Sokol seen as showing poor judgment without violating insider-trading laws
Berkshire Hathaway Inc. former manager David Sokol exercised poor judgment yet may not have broken insider-trading laws by buying stock in a company he later proposed as a takeover target to Chairman Warren Buffett, legal experts said. Sokol bought 96,060 shares of Lubrizol Corp. in early January before recommending that Omaha, Nebraska-based Berkshire Hathaway acquire the company. Sokol bought the shares before discussing Lubrizol with Buffett and had "no voice in Berkshire's decision once he suggested the idea," said Buffett. Berkshire announced March 14 that it was acquiring Lubrizol, an engine lubricant- maker, for $9bn. Sokol may have made a profit of about $3m. "I don't think this is insider trading," said John Coffee, a Columbia University law professor. "This is misconduct because he knowingly placed himself in a conflict-of- interest position. Once he made a multimillion-dollar investment in Lubrizol, he could no longer serve as an objective agent for Berkshire Hathaway because his own interests were that Berkshire Hathaway make an acquisition." The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is probing whether Sokol bought Lubrizol shares on inside information. Shares of Middleburg Financial — a small bank in which David Sokol is a large shareholder — were up sharply on Thursday following his resignation from Berkshire Hathaway.
Sarkozy calls for nuclear rules
The French president said he wanted to see international standards on nuclear energy established by the end of the year, and that France would ask G20 nuclear delegates to lay the groundwork for a special meeting of the IAEA - International Atomic Energy Agency in June. "The problem is more about establishing safety norms than it is about the choice of nuclear energy, for this there is no alternative right now," Sarkozy said.
Microsoft takes Google complaint to EU
Microsoft is to take an anti-competition complaint against Google to the European Commission. The software maker claims that Google used its dominant position in the search market to restrict the growth of Microsoft services. It cites a number of practices, including Google limiting the ability of Microsoft Bing to index web content. Google said it was not surprised by the move and would happily explain itself. Penalties for companies found to have engaged in anti-competitive practices in Europe can be severe. The EC has the power to impose fines up to 10% of global earnings. Once the Commission has formulated its claims then it is likely that Google will enter into a dialogue with them to address those concerns so it does not have to reach a judgment.
Argentine torture general jailed
Former Argentine Gen Eduardo Cabanillas and three intelligence agents are jailed for running a notorious detention center during military rule.
Irish banks need extra 24bn euros to survive
The Republic of Ireland's banks need an extra 24bn euros (£21.2bn) to survive the financial crisis. The figure follows a stress test on the Irish banking system by a group of independent experts and the country's central bank. Money set aside from the 85bn euro EU-IMF bail-out agreed in November will be used to fund the latest recapitalization.
Mexico: attorney general resigns
Mexico's attorney general, Arturo Chavez, has resigned, president Felipe Calderon has confirmed. Chavez had been leading efforts to tackle Mexico's violent drugs cartels and reform the justice system for 18 months. He said he was leaving for urgent personal reasons. Chavez is to be replaced by investigative prosecutor Marisela Morales, who will be Mexico's first female attorney general.
Brazil joins Bolivia anti-drug fight
Brazil has signed an agreement with Bolivia to tackle cocaine production and trafficking in the country. The deal aims to replace the void when Bolivia expelled the US Drug Enforcement Administration in 2008 for alleged political interference.
Boeing subsidies illegal
US aircraft manufacturer Boeing received at least $5.3bn (£3.3bn) in unfair aid from Washington, the WTO - World Trade Organization has concluded. The subsidies included money for research and development from the Nasa space agency, a panel of international trade judges has ruled. Last year the WTO said that Boeing's arch rival Airbus had received illegal aid from European governments. The two companies have been at war over state aid for almost six years.
Solicitor general nominee grilled on marriage act
The spark for the questions during Donald Verrilli's Senate confirmation hearing was president Obama's decision not to defend the Defense of Marriage Act in court. Republican senators noted that the tradition of the Justice Department is that the solicitor general defends laws enacted by Congress unless those laws impinge on presidential authority or no reasonable argument can be made on behalf of the law.
Moody's shareholders can't sue as group over claims of false statements
Moody's Corp. investors can't sue as a class over claims the company made false statements to investors about its credit-rating practices, a judge ruled. U.S. District judge George B. Daniels in New York today said that the question of whether investors relied on allegedly false statements by Moody's involves too many individual issues to try all the claims in one case. "Plaintiffs are unable to satisfy their burden of proving that common questions of reliance predominate and class certification must be denied," Daniels wrote.
Syria president forms committee to consider ending emergency law
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Thursday ordered the formation of a committee that will evaluate possible elimination of the country's 48-year-old state of emergency law.
Legal marketing: Law firm pulls 9/11 ad portraying 'I was there' firefighter who wasn't there
An ad touting a law firm's Sept. 11 compensation expertise has been pulled after protests by a firefighter who was embarrassed by its assertion that he was one of the responders. Robert Keiley, who moonlights as a model, didn't become a fireman until 2004, but the ad suggests he was on the scene during the 2001 terrorist attacks. "I was there," the ad reads. "And now, Worby Groner Edelman & Napoli Bern is there for me." Keiley says he was holding a helmet when he posed for the photo, but it was replaced with a photo of the destroyed World Trade Center. He told the New York Post he thought he was posing for a fire prevention ad, but the law firm's ad agency, Barker/DZP, said the release he signed doesn't restrict use of the photo, including alterations. Barker/DZP issued an apology and announced the ad will not run again, according to CNN and an update by the New York Post. The agency said it was unaware that Keiley was an actual firefighter, and the law firm was not involved in the photo selection. Worby Groner senior partner Marc Bern told the New York Post that the law firm did nothing wrong. "It was all appropriate, due to the release signed by [Keiley]," he said. "We are trying to help the victims of 9/11."
Czech Constitutional Court overturns parts of data retention law
The Czech Republic's Constitutional Court on Thursday overturned parts of a controversial data retention law that obligated telecommunications companies to maintain records of their customers' internet and telephone usage. The court found that paragraphs 3 and 4 of § 97 of the Electronic Communications Act, which compelled telecommunications companies to keep records of their customers' calls, faxes, text messages, internet activity, and emails for up to 12 months, are unconstitutional. The Czech law stems from a European Union directive requiring member states to gather telecommunications data in an effort to combat terrorism and organized crime. The retained data at issue was not the actual content of the communications, but rather information showing when and with whom people were communicating.
Dutch court orders 'hate trial' to go ahead over accused politician's objections
A panel of judges for the Amsterdam District Court on Wednesday ordered that the trial of right-wing Dutch politician Geert Wilders, on charges of making anti-Islamic statements, go ahead over his objections that the court was the improper venue for his case. Last month, the court granted Wilders the right to set out the objections he had made during the initial trial, which was postponed following the dismissal of the original panel of judges amidst allegations of bias. However, this panel rejected Wilders' objections, ruling that the Amsterdam court has the authority to judge the case, given that the alleged statements, which constitute the offenses with which Wilders is charged, were committed within its jurisdiction. Wilders is alleged to have made inflammatory remarks against Islam.
Ohio legislature passes bill limiting state worker collective bargaining
The Ohio Senate on Thursday passed Senate Bill 5, which alters Ohio labor law and restricts the collective bargaining abilities of unions for public sector workers. The bill was approved in the Senate by a vote of 17 to 16, shortly after a House vote of 53 to 44. In February, the legislation was protested by 4,000 union members at the Ohio capitol building marking the largest union-backed protest in over a decade. A summary of the bill details that unions can only collectively bargain for wages and equipment for personal safety and that public employees cannot strike.
Wisconsin judge clarifies ruling blocking union bargaining law
A judge for Wisconsin's Dane County Circuit Court issued an order Tuesday prohibiting implementation of the state's new Budget Repair Bill. The order emphasizes that a temporary restraining order issued March 18 prohibits not only publication of the bill, but implementation of its provisions as well. Judge Maryann Sumi warned state officials that any attempt to implement the bill would expose them to sanctions.
Judge uses Shakespeare insult in rejecting lawyer's copyright claim for copied sentence
A federal judge is using a Shakespeare put-down in rejecting a lawyer's claim of copyright infringement for a copied sentence. U.S. District judge Dolly Gee said lawyer Kenneth M. Stern may have to pay attorney fees for pursuing "such folderol"—a claim of copyright in a forwarded sentence-long message, the Volokh Conspiracy reports. The sentence, posted on an email discussion group for consumer attorneys, asked whether anyone had ever had billing problems with a forensic accounting firm. The defendant, a lawyer, had forwarded the message to his sister, also a lawyer, who forwarded it to the forensic accountants, according to Stern's complaint. In a footnote, Gee made her point with Shakespeare, the Volokh Conspiracy reports in a separate post. "Plaintiff begins his argument rhetorically, querying whether the following sentence is copyrightable: 'To be, or not to be, that is the question'" the judge wrote. "Perhaps, a more appropriate play from which to draw quotations would be Much Ado About Nothing." In the February opinion, Gee said that some sentences may deserve copyright protection, but Stern's discussion group query isn't among them. Whether a short work deserves copyright protection depends on creativity, she said. "For instance, the opening stanza/sentence of the poem Jabberwocky contains, coincidentally, the same number of words—23—as plaintiff's Listserv post: 'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves / Did gyre and gimble in the wabe; / All mimsy were the borogoves, / And the mome raths outgrabe.' The utter creativity of this 'greatest of all nonsense poems in English' prompted one court to suggest that even its first line would be entitled to copyright protection. Plaintiff's Listserv post, in contrast, displays no creativity whatsoever."
Senior Gaddafi aid in UK for secret talks: report
Al Arabiya, Online news, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
More 'defections from Gaddafi inner circle'
Al Jazeera, Doha, Qatar
Gaddafi regime racing against time, intensifies secret talks with West
Asharq Al-Awsat, Pan-Arab daily, London, England
About 1,000 believed killed in Libya violence-UK
Egyptian Gazette, English-language, Cairo, Egypt
More than 400 missing in Libya since start of anti-Gadhafi uprising
Haaretz, Liberal daily, Tel Aviv, Israel
BAHRAIN: Slashing Levies to help businesses cope with unrest
IPS Middle East, International cooperative of journalists, Rome, Italy
Medvedev sacks ten more police generals
Nahamet, Online news portal, Beirut, Lebanon
Western forces resume military operations amid reporters of protesters' advance into Sirte
Sana, Syrian Arab News Agency, Damascus, Syria
Forum reiterates Incosai declarations
Times of Oman, English-language daily, Muscat, Oman
AlJazeera news loses credibility in Yemen
Yemen Observer, Sana'a, Republic of Yemen
Gaddafi envoy has talks in London
BBC News, Centrist newscaster, London, England
Last action of outgoing Govt deprives pensioners of free passports
BreakingNews.ie, Online news portal, Cork, Ireland
Thousands of Japan evacuees can't return for months
CNN International, London, England
Four men jailed for junta torture
Daily Express, Conservative tabloid, London, England
Stockwell shooting: Teenager arrested after girl, 5, shot
Daily Mail, Conservative daily, London, England
IVORY COAST: Ouattara fighters seize state TV, attack Gbagbo's home
France 24, Issy-les-Moulineaux, France
Artist approaches craft through devalued money banknotes and coins
Hurriyet Daily News, (Liberal, English-language), Istanbul, Turkey
Skydivers die after chutes collide
Independent The, London, England
Manufacturing sector continues to grow
Irish Times The, Centrist daily, Dublin, Ireland
Eclectic Gala held for Soviet leader
Moscow Times The, Independent daily, Moscow, Russia
Kazakh police reject reports opposition publisher was abducted
Radio Free Europe, Prague, Czech Republic
Now historic sites can be accessed with Google Street View
WNC News, London, England
US names veteran diplomat as new Sudan envoy
Antara News, News agency, Jakarta, Indonesia
Central bank raises interest rates by 12.5 basis points
China Post, English-language daily, Taipei, Taiwan
Nuclear safety standards must get tougher
Chosun Ilbo, Conservative daily, Seoul, South Korea
Davis case: Federal, Punjab govts given 10 days to recover heirs
Dawn, English-language daily, Karachi, Pakistan
CIA to investigate Libyan rebels
Hindustan Times, New Delhi, India
Sharad Pawar used Balwas plane, seeks probe into links: BJP
India Express, News portal, Mumbai, India
Russia sees BRICS as key element of new global economic model
People's Daily Online, English-language, Beijing, China
Ariz. law bans abortions based on race or gender
Sify News, Chennai, India
Struggling stewardess exposed euro coin fraud ring
Straits Times, Pro-government, Singapore
Libya: Gadhafi's rule relying on wavering tribal support
Taiwan News, English-language daily, Taipei, Taiwan
Taiwan's aging society raises questions on long-term care
Taiwan Today, Government Information Office, Taipei, Taiwan
Japan crisis drags, France wants global nuclear reform
Times of India, Conservative, New Delhi, India
Grenada gets funds for poverty reduction
Caribbean360, Online news portal, St. Michael, Barbados
Organizations act to impeach senator on alleged corruption
Dominican Today, Independent daily, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
Rebels cheer cracks in Gaddafi rule
Reuters, New York, U.S
Man, 24, in court for sex offences against 5-year-old
Trinidad Guardian, Independent daily, Port-of-Spain, Trinidad
Fierce battle in Ivory Coast city
BBC News, Centrist newscaster, London, England
Militiamen sent to testify in Warlords trials at ICC
CongoPlanet.com, Independent online news aggregator
Fukushima to be scrapped
iafrica, Online news portal, Cape Town, South Africa
OLF calls for Ethiopia's youth to unite and remove Meles regime
Jimma Times, Online news portal, Jimma, Ethiopia