The world changed in the 21st century. Caroline Muscat and Herman Grech look back at the most significant events that affected Malta in the past 10 years.
The decade the world has dubbed the noughties was dominated by disastrous events - the terrorist attacks against the US in 2001, the Iraq war, disease, global recession, spiralling oil prices, failed climate change talks... the list goes on.
Tiny Malta watched the disasters unfolding. Sometimes it had no choice but to take the blows of an increasingly-globalised world; occasionally it moulded its own messes and disasters.
But amid the mayhem, Malta sealed its political and economic mission by joining the EU, marking a new political birth and stability.
A Nationalist government oversaw the decade, despite a change in leadership in 2004. The Labour Party, Alternattiva Demokratika and the Church also saw changes in top positions.
In the past 10 years, Malta's focus and priorities have changed. The country finally realised the importance of the environment, though many argue that not enough is being done to preserve it, as air pollution became more widespread and unbridled construction devoured pristine areas, adding thousands of vacant properties to the market.
The ailing shipyards were weaned off subsidies and its massive workforce applied for redundancy schemes. Minority groups found a voice and more Maltese fully embraced technology. Compassion for people fleeing Africa at the beginning of the century soon turned to indifference... and by the end of the decade those feelings turned to xenophobia and racism.
Here is a look at the news that dominated the headlines.
2000
• Former Police Commissioner Lawrence Pullicino walks out of prison, seven years after being incarcerated for complicity in the killing of Nardu Debono, who was beaten to death in a police cell in 1980.
• The body of renowned French diver and photographer Stephanie Poitrat is found floating in the sea off Xgħajra. Her body had been carried all the way from France.
• Malta formally opens EU negotiations.
• A report on the Piper Lance disappearance in 1995 concludes that the three main contributing factors fell under the control of the captain.
• Three public works department employees die in a Ċirkewwa cesspit accident.
• St James Cavalier welcomes its first guests.
• Siamese twins born to Gozitan parents make world headlines. The stronger twin survives the 20-hour operation. The other dies.
• A bomb is planted outside the home of l-Orizzont editor Frans Ghirxi. It fails to explode.
• More than €2 million is stolen in a perfectly executed hold-up on a Group 4 cash van.
• Joseph Harrington is jailed for the brutal murder of Sylvia King in 1993.
• The Hypogeum opens its doors after nine years of restoration.
• A Filipino sailor dies after a brawl in Birżebbuġa.
2001
• Pope John Paul II pays his second visit to Malta to beatify Dun Ġorġ Preca, Nazju Falzon and Adeodata Pisani during a massive ceremony at the Granaries in Floriana.
• President Guido de Marco is involved in a traffic accident during a State visit to Bulgaria. One man dies and seven are injured, including Maltese photographer Lino Arrigo Azzopardi.
• Justice Minister Austin Gatt tenders his resignation after his private secretary is arrested. The Prime Minister rejects it.
• A woman and her two-year-old son drown in Vittoriosa when their car plunges into the sea as they are watching the Freedom Day regatta.
• Playboy magazine hits the Maltese shelves for the first time in 47 years.
• Mnajdra temples are vandalised. The offenders were never caught.
• Warden Fortunata Spiteri dies after being stabbed six times in Għarb. Two Gozitan men are later charged with her murder.
• The disappearance of Sharon Attard and her seven month-old daughter Haley triggers off a nationwide search, led by her husband. The two are later found in the wreck of her car off the Ċirkewwa quay. The mother had been suffering from post-natal depression.
• Police Commissioner George Grech resigns following a sex scandal. John Rizzo is appointed in his place.
• PC Etienne Carter is jailed for 22 years for shooting another policeman in Tarxien in 1999.
• The bodies of Vanessa Grech and her 18-month-old daughter are found in a well at Birżebbuġa. They had both been stabbed several times. A Żejtun man is charged with the murder.
• A dispute erupts between Maltese and Italian fishermen over who is to net a school of tuna. Thirty-six Maltese fishermen signed affidavits in court that say the AFM fired shots in the direction of the Maltese boats.
2002
• Noel Arrigo is sworn in as Chief Justice. He resigns in August amid a major corruption scandal, also involving judge Patrick Vella. Vincent De Gaetano is sworn in as the new Chief Justice.
• A total of 250 illegal immigrants land in Gozo. It is the first major landing in a decade marked by controversy and strife over immigration.
• Malta deports 220 Eritreans. Amnesty International later reports they were tortured and punished upon return. Some had even perished.
• Two men are jailed for life after an explosion at a shop in Paola in 1992 in which a young mother and baby died.
• Agatha Barbara, Malta's first female MP, minister and President dies, aged 78.
• A 15-year-old boy is charged with the murder of Brian Tabone, 22, who was stabbed in Paceville.
• Aimen Said Giali El Baden is jailed for 25 years for murdering hairstylist Alfie Rizzo four years earlier.
• A priest and his brother are charged with defiling three under-age girls.
• Former Prime Minister Dom Mintoff launches his anti-EU group Front Maltin Inqumu, with help from Karmenu Mifsud Bonnici.
• A Junior College lecturer is fined €1,100 for providing students with information about the goddess of fertility statue during a Valletta outing.
• Mount Etna makes a heavy physical presence in Malta when ash from the volcano coats the country in a film of black dust.
• Ira Losco places second in the Eurovision song contest with 7th Wonder.
• EU negotiations finalised at the Copenhagen summit.
2003
• The majority vote in favour of EU membership in a referendum. Labour leader Alfred Sant insists the result is not binding.
• The Nationalists win the ensuing general election, thus securing EU membership. The EU Accession Treaty is signed a few days later.
• The Neolithic temple site of Haġar Qim is vandalised.
• Portes des Bombes in Floriana is restored.
• Alfred Sant, Anġlu Farrugia and John Attard Montalto contest the Labour Party leadership in an acrimonious contest. Dr Sant is re-elected after initially saying he would step down as leader.
• Malta hosts the Small Nations Games and places fourth after a record 44-medal haul.
• Eighteen lap dancers from eastern European countries are arrested in Paceville clubs.
• Public opposition stops a proposal to construct two landfills near the historical Mnajdra temples.
• Cottonera marina is inaugurated.
• Allegations of child abuse surround St Joseph's Home in Ħamrun.
• A 14-year-old boy dies while playing football at school after a metal goalpost toppled over onto him.
2004
• Eight motorists are rescued as storms leave a trail of destruction.
• Malta joins the EU and Joe Borg is nominated as the first Maltese European Commissioner.
• Eddie Fenech Adami steps down as Nationalist Party leader and Prime Minister. He is soon appointed President of the Republic after Guido de Marco's term comes to an end.
• Lawrence Gonzi becomes Prime Minister after beating John Dalli and Louis Galea in the PN leadership contest.
• The Labour Party wins majority of votes in the first European Parliament elections.
• Malta's moon rock, donated by the US, is stolen from the Mdina museum. It is never retrieved.
• Government is embroiled in controversy after purchasing the costliest Brussels property among the 10 new EU states.
• John Dalli is forced to resign as Foreign Minister. He claims he was being attacked from "different" sides.
• A Maltese woman is severely injured in South East Asia tsunami. Nancy Woolner dies days later.
2005
• Dozens of immigrants are injured after they are beaten by soldiers during a peaceful protest at the Safi detention centre.
• Croatian supporters cause mayhem at the Ta' Qali stadium after their national team draws in a World Cup qualifier against Malta.
• Maltese traffickers force nine would-be illegal immigrants to jump to their death off the coast of Ragusa.
• Five youngsters die in Malta's worst ever traffic accident in Żebbuġ.
• Sea Malta is privatised amid a widely publicised fallout between chairman Marlene Mizzi and minister Austin Gatt.
• Smoking ban is introduced.
• Portes des Bombes is vandalised three times in less than six months. The Red Tower in Mellieħa is also targeted by vandals.
• Malta hosts the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting.
• Chiara places second in the Eurovision song contest with the song Angel.
2006
• Ryanair is the first major low cost airline to land in Malta.
• Mgr Mario Grech is installed as Gozo's new bishop after the retirement of Nikol Cauchi.
• Twenty-six immigrants drown after their boat capsizes. Many others disappear in the perilous journey from Africa to Europe.
• Gozitan priest Anthony Mercieca is named as former US Congressman Mark Foley's alleged child abuser.
• Two Italians die in a crash three hours after their light aircraft leaves Malta.
• Government sells its 60 per cent stake in Maltacom to Dubai-based Tecom Investments.
• EU launches first illegal immigration patrols.
• Folk singer Frans Baldacchino, il-Budaj, dies aged 63.
• Two examiners employed by the Malta Transport Authority and a driving school instructor face bribery charges.
• Vince Marshall destroys a petition with 4,071 signatures calling for a ban on The Da Vinci Code film after the Church frowned on his plans.
• A mudslide at a construction site at Xemxija belonging to Polidano Brothers leaves part of a neighbouring building hanging in mid air.
• A Swedish aerobatics champion is killed when two stunt planes taking part in the Aero Grand Prix of Malta collided and crashed into the sea.
• Malta's first two women judges - Magistrate Abigail Lofaro and lawyer Anna Felice - are sworn in.
• Seven vehicles belonging to Jesuits who spoke out in favour of illegal immigrants' rights are torched.
2007
• Mgr Paul Cremona is appointed Archbishop after the retirement of Mgr Joseph Mercieca.
• Coventry FC's Maltese striker Michael Mifsud scores two goals to dump Manchester United out of the Carling Cup.
• New French President Nicolas Sarkozy makes a surprise private visit to Malta just hours after his election.
• Dun Ġorġ Preca is canonised and becomes the first Maltese saint.
• Fifty-three illegal immigrants heading to Malta disappear.
• Fireworks claim eight lives, including five killed when the Għargħur fireworks factory exploded.
• Mater Dei hospital is inaugurated amid praise for the state-of-the-art facility and criticism for delays and over-expenditure.
• Climate expert Michael Zammit Cutajar is elected to the top post of the negotiating group of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.
• John Dalli is cleared of all allegations made against him in 2004 and appointed special consultant to Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi.
• Foreign Affairs Minister Michael Frendo loses bid to be the Commonwealth's Secretary General.
• A mid-air collision is averted thanks to the timely intervention of an Air Malta aircraft pilot.
• Alfred Sant is operated on for cancer.
2008
• Malta adopts the euro as its currency.
• Malta's first President, Sir Anthony Mamo, passes away soon after his 99th birthday.
• The Nationalist Party wins the election by the slimmest of majorities. Labour Party leader Alfred Sant resigns and is replaced by 34-year-old Joseph Muscat, previously a Member of the EP.
• Karl Chircop, Labour MP since 1996, dies aged 43, following a cerebral haemorrhage.
• Two people killed when an explosion caused by illegally-stored fireworks rips through Naxxar, destroying houses.
• A record number of illegal immigrants arrive from Africa.
• Three fishermen and a 11-year-old die in the Simshar tragedy, one of the worst fishing disasters. The sole survivor says he spent days clinging onto a raft. The cause of the incident is still unclear.
• The vast majority of workers at the former Malta Drydocks opt for voluntary redundancy.
• A decision to liberalise the granting of licences for hearses prompts a public transport strike, leading to widespread disruption and violent clashes.
• Aaron Ciantar becomes the Powerboat P1 Supersport world champion.
2009
• Police swoop on the VAT department, uncovering a major fraud involving employees, businessmen and intermediaries.
• The first seven men to plead guilty were given suspended sentences.
• Gunner Matthew Psaila dies aged 19 after drowning during an AFM training exercise at Chadwick Lakes.
• Jason Micallef resigns as Labour general secretary.
• The government unveils Italian architect Renzo Piano's designs for Valletta.
• The Delimara power station contract comes under close scrutiny over the choice of polluting heavy fuel oil and corruption scandals linked to the Danish company that won the contract.
• Football clubs Marsaxlokk and Vittoriosa are demoted following claims of match fixing.
• George Abela is appointed President, the first to come from a political party in opposition.
• Maltese driver Aaron Ciantar and his team-mates on the Seagull Chaudron win the world championship.
• Sudanese immigrant Suleiman Abubaker dies from injuries inflicted by a Paceville bouncer.
• PN President Victor Scerri resigns after being embroiled in a controversy over a development on his land in Baħrija. He is replaced by Paula Mifsud Bonnici, the first woman to occupy such a post.
• The Board of Film and Stage Classification bans Anthony Neilson's play Stitching. Censorship is a source of controversy.
• Michael Briguglio is elected leader of Alternattiva Demokratika.
• Former Chief Justice Noel Arrigo is sentenced to two years, nine months imprisonment after having been found guilty of bribery.
• John Dalli is nominated as Malta's next EU Commissioner.