Category Archives: Malta

Daphne Caruana Galizia: killer lays out murder plot in court

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Vincent Muscat describes spying on the journalist and discussions about how she would be killed

The self-confessed killer of Daphne Caruana Galizia told a court on Thursday that he and two other men used binoculars and a telescope to follow the movements of the investigative journalist for days, before planting and triggering the car bomb that killed her in 2017.

Speaking in the presence of journalists and Caruana Galizia’s relatives in hall 22 of the law courts in Malta’s capital, Valletta, Vincent Muscat gave the fullest account yet of the plot to murder the journalist.

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All suspects in Daphne Caruana Galizia murder arrested, says police chief

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Angelo Gafa says all those who masterminded killing of Maltese journalist now apprehended or charged

Every person involved in the 2017 murder of the anti-corruption journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia has been apprehended, Malta’s national police chief has declared.

Commissioner Angelo Gafa was speaking before a court hearing on Wednesday evening at which two new suspects were arraigned.

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Saunas to sourdough: Unesco updates culture heritage list

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Thirty-five entries from around the world added to 2020 list of national traditions

Sauna culture in Finland, sourdough making in Malta, Budima dancing in Zambia and a grass mowing competition in Bosnia and Herzegovina have been added to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation’s prestigious list of intangible cultural heritage.

The entries were among the 35 from around the world added to the list for 2020, and also included the tradition of playing the hunting horn, a status awarded jointly to Italy, France, Belgium and Luxembourg, as well as the art of glass bead making.

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More than 110 migrants die in Mediterranean in three days

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Bodies of 74 people wash up on beach in western Libya as baby boy dies on rescue boat

Four shipwrecks in the space of three days have claimed the lives of more than 110 people in the Mediterranean, including at least 70 people whose bodies have washed up on the beach of al-Khums, in western Libya.

According to the UN migration agency (IOM), that boat was reported to be carrying more than 120 people, including women and children. Forty-seven survivors had been brought to shore by the coastguard and fishermen, while the bodies of at least 74 people were floating near the water’s edge on Thursday.

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‘She left a strong legacy’: children’s book tells story of Daphne Caruana Galizia

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Friend of Maltese journalist recounts her battles against corruption for young readers

Her death brought thousands of people on to the streets of Malta and led to the resignation of a prime minister. Now the life of the investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia has inspired a book for children.

Written and illustrated by her friend Gattaldo, the designer, Fearless: The Story of Daphne Caruana Galizia is being released by a UK publisher this month to mark three years since the Maltese writer was killed by a car bomb in October 2017.

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‘Golden passports’: EU launches legal action against Cyprus and Malta

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Brussels says schemes selling citizenship to wealthy investors are illegal

Brussels has launched legal action against Cyprus and Malta over their “golden passport” schemes for wealthy investors, saying they were illegal and undermined EU citizenship.

The European commission has written to the two countries, which both joined the EU in 2004, to demand explanations, warning that the schemes increased the risks of money laundering, tax evasion and corruption.

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Justice on trial: three years after murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia – video report

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The murder of the Maltese anti-corruption journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia in 2017 plunged the country into turmoil. Guardian journalist Juliette Garside, who has been investigating Caruana Galizia's death, speaks with Matthew Caruana Galizia about his mother, his family's quest for justice, and how tragedy may be uniting the country over political divides

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The captain rescuing migrants in the Mediterranean during the Covid-19 pandemic – video

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Savvas Kourepinis is the captain of the Astral, a humanitarian boat patrolling the Mediterranean Sea to rescue people attempting to cross the main maritime route from north Africa to Europe. For most of this year, the Covid-19 pandemic forced these vital search-and-rescue missions to cease in what is often referred to as the deadliest migration route in the world. As Kourepinis and his crew set out on one of their first patrols since lockdown restrictions eased, they face stringent coronavirus regulations and the reluctance of nearby countries to take in the people the Astral has rescued

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Malta may demand return of fossil given to Prince George by David Attenborough

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Attenborough gave seven-year-old a giant shark tooth found on a family holiday

From the world-famous Koh-i-noor diamond to the Rosetta Stone, British royals have long been gifted rare objects that campaigners want repatriated to their rightful lands.

Prince George, it seems, is the latest in the line of fire, after being given a giant prehistoric shark tooth by the environmentalist and national treasure Sir David Attenborough, found on a family holiday to Malta more than 50 years ago.

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Maltese police arrest former PM Joseph Muscat’s chief of staff

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Keith Schembri is under investigation for money laundering linked to sales of passports to rich foreigners

Police in Malta have arrested Keith Schembri, the former prime minister Joseph Muscat’s chief of staff, as part of an investigation into alleged kickbacks connected to the sale of Maltese passports.

Schembri was arrested just after midnight on Tuesday, hours after a court issued a wide-ranging order for all his assets and those of his family and companies to be frozen. Being questioned alongside Schembri is the high profile Maltese accountant Brian Tonna, and one of his associates, who are also subject to the same freezing order. All three men deny wrongdoing.

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Maltese journalist was killed over reporting on power plant, say police

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Detective tells court Daphne Caruana Galizia’s murder was motivated by desire to suppress information

Police believe that the anti-corruption journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia was killed for what she was about to reveal about a government-sponsored power station deal, a court in Malta has heard.

At the start of 2017, Caruana Galizia received a cache of 600,000 emails leaked from an energy company partly owned by Yorgen Fenech, who is now the chief suspect in the murder. The company, Electrogas, holds a lucrative concession to supply Malta’s state-owned electricity provider.

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Malta’s former PM questioned over Daphne Caruana Galizia murder inquiry

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Joseph Muscat formally interviewed for first time in connection with investigation

Malta’s former prime minister Joseph Muscat has been questioned by police in connection with the investigation into the murder of the anti-corruption journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia.

Muscat resigned as leader of the EU member state in January after the widening political scandal surrounding the journalist’s death threatened to bring down his government.

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Daphne Caruana Galizia murder: middleman found with stab wounds ahead of court date

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Go-between in car bombing of Maltese journalist was found in pool of blood despite 24-hour police guard

The self-confessed middleman in the murder of the Maltese anti-corruption journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia has suffered multiple knife injuries to his neck, torso and wrist, hours before he was due to give evidence in the case.

Melvin Theuma, a former taxi driver, was found in a pool of blood at his home on Tuesday evening and was rushed to hospital where he underwent surgery. He is in a stable condition, police said at a press conference on Wednesday morning.

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US drops charges against banker investigated by Daphne Caruana Galizia

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Family of murdered journalist call on Malta to prosecute Ali Sadr Hashemi Nejadin, whose Pilatus Bank was shut down for money laundering

The US department of justice has made an unusual decision to drop charges against a prominent Iranian banker who was convicted of bank fraud in March after prosecutors in New York said they did not have the resources to continue to prosecute the case on appeal.

The decision by the DOJ represents an extraordinary turn of events in an investigation that began in 2013 and was closely followed in Malta, where the defendant in the case controlled Pilatus Bank, which had ties to the country’s former prime minister, Joseph Muscat, and other top officials.

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Italy considers charges over Malta’s ‘shocking’ refusal to rescue migrants

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Foreign ministry condemns Valletta for not abiding by international rules and ordering stricken boat to Sicily at gunpoint

The Italian government  has confirmed that Malta’s armed forces turned a migrant boat away at gunpoint from Maltese waters, after giving them fuel and the GPS coordinates to reach Italy.

Police in Sicily are investigating and the prosecutor’s office may open an investigation against Malta in the next few days. Maltese officers risk being charged with aiding illegal immigration. 

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Belgium confirms inquiry into Malta-China spy threat

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Investigation centres on claims Beijing has spied on EU from Malta’s embassy in Brussels

Malta’s ties to China have come under the spotlight after Belgium’s intelligence services confirmed they have been investigating suspicions that Beijing has been spying from the country’s embassy opposite the European commission’s headquarters in Brussels.

A spokesman for Belgium’s homeland security service, the Veiligheid van de Staat, made the unusual disclosure about the existence of the inquiry after the French newspaper Le Monde reported on the suspected espionage by the Chinese state.

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Exclusive: 12 die as Malta uses private ships to push migrants back to Libya

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Survivor reveals further evidence to Guardian and La Repubblica of Malta’s deadly strategy to intercept migrants crossings

Further evidence of Malta’s strategy to push migrants back to the conflict zone of Libya has been revealed by a woman who survived a Mediterranean crossing in which 12 people died.

A series of voice messages obtained by the Guardian have provided confirmation of the Maltese government’s strategy to use private vessels, acting at the behest of its armed forces, in order to intercept migrant crossings and return refugees to Libyan detention centres.

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Malta’s new PM has only days to prove himself, says Andrew Caruana Galizia

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Son of murdered journalist says Robert Abela is ‘continuity candidate’ and must break with ‘corrupt legacy’

Malta’s new prime minister, Robert Abela, has a few days to prove whether he will break with “the corrupt legacy” of the past, a son of the murdered journalist Daphne Caruana Galiziahas said.

Abela, an outsider who beat the favourite to become leader of Malta’s ruling Labour party on Sunday, will be sworn in as the island’s 14th prime minister on Monday.

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Malta gets new PM after Muscat departs over Daphne Caruana Galizia murder

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Robert Abela elected as Labour leader after PM Joseph Muscat resigned amid controversy surrounding investigation of journalist’s death

Outsider Robert Abela is set to become Malta’s new prime minister after the downfall of previous leader Joseph Muscat over the investigation into the murder of an investigative journalist.

Abela, who is seen as representing continuity, was elected leader of the Labour party on Sunday, meaning he automatically takes the role of prime minister.

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EU parliament calls on Malta PM to resign now over Caruana Galizia

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Resolution questions ‘integrity and credibility’ of murder investigation

The European parliament has called on Malta’s prime minister, Joseph Muscat, to quit immediately over his handling of the investigation into the murder of the journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, as it declared there were “serious and persistent threats” to democracy and the rule of law on the island nation.

In a resolution approved by a large majority, the European parliament said it was deeply concerned about “the integrity and credibility” of the investigation into the death of Caruana Galizia, who exposed the shady financial dealings of Maltese elite and was murdered in a car bombing in October 2017.

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