PANAMA CITY, Panama – The revelation of the "Panama Papers" detailing the off-shore financial structures of many wealthy clients is a "crime" and an "attack" on Panama, the law firm at the heart of the scandal said Sunday, April 3.

"This is a crime, a felony," Ramon Fonseca, one of the founders of the Panamanian firm Mossack Fonseca, told Agence France-Presse.

"Privacy is a fundamental human right that is being eroded more and more in the modern world. Each person has a right to privacy, whether they are a king or a beggar," he said.

Fonseca also said he saw the data leak behind the revelations as "an attack on Panama, because certain countries don't like it that we are so competitive in attracting companies."

The leak from Mossack Fonseca's supposedly secure data center resulted in media around the world publishing stories on how wealthy politicians, celebrities and others used it to allegedly hide assets to avoid taxes or launder money.

Fonseca, who was an advisor to Panama's President Juan Carlos Varela until last month, described the exfiltration of the data as a "limited hack."

There was as yet no suspect in the leak, he added, and he declined to speculate on any until proof emerged.

He stressed to Agence France-Presse that Mossack Fonseca, which has been operating for nearly four decades and had created more than 240,000 companies, had never been "convicted or accused or any wrongdoing."

He also underlined that "we have no responsibility in how these companies were used," because the firm's role was as an intermediary.

"As we have so many companies, some have problems – that's normal," he said. "But we are not responsible for them." – Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines – It has all the ingredients of what is wrong and what can be solved if only the right leaders were in place. Last week’s Kidapawan protest dispersal that killed two farmers and wounded scores of protesters and cops happened as the country entered the final phase of the campaign period for the May 9 elections. And it could not have come at a worse (or better) time for the sectors and personalities linked to it.

At the center of the storm is the Aquino administration and the elections that it hopes to win. Given its complex landscape, intractable problems, and the interlocking networks of the armed and the unarmed, Mindanao has always been every government’s Achilles heel, but more so this administration. 

Joseph Estrada had the fall of Camp Abubakar and its aftermath; the Maguindanao massacre happened under Gloria Macapagal Arroyo; Aquino had the Zamboanga siege, the Mamasapano clash, and now the bloodshed in Kidapawan.

What role will the Kidapawan issue play in the homestretch of a tight national race and rowdy local races?

Elections and the armed

Because of their history of taking sides in the elections, the police and the military were urged last week to stay neutral. 

Zamboanga del Norte, for example, was witness to polarized local races in 2013 that saw policemen and soldiers aligning themselves with candidates. In a pastoral letter last April 3, Dipolog Bishop Severo Caermare asked both to not allow themselves to be used by politicians. He explained in a Rappler interview: “Let us not use what had happened in the past as the measure of what will happen in the coming elections. Let us always be vigilant and watchful.”

The communist New People’s Army (NPA), on the other hand, makes no bones about their involvement in these elections. 

In Northern Mindanao, the guerrillas said 10 of their platoons have set up checkpoints along national highways to ensure “smooth” campaign in rebel areas. Candidates passing through these areas “must coordinate with the NPA command in the area and they will be accompanied by revolutionaries in the conduct of their campaign,” a local NPA spokesman said.

Voters’ data compromised?

The biggest headache for the Commission on Elections last week – on top of having to explain its decision to buy “bibs” as uniforms for election personnel and canvass votes in a posh hotel – is what experts consider to be the biggest leak of personal data following the hacking of the poll body’s database.

Hackers boasted on March 27 that they had accessed the Comelec’s database of 55 million registered voters and uploaded it online. The Comelec said there’s no cause for alarm since these are publicly available data anyway. Experts believe otherwise, warning about extreme cases where voters’ personal information could be used to commit identity theft.

Aquino plays bad cop

In his own sorties as he campaigns for his anointed candidates, President Benigno Aquino III continues to hit the rivals of administration bet Manuel “Mar” Roxas II. Signs of desperation, critics say. The President punched holes in Grace Poe’s stand on the country’s maritime dispute with China over the West Philippine Sea and her announcement that she would name a retired Marine colonel to be her anti-crime czar. He warned voters against electing Rodrigo Duterte who, he said in so many words, has dictatorial tendencies. Aquino’s candidates Roxas and Leni Robredo have yet to top the surveys barely 5 weeks before election day.

Binay and his ‘allies’

After dropping Jejomar Binay, the One Cebu party led by the Garcia clan is endorsing Duterte’s presidential bid. 

"We share the longing of the Bisaya population to finally have a Bisaya president after 60 years," said Winston Garcia. The Garcias cut ties with Binay and his United Nationalist Alliance after UNA’s reported failure to coordinate with One Cebu on local campaigns.

Duterte himself visited Toledo City in Cebu, whose mayor, John Henry Osmeña, is supporting Binay. Osmeña insisted he continues to back Binay even if his brother, former Cebu Governor Lito Osmeña, has declared support for Duterte.

In another vote-rich province, Laguna, Poe met with another Binay ally, dismissed Governor Emilio Ramon “ER” Ejercito. It was Poe's second visit to the 4th most vote-rich province. Two warring families – the the Ejercitos and the San Luises – welcomed her.

The layers of vote buying

As campaign teams gear up for election day, watchdogs are on the lookout for election rules violations, especially the most rampant one: vote buying.

While it’s a criminal act, vote buying has become more the norm than the exception in Philippine elections. It is systematic. It knows no limits in terms of amount. And it remains prevalent even if the polls are now automated.

How does it work? Read our report on it. – Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines – Majority of Filipinos still approve of the performance of President Benigno Aquino III, based on the latest Pulse Asia survey, but the same poll showed he barely has the trust of the majority.

The Pulse Asia Ulat ng Bayan survey released Monday, April 4, showed that among the country's top 5 officials, only Aquino received a majority approval rating, registering a 52% score.

Vice President Jejomar Binay and Senate President Franklin Drilon both got approval ratings of 46%, Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno got 31%, and House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr, 30%.

Aquino got a majority approval rating in the provinces (51% in Luzon, 59% in the Visayas, and 58% in Mindanao), and among class E respondents (58%), in the survey conducted March 12-18.

His lowest approval rating comes from the National Capital Region (33%) and among class ABC respondents (45%). His approval rating among Class D respondents is at 50%.

"Public opinion toward the President’s quarterly work is split 3 ways in Metro Manila with 36% being critical of his performance, 33% approving of the same, and 32% expressing ambivalence on the matter," Pulse Asia said.

Meanwhile, 18% disapprove of Aquino's performance, while 30% are undecided.

Approval ratings up except for Binay

All of the officials except Binay got a bump in their ratings compared to their January ratings. (READ previous Ulat ng Bayan results: Aquino, Binay, other officials get lower approval ratings)

Belmonte and Sereno both got a 6-percentage point rise in their approval ratings (from 24% to 30% for Belmonte, and from 25% to 31% for Sereno), while Drilon got a 2-percentage point rise (from 44% to 46%).

"The rise in approval for the quarterly performance of House Speaker Belmonte and Supreme Court Chief Justice Sereno becomes more notable not only at the national level (both at +6 percentage points) but also in Mindanao (+11 and +18 percentage points, respectively) and Class D (+7 and +6 percentage points, respectively)," Pulse Asia noted.

Aquino's overall approval rating got a 3-percentage point rise compared to his rating in January (49%).

Binay, in contrast, received a higher disapproval rating – from 21% in January, it is now at 25%, a rise of 4 percentage points. He also has the highest disapproval rating among the 5 officials.

Aquino recovers in trust rating

No one among the country's top officials, however, got a majority trust rating.

Aquino had the highest trust rating among the 5 (49%), followed by Binay (44%), Drilon (42%), Sereno (30%), and Belmonte (27%).

Across all geographic regions and economic classes, Aquino's trust rating rose compared to the last Ulat ng Bayan survey, helping him recover by 10 percentage points overall (from 39%).

Sereno and Belmonte also saw higher trust ratings compared to the previous survey (from 21% to 30% for Sereno, and from 20% to 27% for Belmonte).

Drilon and Binay both lost 4 percentage points in their trust ratings, compared to the previous results, while only Binay saw his distrust rating rise (from 22% in February to 27% in March, up 5 percentage points).

Aquino also had the biggest change among undecided respondents, from 37% in February to 30% in March, a 7-percentage point difference.

SC gets majority approval

The Ulat ng Bayan survey also showed that among the top 3 government institutions, only the Supreme Court (SC) managed to receive a majority approval rating.

The SC got an overall rating of 52%, while the Senate got a rating of 49% and the House of Representatives, 41%.

The SC's approval rating is up 7 percentage points compared to figures back in December 2015 (45%).

Pulse Asia also noted that the number of people saying they approve of the House's performance is roughly the same as those who are ambivalent towards it (44% undecided).

The 3 institutions also have similar disapproval scores.

During the conduct of the survey, some of the major issues that were in the news were the SC ruling on Senator Grace Poe's disqualification case; the first presidential debate in Cagayan de Oro; the start of the investigation on the $81-million Bangladesh Bank heist; the death of Senator Jovito Salonga; and the recommendation of the Commission on Audit that Vice President Binay be charged over the Makati City Hall Parking Building II controversy.

The survey was conducted via face-to-face interviews of 1,800 registered voters, and has a +/- 2% error margin at the 95% confidence level.

Subnational estimates for the geographic areas covered in the survey have the following error margins at 95% confidence level: ± 6% for Metro Manila, ± 3% for the rest of Luzon, and ± 5% for each of the Visayas and Mindanao.

"Pulse Asia Research undertakes Ulat ng Bayan surveys on its own without any party singularly commissioning the research effort," the survey firm said.– Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines - The heads of the country's interior department and police force on Monday, April 4, continued to defend the local government of North Cotabato and local police forces amid public outcry over the violent dispersal of farmers staging a protest along a national highway last week. 

They said dialogues were held before the dispersal and that the policemen merely responded to the refusal of the protesters to leave the barricade.

"[The police exercised] maximum tolerance, sila ang tumatanggap (they were on the receiving end)," Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Mel Senen Sarmiento told reporters before the turnover of new firetrucks and police patrol jeeps in Quezon City.

Asked about sentiments that the dispersal went overboard, Sarmiento added: "Unang-una, we should know the facts. Sino ba nag-organize? Sino nag-finance? High finance ito ha, transporting people from other provinces. Dinala doon. Sino ang key leaders na nagsabi... these are things that should be subjected to the investigation. Who told the people na may mamimigay ng bigas? That is the very reason why marami ang sumamang iba. What is really the motive... ano ba talaga ang motive. Is it rice? Or IPSB Bayanihan? What really is the motive? We should determine that."

(Who organized the protest? Who financed it? People from other provinces were brought there. Who told the people that rice would be distributed? What was the motive of the protest? Rice or to protest IPSB Bayanihan [the government's counter-insurgency campaign]?)

DILG Undersecretary Peter Irving Corvera showed reporters aerial footage of the April 1 dispersal. Corvera pointed out that Crowd Dispersal Management (CDM) personnel were being beaten by protesters even if the police unit was already retreating. 

One of the policemen in the video, said Corvera, sustained serious injuries and is still unconscious. (Kilab Multimedia, however, also has a video of how the violence erupted at the site. Watch it here.)

The local government followed the right protocol for crisis management, Sarmiento said.

"Sa video, makikita natin na maximum tolerance dahil sila ang tumatanggap ng kung anu-ano eh. Then the use of firearms... ano ba protocol noon? Warning shot ba? Ang warning shot para ma pull out yung mga police na na pin down doon? Kailangan natin malaman ang cause of death," he said.

(What's the protocol? Is it a warning shot? What's the point of a warning shot, to pull out policemen who are already pinned down? What caused the death?)

"Rice dito sa harap pero bayanihan ang nasa likod eh," said Sarmiento, showing reporters a picture of the protest front lines. In the photo, protesters are seen holding banners demanding rice and aid. A few feet away was another protester holding a banner calling for the end of IPSB Bayanihan, the government's overall program to combat insurgency.

(The protest is ostensibly to demand rice, but behind it is to campaign against the government's counter-insurgency program.)

On April 1, farmers protesting in Kidapawan City were dispersed after several days of protest. At least two farmers died as a result of the clash against local police. (READ: Online support for Kidapawan drought protest grows)

The farmers were complaining about lack of government support amid the worsening El Niño drought in the area. Mindanao is among the worst affected by the weather phenomenon. 

Sarmiento, who visited Kidapawan over the weekend with Marquez, said the local government "followed protocol" and heeded national government's warnings ahead of the drought. 

"Ang probinsiya may pera that will last up to December. Ang ginagawa nila, nagbibigay sila ng bigas doon. Weekly ang rationing. At nag-plano sila na magbibigay sila hanggang pagtanim, hanggang pagharvest. Hanggang December aabot ang pondo nila. Sa P100 million, nasa P12 million pa lang nagagastos nila," said Sarmiento. (The province has sufficient funds until December. They give rice weekly. They have so far only spent P12 million of the P100 million allotted.)

Cloud seeding was also conducted by the province, said the interior secretary. 

On Sunday, it was reported that more farmers arrived in Kidapawan City, even as truckloads left to return to their homes. 

Marquez stressed the highway must be open. "Kasi kaya nagkaroon ng law enforcement operation, it had inconvenienced so many people already that we had to put order," he said. 

Asked if dialogue would be part of local police force's actions, Marquez said: "We have conducted dialogues... so many dialogues before the law enforcement operation ever took place. They would not settle for anything else. Gusto nilang i-block yun. They would like to hostage this government."

But even as Sarmiento and Marquez defended the local government and police force, they said an investigation would still be undertaken. 

Sarmiento said these include probes by the National Police Commission (Napolcom), an internal probe by the PNP, and one by the Commission on Human Rights (CHR). 

Marquez said the probe will determine if police fired the first shot, if any protocols were violated by the police, and if any charges could be filed against those who harmed policemen. – Rappler.com

CHIBOK, Nigeria – There's not much left of the Government Girls Secondary School in Chibok, northeast Nigeria, where Boko Haram kidnapped 276 teenagers in the dead of night nearly two years ago.

Even the word "girls" on the school sign outside has been painted over in black – hidden from the world, just like the 219 students who are still missing. 

Up the dusty track and beyond the heavy wrought-iron gates, soldiers stand guard with assault rifles, although there are few buildings and no people to protect. 

Only the peeling light-green walls of the school's main school building remain. Metal beams that supported the roof lie rusting. Rough grass pokes through shattered concrete. 

The government of Nigeria's former president Goodluck Jonathan announced shortly before last year's election that rebuilding work had begun at the school.  

But apart from piles of breeze blocks, there's no evidence of any construction. The sprawling site is silent apart from the sound of cicadas and gusts of hot wind through the desert scrub.

Ayuba Alamson Chibok steps through the rubble where the girls' dormitories once stood, picking up a bed frame from the scorched earth – one of the few signs the site was once inhabited.

"If the government wanted to do something, let them call the contractor... to put somebody on the ground," the town elder told Agence France-Presse, his voice rising in anger.

"Education here in Chibok has really come to zero level. This is the only school we have in Chibok and it has been destroyed." 

Abandoned

The second anniversary of the mass kidnapping on April 14 will bring renewed attention to the remote town in southern Borno state, which was little known until two years ago but is now synonymous with the brutal conflict.

Parents of the abducted girls plan to gather at the school on the day itself to pray for their safe return, said Yakubu Nkeki, from a support group helping those left behind.

But 16 fathers and two mothers will not be there, he said. They have either died or are now among the estimated 20,000 killed in the nearly 7-year Islamist insurgency.

Others live with the physical and psychological effects of the disappearances. High blood pressure and stomach ulcers are common, he said.

Yet despite the global outrage online at the kidnapping and promises of action, many people in Chibok say they feel abandoned.

"Nothing has been done," said Nkeki, a primary school teacher, questioning why nearby towns recently liberated from Boko Haram have since been able to re-open schools. 

The Government Girls Secondary School was the only state-run school in Chibok but it has been shut since the kidnapping. Calls for a boys school have come to nothing, he said.

"Really, Boko Haram has achieved its aim by saying they don't want Western education," he added.

Hardship

In the town, life goes on as best it can. Upturned bicycles are repaired in the street, hawkers trade groundnuts from see-through plastic buckets and boys push wheelbarrows full of tart oranges.

The single main street, like the dirt road in to and out of the town, is unpaved. Every vehicle kicks up choking dust. Electricity cables hang to the ground from damaged poles.

In January, 3 suicide bombers killed 13 people in Chibok. At the mosque, worshippers, including young children, are now screened outside for explosives. 

Vigilantes assisting the military stand guard with single-shot, home-made muskets in a town that has been largely inaccessible because of insecurity.

"We have hardship," admitted Buluma Dawa, a 56-year-old bookseller. "There is no light, no water, no road and security-wise it's not enough for us in Chibok."

Dawa and others are at a loss to explain why, suggesting the state government has no interest in developing rural areas. 

"We hope that on the two years' anniversary (of the kidnapping), we pray that people will remember Chibok because... nothing is improving at all...

"We have a lot of children living at home without doing anything... They will suffer, there is nothing else. 

"If there is no education the poor people cannot even achieve."

Waiting

Some of the missing schoolgirls' parents can be found in Mbalala, a 10-minute drive from Chibok through an area still known for Boko Haram activity.

There's little movement in the market place, only the sound of children playing, the bleating of goats and an imam's sermon over the loudspeakers of the mosque.

Young girls in blue and white hijabs sit on piles of mud bricks; boys wash a goat tethered to a pole while others fetch water from a well, pouring it into plastic buckets.

Yawale Dunya is among the men sitting mostly silently on benches in the shade of cracked mud-brick houses or cross-legged playing cards. 

The 41-year-old farmer has been able to do little else since his 15-year-old daughter Hawa was abducted. His fingers pick distractedly at prayer beads. 

Military successes against the insurgents have kept his hopes alive of Hawa's return and he runs through the scenario repeatedly in his head.

"When I see my daughter coming back to me I will feel very much joy in my heart," he said.

"All the small sickness and other things will disappear and I will be very happy in my life." – Phil Hazlewood, AFP / Rappler.com

PARIS, France – World leaders, stars of the pitch and screen and dozens of billionaires were among those named and shamed in what looks to be the biggest ever leak of inside information in history.

Covering 40 years of emails, financial records and passport details, an investigation by more than 100 media groups shows how some of the world's most powerful people have secreted away their money in offshore jurisdictions 

Below are some of the main allegations made in Sunday's (April 3) release based on documents from Panama-based law firm Mossack Fonseca:

• Banks, companies and aides close to Russian President Vladimir Putin secretly shuffled as much as $2 billion using offshore companies, gaining hidden influence in the country's media and automotive industries. The Kremlin has accused the ICIJ of launching a misleading "information attack".
• Iceland's Prime Minister Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson and his wife used an offshore company, Wintris Inc., to hide millions of dollars of investments in three major banks during the financial crisis. He has denied any wrongdoing but faces a vote of no confidence this week. 
• Two leaders who have staked their reputations on pushing for transparency – Chinese President Xi Jinping and British Prime Minister David Cameron – have at some point had family links to offshore companies.
• Several other world leaders, including the prime minister of Pakistan, the king of Saudi Arabia and the children of the president of Azerbaijan, also control offshore companies.
• Mossack Fonseca worked with at least 33 people and companies blacklisted by Washington because of business links to Mexican drug lords, terrorist organizations or rogue nations, including North Korea. One supplied fuel for planes the US alleges Syria's regime used to bomb its own citizens.
• The firm's customers include Ponzi schemers, drug kingpins, tax evaders and a US businessman convicted of traveling to Russia to have sex with underage orphans, who signed papers for an offshore company while in jail. 
• The files also identify a convicted money launderer who claimed he'd arranged a $50,000 illegal campaign contribution used to pay the Watergate burglars, 29 billionaires from Forbes' rich list, and martial arts film star Jackie Chan.
• FIFA's ethics committee member Juan Pedro Damiani had business ties with three men indicted in the corruption scandal engulfing football's governing body – former FIFA vice president Eugenio Figueredo as well as Hugo Jinkis and his son, who are accused of paying bribes for broadcast rights in Latin America.
• The world's best football player, Lionel Messi, and his father own a shell company, Mega Star Enterprises, previously unknown to Spanish investigators probing the Barcelona forward's tax affairs.
• Suspended UEFA chief Michel Platini, who is serving a six-year ban from football for over a $2 million payment from FIFA president Sepp Blatter, turned to Mossack Fonseca to help him administer an offshore company created in Panama in 2007.
• More than 500 banks, their subsidiaries and branches have worked with Mossack Fonseca since the 1970s to help clients manage offshore companies. UBS set up more than 1,100 and HSBC and its affiliates created more than 2,300.

– Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines – Two policemen were abducted by "unidentified armed men" on Sunday, April 3, en route to Cagayan de Oro City, police confirmed to Rappler.

In a text message, Philippine National Police (PNP) spokesman Chief Superintendent Wilben Mayor said based on an initial investigation, the armed men blocked part of the Sayre Highway in Capitan Bayong, Impasugong town, Bukidnon.

Mayor said Senior Police Officer 1 (SPO1) Warren Coñales of the Impasugong Municipal Police Station and Police Officer 3 (PO3) Edwin Panis Castor of the Wao Municipal Police Station were abducted.

The two cops are now considered "prisoners of war," according to the New People's Army (NPA). Two other policemen were likewise abducted but later released for "humanitarian considerations," according to the NPA. 

NPA-North Central Mindanao Regional Command spokesman Allan Juanito said they would observe the Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (CARHRIHL) in handling the two cops.

According to an internal report sourced by Rappler, the NPA had set up a checkpoint in the same Impasugong barangay.

Blockades were also reportedly set up in the following areas:

• Barangay Tikalaan in Talakag, Bukidnon 
• Barangay Santiago in Manolo Fortich, Bukidnon 
• Barangay Rojales in Carmen, Agusan del Norte
• Barangay Olave in Buenavista, Agusan del Norte 
• Barangay Lingayao in Las Nieves, Agusan del Norte 
• Barangay Mandahilag in Talisayan, Misamis Oriental

Both the military and Juanito confirmed the existence of the checkpoints. (READ: NPA to candidates: Coordinate with us for 'smooth' campaigning) – with reports from Bea Cupin and Bobby Lagsa/Rappler.com 

MIAMI, USA – Genetic mutations that can be blamed for unusually high cholesterol are far rarer than previously thought, existing in only about 2% of the US population, researchers said Sunday, April 3.

Previous studies have suggested that as many as 25% of people with very high cholesterol – defined as low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels of 190 mg/dl or higher – could blame their condition on their genes.

LDL is widely known as "bad cholesterol" because it leads to buildup of harmful plaque in the arteries.

"Many clinicians assume that patients with LDL above 190 have a familial hypercholesterolemia mutation as the major driver," said Amit Khera, a cardiology fellow at Massachusetts General Hospital and lead author of the findings presented at the American College of Cardiology conference in Chicago. 

"But there are a lot of other causes that can lead to this very high LDL, such as poor diet, lack of exercise, and a variety of common genetic variants that each have a small impact on cholesterol but can add up to a big impact when they occur together." 

To perform the study, researchers compiled the largest gene sequencing analysis to date based on people with very high cholesterol, including more than 26,000 people.

There are 3 different known mutations that can lead to a diagnosis of familial hypercholesterolemia. 

Only 2% of individuals had mutations in any of the 3 known familial hypercholesterolemia genes.

Even though there were relatively few of these people, their risk for developing life-threatening plaque buildup in the heart's arteries by their 50s or 60s was extraordinarily high – 22 times higher than people with average cholesterol levels (LDL below 130 mg/dL), said the study.

"Our findings suggest that if you performed widespread genetic screening of all individuals with very high LDL cholesterol, your yield would likely be low, but for the people who do have the mutations, the results could be quite meaningful," said Khera. 

"This knowledge would be relevant not only to people with familial hypercholesterolemia mutations but to their relatives as well."

For those without the inherited gene mutations, but who still had very highcholesterol, their risk of early-onset coronary artery disease was 6 times higher than people with LDL below 130. 

Researchers estimated that 412,000 of about 14 million adult Americans with an untreated LDL of 190 or higher have a familial hypercholesterolemia mutation. – Rappler.com

SAO PAULO, Brazil – Various Latin American officials are among the world figures mentioned in the Panama Papers trove of leaked tax documents detailing suspect international financial dealings, reporters who analyzed the material found.

The documents from the Panama-based law firm Mossack Fonseca, which helped set up the offshore companies, were obtained from an anonymous source by German daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung and shared with media worldwide by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ). (READ: Panama Papers: Huge tax leak exposes world leaders)

BRAZIL

At least 57 people already linked to Brazil's huge Petrobras corruption scandal opened offshore companies through Mossack Fonseca, local media reported.

The O Estado de Sao Paulo reported late Sunday, April 3, that many of those companies were unknown in the anti-corruption "Operation Car Wash" surrounding Petrobras launched in 2014.

Topping the list is a company that reportedly belongs to Eduardo Cunha, the speaker of the lower house of Brazil's legislature and the man heading efforts to impeach President Dilma Rousseff.

While Cunha's name does not directly appear on the list, the Brazilian members of ICIJ looking at the leaked documents – UOL, O Estado de Sao Paulo and Rede TV – say that one of the companies is directly linked to Cunha.

In a statement, Cunha vehemently denied the allegation, and challenged anyone to show his links to any offshore company.

Separately, prosecutors last year charged Cunha with taking millions of dollars in bribes and hiding the money in Switzerland.

Other Brazilians linked to the "Panama Papers" include a former cabinet minister and a former legislator. 

Unknown offshore companies belonging to firms linked to the Petrobras scandal have also surfaced. They include construction firm Odebrecht, whose former head, Marcelo Odebrecht, was sentenced in March to nearly 20 years in prison on corruption charges.

ARGENTINA

President Mauricio Macri, his father, and brother Mariano were on the board of directors of an offshore company registered in the Bahamas since 1998, the daily La Nacion reported. The company was in operation until 2009, two years into Macri's tenure as Buenos Aires mayor.

In a statement, the government said that Macri was never a stakeholder in the company, even though he was "circumstantially" its CEO.

Aside from football megastar Lionel Messi, other prominent Argentines linked to the "Panama Papers" include a former private secretary to the late ex-president Nestor Kirchner (2003-2007) and a senior aide to Macri when the president was Buenos Aires mayor.

MEXICO

Juan Armando Hinojosa Cantu, one of Mexico's richest tycoons and head of the Higa business group hid at least $100 million in offshore companies that stretch to New Zealand, according to the website Aristegui Noticias.

The money was moved via companies created by Mossack Fonseca using the name of Hinojosa's mother and mother in law, the website said.

In late 2014 Aristegui Noticias reported that one of Hinojosa's companies provided a lavish mansion for the wife of President Enrique Pena Nieto. After the news broke the first lady said she repaid the builder with earnings from her days as a telenovela star.

When the government exonerated Pena Nieto for a possible conflict of interest in the case in 2015, Hinojosa transferred millions of dollars to offshore companies in New Zealand, Aristegui Noticias said.

Other Mexicans linked to the "Panama Papers" include an oil company contractor, politicians, a popular actress, and people linked to drug cartels, the magazine Proceso reported.

PERU

Two major supporters of Keiko Fujimori -- who is leading the polls in Peru's upcoming presidential election -- have undeclared interests in offshore companies set up by Mossack Fonseca, according to the news website Ojo Publico.

Others linked with offshore companies set up by the Panamanian firm include Peru's leading timber company as well as three renowned local chefs, Ojo Publico said. – Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines – Senators Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III and Alan Peter Cayetano will be conducting a public hearing on the violent dispersal of protesting farmers in Kidapawan, the two lawmakers said on Monday, April 4.

In a statement, Cayetano said the hearing will be held by the Senate Committee on Justice and Human Rights, which is headed by Pimentel, on Thursday, April 7, in Davao City. 

“We are holding the hearing in Davao City because it is one of the nearest places to the Kidapawan incident. Some of the invited resource speakers belong to the protesting farmers, who are too injured to travel all the way to Manila,” Pimentel was quoted as saying in the statement.

Cayetano is the running mate of presidential candidate Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, who is blaming the Aquino government for the incident. Pimentel is also supporting Duterte’s presidential bid.

“In the Senate hearing, we will listen to all parties present,” said Cayetano. “But most importantly, we hope to get to the bottom of this issue and render justice to all the victims of this unnecessary use of violence.” 

At least 2 protesters were killed and several others were wounded, including policemen, when cops dispersed on April 1 the protest of farmers along a major highway in Kidapawan City. The farmers are protesting government's insufficient support as they struggle with drought caused by El Niño.

The cops have been accused of using excessive force during the dispersal. The Commission on Human Rights and the Philippine National Police are holding separate investigations on the incident. – Rappler.com

PAMPANGA, Philippines – As former President and now reelectionist Pampanga 2nd District Representative Glorioa Macapagal Arroyo turns 69, a presidential candidate she is believed to be supporting in the May polls wishes two things for her: good health and freedom.

"Sana po ay gumaling na sa lalong madaling panahon ang ating pangulo at sana matapos na ho ang kanyang kaso," Vice President Jejomar Binay told reporters on Monday, April 4, during his 3rd visit to Pampanga since the start of the official campaign period.

(I hope our former president gets well soon and I wish her case would be resolved.)

Arroyo, who is under house arrest for plunder charges over the alleged misuse of Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office funds while she was president, is celebrating her birthday on Tuesday, April 5.

The Supreme Court allowed her to spend her birthday at her residence in Quezon City from April 4 to 6. 

Arroyo has been detained at the presidential suite of the Veterans Memorial Medical Center in Quezon City since shortly after she stepped down in 2010. Hearings for her case before the anti-graft court Sandiganbayan have been suspended for nearly half a year now.

In October 2015, the The United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) released an opinion that Arroyo's continued detention "violates international law" and is "arbitrary on a number of grounds."

"Matagal na hong nakabinbin 'yun. Iyon pong motion to bail ay sana medisyunan na," said Binay, whose presidential bid some allies of Arroyo in Central Luzon are backing (The case has long been pending. I hope the motion for bail would be decided on already.)

Binay and Arroyo used to be political foes – he was among Arroyo's staunchest critics over corruption scandals and allegations of election fraud in 2004. 

Binay also used to be the campaign manager of the actor Fernando Poe Jr, from whom Arroyo supposedly stole the presidency 12 years ago. 

Poe's daughter, Senator Grace Poe, is now one of Binay's strongest opponents in the 2016 presidential race.

Does Binay plan to attend Arroyo's birthday celebration on Tuesday? He said no.

"Nakapagpaabot na ako ng aking birthday greetings," he said. (I already asked someone to extend my birthday greetings to her.) – Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines – He was nowhere near the Quezon Memorial Circle but Liberal Party (LP) standard-bearer Manuel Roxas II’s presence was still felt on Monday, April 4, during the turnover of new fire trucks and police patrol jeeps led by no less than President Benigno Aquino III.

On Monday, Aquino graced the turnover of 135 brand-new fire trucks and 144 new police patrol jeeps to several towns and cities from all over the country. Also present during the ceremony was incumbent Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Mel Senen Sarmiento, and the chiefs of the national police and fire bureau.

The Monday distribution is the latest release since the fire trucks and patrol jeeps were procured last year. Roxas was DILG secretary when the new trucks and jeeps were purchased and released. It was Roxas who used to lead the distribution of patrol jeeps all around the country. (READ: ‘No controversy’ in purchase of PNP patrol jeeps – Roxas)

"Mula noong maupo si Interior and Local Government Secretary Mar Roxas ay agad niyang tinugunan ang problema, binigyan ng budget, nagpabidding sa tamang proseso at ngayon, dagdag 469 fire trucks ang ipamamahagi sa iba't ibang bahagi ng bansa," the voiceover for a video presentation explaining the procurement said.

(When Mar Roxas was appointed DILG Secretary, he immediately addressed the problem, allocated a budget, and bid it out using the right process. Now 469 new fire trucks will be distributed all around the country.)

Roxas himself was in Caraga province, campaigning alongside his running mate Leni Robredo.

The DILG and the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) explained through the video that in years prior, firefighters had a hard time combating fires because their trucks were dilapidated – or they had no trucks at all.

The purchase of the new trucks is part of the government's efforts to upgrade the capabilities of its peace and order bureaus. The Philippine National Police (PNP) and the BFP are both under the DILG.

"Masalimuot ang dinatnan nating sitwasyon ng Bureau of Fire Protection. Dahil sa pagpapabaya ng ating sinundan at paglihis sa interes ng taumbayan, tila nakaligtaan ang mga pangangailangan ng inyong ahensya. Kulang na nga ang fire trucks, karamihan pa sa mga tangan natin, lumang-luma at kakarag-karag. Siyempre, dulot nito, palyadong serbisyo na higit na nailalapit sa peligro ang ating mga Boss, pati na ang ating mga bumbero," said Aquino in his speech. 

(The situation in the BFP was dire. Because of the neglect of our predecessor and their refusal to heed the public's interest, they seemed to have forgotten the needs of your agency. Fire trucks were in want and most of the units we had were too old and too beaten up. Because of this, our firemen's service left a lot wanting and our bosses were exposed to more danger, our firemen included.) 

Aquino said the aquisition of new trucks was started by the late Jesse Robredo, continued by Roxas and eventually, Sarmiento. 

At least 1,000 more fire trucks will be needed throughout the country to meet the 1:28,000 fire truck-to-person ratio. The government's goal of having at least one vehicle for every city or municipality, meanwhile, has been met with the purchase of the new jeeps, the government said.

"Kita ang layo ng ating narating para sa BFP at PNP dito sa Daang Matuwid. Paano nga naman natin aasahang magagawa ninyo ang inyong trabaho, kung lagi ninyong kailangang diskartehan ang inyong pangangailangan? Tapos na nga po yung panahong 'Bahala kayo sa buhay ninyo.' Ngayon, talagang binibigyang lakas na kayo ng gobyerno para tuparin ang inyong mandato," added the President. 

(It's clear how far the BFP and PNP have gone thanks to Daang Matuwid. How can we expect you to fulfill your mandate when you need to strategize your basic needs? The days of 'it's up to you' are over. Now, the government makes sure you're equipped to fulfill your mandate.)

Roxas was mentioned at least 4 more times during the video, via voiceover or testimonies from those who benefited from the new purchases.

The former DILG chief and LP standard-bearer made a cameo towards the end through a file video clip of one of his speeches.

"Walang pinilit, walang iniwan, at hindi tinanong kung ano ang puliitka, kung ano ang chaleko, kung sino ang nanalo sa bawat bayan na iyon. Pantay po ang pagtingin ng pamahalaan sa ating mga kababayan," said Roxas in what appeared to be one of several turnover ceremonies for the newly-acquired vehicles.

(Nobody was forced, nobody was left behind, nobody was asked about politics, or about the color of his part, or who won in that town. The government looks at our countrymen equally.)

Several cities were recipients of new patrol jeeps, including those headed by the LP's rivals such as Davao City and Tacloban City. Several allies' towns or cities were also given new patrol jeeps.

Roxas was appointed DILG secretary in 2012, replacing the late Robredo. He stayed until 2015, when he resigned after he announced his plans to run for president in 2016. Prior to the DILG post, Roxas was transportation secretary.

His successor, Sarmiento, was secretary-general of the ruling party. Aquino is party chairman. – Rappler.com

BRAZZAVILLE, Congo – Fighting erupted in the southern part of Congo's capital Brazzaville on Monday, April 4, with heavy fire in opposition bastions between troops and unidentified assailants sending thousands of residents fleeing.

By late morning, AFP reporters saw streams of people panicked by the gunfire heading north away from districts loyal to the opposition, which is contesting President Denis Sassou Nguesso's recent re-election.

The reason for the clashes was not immediately clear and no official comment was immediately available.

According to several witnesses, the crackle of automatic gunfire began after 2:00am (0100 GMT) in Makelekele and Mayana districts, and continued without stop until dawn.

Several explosions were heard and two police stations reportedly torched in the restive run-down districts, strongholds of Congo's opposition.

"Soldiers came and told us to leave before it was too late, now we don't know where to go," said a 24-year-old student who gave her name as Mercie.

By 8:15am, the gunfire had become sporadic although witnesses across the Congo river in northern Kinshasa, capital of the neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo, also reported hearing explosions. 

In mid-morning hundreds of police and troops, some in armoured vehicles, fanned out across the city's southern areas.

Security forces threw up roadblocks on the main road between the south and the city centre, stopping all cars for checks.

'Terrified'

"I couldn't stand the sound of the bullets and the heavy arms, I'm terrified," a 55-year-old called Jerome told AFP.

The clashes erupted as Congo's Constitutional Court examines results from the March 20 presidential election won by veteran leader Denis Sassou Nguesso but denounced by five defeated candidates who have alleged "massive fraud". 

Sassou Nguesso, a former paratrooper colonel in office for 32 years, was declared winner with over 60 percent of the vote.

Last week, several southern districts observed a strike called in protest over the results in a country of biting poverty where oil riches only benefit a fraction of the population.

Congo has been on edge since an October constitutional referendum that ended a two-term limit on presidential mandates, allowing the head of state to run again. 

Critics accuse the president of rampant corruption and nepotism, blasting the referendum result as a "constitutional coup".

Former colonial power France on Monday called for "restraint" and urged French citizens to stay at home.

Sassou Nguesso served as president from 1979 to 1992 and returned to power in 1997 following a civil war.

He won two successive terms in 2002 and 2009, but both elections were contested by opposition parties. – Rappler.com

BOHOL, Philippines – Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, presidential candidate, walked into a packed gymnasium in Ubay town in Bohol with his left fist in the air. 

"Leftist ko, pero dili ko extreme left. Ari ko sa ilok," he cracked a joke before a visibly excited crowd on Sunday, April 3. (I'm a leftist, but not on the extreme left. I'm closer to the armpit.)

Bohol, a province of 750,000 registered voters, is also the setting for frequent clashes between the communist New People's Army (NPA) and the Armed Forces of the Philippines. 

Duterte told the crowd that he tells criminals in Davao City, "When I say get out, get out. Or you'll be killed. Pero wala'y apil ang NPA (NPA members are not included)."

Ubay was an area where the military frequently experienced clashes with the Communist Party of the Philippines' armed group.

He said that while he would target criminals, he wouldn't kill NPA members because they are fighting for "an ideology." Duterte joked, however, that he would tell communist guerrillas to get out of his city and "go to Cebu and Bohol instead." 

2013 earthquake

Duterte's national campaign manager himself was a former NPA guerilla. Leoncio Evasco is also the mayor of Maribojoc town here, one of the areas hardest hit by the powerful 2013 earthquake. 

Evasco stood by Duterte's side as the candidate addressed the packed Tagbilaran City Square.

Duterte told Boholanos of how Evasco, a former priest, turned from a detained NPA rebel into his chief of staff and campaign manager. 

Evasco was best known for refusing aid from the Red Cross during the 2013 Bohol earthquake. He was criticized by Red Cross chairman Richard Gordon for not cooperating with the agency; he criticized the organization for not working with the local government units in distributing aid.

According to JP Maslog, a volunteer organizer for Duterte from Tagbilaran, the Davao City mayor came to volunteer and help in Maribojoc right after the earthquake. The local chief executive handed over a check for P1 million from the Davao City government to the municipal government of Maribojoc.

Duterte's appeal

"Whenever candidates and presidents came to here to Tagbilaran, I've never seen so many people packed into the City Square," Maslog told Rappler. 

Duterte connected with the crowd through his Bisaya brand of humor. 

"Naa ka'y bana, day? (Do you have a husband, miss?)" Duterte asked one woman in the crowd. She nodded. 

"Patyon nako? (Should I kill him?)" Duterte jokingly responded.

Julie Nicolo, a hairdresser from Dawis town, said that drug crimes are on the rise in her municipality and in Tagbilaran, where she works.

But could Duterte stop drug crimes in 3 to 6 months, as he has been promising during the campaign? "I don't know, but let's give him a chance," Nicolo said in Visayan.

Nicolo said that, aside from Duterte's promises of peace and order, what appeals the most to her are his ideas of job creation and countryside development through federalism. (READ: Will federalism address PH woes? Pros and cons of making the shift)

A little more than half of the mayors in Bohol are members of the ruling Liberal Party, which has fielded former Interior Secretary Manuel Roxas II for president. In 2013, LP bets won 29 of the 47 mayoral races in Bohol. – Rappler.com 

PARIS, France–  A furious Kremlin said on Monday, April 4, it was the target of a plot to destabilize Russia after a massive leak of confidential documents fingered President Vladimir Putin's close associates along with other world leaders in allegations of shady offshore financial dealings.

A year-long worldwide media investigation into a trove of 11.5 million documents, leaked from a Panama-based law firm with offices in 35 countries, exposed a tangle of offshore financial dealings by the elite, from Putin's aides to relatives of Chinese President Xi Jinping, sports celebrities and screen stars.

The vast stash of records from legal firm Mossack Fonseca, the so-called Panama Papers, was obtained from an anonymous source by German daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung and shared with more than 100 media groups by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ).

Banks, companies and close associates of Putin, who is not himself named in the documents, "secretly shuffled as much as $2 billion through banks and shadow companies", according to the ICIJ. The allegations were not aired by Russian state TV.

"Putin, Russia, our country, our stability and the upcoming elections are the main target, specifically to destabilise the situation," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, who himself figures in the leaked documents, told journalists in Moscow.

Peskov said the allegations contained nothing new, lacked details and were based on speculation.

"We know this so-called journalist community," he added. "There are a lot of journalists whose main profession is unlikely to be journalism: a lot of former officials from the (US) Department of State, the CIA and other special services."

Offshore financial dealings are not illegal in themselves but may be abused to hide assets from tax authorities, launder the proceeds of criminal activities or conceal misappropriated or politically inconvenient wealth.

Chinese leader's relatives named

Among other key findings of the probe, which named about 140 political figures including 12 current or former heads of state:

• The families of some of China's top communist brass – including the nation's president– used offshore tax havens to conceal their fortunes. At least eight current or former members of the Politburo Standing Committee, the ruling Communist Party's most powerful body, have been implicated.
• A member of FIFA's ethics committee, Juan Pedro Damiani, had business ties with three men indicted in a corruption scandal. Argentine football great Lionel Messi and his father are named as owners of a Panama company that had not previously been disclosed during a Spanish probe into their tax affairs. 
• A Panamanian shell company may have helped hide millions of dollars from a $40 million British gold bullion robbery at London-Heathrow Airport in November 1983 that is etched in criminal folklore, according to the ICIJ. The Panamanian law firm denies the allegation.
• Iceland's Prime Minister Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson secretly owned millions of dollars of bank bonds during a financial crisis when the country's banking system collapsed. He refused calls to resign but faces a likely no-confidence vote this week. 
• Three of Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's four children, including Maryam, who has been tipped to be his political successor, were named as owners of London real estate through offshore entities. Sharif's son Hussain told Pakistani television: "There is nothing wrong with it and I have never concealed them, nor do I need to do that."

'Nothing wrong with it'

The Panama Papers, from around 214,000 offshore entities covering almost 40 years, also name the president of Ukraine and the king of Saudi Arabia, as well as sporting and movie stars including Jackie Chan.

At least 33 people and companies listed in the documents were blacklisted by the US government for wrongdoing, including dealings with North Korea and Iran, as well as Lebanon's Islamist group Hezbollah, the ICIJ said.

"I think the leak will prove to be probably the biggest blow the offshore world has ever taken because of the extent of the documents," said ICIJ director Gerard Ryle.

One of the Panama law firm's founders, Ramon Fonseca, told AFP the leaks were "a crime, a felony" and "an attack on Panama".

"Certain countries don't like it that we are so competitive in attracting companies," he said.

Panama's government said it had "zero tolerance" for any shady deals, and vowed to "vigorously cooperate" with any legal investigations. France and Australia announced probes.

'Biggest leak in history'

The huge leak of documents recalls Wikileaks' exploits of 2010 -- which included the release of secret military files and diplomatic cables.

However, in terms of size, "the 'Panama Papers' is likely the biggest leak of inside information in history," according to ICIJ. 

More than 500 banks, their subsidiaries and branches have worked with Mossack Fonseca since the 1970s to help clients manage offshore companies. UBS set up more than 1,100 and HSBC and its affiliates created more than 2,300.

The documents show "banks, law firms and other offshore players often fail to follow legal requirements to make sure clients are not involved in criminal enterprises, tax dodging or political corruption," the ICIJ said.

Mossack Fonseca is already subject to investigations in Germany and Brazil, where it is part of a huge money laundering probe that has threatened to topple the current government. – David Williams, AFP/Rappler.com

CEBU CITY, Philippines – After the Garcia-led One Cebu party endorsed the candidacy of Davao City mayor Rodrigo Duterte, Winston Garcia is endorsing the vice presidential bid of senator Alan Peter Cayetano.

Garcia, who is running for governor with running mate Nerissa Soon Ruiz, both announced they were endorsing Cayetano on Monday, April 4.

But Winston clarified, however, that this was not yet an official endorsement from their party.

"It is our (mine and Nerissa's) personal choice to endorse Sen Alan Peter Cayetano," he said. "As for our leaders, I want them to meet with Cayetano first before One Cebu makes a decision," Garcia added.

Alan had been campaigning in Cebu, Bohol, and Dumaguete over the weekend. "I am positive after consultation with other candidates and party leaders, that they will also agree on our choice for vice president."

Last March 30, leaders of the National Unity Party (NUP) and One Cebu, in the province's 4th district endorsed the bid of Senator Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr, who has been tying with Senator Francis "Chiz" Escudero in the surveys for vice president.

This was also not an official One Cebu endorsement yet, but identifies the preference of the organization's chairman. The party did not say when they would officially announce their bet for vice president.

Garcia is already including Cayetano with his promise to deliver one million votes for Duterte in Cebu. "If you're asking where the million votes will come from for the Duterte-Cayetano tandem, it will come from Santander to Daanbantayan, from Bantayan to Camotes," Garcia said. "The Cebuanos themselves will deliver the one million vote difference for Duterte-Cayetano."

One Cebu endorsed administration bet Gilbert Teodoro in 2010, who ended up losing to Liberal Party (LP) candidate Benigno Aquino III.

Thirty-three of 44 municipal mayors in Cebu are members of the LP and almost all of the mayors of Cebu's component cities.

In municipalities and congressional districts that are not LP bailiwicks, the Garcias and One Cebu or their allies are in power. – Rappler.com

WASHINGTON, DC, USA (UPDATED) – The Pentagon on Monday, April 4, announced the transfer of two Libyan inmates from the Guantanamo Bay detention center to Senegal, the latest move under President Barack Obama's contentious plan to shutter the notorious jail.

The two men – Salem Abdu Salam Ghereby, 55, and Omar Khalif Mohammed Abu Baker Mahjour Umar, born in 1972 – had been in the US military prison since 2002.

Both had ties to the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group and Al-Qaeda, according to their leaked prisoner files.

"The United States is grateful to the government of Senegal for its humanitarian gesture and willingness to support ongoing US efforts to close the Guantanamo Bay detention facility," the Pentagon said in a statement.

The latest transfers mean the remaining population at the controversial jail is now 89. Thirty-five of these inmates have been approved for release to other countries, though the complex process is only completed after rehabilitation and monitoring measures are implemented.

Obama promised, on his second day in office in 2009, to close the Guantanamo jail within a year. His efforts floundered, however, largely due to fierce opposition from Republican lawmakers.

In February, the president presented Congress with a new closure plan for Guantanamo, which he says serves only to stoke anti-US resentment and fuel jihadi recruitment.

But the plan is likely doomed. Republicans continue to oppose the jail's shuttering, especially because Obama wants to transfer the highest-risk detainees to a site in the United States. 

"The administration is determined to close the Guantanamo Bay detention facility. The continued operation of the detention facility weakens our national security by draining resources, damaging our relationships with key allies and partners and serving as a propaganda tool for violent extremists," Secretary of State John Kerry said in a statement.

Senegal is one of 26 countries that have agreed to resettle nearly 100 detainees since 2009.

"This significant humanitarian gesture is consistent with Senegal's leadership on the global stage," Kerry said.

'Less than a year' to close Guantanamo

Campaign group Human Rights Watch said the latest transfers signalled "meaningful progress," but warned the Pentagon needs to accelerate its pace of transferring detainees if Obama is to close Guantanamo before he leaves office at the end of the year.

"Obama has less than a year in office to erase the stain of Guantanamo that taints his human rights legacy," Laura Pitter, senior US national security counsel at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement.

Mahjour Umar had been held on suspicion of helping re-establish Al-Qaeda camps following their destruction by US bombings in 1998, and was identified as an explosives and weapons trainer, according to his leaked file.

Ghereby's file states he had attended multiple training camps and received explosives training from a senior Al-Qaeda explosives expert. Neither man was ever charged.

The Pentagon said the men were approved for transfer after multiple agencies reviewed their cases.

Guantanamo Bay is a US naval base carved out of a remote chunk of land on the tip of southeastern Cuba. The administration of George W. Bush opened a prison to hold terror suspects soon after the US-led invasion of Afghanistan in late 2001.

In all, it has housed about 780 inmates over the years. 

Republican presidential candidates have vowed that, if elected, they would send more terror suspects to Guantanamo instead of closing it. – Thomas Watkins, AFP/Rappler.com

PARIS, France – Trillions of dollars' worth of financial assets may be under threat from global warming's effects by 2100, climate economists warned on Monday, April 4.

If warming reaches 2.5 degrees Celsius (4.5 degrees Fahrenheit) over pre-Industrial Revolution levels by 2100, investments worth some $2.5 trillion (2.2 trillion euros) may be in danger, a team reported.

This was equal to half the current estimated stock market value of fossil-fuel companies.

But even if the 2 C warming agreed by the world's nations in Paris last December is achieved, the value of assets at risk would be $1.7 trillion, they wrote in the journal Nature Climate Change.

Climate change can destroy assets directly through sea-level rise for example, by depreciating their value, or by disrupting economic activities lower down the chain through drought or freak storms.

A lot of research has focused on the oil, coal and gas investments that will be lost if the world turns its back on fossil fuels in favour of sustainable energy in line with the 2 C target.

The new study attempts to break new ground with the first-ever estimate of a direct impact of climate change on the value of financial assets themselves.

The projections, using mathematical models, were based on an estimated value of $143.3 trillion for global non-bank financial assets in 2013, as determined by the Financial Stability Board watchdog, the team said.

At warming of 2.5 C, they wrote, some 1.8% of global financial assets could be at risk. 

But this could rise to as much as $24 trillion in worst-case-scenario warming.

Lesser evil

Scientists estimate we are on course for warming of about 4 C or more based on current greenhouse gas emission trends, or about 3 C if nations meet the emissions-curbing pledges they filed to back up the Paris climate agreement.

"When we take into account the financial impacts of efforts to cut emissions, we still find the expected value of financial assets is higher in a world that limits warming to 2 C," said co-author Simon Dietz of the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change. 

"This means risk-neutral investors would choose to cut emissions, and risk-averse investors would be even more keen to do so."

Climate change should be an important issue for all long-term investors, such as pension funds, as well as financial regulators, added Dietz.

Sabine Fuss of the Mercator Research Institute on Global Commons and Climate Change in Berlin, said it was not the final word on the topic, but the study did demonstrate that climate risks to the financial system may be substantial.

"This undermines both the need for full disclosure so that climate risks can be assessed and portfolios adjusted accordingly, and the need for more research to develop comprehensive estimates of the risk of such losses," she wrote in a comment published by the same journal. – Rappler.com

PARIS, France (UPDATED) – Spain, France and several other countries launched tax evasion probes Monday, April 4, after a massive leak of confidential documents lifted the lid on the murky offshore financial dealings of a slew of politicians and celebrities.

The scandal erupted on Sunday, April 3, when media groups began revealing the results of a year-long investigation into a trove of 11.5 million documents from the law firm Mossack Fonseca, which specializes in creating offshore shell companies in the tax haven of Panama.

Among those accused are close associates of Russian President Vladimir Putin, relatives of Chinese leader Xi Jinping, Iceland's Prime Minister Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson as well as Barcelona striker Lionel Messi.

"We have opened an investigation for money laundering in relation to the law firm" Mossack Fonseca, a judicial source at the National Court, Spain´s top criminal court, told Agence France-Presse after the release of the documents which named Messi and Oscar-winning Spanish film director Pedro Almodovar among others with offshore holdings. 

The footballer's family immediately came to his defense, saying "that Lionel Messi has not carried out any of the acts attributed to him, and accusations he created a... tax evasion plot, including a network of money-laundering, are false and insulting," it said in a statement.

Messi has been charged with tax fraud in a separate case that is due to go to trial in May.

Australia said it had launched a probe into 800 wealthy Mossack Fonseca clients. Prosecutors in France and tax authorities in the Netherlands also announced investigations in those countries.

Panama also pledged to launch an investigation to identify if any crimes have been committed and any financial damages should be awarded.

President Juan Carlos Varela said Panama would cooperate with the international probes but also vowed to "defend the image of our country", which has a reputation as a hub for under-the-table dealings.

Kremlin denials

The trove of documents, known as the Panama Papers, was anonymously leaked to German daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung and shared with more than 100 media groups by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), with more information expected to be released over the coming days and weeks.

The first revelations elicited a chorus of denials, including from the Kremlin, which suggested a US plot after the ICIJ said that banks, companies and close associates of Putin had "secretly shuffled as much as $2 billion through banks and shadow companies".

"Putin, Russia, our country, our stability and the upcoming elections are the main target, specifically to destabilize the situation," said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, adding the reports were likely the work of journalists who were "former officials from the (US) Department of State, the CIA and other special services."

Offshore financial dealings are not illegal in themselves but may be used to hide assets from tax authorities, launder the proceeds of criminal activities or conceal misappropriated or politically inconvenient wealth. (READ: Officials in Latin America linked to Panama Papers)

Iceland PM in storm's eye

Among other key findings of the probe, which named about 140 political figures, including 12 current or former heads of state:

• The families of some of China's top communist brass– including President Xi Jinping – used offshore tax havens to conceal their fortunes. At least eight current or former members of the Politburo Standing Committee, the ruling Communist Party's most powerful body, have been implicated.
• Iceland's Prime Minister Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson secretly owned millions of dollars in bank bonds at a time when his country's banking system was collapsing in 2008. Thousands of Icelanders demonstrated Monday in Reykjavik to demand his resignation – calls he has so far steadfastly refused. 
• A member of FIFA's ethics committee, Juan Pedro Damiani, had business ties with three men indicted in a corruption scandal. 
• A Panamanian shell company may have helped hide millions of dollars from a $40 million British gold bullion robbery at London-Heathrow Airport in November 1983 that is etched in criminal folklore, according to the ICIJ.

'An attack on Panama'

The Panama Papers, from around 214,000 offshore entities covering almost 40 years, also name the president of Ukraine and the king of Saudi Arabia, as well as sporting and movie stars including Jackie Chan.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko also denied any wrongdoing, but he may also face an attempt to impeach him by lawmakers.

French newspaper Le Monde cited documents showing that Syria used Mossack Fonseca to create shell companies to help it break international sanctions and fund its war effort.

"I think the leak will prove to be probably the biggest blow the offshore world has ever taken because of the extent of the documents," said ICIJ director Gerard Ryle.

Pascal Saint-Amans, head of tax policy at the OECD, said the leaks showed that Panama is now almost unrivalled as a world tax haven.

"Among the countries that refuse to automatically exchange information, there are Bahrain, Nauru, Vanuatu and Lebanon," he told AFP. "Switzerland is really making progress, so there is a concentration of problems in Panama."

One of the Panama law firm's founders, Ramon Fonseca, told Agence France-Presse the leaks were "a crime, a felony" and "an attack on Panama."

"Certain countries don't like it that we are so competitive in attracting companies," he said.

Panama's government said it had "zero tolerance" for shady deals, and vowed to "vigorously cooperate" with any legal investigations. 

More than 500 banks, their subsidiaries and branches have worked with Mossack Fonseca since the 1970s to help clients manage offshore companies. UBS set up more than 1,100 and HSBC and its affiliates created more than 2,300, while in Germany "at least 28" banks used the law firm's services in recent years, according to Sueddeutsche Zeitung.

The documents show "banks, law firms and other offshore players often fail to follow legal requirements to make sure clients are not involved in criminal enterprises, tax dodging or political corruption," the ICIJ said.

Mossack Fonseca is already subject to investigations in Germany and Brazil, where it is part of a huge money laundering probe that has threatened to topple the current government. – David Williams, AFP / Rappler.com

ANKARA, Turkey – Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday, April 4, lashed out at the West for giving Turkey "lessons in democracy", rejecting mounting US and EU criticism over an alleged clampdown on press freedoms under his rule.

"Those who attempt to give us lessons in democracy and human rights must first contemplate their own shame," Erdogan told a meeting of the Turkish Red Crescent in Ankara.

US President Barack Obama warned last week that Turkey's approach towards the media was taking it "down a path that would be very troubling."

Erdogan's comments came as local media reported the fresh arrest of 5 opposition journalists on Monday, without giving details on who they were.

Turkey's government has been accused of increasing authoritarianism and muzzling critical media as well as lawmakers, academics, lawyers and NGOs.

Two journalists from the leading opposition daily Cumhuriyet face life in prison after being charged with revealing state secrets over a story accusing the government of seeking to illicitly deliver arms to rebels in Syria.

Erdogan met with Obama in Washington last week, and defended press freedom in Turkey, saying some publications had branded him a "thief" and a "killer" without being shut down.

"Such insults and threats are not permitted in the West," he claimed.

Erdogan on Monday again slammed the Constitutional Court for allowing the two journalists to be released during their trial. The reporters had spent three months in detention until the decision was handed down in February.

He said that the Constitutional Court had "betrayed its very existence" with the ruling.

On Monday, a Turkish court issued arrest warrants for several opposition journalists, 5 of whom were detained, local media reported.

They are accused of of violating legal confidentiality by reporting on a corruption scandal which engulfed Erdogan's inner circle in 2013/14 and was centered on the illicit trading of gold with Iran.

The reporters are also accused of belonging to a "terrorist group" – the usual official parlance for the grouping run by Erdogan's arch foe Fethullah Gulen who is accused of being behind the graft claims.

'Wild Man of the Bosphorus'

The fresh crackdown comes after Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu told German Chancellor Angela Merkel that he was unhappy about the raft of stories criticizing Erdogan in German media in recent weeks.

In a telephone call Davutoglu complained such stories "were incompatible with freedom of the press" and said there should be an end to the publication of such "unacceptable" material, he office said.

German weekly Der Spiegel ran a cover story deeply critical of Erdogan in its latest issue, with a caricature of the Turkish president – whom the magazine called "the wild man of the Bosphorus" – shaking his fist.

He looms large over a tiny Merkel, holding an EU briefcase with her head in her hand, while a paper airplane cut out of a newspaper pokes him in the backside.

The headline on the story read: "The fearsome friend: President Erdogan's crusade against freedom and democracy."

It is not the first time Germany has irked Ankara with its coverage of Erdogan.

Last month Turkey summoned Germany's ambassador to protest a two-minute song lampooning Erdogan that was broadcast on German television.

The TV show responded by re-broadcasting the tune "Erdowie, Erdowo, Erdogan" that ridicules the president, and adding Turkish subtitles.

The satirical song charges, among other things, that "a journalist who writes something that Erdogan doesn't like/Will be in jail by tomorrow".

The row comes as the EU is accused of selling out its principles by offering Turkey visa-free travel and a fast-racked EU membership process, in exchange for help on the migrant crisis. – Burak Akinci and Fran Blandy in Istanbul, AFP / Rappler.com