This is the b.b.c. News Hello I m Jonathan Izod martyrs prime minister of Muscat has said he s planning to hand over power once his governing Labor Party has chosen a new leader with a process beginning on January the 12th in a televised address he said he had kept his word about bringing justice for the murdered journalist Daphne Carolina Galaxia they meant Grammaticus reports from Malta for days now Malta s prime minister has been under intense pressure to go the announcement he s to step aside finally came shortly after thousands protested in the center of the letter calling for his resignation some hold abuse outside the prime minister s office the pressure has mounted as the ramifications from investigations into the murder of the journalist Daphne Cairo and the glitz have spread she was killed by a car bomb 2 years ago many in Malta believe corruption on the island cannot be cleaned up while he remains in office. Thousands of people including judges and lawyers have been protest