We must wait

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2017-12-04T22:05:47+01:00Mon, 4th Dec '17, 21:42|

We still need to learn who was arrested and which part each one of them played in the killing of Daphne Caruana Galizia. We still need to learn if the police feel confident enough to arraign some or all of them. We still need to learn what else they are suspected of and what they'll [...]

Germans pass 800 Panama files to Malta police: “the ball lies with the Maltese authorities” – Sueddeutsche Zeitung

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2017-12-04T21:19:09+01:00Mon, 4th Dec '17, 21:19|

In an exclusive report Sueddeutsche Zeitung said the Maltese police and "a court expert" have been briefed in detail by German criminal investigators from the specialist unit named "Olet", Latin for "something stinks". They were also handed around 800 files of information procured by German investigators. The report expresses uncertainty the documentation handed over will [...]

Antonio di Pietro on Konrad Mizzi: the defence that there was no money in the Panama company “makes no sense”

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2017-12-04T22:05:04+01:00Mon, 4th Dec '17, 20:59|

Minister Konrad Mizzi reiterated his case that the Panama revelations have no bearing because "no transactions were ever made, and no money was ever received by the trust and underlying company." I had the benefit of the company of someone who investigated over 5,000 cases of people suspected (many of them prosecuted and convicted) for [...]

Daphne Caruana Galizia’s family reacts to today’s arrests

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2017-12-04T19:55:51+01:00Mon, 4th Dec '17, 19:55|

This statement was sent earlier by Daphne Caruana Galizia's family: The manner in which today’s arrests were communicated to Daphne Caruana Galizia’s family indicates serious institutional deficiencies which are cause for general public concern. The information about the arrests was communicated by the Prime Minister, and not by the Malta Police, who appear to prioritise [...]

Prime Minister’s senior staffer tells civil society to delete yesterday’s speeches

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2017-12-04T13:53:22+01:00Mon, 4th Dec '17, 13:53|

The head of the government's customer care office proclaimed on Facebook that anyone from civil society making speeches yesterday should delete them. He hash-tags me. Since I did not deliver a speech but transcribed and translated Antonio di Pietro's on my blog, he must mean that Antonio di Pietro's speech is an embarrassment to be [...]

Mayor of Ħaż-Żebbuġ knows arraignments are imminent. Family Caruana Galizia in the dark

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2017-12-04T13:04:55+01:00Mon, 4th Dec '17, 13:04|

The Labour Mayor of Ħaż-Żebbuġ, Sarah Agius, has tweeted her praise of the prime minister for the imminent arraignment of 10 people in connection with the killing of Daphne Caruana Galizia. Chapeau to @MaltaPolice. 10 suspects to be arraigned in court. Full trust in the Maltese Institutions and my Prime Minister @JosephMuscat_JM — Sarah Agius [...]

The prime minister’s announcement this morning

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2017-12-04T12:52:32+01:00Mon, 4th Dec '17, 12:51|

Announcing the arrests of 8 -- later 10 -- Maltese citizens in connection with the killing of Daphne Caruana Galizia, prime minister Joseph Muscat reminded his audience of a press conference Eddie Fenech Adami had given informing the press chief justice Noel Arrigo and judge Patrick Vella had been arrested for bribery. Joseph Muscat this [...]

Hedging the truth at Air Malta

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2017-12-04T09:00:52+01:00Mon, 4th Dec '17, 09:00|

There’s something suspiciously odd about Air Malta’s accounts. Its losses are supposed to have shot more than threefold from 4 million euro in March 2016 to 13 million euro in March 2017. The huge losses are being leaked when negotiations with some of the employee unions are nearing their crux point. Management want the airline’s [...]

Chris Cardona lied about withdrawing the garnishee orders against Daphne after she was killed

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2017-12-03T22:03:31+01:00Sun, 3rd Dec '17, 22:03|

Minister Christian Cardona has been seeking applause for filing in court for the withdrawal of the garnishee orders he and his secretary had secured against Daphne Caruana Galizia while the libel suit they filed against her when she reported they visited a brothel in Germany and any potential appeal are heard and decided. Just shy [...]

Her father a judge, her mother a parliamentarian: and yet no sense of public spirit whatsoever

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2017-12-03T21:34:28+01:00Sun, 3rd Dec '17, 21:34|

Here's Alexandra Mizzi who runs her mother's toy shops while Marlene Mizzi is a Member of the European Parliament. You would think that being the proud daughter of public servants she would see the point of the public spirit of a few hundred people who participate in the democratic process by protesting their views. Her [...]

8 month old FIAU report calls for criminal action against Konrad Mizzi

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2017-12-02T16:37:22+01:00Sat, 2nd Dec '17, 16:29|

Read this statement by David Casa on the website of the European People's Party today. David Casa says he is "in possession of a damning FIAU report that concludes that criminal investigations should start against Minister Konrad Mizzi on alleged money laundering and the possible existence of money derived from crime." They tell us we have [...]

Here’s how you’re paying for their corruption

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2017-12-02T16:28:55+01:00Sat, 2nd Dec '17, 16:28|

The Bank of Valletta is exposed to the tune of 360 million euro to fund the Electrogas power station. Temporarily the exposure is backed up by a guarantee provided by the government. But the government is impatient to withdraw that guarantee because that letter is a pain point for the government’s accountants seeking to balance [...]

Reconciliation without truth

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2017-12-02T16:30:13+01:00Sat, 2nd Dec '17, 16:24|

The Times used just the right verb this morning: bafflement at the PN's decision to organise Christmas Drinks at one of the Silvio Debono db Group facilities. The PN and Silvio Debono fell out when the PN criticised the allocation of public land in St George's Bay to the db Group to develop a massively [...]

They’re reading about it in Japan

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2017-12-02T14:38:13+01:00Sat, 2nd Dec '17, 14:35|

The Mainichi Shimbun, Japan's oldest newspaper and its newspaper of record, is covering the killing of Daphne Caruana Galizia and the political context in Malta. It's so far that the stories have to start by explaining to readers where Malta is. Doing like the prime minister and stubbornly complaining of "bias" in the face of [...]

How did you find Malta? Disturbing

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2017-12-02T09:43:06+01:00Sat, 2nd Dec '17, 09:38|

Deep down in everyone of us is the intuitive welcoming host. All of us shudder reading The Guardian's headline "MEPS disturbed by trip to Malta". We have thought of many adjectives to describe these islands. I have seen no glossy posters saying 'Visit Disturbing Malta'. This is where Joseph Muscat has brought us to. And [...]

iNews: The Scandal Deepens

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2017-12-02T09:24:55+01:00Sat, 2nd Dec '17, 09:24|

Here is a report from iNews (an offshoot of the UK's The Independent) on the situation in Malta. It is significant that the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia is described as a "scandal". In everyone's but Joseph Muscat's mind, this is a political killing that carries political responsibilities. But Joseph Muscat calls the rest of [...]

Pick on someone your size

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2017-12-01T23:25:19+01:00Fri, 1st Dec '17, 23:25|

I can understand where Carmelo Abela is coming from. Sort of. Take his point of view. A colleague of his was caught with a secret bank account in Panama. He did not resign. Another was caught inebriated during office hours a dozen times and was alleged to have visited a brothel while on business. He [...]

G Farrugia Calleja: Why they bother

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2017-12-01T19:24:01+01:00Fri, 1st Dec '17, 19:24|

By resident guest George Farrugia Calleja: The EP Delegation has wrapped up its work and returned to Brussels more worried about the state of the Rule of Law in Malta than it was when it arrived. Even as a stand-alone, this is a damning indictment of Joseph Muscat and his cronies’ governance of the country. [...]

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