**Malta’s Nation League Hopes: A Small Island, One Big Dream** *By Hot Malta Newsroom* The rain that lashed Ta’ Qali on Tuesday night had barely dried when the first flags appeared on balconies in Birkirkara. By Wednesday morning, the kiosk outside the Ħamrun scouts’ club had sold out of red T-shirts in every size but…
For 400 years the honey-coloured limestone façade of Dar Saura has watched over Triq il-Kbira in Żejtun like a silent elder, its Baroque balconies shuttered to all but pigeons and passing clouds. This Saturday and Sunday, for the first time in its long life, the doors of one of Malta’s last intact 17th-century urban palazzi…
Robbie Williams entertains Malta all over again By Hot Malta staff Valletta’s Grand Harbour shimmered like a disco ball on Friday night, and it wasn’t just the June humidity. Thirty-thousand Maltese voices—spanning nannas who still own the 1997 cassette of “Angels” to seven-year-olds wearing LED rabbit ears—belted every word back at Robbie Williams as he…
**5,481 Departures: The Human Story Behind Malta’s Migrant Returns** The figure lands like a slap: 5,481 people escorted off the island since 2021. Enough to fill the City Theatre in Valletta twice over, enough to populate a village the size of Żebbuġ. Yet behind every number is a name someone once whispered on a Sliema…
Valletta’s 16th-century walls have seen many envoys come and go, but few arrivals feel as timely as that of Jean-Marc Pisani, the new Head of the European Commission’s Representation in Malta. The French diplomat touched down in mid-May, just as the islands were shaking off the last Covid restrictions and bracing for a summer that…
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…
Accountant in the Dock: Żebbuġ Trust Shattered as €1.2 Million Goes Missing The morning air in Żebbuġ still carries the scent of last night’s ftira baking when 62-year-old Marcella* walks into the parish office to light a candle. She’s done it every day since her husband died, but this week she’s praying for something else:…
**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…
Football-mad Malta woke up to a new era yesterday as the long-awaited National Football Centre was officially opened at Ta’ Qali, flanked by two bona-fide Italian legends who know what it takes to reach the very summit of the game. World-Cup winner Fabio Cannavaro and former Inter & Juventus striker Christian Vieri swapped the San…
Citizenship is not a commodity. It’s a commitment. A Maltese reflection on what it really means to belong By 8 a.m. on any given Sunday, the square outside Mosta basilica smells of incense, espresso and the last wisps of qassatat cooling in paper bags. Inside, old women recite the rosary in Maltese so thick with…
Valletta’s narrow baroque streets echoed to a different beat last Saturday morning. Instead of the usual shuffle of cruise-shate maps and selfie sticks, children from the St Dominic community centre handed out free lemon-infused water to passers-by while pensioners in straw hats guided “micro-tours” of hidden courtyards normally bolted behind brass knockers. The pop-up initiative,…
Pre-budget reflections: fixing the basics, building the future By Hot Malta staff Valletta’s baroque balconies are glowing amber in the late-October sunset, but inside the Auberge de Castille the mood is spreadsheet-grey. Finance Minister Clyde Caruana has spent the week “listening” to unions, hunters, hoteliers and TikTok-ing teens who want cheaper bus fares. In cafés…
