**Ferry Captain Testifies Boatman Bit Him After Filming Row: A Very Maltese Maritime Drama Unfolds** In a courtroom scene that could rival any festa fireworks display for drama, a Gozo Channel ferry captain took the stand this week to recount how a local boatman allegedly bit him during a heated confrontation over smartphone filming –…
**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…
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….
A patch of scrubland opposite Gozo’s most beloved pilgrimage site is being transformed into a fragrant, climate-resilient garden, signalling a quiet revolution in how the sister island protects its sacred landscapes. The Ta’ Pinu greening project—launched last month by the Ministry for Gozo, the local council of Għarb and nature NGO Żibel—will see 3,000 indigenous…
**Hedymeles: A Fairytale for Adults That’s Enchanting Malta’s Creative Scene** In a country where Baroque facades meet TikTok trends, a new hybrid creature has landed: *Hedymeles*, a limited-edition art-and-text volume that reads like a Brothers Grimm tale after three shots of local honey liquor. The project—half illuminated manuscript, half graphic novel—was quietly launched last month…
Letters to the editor – September 17, 2025 By Hot Malta Staff Valletta’s morning sun had barely hit the honey-coloured stones of Republic Street when the first email landed in our inbox. By 09:30, the digital pile numbered 47; by deadline, 123. In a country where the population could fit inside a medium-sized Italian stadium,…
Alien of the Deep: First Bigfin Squid Sighted Off Gozo, Sending Shockwaves Through Malta’s Fishing Community By Hot Malta Correspondent A creature straight out of science fiction has slipped into Malta’s azure backyard. Last Tuesday, at 03:17 a.m., Gozo Channel fisherman Darren “Dudu” Saliba felt his nylon long-line go piano-wire tense. Expecting a dentex or…
**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…
Robert Redford, the golden-haired icon who turned “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” into the cinematic equivalent of a Mediterranean sunset, has died at 89. News of his passing reached Malta just after dawn on Tuesday, flickering across phone screens in Sliema cafés and on fishing boats bobbing off Marsaxlokk. Within minutes the island did…
A centuries-old canvas that survived Napoleonic plunder, damp limestone walls and even a misguided 1970s varnish has been returned to its rightful home in the heart of Gozo, and the village of Żebbuġ greeted it like a long-lost relative. On Sunday, after a 14-month conservation campaign financed entirely by local donations, the 1768 oil painting…
**Gozo’s Stone Saints Go Postal: New MaltaPost Festa Stamps Celebrate Island’s Living Tradition** Victor Camilleri’s garage in Xagħra smells of paraffin and sawdust. For 35 years the 68-year-old has carved, sanded and painted the statues that will be hoisted on shoulders in August for the feast of the Assumption. This summer, however, his workshop has…
**Malta Marks September 16 with Pride, Promise and a Pinch of Pagentry** *by our newsroom | Tuesday, 16 September 2025* Valletta’s Grand Harbour cannon boomed at noon today, heralding a raft of national announcements that blended heritage, hard cash and high hopes for the future. While the rest of Europe treated Tuesday as routine, Malta…
