Biodiversity & Conservation: Malta launched Project E-CORE to strengthen the Natura 2000 network, with about €9 million in EU and national funding aimed at protecting habitats and improving sustainable visitor management across the islands. Payments & Fintech: RS2 Smart Processing and PXP partnered to roll out managed acquiring services across 30+ European markets, using RS2’s BankWORKS platform for card-present and card-not-present processing. Digital Transformation & AI (Business Tech): RSM Malta appointed Ludwig Micallef as Director for Digital Transformation & AI, expanding advisory work on automation and AI-enabled business change. Energy Resilience (Local Tech): Gozo’s long electricity outages are now hitting mobile and data services as telecom backup power runs down, highlighting how grid failures can cascade into essential communications. Workplace Tech & Policy: EU employment law changes are shifting the burden of proof toward companies, with Malta among states that transposed the pay transparency directive on time. Environment & Tourism: A new push argues Comino must remain a refuge for birds, stressing its Natura 2000 protections and the drop in human activity outside peak visitor hours. Local Science & Education: Malta-linked marine science wins attention as a student’s DIVE&CLEAN system targets plastic waste on the seabed before it becomes microplastics.