Malta

VALLETTA, Malta (AP) — A judge in Malta has sentenced two brothers to 40 years in prison each after they pleaded guilty to the car-bomb murder of an anti-corruption journalist.

Hours earlier at the start of the trial in a Valletta courthouse Friday, George Degiorgio, 59, and Alfred Degiorgio, 57, had entered not-guilty pleas.

They were charged with having set the bomb that blew up Daphne Caruana Galizia’s car as she drove near her home on Oct. 16, 2017.

VALLETTA, July 5 (Reuters) - The man accused of detonating a car bomb that killed a prominent Maltese journalist has confessed to the crime in an interview with a Reuters reporter and says he will soon implicate others in plotting to assassinate her.

Speaking from jail in his first comment on the case, George Degiorgio said if he had known more about Daphne Caruana Galizia - the journalist he and two others are accused of killing in 2017 - then he would have asked for more money to carry out the hit.

VALLETTA, April 6 (Reuters) - Malta rebuffed EU calls to stop selling citizenship on Wednesday, telling the European Commission that the granting of citizenship falls within the national competence of a member state "and it should remain as such".

The Mediterranean island's reaction came after the European Commission said it had issued a "reasoned opinion" spelling out why Malta needs to stop selling citizenship, and warning of court action if the practice continues.

VALLETTA, April 3 (Reuters) - Pope Francis, struggling with leg pain, on Sunday said countries should always help those trying to survive "amidst the waves of the sea" as he wrapped up a trip to one of the Mediterranean countries at the heart of Europe's migration debate.

At the start of the last day of his trip, Francis visited the grotto in the town of Rabat, where according to tradition, St. Paul lived for two months when he was among 75 people shipwrecked on their way to Rome in the year 60 AD. The Bible says they received unusual kindness.

VALLETTA, Malta (AP) — Pope Francis said Saturday he is studying a possible visit to Kyiv and he blasted Russian President Vladimir Putin for launching a “savage” war. Speaking after his arrival in Malta, he delivered his most pointed and personalized denunciation yet of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

VALLETTA, March 27 (Xinhua) -- Malta's Labour Party has won the general election with a comfortable majority, Prime Minister Robert Abela announced on Sunday.

Speaking during a telephone call with the national broadcaster, Abela said that according to calculations by party agents as vote counting got underway, his party had a significant majority over the Nationalist Party (PN).

The election held on Saturday was characterised by a record low turnout since independence, at 85.5 percent , just over 303,500 votes.

VALLETTA, Malta (AP) — Voters in Malta will elect a new Parliament in a few weeks in balloting that will also decide the island nation’s next government.

During a political event on Sunday, Maltese Prime Minister Robert Abela announced that the election will be held on March 26 in the European Union nation. He said he will advise the Maltese president to dissolve Parliament to clear the way for the election.

VALLETTA, Jan 19 (Reuters) - Police searched the residence of former Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat on Wednesday as part of a probe into alleged corruption in a deal struck by his government that handed management of three state hospitals to the little-known Vitals Global Healthcare group in 2016.

Muscat confirmed the police search in a Facebook post, saying officers had turned up to search his house at 7 a.m. and had also confiscated his mobile phone as well as those of his wife and teenage daughters.

VALLETTA, Nov. 5 (Xinhua) -- Maltese Health Minister Chris Fearne announced on Friday that the country will offer booster jabs to the entire population, including children aged over 12.

Addressing a press conference, Fearne said that given the steep increase in the number of daily cases, Malta had brought forward its plan by a week to vaccinate people working in schools, healthcare workers, carers and pharmacists.

Malta on Friday registered 40 new cases, the highest daily tally in six weeks, up from the eight cases registered a week ago.

VALLETTA, Aug 18 (Reuters) - One of Malta’s wealthiest businessmen, Yorgen Fenech, has been indicted for the murder of anti-corruption journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, prosecutors said in court documents filed on Wednesday.

No date for the trial has yet been set.

Fenech has been under arrest since November 2019, accused of complicity to murder. He has since been undergoing a pre-trial compilation of evidence where he pleaded not guilty.