Malta's Prime Minister Announces That He Step Down Next Month

France 24: Malta PM Muscat says he will resign amid crisis over murdered journalist

Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, engulfed in crisis over the probe into a murdered journalist, announced on Sunday he planned to step down, saying he would ask his ruling Labour Party to start choosing a new leader for the country next month.

Calls for Muscat to quit had intensified after the investigation into the 2017 car bomb killing of anti-corruption journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia led to charges on Saturday against a prominent businessman with alleged ties to government ministers and senior officials.

In a televised address on Sunday evening, Muscat said he was not leaving immediately, rather announcing a process to replace him that will start on Jan. 12.

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More News On Malta's Prime Minister Announcing That He Will Step Down Next Month

The Latest: Malta leader to resign next month amid protests -- AP
Malta's premier says he will step down amid crisis over murdered journalist probe -- Reuters
Malta leader to resign amid protests over reporter’s death -- AP
Daphne Caruana Galizia: Malta prime minister Joseph Muscat to resign in new year -- BBC
Malta’s PM quits in crisis over Daphne Caruana Galizia murder -- The Guardian
Malta's premier to step down over journalist murder probe -- DW
Joseph Muscat: The Maltese Prime Minister tarnished by scandal -- Al Jazeera
Daphne Caruana Galizia: Why Malta’s prime minister had to go -- Diana Cacciottol, BBC

Two Containers Of Cash On Its Way To Libya Intercepted By Malta

Protesters demand an end to Khalifa Haftar’s offensive against the UN-backed government in Libya. Photograph: Ahmed Jadallah/Reuters

The Guardian: Malta halts shipment of cash destined for Libyan rebel chief

Huge cache thought to have come from Russia in order to bankroll general’s war effort

The Maltese government has seized a massive shipment of unofficial Libyan banknotes believed to have been destined for Khalifa Haftar, the military commander leading an offensive to dislodge the UN-backed government in Tripoli.

Security services in Malta confirmed two 2,000-cubic-foot (56-cubic-metre) containers packed full of the recently introduced currency were discovered at the end of September when the shipment stopped in Malta.

The cash is thought to have originated from a Russian-owned mint, which has been printing money for the unrecognised Libyan government, based in the eastern city of Bayda. It is claimed the money has been used to fuel the war on Tripoli.

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WNU Editor: Two Containers?!?!?! That is a lot of cash.

Top Anti-Corruption Reporter Murdered In Malta

VICE News: Reporter who investigated Panama Papers killed in car bomb

Daphne Caruana Galizia, a journalist who relentlessly investigated corruption in her home country of Malta, was killed Monday afternoon in a car bomb outside her home. One of Malta’s leading politicians has called it “political murder” motivated by her reporting.

“What happened today is not an ordinary killing,” said Adrian Delia, a leader of Malta’s political opposition.

Galizia was perhaps most famous for her reporting linking Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, his wife, and several associates to the Panama Papers, a trove of documents detailing several heads of states’ connections to secret offshore shell companies in Panama. Galizia alleged that Muscat’s wife, Michelle, owned one of these companies, and that the company had received a series of payments from an account linked to the government of Azerbaijan.

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WNU Editor: Her anti-corruption efforts clearly irked a lot of people. It cost her life.

More News On Top Anti-Corruption Reporter Daphne Caruana Galizia Murdered In Malta

Maltese blogger who accused government of corruption killed by car bomb -- The Sun Daily (Malta)
Bomb kills reporter who covered Malta’s ‘Panama Papers’ link -- AP
Anti-corruption blogger killed by huge bomb in Malta -- Reuters
Malta car bomb kills Panama Papers journalist -- The Guardian
Malta blogger Daphne Caruana Galizia dies in car bomb attack -- BBC
Maltese journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia killed in car blast -- CNN
Car bombing kills Malta journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia -- CPJ Press Freedom Online