Iceland’s leader is first victim of offshore holdings leak
Iceland’s leader is first victim of offshore holdings leak
LONDON (AP) — The leak of millions of records on offshore accounts claimed its first high-profile political casualty Tuesday as Iceland’s prime minister stepped aside amid outrage over revelations he had used such a shell company to shelter large sums while Iceland’s economy was in crisis.
Icelandic leader Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson is the first major figure brought down by the publication of the names of rich and powerful people linked to the leaks, dubbed the Panama Papers.
China and Russia, meanwhile, took the opposite approach, suppressing the news and rejecting any allegations of impropriety by government officials named in the leak of more than 11 million financial documents from a Panamanian law firm.
Officials in Ukraine, Argentina and other countries are also facing questions about possibly dubious offshore tax-avoidance schemes.
The reports are from a global group of news organizations working with the Washington-based International Consortium of Investigative Journalists. They have been processing records from the Mossack Fonseca law firm that were first leaked to Germany’s Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper.
San Francisco approves fully paid leave for new parents
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — San Francisco approved a measure Tuesday making it the first place in the nation to require businesses to provide fully paid leave for new parents.
Advocates say the issue is gaining momentum across the country much like the debate over a higher minimum wage.
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted unanimously in favor of the measure after supporters said six weeks of fully paid leave is needed because too many families can’t afford to take time off after a child is born or adopted.
Small business owners countered that it’s the latest in a long list of city mandates— including paid sick leave and health coverage— that unfairly targets them.
The U.S. lags other countries in providing parental leave.
Trump proposes funding wall by cutting off remittances
WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump would try to force Mexico to pay for a border wall by targeting billions of dollars in remittances sent by immigrants living in the U.S., according to a memo released by his campaign Tuesday.
The memo outlines in new detail how Trump would try to compel Mexico to pay for the 1,000-mile wall he’s promised to build along the Southern border if he becomes president.
In his proposal, Trump threatened to change a rule under the USA Patriot Act, an anti-terrorism law, to cut off a portion of the funds sent to Mexico through money transfers known as remittances. His plan would also bar non-Americans from wiring money outside of the U.S. unless they can provide documentation establishing their legal status in the country.
Trump said he would withdraw the threat if Mexico makes a one-time payment to finance the wall.
“It’s an easy decision for Mexico: make a one-time payment of $5-10 billion to ensure that $24 billion continues to flow into their country year after year,” the memo reads.
White House to transfer Ebola funds to combat Zika virus
WASHINGTON (AP) — Congressional officials say the Obama administration has decided to transfer leftover money from the largely successful fight against Ebola to combat the growing threat of the Zika virus in Puerto Rico, the Southeast U.S., and Central and South America.
Most of the $600 million or so would be devoted to the Centers for Disease Control, which is focused on research and development of anti-Zika vaccines, treating those infected with the virus and combating the mosquitoes that spread it.
Researchers fear Zika causes microcephaly, a serious birth defect, and other threats to the children of pregnant women infected with it.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the matter before an official announcement expected from the White House on Wednesday.
Iraqi forces face heavy resistance in IS-held town
HIT, Iraq (AP) — Heavy resistance has slowed Iraqi forces Tuesday as they pushed forward toward the center of a town held by Islamic State militants in western Anbar province, commanders at the scene said.
Hundreds of roadside bombs, car bombs and heavy mortar fire slowed advancing Iraqi troops to a near halt Tuesday after entering the small town of Hit the previous day.
Hit — which lies along the Euphrates River in a valley in Anbar’s sprawling desert — is strategically important as it sits along an IS supply line that links territory controlled by the extremist Sunni group in Iraq and in Syria. Through the line, IS ferries fighters and supplies from Syria into Iraq.
Iraqi troops entered Hit on Monday, under cover of heavy airstrikes and a week after launching the operation to retake the town. Their advance has been stalled as tens of thousands of civilians become trapped by the fighting. A political crisis in Baghdad as well as poor weather conditions further slowed the push.
Iraqi commanders overseeing the operation said Tuesday that counterattacks and a shortage of engineering teams to clear roadside bombs slowed their advance.
Backlash grows over North Carolina LGBT discrimination law
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — An economic backlash broadened Tuesday against a North Carolina law that critics say discriminates against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people with PayPal announcing it has canceled a major expansion in the state.
North Carolina has come under heavy criticism since Gov. Pat McCrory signed the law, requiring transgender people to use public bathrooms that match the sex on their birth certificates. The law, passed in response to a Charlotte ordinance that offered protections to gay and transgender people, also excludes sexual orientation and gender identity from the state’s anti-discrimination law and bars local governments from expanding anti-discrimination rules.
More than 100 corporate leaders have decried the law, saying it is unfair and makes it more difficult to attract talent.
Just days before signing the law last month, McCrory personally attended PayPal’s announcement that it was opening a new operation center in Charlotte, where he was once mayor. On Tuesday, the San Jose, California-based company said it was canceling the $3.6 million plan, which would have created 400 jobs.
“This decision reflects PayPal’s deepest values and our strong belief that every person has the right to be treated equally, and with dignity and respect,” the company said in a statement.