5 things to know for October 5: Congress, Pandora Papers, coronavirus, church abuse, China

The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists published a briefing on financial secrets and offshore transactions from dozens of heads of state, officials and politicians from 91 countries and territories. Hundreds of journalists have spent two years investigating nearly 12 million confidential files, now known as Pandora Papers. Overall, they reveal a parallel financial universe where great wealth is kept out of the reach of taxes, creditors, and liability. The ICIJ pointed out that many of those who could end offshore practices actually benefit. Washington Post reporter Greg Miller says these accounts are often not illegal, as they respect the local jurisdictions where this offshore wealth is kept. But it is a practice which is very exploitative and which contributes to the inequality of wealth. Such practices, according to Miller, often go hand in hand with corruption and criminal activity.

Vaccination rates in the United States have improved only modestly since the FDA gave full approval to Pfizer’s vaccine in August, despite hopes that it would thwart widespread reluctance to vaccines. From August 23 to September 3, the seven-day average of new Pfizer doses increased 16%, from 575,000 per day to 668,000 per day. Yet only 15% of those newly vaccinated during that time said full approval was one of the main reasons they got vaccinated. Meanwhile, the European medicines regulatory agency, the European Medicines Agency, has decided to recommend booster injections of the Covid-19 vaccine for those who are immunocompromised. In India, the country’s highest court has approved a government plan to pay $ 670 for every coronavirus death in the country, in compensation for their loved ones. That’s over $ 300 million.

Members of the Catholic clergy in France have sexually assaulted more than 200,000 minors over the past seven decades, according to a landmark report due for release today. The figures are based on estimates from a survey for the commission, led by the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research. By including victims of abusers who were not members of the clergy but had other connections to the Church, such as Catholic schools and youth programs, the number of possible victims of abuse rises. to 330,000. In presenting the results, Jean-Marc Sauvé, chairman of the Independent Commission on Sexual Abuse in the Church, said children were more likely to be abused in the Catholic Church than in schools. public schools, summer camps or in any setting other than the family. The investigation was commissioned in 2018 by French Catholic clergy groups, and many church leaders are hopeful that the findings, gruesome as they are, will lead to real change within the church.

China has sent a record number of warplanes to the Taiwan Defense Zone in recent days. While they did not violate what Taiwan considers its sovereign airspace and no suggestion of actual combat has been made, this is still a provocative show of force from Beijing. Experts say the practice has several purposes: to intimidate Taiwan, deplete its military resources, and gain experience in the region. This has happened before, usually after Taiwan or one of its allies did something to upset China. Last week’s incursions came as the United States, Japan, the United Kingdom, New Zealand and the Netherlands were conducting multilateral naval exercises near Japan. However, they could also have been planned to coincide with the anniversary of China’s founding on October 1.

It was tough, but we found other ways to scroll through endless distraction.

Captain Kirk would be proud.

Among the censored words: “beloved”, “tender friend”, “worship” and “madly”, ooh!

Not like, from a smart point of view. It would be really insulting to hear that early in the morning.

It’s the number of U.S. states that have passed new laws this year that make voting more difficult, according to an updated analysis from the liberal Brennan Center for Justice.

A Chinese ex-detective, identified only as “Jiang” for his safety, who revealed sparse details of what he described as a systematic campaign of police torture against ethnic Uyghurs in the region’s detention camp system. China has denied these claims for years.

Just a little reminder that the world is magical (unless you’re that giant cloud of krill eaten by a blue whale). (Click here to see)