Court confirms sanctioning of illegalities at Fortina’s Sliema lido By Hot Malta staff The Court of Appeal has upheld a planning tribunal’s decision to sanction years of illegal development at the Fortina Lido on Sliema’s once-pristine foreshore, closing a chapter that many residents hoped would end with demolition rather than forgiveness. In a 42-page judgment…
FCM Bank opens premium banking branch in Malta By Hot Malta staff Sliema’s buzzing Tower Road woke up to a fresh coat of financial polish this morning as FCM Bank cut the ribbon on its first flagship “premium banking lounge” on the island, a move the lender says is less about marble counters and more…
Watch: Police to decide on ‘way forward’ on Fortina land scandal By Hot Malta Staff Sliema’s seafront promenade has always been a stage for Maltese summer theatre: kids cannon-balling off the rocks, pensioners arguing over ħobż-bi-żejt recipes, and, this week, a small but determined cluster of residents clutching cardboard signs that read “Hands Off Our…
Where Malta comes together – a guide to community-centric spaces =============================================================== Valletta’s Republic Street on a Saturday night hums like a tuned engine: couples lean over iced cocktails at Bridge Bar, teenagers queue for vegan pastizzi at Jubilee’s, and a knot of pensioners argue about football beneath the bronze gaze of Queen Victoria. Yet step…
**Boy, 16, Seriously Injured in E-Scooter Crash with Car in Sliema** A 16-year-old boy is fighting for his life following a collision between his e-scooter and a car on the Sliema seafront on Tuesday evening, reigniting fierce debate about micro-mobility safety and regulation in Malta. The teenager, whose identity has not been released, suffered serious…
**Man Accused of Injuring and Robbing Partner in Domestic Violence Case That Shocks Sliema Community** A 34-year-old man from Sliema has been charged with grievously injuring his partner and stealing from her, in a case that has sent shockwaves through Malta’s traditionally tight-knit coastal community. The accused, whose name cannot be published due to ongoing…
**Cassola Questions Borg’s Denial: The Fortina Land Deal That Has Malta Talking** In the bustling heart of Sliema, where tourists sip cocktails overlooking the glittering Mediterranean and locals navigate narrow streets lined with traditional townhouses and modern developments, a land controversy has reignited debates about transparency in Malta’s rapid urban transformation. Arnold Cassola, the veteran…
**Watch: Lands minister backs CEO amid Fortina land valuation controversy** Lands Minister Stefan Zrinzo Azzopardi has thrown his weight behind the Lands Authority CEO Robert Vella, insisting Vella “enjoys my full confidence” despite a mushrooming public outcry over the €1.9 million valuation placed on a prime 3,000-square-metre tract of seabed opposite the Fortina Hotel in…
‘In bad taste’: Joseph Muscat defends dead judge in Fortina report scandal By Hot Malta Staff Sliema’s seafront was still buzzing with Tuesday-afternoon ice-cream queues when former prime minister Joseph Muscat took to Facebook to slam a parliamentary report that blamed the late Judge Antonio Mizzi for the 1990s Fortina hotel concession. Within minutes, the…
**Criminal report filed against ex-OPM, Lands chiefs on €13m Fortina case ‘fraud’** A criminal complaint has been lodged with Malta’s police commissioner accusing two former senior public officials of fraud, misappropriation and criminal conspiracy over the controversial €13 million expropriation of the Fortina Hotel’s seafront footprint in 2018. The report, signed by Repubblika president Robert…
Ian Borg vows to recover ‘every cent owed to the people’ after Fortina scandal By Hot Malta Staff Sliema’s iconic seafront was unusually quiet yesterday morning, save for the clatter of camera shutters and the low hum of ministers’ motorcades. Inside the Fortina Spa Resort’s glass-walled conference room, Foreign and Tourism Minister Ian Borg fixed…
**Suspended Sentence for Sliema Kiosk Theft Sparks Debate on Justice and Second Chances** A 44-year-old woman who stole €16,000 from a Sliema kiosk has been handed a two-year suspended sentence, prompting mixed reactions across Malta’s tight-knit community where the incident has become the talk of local coffee shops and Facebook groups. The court heard how…
