The conquest of Libya was essential for airfields to support Malta and to threaten the rear of Axis forces opposing Operation Torch.

The bus types in use around the world where there was little mass production were often sourced second hand from other countries, such as the Malta bus, and buses in use in Africa.

Bonaparte, aware of Nelson's pursuit, enforced absolute secrecy about his destination and was able to capture Malta and then land in Egypt without interception by the British force.

While Bonaparte was sailing to Malta, the Royal Navy re-entered the Mediterranean for the first time in over a year.

On 22 June, Nelson encountered a brig sailing from Ragusa and was told that the French had sailed eastwards from Malta on 16 June.

It is likely that these were part of the treasure taken from Malta that was lost in the explosion aboard Orient.

After a period of fighting there, he became ill with dysentery and was sent to a hospital in Malta to recover.

Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (; 29 September 1571 – 18 July 1610 ) was an Italian artist active in Rome, Naples, Malta, and Sicily between 1593 and 1610.

He was involved in a brawl in Malta in 1608, and another in Naples in 1609, possibly a deliberate attempt on his life by unidentified enemies.

In addition, Malta was considered an island of North Africa for centuries, while Iceland, though nearer to Greenland ( North America ), is also generally included in Europe.

In August 1941, Mountbatten was appointed captain of the aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious which lay in Norfolk, Virginia, for repairs following action at Malta in the Mediterranean in January.

The Rock was a key part of the Allied supply lines to Malta and North Africa and base of the British Navy Force H, and prior to the war the racecourse on the isthmus was converted into an airbase and a concrete runway constructed ( 1938 ).

Gibraltar was a landing point of the long-range submarine cable that from Porthcurno, in the United Kingdom ran to Lisbon, Gibraltar, Malta, Alexandria, Suez, Aden, Bombay, over land to the east coast of India, then on to Penang, Malacca, Singapore, Batavia ( current Jakarta ), to finally reach Darwin, Australia.

At the age of 21, Prince Harry was appointed as a Counsellor of State and began his royal duties by first serving in that capacity when the Queen was abroad to attend the 2005 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Malta.

Judge Carmel Agius ( Malta ) was elected Vice-President.

On the island of Malta, a variety of limestone called Globigerina limestone was, for a long time, the only building material available, and is still very frequently used on all types of buildings and sculptures.

Malta was occupied by the Fatimids, who exerted 220 years of linguistic influence, from 870 to 1090 CE.

Maltese became an official language of Malta in 1934, alongside English, when Italian was dropped from official use.

Inhabited since prehistoric times, Malta was first colonized by Sicilians.

A large portion of the population is also fluent in Italian, which was, until 1936, the national language of Malta.

Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom was sovereign of Malta, and a Governor-General exercised executive authority on her behalf, while the actual direction and control of the government and the nation's affairs were in the hands of the cabinet under the leadership of a Maltese prime minister.

On December 13, 1974, the constitution was revised, and Malta became a republic within the Commonwealth, with executive authority vested in the President of Malta which can be exercised directly or through officers subordinate to him.

His underage son Frederick could only succeed him in Sicily and Malta, while in the Empire the struggle between the Hohenstaufen and the House of Welf erupted once again.

Malta produces only about 20 % of its food needs, has limited freshwater supplies, and has no domestic energy sources.

Malta produces only about 20 % of its food needs, has limited fresh water supplies, and has few domestic energy sources.

Malta International Airport is the only airport serving the Maltese Islands.

A holiday in Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Chile, Croatia, Ecuador, Finland, France, Germany, Guatemala, Hungary, Italy, Lebanon, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta ( for schools only ), Mauritius, Mexico, Peru, the Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Seychelles, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain.

* April 15 – WWII: King George VI awards the George Cross to Malta to mark the Siege of Malta, saying, " To honour her brave people I award the George Cross to the Island Fortress of Malta, to bear witness to a heroism and a devotion that will long be famous in history ( from January 1 to July 24, there is only one 24-hour period during which no bombs fall on this tiny island ).

At that time, Malta was one of only three countries in the world, along with the Philippines and the Vatican City, in which divorce was not permitted.

For Church of Scotland purposes it is part of the Presbytery of Europe and is the only Reformed Church in Malta.

On 12 April 2000, the RUC was awarded the George Cross for bravery in dealing with terrorist threat, a rare honour which had only been awarded collectively once before, to the island nation of Malta.

This ranking meant that only 13 nations: Australia, Canada, Finland, South Korea, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, San Marino, Singapore, Sweden, Britain and the United States had a higher ratios per head of population.

* Malta Drive-In theatre, 2785 Route 9, built in 1949, is one of only 450 remaining drive-ins in the US.

In 1962, he began another comeback which lasted for only two fights, both of which he won, the last being held in Malta.

Comparatively few coins were needed for Malta in the reign of Queen Victoria, so copper third farthings were only minted in 1844, to the same physical standards as before — the obverse shows a left-facing portrait of Victoria inscribed and the reverse shows the seated Britannia with the inscription.

Albania, Andorra, Armenia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, United Kingdom ( only the City of London ), Luxembourg, Malta, Moldova, Monaco, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, San Marino, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, Macedonia, The Vatican and Turkey.

The feast of the Assumption on August 15 is a public holiday in many countries, including Austria, Belgium, Chile, Colombia, Croatia, Ecuador, France, Germany ( Bavaria and Saarland only ), Greece, Lebanon, Lithuania, Italy, Malta, Mauritius, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Senegal, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland ( 8 cantons only ) and Vanuatu.

Malta, with only 400, 000 people, is an independent state within the EU.

Fabrizio Faniello is the only other artist to represent Malta multiple times at Eurovision, having come ninth in 2001 with " Another Summer Night ", as well as coming last in 2006 with " I Do ".

But a problem arose: if the Duchy owned the small harbour of Nice only, the union with Sicily and then Sardinia gave to the Kingdom a quite big fleet, which had the same flag of Malta.

Making allowances for a possible break in the appointment of bishops to Malta during the period of the Fatimid conquest, the Maltese Church is referred to today as the only extant Apostolic See other than Rome itself.

" Keeping 75 squadrons of fighters, many to conduct ineffective offensive operations from Britain during 1941, was also questionable while Malta and Singapore were only defended by older, obsolete types of aircraft.