Iceland’s Prime Minister Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson is to step down after leaked documents from a Panamanian law firm showed his wife owned an offshore company with big claims on collapsed Icelandic banks, his party said.
Gunnlaugsson became the first prominent casualty from the revelations in the so-called Panama Papers, which have cast light on the financial arrangements of an array of politicians and public figures across the globe and the companies and financial institutions they use.
Earlier on Tuesday, Gunnlaugsson had asked Iceland’s president to dissolve parliament in the face of a looming no-confidence vote and mass street protests over the revelations.
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Sigtryggur Johannsson/Reuters Iceland’s Prime Minister Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson resigned Tuesday after a massive leak of documents revealed his wife owned an offshore company with big claims on collapsed Icelandic banks.
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A suicide bomber killed at least 65 people, mostly women and children, at a park in Lahore on Sunday in an attack claimed by a Pakistani Taliban faction which said it had targeted Christians.
More than 300 other people were wounded, officials said.
The explosion occurred in the parking area of Gulshan-e-Iqbal Park close to children’s swings. The park is a popular site for members of Lahore’s Christian community, many of whom had gone there to celebrate the Easter weekend holiday.
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ARIF ALI/Getty Images
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A fossilized lizard found in Southeast Asia preserved in amber dates back some 99 million years, Florida scientists have determined, making it the oldest specimen of its kind and a “missing link” for reptile researchers.
The lizard is some 75 million years older than the previous record holder, according to researchers at the Florida Museum of Natural History, who announced the finding this week.
It was found decades ago in a mine along with other ancient, well-preserved reptile fossils, but the U.S. scientists were able to analyze the finds only recently.
“It was incredibly exciting to see these animals for the first time,” Edward Stanley, a member of the research team, said on Saturday. “It was exciting and startling, actually, how well they were preserved.”
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Reuters
Various lizard specimens are shown preserved in ancient amber from present-day Myanmar in Southeast Asia.
Shortly after last November’s attacks on Paris by a Brussels-based Islamic State cell, a top U.S. counter-terrorism official traveling in Europe wanted to visit Brussels to learn more about the investigation.
When the official tried to arrange meetings, however, his Belgian counterparts were not welcoming, according to U.S. officials familiar with the events. The Belgians indicated it was a bad time to speak to foreign officials as they were too busy with the investigation, said the officials, who asked not to be identified.
Belgian officials declined to comment on the incident.
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Vincent Kessler/Reuters Several U.S. officials also say that security cooperation has been hampered by Brussels’ patchy intelligence-sharing and some agencies’ unwillingness to work with foreign countries.
President Barack Obama arrived to small but cheering crowds on Sunday at the start of a historic visit to Cuba that opened a new chapter in U.S. engagement with the island’s Communist government after decades of hostility between the former Cold War foes.
The three-day trip, the first by a U.S. president to Cuba in 88 years, is the culmination of a diplomatic opening announced by Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro in December 2014, ending an estrangement that began when the Cuban revolution ousted a pro-American government in 1959.
“It’s a historic opportunity to engage directly with the Cuban people,” Obama told staff at the newly reopened U.S. Embassy who were gathered at a hotel, his first stop after arriving in the afternoon.
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Surgeons in Cleveland have performed the first uterus transplant in the United States, an Ohio medical center said on Thursday.
The 26-year-old patient, who was not identified in order to protect her privacy, was in stable condition after nine hours of surgery on Wednesday at the Cleveland Clinic, the hospital said.
The transplanted organ came from a deceased donor, it added.
Last year, the Cleveland Clinic began screening candidates for uterus transplants, which replace a non-functioning uterus, potentially allowing a woman to become pregnant and give birth.
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Ohio Hospital Performs First Uterus Transplant In The U.S.
Hundreds of thousands of civilians could be cut off from food if Syrian government forces encircle rebel-held parts of Aleppo, the United Nations said on Tuesday, warning of a massive new flight of refugees from a Russian-backed assault.
Syrian government forces, backed by Russian air strikes and Iranian and Lebanese Hezbollah fighters, have launched a major offensive in the countryside around Aleppo, which has been divided between government and rebel control for years.
The assault to surround Aleppo, once Syria’s biggest city with 2 million people, amounts to one of the most important shifts of momentum in the five year civil war that has killed 250,000 people and already driven 11 million from their homes.
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Ibrahim Ebu Leys/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
The United Nations said Tuesday that up to 300,000 of civilians could be cut off from food and aid if Syrian government forces surround rebel-held parts of Aleppo.
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Denmark‘s parliament passed measures on Tuesday aimed at deterring refugees from seeking asylum, including confiscating valuables to pay for their stay, despite protests from international human rights organizations.
The measures, which also include extending family reunification among refugees from one year to three years, are the latest sign that the Nordic welcome for refugees is waning as large numbers flee war in Africa and Middle East for a better life in Europe.
The “jewelry bill” is the latest attempt by Denmark‘s minority center-right government to curb immigration to a country that took in a record 20,000 refugees last year.
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Ernst van Norde/Polfoto/Associated Press
Denmark passed a new law on Tuesday that deters refugees from seeking asylum. Above, refugees and migrants rest on the highway in southern Denmark on Sept. 9, 2015.
British actor Alan Rickman, a veteran of film and stage known for roles in “Die Hard,” “Love Actually” and the “Harry Potter” films, has died. He was 69.
News of his death was confirmed to NBC News by Rickman’s agent.
“He was surrounded by family and friends,” a statement from his family read, according to Reuters.
Rickman was trained at Britain’s prestigious Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and went on to frequently play the bad guy on stage and screen. He earned a Tony nomination for his 1985 performance as scheming French aristocrat Vicomte de Valmont in “Les Liaisons Dangereuses.
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‘Harry Potter’ Actor Alan Rickman Dies of Cancer at Age 69
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has begun preparing for a series of raids that would target for deportation hundreds of families who have flocked to the United States since the start of last year, The Washington Post reported on Wednesday.
Citing people familiar with the operation, the Post said the nationwide campaign to deport the illegal immigrants by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement could start as soon as early January.
It would be the first large-scale effort to deport families who have fled violence in Central America, the newspaper said.
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Film and Writing Festival for Comedy. Showcasing best of comedy short films at the FEEDBACK Film Festival. Plus, showcasing best of comedy novels, short stories, poems, screenplays (TV, short, feature) at the festival performed by professional actors.
Image: Breaking News and Opinion on The Huffington Post
Image: Breaking News and Opinion on The Huffington Post
James' World 2 