Healthcare Infrastructure: Malta’s Mater Dei Emergency Department expansion kicks off Monday with a €120m project adding a state-of-the-art acute mental health unit and other facilities, aiming to better integrate physical and mental care. Environment & Land Use: Momentum is urging the government to buy back the remaining rights of the 150-year Comino Hotel emphyteutical concession, arguing for permanent protection and citing the long lease horizon as a reason to act now. AI & Skills: A Microsoft executive says Southern Europe’s next AI leap will be driven by skills and ecosystem readiness, not just new tools—an argument that fits Malta’s push toward practical digital capacity. Education Equity: Professor Carmel Borg warns Malta’s education system can reproduce inequality, pointing to gaps in early childcare access, inconsistent learning support, and barriers for migrant children. Arts & Research: Matylda Jarosz’s Malta Society of Arts exhibition blends walking-based research, natural materials, and digital practice to explore future landscapes and ecological awareness. Public Inclusion: A commentary on “social disablers” highlights how everyday barriers—like inaccessible pavements and poorly maintained public facilities—can block participation. Quantum Communications: PRISM EuroQCI wraps up with Malta’s first quantum communications testbed, built across national infrastructure with partners including Melita and the University of Malta. Travel Disruption: Mount Etna ash keeps Sicily’s Catania airport shut for a fifth day, with knock-on effects for travellers and costs across the region. Border Tech: The EU Entry/Exit System is now fully operational, replacing passport stamps with digital records plus facial images and fingerprints for eligible non-EU visitors.