Malta's premier says he will step down amid crisis over murdered journalist probe

FILE PHOTO: Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat addresses a press conference after an urgent Cabinet meeting at the Auberge de Castille in Valletta, Malta November 29, 2019. REUTERS/Yara Nardi/File Photo

VALETTA (Reuters) - 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.