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Man Gets 15 Years for Killing Prominent Maltese Reporter

Juliette Garside

One of three men accused of planting and detonating the car bomb that killed the anti-corruption journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia in 2017 has pleaded guilty to the crime and been sentenced to 15 years in prison.

Vincent Muscat is the first person to be convicted of the killing, which has embroiled Malta’s ruling Labour party in political scandal and led to the resignation of its prime minister in late 2019.

In a day of dramatic developments, police made three new arrests, apprehending the brothers Adrian and Robert Agius, and their associate Jamie Vella, on suspicion of having supplied the bomb used to murder Caruana Galizia.

News of the arrests emerged just after Muscat’s lawyer announced in court that his client was ready to change his plea to guilty.

Muscat, who is believed by police to have acted as a hitman in a contract to kill the journalist, is reported to have negotiated a more lenient sentence in exchange for supplying state prosecutors with information on others involved. He has also been granted a presidential pardon to help shed light on an entirely separate case – the 2015 murder of a lawyer, Carmel Chircop.

Malta’s prime minister, Robert Abela, and his cabinet are understood to have approved the request for Muscat’s pardon on Monday. Chircop died aged 51, killed by gunmen on his way to work. The case has never been solved.

In a statement to the court, a lawyer for Caruana Galizia’s family hailed Muscat’s conviction, saying “this step will begin to lead to full justice”.

The journalist is survived by her widower and three sons. Their lawyer, Jason Azzopardi, said: “A person who has admitted his involvement in the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia has denied her her right to life and has denied her her right to enjoy her family, including her grandchildren who were born after she was killed.

“The macabre murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia was intentional and should have been prevented.”

Muscat has admitted to all six charges in the Caruana Galizia case: wilful homicide, causing an explosion which led to the death of a person, illegal possession of explosives, conspiracy to carry out a crime, promotion of a group intending to carry out criminal acts and participation in such a group. He could be released as early as 2027, with reductions to his sentence for time already served and good behaviour.

Evidence that he provided in hours of police recordings is expected to assist in prosecuting others. Arrested in December 2017, Muscat was charged alongside the brothers George and Alfred Degriorgio, who are still denying any involvement.

A third man, Melvin Theuma, has secured a presidential pardon. He claims to have acted as a middleman, hiring and paying the Degiorgio brothers to carry out the killing on behalf of the Maltese property and energy tycoon Yorgen Fenech.

The businessman, who was one of many targets of Caruana Galizia’s investigations, is currently in custody, charged with masterminding the crime. He denies involvement in the murder.

The guilty plea was entered just after 1.30pm on Tuesday, with Muscat standing in the dock in a heavily guarded courtroom, while the Degiorgio brothers looked on from the benches behind him. Judge Edwina Grima sentenced him to 15 years in prison shortly afterwards, and he was ordered to pay €42,930 (£37,000) in costs to the court.

The Agius brothers, and Vella, were arrested along with 10 others during police raids in December 2017. However, no charges were brought and they were released without charge. Last October, newspapers in Malta reported that a member of Muscat’s family had been offered hush money by Robert Agius and Vella in exchange for his silence. The approach was corroborated on behalf of his client by Muscat’s lawyer Marc Sant, who said the money had been refused.

Just before her death, Caruana Galizia had received a leak consisting of hundreds of thousands of emails and documents from a company partly owned by Fenech, which had secured a lucrative government contract to build a power station.

Police told a hearing in the case against Fenech last August that they believed the journalist was killed for what she was preparing to reveal about the power station, operated by a company called Electrogas.

The post Man Gets 15 Years for Killing Prominent Maltese Reporter appeared first on The St Kitts Nevis Observer.

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Tesla Boss Loses Richest Person Title to Amazon’s Bezos

Tesla boss Elon Musk has lost his title as the world’s richest person after a recent slide in the electric carmaker’s shares, the main driver of his wealth. The title reverts back to Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.

Tesla shares have tumbled more than 20% since hitting a high of more than $880 in early January.

They suffered especially steep falls this week, tied to the firm’s recent risky $1.5bn (£1bn) investment in Bitcoin.

Elon Musk

The drop returned Amazon boss Jeff Bezos to the top spot on the rich list.

The risk of being associated with the notoriously volatile Bitcoin – which has fallen sharply in recent days – may have prompted some Tesla investors to sell their shares, even if the firm has not been hurt by the declines, Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives said.

“By Musk and Tesla aggressively embracing Bitcoin… investors are starting to tie Bitcoin and Tesla at the hip,” he said.

“The recent 48-hour sell-off in Bitcoin and added volatility has driven some investors to the exits on this name in the near-term.”

What is causing the Bitcoin sell-off?

Bitcoin’s value jumped nearly 50% in the weeks after Tesla revealed it had purchased $1.5bn of the currency and planned to accept it as payment.

But since climbing above $57,000 on Sunday, the cryptocurrency has dropped nearly 20%. It was trading at less than $48,000 on Tuesday – still higher than when Tesla disclosed its bet.

Just as Mr Musk was credited with helping to fuel Bitcoin’s rise, he may also have himself to blame for some of the recent Bitcoin declines.

In an exchange on Twitter over the weekend Mr Musk wrote that the price of Bitcoin did “seem high lol”.

Also driving the cryptocurrency lower were comments from US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, who sounded a warning on Bitcoin on Monday. She called it an “extremely inefficient way of conducting transactions”.

The comments follow a recent surge of interest in Bitcoin, after major US firms such as Mastercard and Bank of NY Mellon followed Tesla’s lead in announcing plans to incorporate the digital currency into their operations.

What else is affecting Tesla?

Mr Musk’s attention to Bitcoin comes as Tesla faces other challenges.

The firm recently halted most sales of the lowest-priced version of its Model Y SUV, with Mr Musk citing a desire to improve the car’s range.

Earlier this month, Chinese regulators summoned the firm over safety and quality issues, after reports of battery fires and abnormal acceleration.

Five Chinese regulators have recently summoned Tesla over quality and safety issues.China is Tesla’s biggest source of sales after the United States

Rival carmakers such as General Motors and Volkswagen have also stepped up their focus on electric vehicles in recent months.

The struggles follow an astonishing rise in Tesla shares in 2020, when prices leapt from less than $90 to more than $700.

The increase propelled Mr Musk past Amazon boss Jeff Bezos in the world’s richest rankings for the first time in January, while also raising questions about whether that value made sense for a firm that produces a fraction of the cars of its rivals.

The two billionaires have been vying for the top spot in the weeks since.

The decline in Tesla’s share price on Monday was the biggest since September and wiped more than $15bn off Mr Musk’s net worth, according to Bloomberg.

Mr Musk’s tweets have also famously triggered sharp moves in Tesla shares, including last year when the firm lost $14bn in market value after he wrote that its share price was too high.

The post Tesla Boss Loses Richest Person Title to Amazon’s Bezos appeared first on The St Kitts Nevis Observer.

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Digital laws pass Senate after Facebook stand-off ends

The government's new media laws for digital platforms like Facebook and Google have passed the Senate.

The News Media and Digital Platforms Mandatory Bargaining Code was amended earlier this week after Facebook took the historic step of blocking all Australian news from its pages.

The amendments must now be passed in the House of Representatives.

But the battle to get the laws passed stretches back half a year, to when Mr Frydenberg and the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) announced the draft code for digital platforms in July 2020.

Under the mandatory code of conduct, technology giants Google and Facebook would be required to negotiate with Australian media companies over payment for news content and notify them of algorithm changes.

It followed a direction from the Morrison Government, in December 2019, to facilitate the development of voluntary codes to address bargaining power imbalances between digital platforms and news media businesses.

https://twitter.com/EmmaLarouche/status/1364487973698330627?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

READ MORE: Facebook to restore blocked news pages 'in coming days'

The development of a code of conduct is part of the government's response to the ACCC's Digital Platforms Inquiry final report to promote competition, enhance consumer protection and support a sustainable Australian media landscape in the digital age.

"What we've sought to do is create a level playing field to ensure a fair go for Australian news media businesses and that when they generate original content, they are fairly paid for it," Mr Frydenberg said in July.

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"We want Google and Facebook to continue to provide these services to the Australian community which are so much loved and used by Australians. But we want it to be on our terms.

"We want it to be in accordance with our law and we want it to be fair, and that is what has motivated us with this mandatory code."

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Brittany Higgins makes formal statement to police

Former Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins has formally reopened the criminal complaint against the man she alleges raped her at Parliament House.

Ms Higgins claims she was sexually assaulted by a male political staffer in then-Defence Industry Minister and current Defence Minister Linda Reynolds' ministerial office in the early hours of March 23, 2019.

It is believed Ms Higgins made the formal complaint to the Australian Federal Police (AFP).

Brittany Higgins.

The specifics of the formal complaint have not been made public.

In a statement released last week Ms Higgins indicated she was close to making a criminal complaint to the AFP over the alleged sexual assault.

"The Australian Federal Police have made assurances to me that they will handle this matter thoroughly and transparently," the statement said.

"I would also ask that they handle it in a timely manner as to date, I have waited a long time for justice."

Last week, the AFP released a statement confirming a senior member of the AFP met with Ms Reynolds and her chief-of-staff on 4 April 2019 in relation to Ms Higgins' allegations.

Tears stream down the face of Minister for Defence Linda Reynolds during Question Time at Parliament House in Canberra last week. Photo: Alex Ellinghausen

Ms Higgins decision to make a formal complaint comes just days after a fourth woman came forward with allegations of sexual misconduct against the same Liberal staffer Ms Higgins has levelled her accusations.

The woman made a formal report at a police station in Canberra on Sunday.

Her account came hours after a third woman came forward with allegations of sexual misconduct by the same man.

Meanwhile, Ms Reynolds was today admitted to hospital and will be taking medical leave, a statement from her office has confirmed.

The minister was following advice from her cardiologist because of a pre-existing medical condition, the statement said.

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Ms Reynolds was admitted to a Canberra Hospital this morning as a precautionary measure.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison spoke to Ms Reynolds over the phone to express his concern and sympathy, and to wish her a quick recovery.

Last week, Ms Reynolds broke down in tears after facing repeated questions in the Senate about how Ms Higgins was treated.

In a post on Twitter this morning, Ms Higgins expressed her concern for the minister.

"Let's just hope that from this whole horrible situation there will actually be some fundamental reform to the MOP(S) Act for vulnerable staff and improvements to the workplace culture in Parliament House," Ms Higgins wrote.