Supreme Court corruption scandal rocks Brazil

PRESS REVIEW – Thursday, September 3: There's outrage in Malta after a tycoon was found not guilty of masterminding the murder of high-profile investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia. In Brazil, a Supreme Court justice who was pivotal in sentencing former President Jair Bolsonaro to prison is implicated in a corruption scandal of his own. Plus conservationists marvel after a mating frenzy of the endangered kakapo – a flightless, nocturnal parrot native to New Zealand. We start with a court verdict from Malta: the acquittal of a man accused of orchestrating the killing of prominent journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia. She was known for her investigation of the Panama Papers and had made a name for herself reporting on government corruption, nepotism and money laundering. This made her a target – she was killed in a shocking car bombing in 2017. The man accused of ordering her killing is Yorgen Fenech, who is one of Malta's richest men. A court verdict found him not guilty of involvement in her murder. The decision, as the Guardian says, came as a blow, not just to Caruana Galizia's family but to those who saw the trial as a landmark action in the fight to protect press freedom in Europe. Caruana Galizia's death triggered one of the biggest political scandals in Malta's postwar history. It also contributed to the resignation of Joseph Muscat, the then prime minister. "Yorgen Fenech NOT GUILTY" reads the headline from the Malta Independent, although it's hard to gauge how the paper really feels about the verdict. The front-page article is fairly neutral, reporting on the Caruana Galizia family's anger, but it chooses to go with a photo of Fenech coming out of the courthouse rather than Caruana Galizia herself. There are also little to no editorials and scant opinion pieces about what this verdict represents for Malta's stance on prosecuting crimes against journalists. The Times of Malta has, for its part, gathered reactions from activist groups and opposition political parties. Republikka, a civil society in Malta fighting for good governance and democracy, says that despite the verdict, the trial forces Malta to "confront uncomfortable truths" about political corruption. The Green Party says the verdict is an "indictment of the state of Malta", adding: "Daphne has been murdered a second time." Meanwhile, Brazil's press is headlining on a Supreme Court justice who was pivotal in bringing down former president Jair Bolsonaro. He is now implicated in a corruption scandal of his own. The Washington Times reminds us that Alexandre de Moraes was the Brazilian Supreme Court justice who sentenced Jair Bolsonaro to 27 years in prison for a coup attempt. He's now come under scrutiny after newly released federal police documents show very close ties between Moraes and disgraced banker Daniel Vorcaro. The latter is the owner of Banco Master and was behind what some call the largest bank fraud in the history of Brazil. Brazilian daily O Globo's editors offer details of Moraes' alleged corruption: airplanes, helicopters, credit cards provided by Vorcaro to Moraes and his family. Vorcaro also sent him dozens of messages in the lead-up to his own arrest. This included attempts to obtain information about the investigation into Banco Master and asking Moraes for advice on whether he should leave the country. Folha de Sao Paulo headlines on President Lula's attempts to distance himself from de Moraes and the scandal, just one month before general elections in Brazil. Finally, there's some good news for the endangered populations of the world's heaviest parrot, the kakapo! The cute, hefty flightless parrots native to New Zealand are nocturnal, with owl-like faces. They are also critically endangered. The birds were once widespread across New Zealand, but their numbers plummeted due to hunting, habitat loss and predators, with the kakapo nearly going extinct in the mid-1900s. Now, thanks to conservation efforts and a bumper crop of the fruit of rimu tree this year, which is key to the reproductive capacities of the birds, the kakapos were thrust into a mating frenzy. Some 90 chicks were born in recent months and their population is now up to 324 – a milestone not seen for 75 years! You can catch our press review every morning on France 24 at 7:20am and 9:20am (Paris time), from Monday to Friday.