Malta’s coastal towers reveal how the Knights of St John defended the islands, from early forts to later watchtowers guarding the Mediterranean coastline.

The 29th of January, marks the anniversary of the day Malta’s Parliament decriminalised consensual same-sex sexual activity in 1973. This was a legal change that, at the time, looked less like a “rights revolution” and more like an uncomfortable clean-up of an old morality law. Nevertheless, it marked the start of Malta's LGBT rights history What changed was simple but profound: the Criminal Code was amended so that private, consenting same-sex intimacy was no longer treated

Perit Andrea Vassallo On 28th January, we remember Perit Andrea Vassallo, the self-made architect behind some of Malta’s most beautiful buildings If you’ve ever stood in front of Ta’ Pinu and felt that it looks almost “too monumental” for the quiet Gozitan countryside around it you’ve already met Andrea Vassallo’s legacy. If you’ve ever appreciated the parish churches in Ħamrun and Siġġiewi, same story. If you’ve ever strolled through Mdina and stumbled upon that Neo-Gothic h

On 18 January 2022, Maltese politician Roberta Metsola was elected President of the European Parliament. With her election, Metsola became the first Maltese national to lead one of the European Union’s main institutions. For Malta, a country with a population of just over half a million, the moment carried a symbolic wieght. For the first time, a Maltese politician stood at the head of the EU’s only directly elected body. Before her election as President, Roberta Metsola had

Across Europe, the cost of living remains one of the most politically sensitive economic issues. Even as inflation has slowed, households continue to feel the strain from higher rents, food prices and borrowing costs that built up during the past three years. Of course, Malta is not immune to these realities. However, a consistent pattern emerges in this story as Malta experiences less volatile inflation flows with lower peaks.  However, inflation figures talk about averages

In the course of Malta’s history, earthquakes were not unknown, and small tremors sometimes passed without much notice, but on Sunday 11 January 1693 the islands experienced what is consistently described as the most terrible and most damaging earthquake ever recorded locally, an event that left the population shaken not only by the physical destruction it caused, but by the sense of helplessness it created. A painting showing how the Mdina Cathedral looked before reconstruct

Why Malta must strengthen education beyond bricks and stipends Education has long been one of Malta’s most important national investments. Our policy discourse on the issue has, for many years, targeted stipends, schools and the physical infrastructure that enables learning. These elements are crucial, stipends widen access, and modern school facilities improve safety and engagement. Yet globally, education systems are undergoing a transformation that demands more than struct

On 5 January 1902, a Maltese courtroom became the unlikely stage for a constitutional confrontation between colonial authority and cultural nationalism. However one would expect that the debucle would be over a legislation or taxation. No, this debate was about a song. More precisely, a newly composed Innu Malti that the British administration feared would turn a night at the theatre into a political act.

At midnight on 1 January 2008 , the Maltese lira officially ceased to be the country’s currency, replaced by the euro after more than three decades as the unit of an independent state. The moment was marked by a simple withdrawal of the first euro banknotes from an ATM in Valletta. Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi, Finance Minister Tonio Fenech and Central Bank Governor Michael C. Bonello were among those present as Malta crossed the threshold into the euro area. The three were

With fertility rates in Malta among the lowest in Europe, the article explains why delayed adulthood is a key driver and suggests reintroducing apprenticeships to give young people earlier stability.

Online debate this week revolved around the topic of whether Malta’s accession to the EU is causing a population boom is being driven by Brussels or by choices made at home. The truth is more nuanced than either side claims.

In 2015, the Government awarded a concession to Vitals Global Healthcare for the redevelopment, management, and operation of the Gozo General Hospital, Karin Grech Rehabilitation Hospital, and St Luke’s Hospital. After Vitals failed to meet its obligations and secure the necessary financing, the concession was transferred to Steward Health Care in early 2018. Steward likewise did not deliver the promised redevelopment works. In 2023, the Maltese courts annulled the concession

Over the past 15 years Malta’s population has grown at an outstanding rate. Adjusting for the pandemic years, net migration has averaged...

A petition launched by an Italian student to make Italian an official language in Malta made headlines. The Times of Malta later revealed...

When Prime Minister Robert Abela stands at the United Nations General Assembly tonight to formally recognise the State of Palestine, he will be drawing a line under nearly five decades of consistent Maltese policy. For Malta, this is not a sudden shift but the logical end point of a long trajectory that began in the 1970s, when the island had only just become a republic.

Introduction Malta’s post-independence economic history (1960s–1990s) is a remarkable case of successful structural transition in the...

When the Order of Saint John was forced out of Rhodes in 1522 and later offered Malta by Charles V in 1530, it did not arrive to the...

The Great Siege of 1565 is usually told as a tale of knights, cannons, and heroism. But what did the Maltese themselves think and feel...

Discover the story of Malta’s 1961 Interdett, when Archbishop Gonzi clashed with Dom Mintoff’s Labour Party. Learn how the Church declared supporting Labour a mortal sin, its impact on Maltese society, and how the conflict shaped politics until reconciliation in 1969.

In 1956 Malta voted for integration with the United Kingdom, but the plan collapsed over costs, Church opposition, and shifting British defence priorities. Discover why Malta never joined the UK and instead chose independence in 1964.