Malta’s Roberta Metsola looked Marco Rubio straight in the eye and told him Europe and the United States must “lead together, not lecture each other,” if the world is to stand any chance of peace. The European Parliament President, only the third Maltese national ever to hold an EU top-job, was speaking in Washington on…
Sarkozy’s Fall From Grace Resonates in Malta, Where ‘Politici B’Kuluri’ Still Walk Free By [Hot Malta Staff] Valletta’s coffee shops buzzed yesterday with two conversations: the price of pastizzi and the image of Nicolas Sarkozy, the former French president, being handed a five-year prison sentence—three of them suspended—for corruption and influence peddling. In a country…
**From Valletta to Via Montenapoleone: How Milan’s Armani-Renaissance Fusion Sparks a Maltese Rethink of Fashion and Heritage** Milan’s latest cultural cocktail—Giorgio Armani’s haute couture threaded through the rooms of the newly restored Palazzo Reale—has set Italian social media alight, but the ripples are being felt far beyond the Po Valley. In Malta, where baroque balconies…
**Merz’s East German Tour: A Cautionary Tale for Malta’s Own Battle with Extremism** Friedrich Merz’s whistle-stop tour through Germany’s former communist east this week reads like a political thriller set in a half-finished democracy. The CDU leader is racing to blunt the far-right AfD’s surge before three state elections in September, and every handshake in…
**Palestinian Leader to Address UN as Peace Push Gathers Steam: Malta’s Historic Role in Middle East Diplomacy** As Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas prepares to address the United Nations General Assembly this week, momentum for renewed Middle East peace talks has reached a critical juncture. For Malta, a nation whose own history is deeply intertwined with…
# Yemen Drone Attack on Israeli Resort Sends Shockwaves Through Malta’s Travel Community Valletta – When a Yemeni drone packed with shrapnel exploded beside a seaside swimming pool in Eilat on Sunday, the blast was felt 2,000 kilometres away in Malta. Within minutes, Maltese tour operators’ WhatsApp groups lit up: “Anyone with clients at the…
**Yemen Drone Attack on Israeli Resort Resonates in Malta: A Mediterranean Reflection on Regional Tensions** As dawn broke over the Red Sea resort of Eilat on Monday, the familiar rhythm of waves crashing against coral reefs was shattered by an explosive impact that would ripple across the Mediterranean. A drone launched from Yemen struck a…
**Russia’s War Machine Rolls On: What Malta’s Ukrainian Diaspora Feels When Moscow Says “Never Retreat”** Valletta’s Upper Barrakka gardens were unusually quiet at dawn on Tuesday, the usual clatter of cruise-shate selfie-sticks replaced by the soft clink of amber worry-beads. Below the gun-salute battery, a small cluster of Ukrainian women—waitresses from St Julian’s hotels, carers…
**Valletta Vigil Echoes Across the Med as Gaza Flotilla Claims Drone Harassment** Valletta’s Grand Harbour fell silent for 60 seconds on Tuesday evening as 300 Maltese activists, fishermen, and grandmothers linked paper boats to form a floating chain of lights. They were answering a pan-pan call from the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, whose three-craft aid convoy—now…
From the sun-drenched balconies of Sliema to the saunas of Helsinki, a quiet revolution is taking place in how Maltese and Finnish punters approach sports betting. While Malta has long been Europe’s iGaming capital, Finland’s state-controlled monopoly system offers a fascinating contrast that savvy Maltese operators and players are learning to navigate. The Finnish betting…
Maltese Socialist MEP Alex Agius Saliba has thrown Malta into the global debate over sport and conflict, urging FIFA and UEFA to suspend Israeli football clubs and national teams from international competition until a lasting cease-fire is reached in Gaza. Agius Saliba’s appeal, tabled in the European Parliament this week, mirrors a landmark resolution adopted…
Late-night host Jimmy Kimmel’s on-air blast against “anti-American” pressure on comedians has struck a chord in Malta, where satirists, script-writers and stand-ups are watching Washington’s war on wisecracks and wondering if Valletta could be next. “If the government starts threatening comedians, that’s anti-American,” Kimmel told his ABC audience after the White House floated new “civility…
