta’s streets rarely stay quiet for long. Between the brass bands rehearsing in the Upper Barrakka gardens, the ferry horns echoing across Grand Harbour and the clatter of pastizzi trays at dawn, the capital’s soundscape is as layered as…
**”I used to think endurance was healing. Then life taught me otherwise” – The Maltese wake-up call that’s gone viral from Valletta to Gozo** By *Hot Malta* Staff Writer The sentence started as a whisper on a Tuesday morning Facebook post by 34-year-old Żebbuġ baker Ramona Pace: *“I used to think endurance was healing. Then…
**Late-Night Shock Waves: How Kimmel’s Axing Over Kirk Remarks Echoes in Malta’s Free-Speech Debate** VALLETTA – Maltese night-owls who stream Jimmy Kimmel Live! while munching on ħobż biż-żejt woke up to a bombshell yesterday: ABC has pulled the plug on the veteran comic after a monologue mocking U.S. Senator Kirk’s “war-on-Christmas” crusade triggered a ferocious…
# France Braces for Disruption on Day of Anti-Macron ‘Anger’: What Malta Can Learn From French Protest Culture Valletta’s morning commuters may grumble about traffic on Triq ix-Xatt, but across the Mediterranean, France is preparing for a different kind of gridlock. As French unions call for a nationwide day of “anger” against President Emmanuel Macron’s…
**Malta, Pride and the Unfinished Psyche of a Traumatised Nation** The rainbow flags were still fluttering above Strait Street when the WhatsApp messages started circulating. “Did you see what they did to the Pride decorations in Valletta?” Within minutes, photos appeared: rainbow bunting torn down, posters defaced with religious slogans, a young man’s face bloodied…
**This is Not a Chihuahua: How Malta’s Dog Obsession Sparked a Viral Sensation** Valletta’s Republic Street was buzzing louder than a chihuahua’s bark last Saturday afternoon. Outside the new pet-friendly café “Paw-lazzo,” a crowd of twenty-somethings held up hand-painted signs reading “This is NOT a chihuahua!” while their own pocket-sized pooches—dressed in hand-knitted Malta-flag sweaters—yapped…
**Letters to the Editor – September 18, 2025: The Nation’s Front-Room Debate** By 6 a.m. the kiosks on Republic Street are already selling out of *Times of Malta*. Pensioners queue in the half-light, clutching coins for coffee and the day’s letters pages. By 8 a.m. the WhatsApp groups of every village *każin* are buzzing with…
Feast-day fireworks still hung in the humid Valletta air when Prime Minister Robert Abela stepped onto the Palace balcony at 09:00 sharp on 18 September 2025 to deliver a surprise televised address. Shopkeepers on Republic Street turned up their radios; bus drivers idled at City Gate to listen; café regulars at Café Cordina paused mid-pastizzi….
