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.

The Malta Inquisition fought heresy, banned books, and terrified sinners. But when it came to swearing, it lost. The Tribunal’s endless cases of Maltese blasphemy show not only the creativity of local speech, but also the limits of power in a society where religion was everywhere.

Malta’s geostrategic location in the Mediterranean makes it ideal for transhipping. At the Malta Freeport in Birżebbuġa, roughly 96% of...

Understanding Malta Tsunami Risk Through History Although Malta is not usually seen as a place at risk of natural disasters, both...

In 1943, Malta became the launchpad for Operation Husky. Its harbours brimmed with warships, new airstrips like Gozo’s Ta’ Lambert were built, and the Lascaris War Rooms directed the invasion. Without Malta’s bases and command, the assault on Sicily may never have succeeded.

Maltese village core must not become a museum, but a lived-in space A Village Built for a Different Life The traditional Maltese village...

Neutrality may still matter, but modern threats show that Malta must also be prepared. Sitting at the crossroads of the Mediterranean, the island remains exposed to nearby instability in Libya, rising tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean, and the vulnerabilities of global trade routes.