Must Read
DAILY NEWS BRIEF
Pandora Papers leaks reveal financial secrets of global elite.
A new trove of leaked financial documents known as the "Pandora Papers" illuminates the complex and shadowy world of offshore tax havens.
The leaked documents detail the financial secrets of over 100 billionaires, world leaders, and celebrities from around the world.
The files have been examined by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), with over 650 journalists worldwide participating in the project.
The ICIJ was also instrumental in the release of the Panama Papers in 2017.
Daphne Anne Caruana Galizia was a Maltese journalist and anti-corruption activist. She revealed sensitive information about Maltese politicians in the wake of the Panama Papers release. On Oct. 17, 2017, she died in a car bomb explosion near her home. It is widely suspected that she was assassinated for her criticism of wealthy Maltese politicians and businessmen.
The documents reveal the owners of over 95,000 offshore shell companies.
World leaders whose asset holdings were revealed include King of Jordan Abdullah II bin Al-Hussein, ex-UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta, and more.
Fergus Shiel of the ICIJ said of the wealthy elites whose affairs were revealed in the leaks:
"They are using those offshore accounts, those offshore trusts, to buy hundreds of millions of dollars of property in other countries, and to enrich their own families, at the expense of their citizens."
Milan plane crash kills 8
A small private plane crashed into a building in Milan, Italy, on Sunday, killing all eight people on board.
The plane struck a two-story building that was empty due to ongoing renovations.
The plane departed from Milan's Linate airport and was headed for the island of Sardinia.
Several nearby vehicles caught fire, but no other casualties have yet been reported.
Unconfirmed reports claim that the plane's passengers were French.
James Bond Last film, No time Die hard sold $119.1M.
No Time to Die, the last James Bond film featuring Daniel Craig as 007, sold an estimated $119.1M in international tickets over the weekend.
It posted the best opening weekend ticket sales in 21 countries, including the United Kingdom, home to Mr. Craig — and Mr. Bond.
It is the first Motion Picture Association title to top $100M in an overseas debut without China since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The film will premiere in China on Oct. 29.
No Time to Die had the best opening weekend results for a James Bond film in 24 countries.
The film was originally set to release in Nov. 2019.
It was initially delayed when writer and director Danny Botle left the project.
The release was then delayed until April 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic led to further delays, first to Nov. 2020, then to April 2021.
No Time to Die is only available in theaters, eschewing the trend of hybrid theater and digital releases that started during the pandemic.
The film will premiere in U.S. theaters on Friday.
