Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is a small island country located in the Mediterranean Sea, just south of Sicily, Italy. The country is divided into three main islands: Malta, Gozo, and Comino. Malta is known for its stunning coastline, pristine beaches, ancient ruins, and historic architecture. The capital city, Valletta, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a popular tourist destination due to its rich history and cultural significance. Malta has a diverse population and a rich cultural heritage that is influenced by its location and history. The country has been inhabited since prehistoric times and has been ruled by numerous foreign powers, including the Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans, Arabs, and British. The blend of different cultures and influences can be seen in the country’s cuisine, language, music, and traditional festivals. Malta is also known for its warm climate, friendly people, and laid-back lifestyle, making it a popular destination for tourists and expatriates. Overall, Malta is a unique and enchanting country that offers visitors a blend of history, culture, and natural beauty.

The Maltese Islands are positively mythic with Megaliths, medieval dungeons and Calypso's Cave . The narrow streets of their towns and villages are crowded with Renaissance cathedrals and Baroque palaces. As the countryside is dotted with the oldest known human structures in the world, the Islands have rightly been described as an open-air museum.The Maltese archipelago is situated at the centre of the Mediterranean, with Malta 93 km south of Sicily and 288 km north of Africa. The archipelago consists of three islands: Malta, Gozo and Comino. The total population is 400,000 inhabitants over an area of 316 sq km and a coastline of 196.8km. The largest island and also cultural, commercial and administrative centre is Malta. The second largest island and more rural is Gozo, Comino is largely uninhabited. Although small, Malta has a long and rich history. Man first arrived in Malta around 5200 BC. These first Neolithic people probably arrived from Sicily and were mainly farming and fishing communities, with some evidence of hunting activities. They apparently lived in caves and open dwellings.

This book discusses the remarkable plant diversity of the Maltese Archipelago. Despite its relatively small area and long-term human exploitation, many different plant communities occur in this territory. The book presents phytosociological investigations, together with taxonomical studies, which have been conducted over more than forty years, highlighting the unique features of this central Mediterranean insular ecosystem. It also describes the phytosociological role played by several narrow endemic or phytogeographically relevant taxa and introduces many phytocoenoses exclusively growing in the archipelago. The study integrates the palaeogeographic issues linked to the ancient and intriguing history of the different civilizations that succeeded on the islands for thousands of years. The book also focuses on the N2000 habitats.

Presents a comprehensive guide to the geography of the world, with world maps and articles on cartography, notable explorers, climate and more.

This edited volume brings together a collection of works that comprehensively address both the myriad geomorphological landscapes of the Maltese Islands and how their evolution has been shaped over various time-scales by different sets of processes. Additionally, the work highlights how the small geographical setting of the Maltese Islands helped to closely connect these landscapes with Maltese society and as a result, they have evolved from stand-alone examples of geomorphology to important backdrops of Maltese cultural identity. Most of the contributing authors are academics – both local and foreign – with a research focus on the geomorphology of the Maltese Islands. However, the editors have also (and purposefully) chosen other contributors from governmental institutions and research agencies, who complement the geomorphological research with their proactive work in selected case studies on Maltese landscapes.

The introduction of Italy into the Second World War on 10 June 1940 signalled the start of the siege of Malta, and for the next two and a half years the Axis powers did all they could to batter the small island into submission. Maltas defences were initially verging on non-existent but the British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, could not give up on the island. Laying at the crossroads of the Mediterranean, where the supply route between Italy and the Axis armies in Libya crossed the Allied sea route between Gibraltar and Alexandria, almost exactly at its mid-point, Malta was strategically too important and held the key to the door of the desert war being fought in North Africa.If Malta could be held then it would allow British forces to maintain an offensive capability in the Mediterranean and prevent Axis supplies from reaching North Africa. But everything needed to fight a campaign people, food, fuel, ammunition, medical stores, aircraft and spares would have to be delivered to Malta in sufficient numbers and on a regular basis. It would take a monumental air and maritime effort just to survive, let alone hit back, and to manage both would require those in command to carefully balance Maltas precious and limited resources. Otherwise, it meant surrender and who knows what the outcome of the Second World War might have been had the island fallen. Here, the accomplished military author Peter Jacobs tells the extraordinary story of the heroic defence and re-supply of the Fortress Island of Malta during the longest siege in British history.Links End Links Author

Derived from the renowned multi-volume International Encyclopaedia of Laws, this book provides ready access to legislation and practice concerning the environment in Malta. A general introduction covers geographic considerations, political, social and cultural aspects of environmental study, the sources and principles of environmental law, environmental legislation, and the role of public authorities. The main body of the book deals first with laws aimed directly at protecting the environment from pollution in specific areas such as air, water, waste, soil, noise, and radiation. Then, a section on nature and conservation management covers protection of natural and cultural resources such as monuments, landscapes, parks and reserves, wildlife, agriculture, forests, fish, subsoil, and minerals. Further treatment includes the application of zoning and land-use planning, rules on liability, and administrative and judicial remedies to environmental issues. There is also an analysis of the impact of international and regional legislation and treaties on environmental regulation. Its succinct yet scholarly nature, as well as the practical quality of the information it provides, make this book a valuable resource for environmental lawyers handling cases affecting Malta. Academics and researchers, as well as business investors and the various international organizations in the field, will welcome this very useful guide, and will appreciate its value in the study of comparative environmental law and policy.

Derived from the renowned multi-volume International Encyclopaedia of Laws, this convenient volume provides comprehensive analysis of the law affecting the physician-patient relationship in Malta. Cutting across the traditional compartments with which lawyers are familiar, medical law is concerned with issues arising from this relationship, and not with the many wider juridical relations involved in the broader field of health care law. After a general introduction, the book systematically describes law related to the medical profession, proceeding from training, licensing, and other aspects of access to the profession, through disciplinary and professional liability and medical ethics considerations and quality assurance, to such aspects of the physician-patient relationship as rights and duties of physicians and patients, consent, privacy, and access to medical records. Also covered are specific issues such as organ transplants, human medical research, abortion, and euthanasia, as well as matters dealing with the physician in relation to other health care providers, health care insurance, and the health care system. Succinct and practical, this book will prove to be of great value to professional organizations of physicians, nurses, hospitals, and relevant government agencies. Lawyers representing parties with interests in Malta will welcome this very useful guide, and academics and researchers will appreciate its comparative value as a contribution to the study of medical law in the international context.