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8. April 2017, 21:58

Panama revelations on Syria and North Korea

Investigations into the massive leak of data from the Panama legal firm Mossack Fonseca have shown that the company worked with individuals or companies linked to North Korea and Syria. The data shows the firm set up a company for a North Korean official who handled millions of dollars for the country’s nuclear weapons programme. Mossack Fonseca also conducted business for a period for Syrian billionaire Rami Makhlouf who had been placed under sanctions by the United States over allegations of corruption. Meanwhile the banks Credit Suisse and HSBC have dismissed suggestions they were using the offshore firm’s structures to help tax evasion by clients. The human rights lawyer Geoffrey Robertson has called for a global agency to tackle tax abuse in light of the revelations: “You have to have an international enforcement body which can have the power, and that has to be granted by an international convention, to go into countries, to go into lawyers offices and banks.” Mossack Fonseca claims it never knowingly worked with sanctioned countries or individuals.

Mediators meet on Nagorno-Karabakh

Mediators from Russia, the United States and France is meeting in Vienna today, under the auspices of the OSCE, to discuss the outbreak of conflict between Azerbaijan and ethnic Armenian separatists in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh. Azerbaijan has threatened a major attack on the capital of Nagorno-Karabakh, in response to what it says is shelling by separatist forces. The death toll from both sides is over 60 since the clashes erupted last Friday.

ICC decision on Ruto case

The International Criminal Court in The Hague will decide today whether or not to proceed with a case against Kenyan vice president William Ruto on charges of crimes against humanity. The charges relate to the deaths of around 1200 people after elections in Kenya in 2007.

New asylum powers mooted

Germany's Die Welt newspaper is reporting that the European Commission is planning to unveil proposals tomorrow to take the responsibility for asylum appeal procedures away from individual EU states and develop a centralised approach. Meanwhile Greek authorities say deportations of migrants and refugees to Turkey will not take place today, as most of those detained on Greek islands have applied for asylum. Turkey says it expects to take in around 200 deportees tomorrow.

Zuma faces impeachment vote

South Africa's parliament votes today on a motion to impeach President Jacob Zuma. The opposition called the vote after the country’s highest court ruled that Zuma had breached the constitution by failing to repay public money used to upgrade his private residence.

The weather

Mainly sunny, with cloud in the west and south. Scattered thunder showers in the west toward evening. Top temperatures 17 to 26 degrees.

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