Newsweek 4/15/2016

Moscow—President Vladimir Putin, seen before a meeting on March 31, was among the biggest names caught up in a massive leak of documents known as the Panama Papers, which comprise more than 11 million files from Panama-based law firm Mossack Fonseca. Although Putin was not mentioned by name, The Guardian reported the files reveal a network of offshore deals and loans worth $2 billion leading to the Russian president via some of his closest friends. More than 100 news outlets collaborated on investigating others caught up in the leak, including Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and Prime Minister Sigmundur Davio Gunnlaugsson of Iceland.…

Palmyra, Syria—A member of Syrian pro-government forces carries a flag of the Islamic State militant group (ISIS) on March 27 after troops recaptured the strategic city. The UNESCO World Heritage site is home to extensive ruins dating from the Roman Empire. Syrian forces found Palmyra largely deserted with neighborhoods badly damaged. Syria’s state news agency SANA said a mass grave was found containing around 40 people, including many women and children. Maamoun Abdulkarim, the government’s antiquities director, said that despite damage to the ruins, “the panoramic view of Palmyra—the colonnades, the baths, the arches and most of the temples—[is] surprisingly still intact.”…

Washington, D.C.— Merrick Garland, President Barack Obama’s nominee for the Supreme Court, arrives for a meeting with Illinois Republican Senator Mark Kirk at the Capitol on March 29. Kirk was the first Republican to meet Garland, after GOP leaders, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, announced they would not even hold hearings on the nominee. “I think we should be doing our job,” Kirk told reporters, calling for “rational, adult, open-minded consideration of the constitutional process.” Sixteen Republican senators said they were open to meeting Garland, but two (Jerry Moran of Kansas and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska) later reversed their position.…

Kolkata, India—A rescue worker photographs a truck crushed beneath an overpass under construction when it collapsed March 31, killing at least 26 and injuring at least 70 others. A 330-foot slab of metal and cement snapped off and came crashing down in a bustling commercial district during midday traffic. The overpass was originally due to be completed within 18 months but is unfinished after seven years. During construction, workers would ramp up efforts before elections, only to stop once polls closed. Authorities arrested four officials from the building contractor on the project amid allegations of possible corruption.…

ON A COLD AFTERNOON in February, several former American officials hurried to the Hilton hotel in Berlin, a city long known for its Cold War spies and intrigue. They had traveled there for a private meeting with senior representatives from North Korea, the most reclusive government in the world. Over the next two days, the Americans gathered in one of the hotel’s modern conference rooms and listened to a surprising new proposal. Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un, the North Koreans said, wanted to resume negotiations in hopes of ending decades of hostility between the two countries. The timing was significant. A month earlier, the U.S. had agreed to talks to formally end the Korean War, but that effort collapsed when Washington demanded that the North’s nuclear weapons program be part of…

Number of registered medical studies on ERECTILE DYSFUNCTION Number of registered medical studies on FEMALE SEXUAL INTEREST/ AROUSAL DISORDER Ever since Alfred Kinsey first observed copulating couples in his attic, researchers have been on a quest to understand what makes us tick in the bedroom—and what to do when the ticking stops. However, while the industry continues to aggressively treat male sexual dysfunction, it puts very little thought into what she wants. Women have just one drug for low libido: Addyi (flibanserin), approved in August for hypoactive sexual desire disorder. But the little pink pill is no Viagra; its performance has disappointed clinicians, women and Valeant Pharmaceuticals shareholders. The daily medication is said to have questionable efficacy and potentially dangerous side effects and costs $800 a month. Men, by contrast, have several options…