Catch up on what you missed this week in world news:

The Panama Papers leaked

The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) revealed on Sunday its investigation of the Panama Papers, which uncovered the offshore money dealings of 12 world leaders and the law firms that handled the transactions, according to the Center for Public Integrity.

The findings have already caused international turmoil. The prime minister of Iceland, Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson, resigned Tuesday amid protests about his illicit dealings, according to CNN.

The publication of the findings is a collaboration of more than 370 journalists from more than 70 countries. More pieces of the investigation will be released in the future.

 

Supreme Court upholds “One person one vote”

In a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court voted to allow states to count all people when drawing election districts, regardless of voter eligibility. The decision came down on Monday and is expected to help Democrats more than Republicans, according to The New York Times.

Counting all people in a district gives districts with more ineligible voters greater power and upholds “representational equality.”

This helps Democrats because the districts with more ineligible voters tend to be urban.

 

Villanova Wildcats take home the trophy

Villanova University narrowly edged out the University of North Carolina on Monday night to win the NCAA championship game. The score was tied when the Wildcats took the ball up the court and made a buzzer beater to win the title game.

This was Villanova’s second national championship win, according to ESPN. Villanova was the No. 2 seed and North Carolina was the No. 1 seed.

 

Donald Trump takes heat

Presidential candidate Donald Trump told MSNBC on Wednesday that he thought women who receive abortions should be punished if a ban on the practice is instated. Hours later, he recanted his statement almost in full, something he rarely does, according to The New York Times.

Trump’s original comment immediately received backlash from both the Democratic and Republican parties. While Republicans are generally against abortion, the party generally says the person administering the abortion is at fault, not the woman receiving one.

This news came one day after Trump’s campaign manager was charged with battery for grabbing a reporter.

 

Amtrak train collision kills two

An Amtrak train traveling on Sunday from New York City to Savannah, Georgia collided with a backhoe, killing two construction workers at the site. The collision occurred in Chester, Pennsylvania, according to nj.com.

Ryan Frigo, the lead investigator of the crash for the National Transportation Safety Board, could not say whether the backhoe was authorized to be working on the track at that time.

The train was carrying 341 passengers and seven crew members. About 30 passengers and the locomotive engineer were taken to the hospital for treatment.

 

Female soccer champions sue for wage discrimination

Five members of the championship-winning United States Women’s National Soccer Team are suing the U.S. Soccer Federation for income discrimination.

The players — Carli Lloyd, Alex Morgan, Megan Rapinoe, Becky Sauerbrunn and Hope Solo — allege that male players are paid more than four times as much as they are. Their team, which has won three World Cup championships since 1991 and gold medals in all but one of the Summer Olympics since 1994, is much more successful than the men’s team.

The players filed an action with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on Thursday, according to The Consumerist.

 

Elevated highway collapses, kills 26

An elevated highway that was under construction collapsed in Kolkata, India on Thursday, killing 26 people. The collapse occurred in midday traffic and involved a 330-foot-long slab of concrete.

Four executives from the contractor building the highway, IVRCL, have been arrested as a result of the collapse, according to The New York Times.

The project was supposed to have been completed in 18 months but has taken seven years.

 

Zaha Hadid dies of a heart attack

Zaha Hadid, one of the world’s most influential woman architects, died Thursday from a heart attack in a Miami hospital. The Iraqi-born architect was the first woman and Muslim to win both the Pritzker Architecture Prize and the Royal Institute of British Architects’ Stirling Prize.

Hadid was known for her sleek, geometrical designs that defined the 21st century. She was also known for not being afraid of calling out her critics, and resisted taking any responsibility for humanitarian issues related to her projects, according to The Atlantic.

Some of her work is still underway, and her studio is expected to continue under her partner, Patrik Schumacher.

Published on April 6, 2016 at 1:54 am

Contact Delaney: dovanwey@syr.edu