(Vatican Radio) A major scandal involving leaked documents of a Panamanian offshore law firm, spanning forty years, has been revealed and the eleven and a half million documents lay bare the business dealings of dozens of current and former World Leaders. Listen to James Blears report The treasure trove of eleven point five million records of offshore holdings, have been revealed by an anonymous and most likely disgruntled and embittered source. They cover forty years of the business of offshore Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca. The bulky mass of data was leaked to a German newspaper, who onpassed it to the International Consortium of Investigative Journalism, which is is based in Washington. It's published this investigation into the offshore financial matters of the rich, the powerful, the political, the famous and the infamous. It covers more than 200,000 offshore entitities covering &nb...
(Vatican Radio) A major scandal involving leaked documents of a Panamanian offshore law firm, spanning forty years, has been revealed and the eleven and a half million documents lay bare the business dealings of dozens of current and former World Leaders.
Listen to James Blears report
The treasure trove of eleven point five million records of offshore holdings, have been revealed by an anonymous and most likely disgruntled and embittered source. They cover forty years of the business of offshore Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca. The bulky mass of data was leaked to a German newspaper, who onpassed it to the International Consortium of Investigative Journalism, which is is based in Washington. It's published this investigation into the offshore financial matters of the rich, the powerful, the political, the famous and the infamous. It covers more than 200,000 offshore entitities covering than 200 countries. There are allegations of tax dodging and money laundering.
The company has hit back, insisting it's been operating for more than 40 years and has yet to be accused or charged with any wrong doing. This state of affairs might just alter and change in the very near future.
The sheer size, scale, scope and enormity of this invesigation is likely to shed light on to, if not breathe life into, the obscure world of offshore business and dealings. Some might find themselves in hot wáter while others could be in very Deep wáter. What happens from now on, will be a sink or swim situation for many who've gone to great lengths to conserve themselves a bouyant float.
Attendees lay flowers at the Tsitsernakaberd Armenian Genocide Memorial in Yerevan to mark the 109th anniversary of World War I-era mass killings on April 24, 2024. / Credit: KAREN MINASYAN/AFP via Getty ImagesWashington, D.C. Newsroom, Apr 26, 2024 / 18:00 pm (CNA).As historians and human-rights activists mark the 109th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide this week, some are warning that Armenia is once again facing another existential threat.Speaking on "EWTN News Nightly" on Wednesday, Simone Rizkallah, an Armenian activist with the Philos Project, said that "this feels less like a remembrance and more like a truly historical event that we are in the midst of."The Armenian Genocide was carried out by Ottoman Turks in 1915 and resulted in the deaths of some 1.5 million Armenian Christians, according to historians. Though recognized as a genocide by the U.S. and more than 30 other countries, Turkey denies that characterization.The massacre took place over a hundred ...
null / Orhan Cam/ShutterstockWashington, D.C. Newsroom, Apr 26, 2024 / 12:30 pm (CNA).The addition of "gender identity" in the Biden administration's interpretation of anti-discrimination rules could jeopardize state laws that restrict women's sports and women's locker rooms to only women, according to legal scholars.Late last week, President Joe Biden's Department of Education redefined the prohibition on sex discrimination in education, enshrined in the 1972 Title IX provisions, to include discrimination based on a person's "gender identity." The new guidelines prohibit any policy and practice that "prevents a person from participating in an education program or activity consistent with their gender identity."Although the new guidelines do not clearly explain how the mandate would be enforced, experts at the legal advocacy group Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) and the conservative Heritage Foundation told CNA that it could force educational institutions to allow men who...
Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki of Cologne attends a German Synodal Way assembly on March 9, 2023. / Credit: Synodaler Weg/Maximilian von LachnerCNA Newsroom, Apr 26, 2024 / 13:57 pm (CNA).Four German bishops on Wednesday distanced themselves from the controversial Synodal Way's plans for a permanent body to oversee the Church in Germany, instead appealing for unity with the universal Church. The four bishops are the same who have previously blocked funding for this body: Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki of Cologne and three prelates from Bavaria: Gregor Maria Hanke, OSB, of Eichstätt; Stefan Oster, SDB, of Passau; and Rudolf Voderholzer of Regensburg.In a joint statement, the prelates confirmed on April 24 that they would not be parties to a committee charged with setting up a German "Synodal Council, as this would conflict with the sacramental constitution of the Church."The four bishops also rejected the view that the German Bishops' Conference could legally establish a "synod...