"Laws should be like clothes. They should be made to fit the people they serve."

Clarence Darrow

Insider's view: see how local concerns shape up the global world. Read the daily press review in Migalhas International.

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• Top News

France reforms controversial custody laws

Starting this weekend, anyone taken into custody by French police will have a right to have a lawyer present during questioning. This was not always the case: parliament passed a law reforming France's ‘garde à vue’ custody procedure, which allows police to detain people for up to 96 hours for questioning, even before pressing charges. The reforms were supposed to be implemented in June. But a French court ruled on Friday that they had to be applied right away. The European Court of Human Rights condemned 'garde à vue' last year, in an appeals case in which a defendant had not been informed of his right to silence. The French parliament passed a reform of the procedure earlier this year, which will go into effect this weekend. Now, someone taken into police custody has to be informed of their right not to say anything. And they have the right to a lawyer during all interrogations. Previously, lawyers were allowed in the first 30 minutes only, and could not meet with their clients until 48 or 96 hours later, delaying their ability to build a proper defense. Lawyers will be allowed to attend all police interviews, and even ask questions themselves.

World Bank chief warns of crisis

The president of the World Bank has warned that the world is "one shock away from a full-blown crisis". Robert Zoellick cited rising food prices as the main threat to poor nations who risk "losing a generation". Meanwhile, G20 finance chiefs pledged financial support to help new governments in the Middle East and North Africa. Such support is vital. "The crisis in the Middle East and North Africa underscores how we need to put the conclusions from our latest world development report into practice. The report highlighted the importance of citizen security, justice and jobs," he said. He also called for the World Bank to act quickly to support reforms in the region. "Waiting for the situation to stabilise will mean lost opportunities. In revolutionary moments the status quo is not a winning hand." The IMF raised particular concerns about high levels of unemployment among young people: "It's probably too much to say that it's a jobless recovery, but it's certainly a recovery with not enough jobs. Especially because of youth unemployment... there is now a risk that this will be turned into a life sentence, and that there is a possibility of a lost generation."

US Government asks Supreme Court to rule on warrantless GPS tracking

The Obama administration on Friday asked the US Supreme Court to determine whether police need warrants to track a suspect's movement using GPS - global position systems technology. The government is appealing last year's lower court decision that prohibits the use of warrantless GPS technology. In that decision, the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled that prolonged use of GPS to monitor suspects' vehicles violates the Fourth Amendment protection against unreasonable searches and seizures. The government rejects the argument that using a GPS tracking system violates a suspect's reasonable expectation of privacy. This view hinges on the Supreme Court decision in U.S. v. Knotts, which allowed for electronic surveillance in public based on a lower expectation of privacy on public roads. The Supreme Court's resolution on the issue, the Justice Department believes, is critical for future law enforcement decisions.

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• MiMIC Journal

China raises bank reserves for fourth time this year

China's central bank has raised the amount of money that lenders must hold in reserve for the fourth time this year, as it battles rising inflation. By insisting banks hold more cash, the central bank hopes to restrict lending, which in turn will reduce spending. The latest move, raising the required reserve ratio from 20% to a record 20.5%, is expected to lock up about 350bn yuan ($54bn) that banks would otherwise be able to lend.

China property price growth slows

China's property price growth slowed in March, as fewer Chinese cities saw an increase in the price of new homes. The Chinese government has been implementing tightening measures as the country continues to battle high inflation in property and food prices.

Inflation in China poses big threat to global trade

Inflation in China hit 5.4% in March. Inflation endangers China's status as the low-cost workshop for the world and poses risks for companies and resource-rich countries that have been counting on it for growth.

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• Brief News

Talks on Portugal bail-out terms

Top IMF, European Commission and European Central Bank officials are to begin talks shortly with Portugal to set the terms of its proposed bail-out. The 80bn euro ($115bn) bail-out is due to be completed by mid-May. Portugal's people are braced for more austerity as the price of the deal. Some economists see the IMF taking a softer line on the interest rate and duration of the loan than EU officials, who are under pressure from voters in member states that are putting up the money.

Vote in Finland could doom economic bailout of Portugal

A nationalist party has taken nearly a fifth of votes in Finland's general election. The True Finns finished just behind the conservative NCP and the Social Democrats on around 19%. While the Social Democrats have called for changes on EU bail-outs, including the planned Portuguese rescue, True Finns opposes the plans altogether. A hostile Finnish government could theoretically veto the package. Unlike other eurozone countries, Finland's parliament can vote on whether to approve the measures. Analysts say the increased sway of Euro-sceptics in Finland's parliament could hold up any further bail-out deals.

Japan orders nuclear compensation

The Japanese government has ordered the operator of the nuclear plant damaged by last month's quake and tsunami to pay compensation to affected families. About 48,000 families who lived within 30km (18 miles) of the Fukushima Daiichi plant will be eligible. The compensation is described as provisional, with payouts - expected to be 1m yen ($12,000) per family - beginning on 28 April. Tepco - Tokyo Electric Company is to make an urgent and speedy payment in order to compensate for the losses incurred by evacuation and orders to stay indoors. Plant operator Tepco is still trying to stabilize the nuclear facility.

France blocks Italian trains carrying migrants

Authorities in France temporarily blocked trains from Italy in an attempt to stop north African migrants from entering the country. Italy has angered France by giving temporary resident permits to thousands of Tunisian migrants. The permits allow them to travel freely in many European countries. The Italian foreign ministry said the French move was "illegitimate and in clear violation of general European principles".

Chile to exhume ex-leader Allende

A Chilean court orders the exhumation of Salvador Allende to determine whether the former leader was murdered or killed himself.

Brazil police arrest Rio lawmaker for paramilitary ties

Police in Rio de Janeiro have arrested a local lawmaker on suspicion of heading a paramilitary group linked to a series of murders. They say Luiz Ferreira da Silva runs an illegal armed group which controls 13 Rio neighbourhoods, a charge he denies. Police said the group had been planning an attack on the city's police chief. Originally formed to offer protection from drug gangs, many paramilitary groups are now running the criminal rackets they once fought.

Brazilian criticizes wealthy nations' policies

Finance Minister Guido Mantega said the U.S. and other countries were trying to "export their way" out of economic problems.

BP shareholders 'want asset sale'

Some BP shareholders are calling for the oil giant to sell off up to half of its assets as part of a radical restructuring, a newspaper says.

50 years later: learning from the Bay Of Pigs

Fifty years ago Sunday, a brigade of around 1,500 CIA-trained soldiers stormed the beach in Cuba's Bay of Pigs. It was the opening phase of a secret mission to overthrow Fidel Castro and, President John F. Kennedy hoped, halt the spread of communism throughout the world. But the most important legacy of the Bay of Pigs may be the simplest: Murphy's Law. If anything can go wrong, it will. For an administration composed of the best and the brightest, as Kennedy's was, "it would be wise for presidents to have few people in their administration more acquainted with things not going well."

White House proposes a universal credential for web

The White House proposed a plan, today, that would create a single, secure online identification system. The proposal, titled NSTIC - National Strategy for Trusted Identities in Cyberspace, aims to make online transactions more trustworthy. "By making online transactions more trustworthy and better protecting privacy, we will prevent costly crime, we will give businesses and consumers new confidence, and we will foster growth and untold innovation," president Barack Obama said in a statement. "That's why this initiative is so important for our economy." So what does this mean in real life? What's envisioned by the White House is an end to passwords, a system in which a consumer will have a piece of software on a smartsphone or some kind of card or token, which they can swipe on their computers to log on to a website.

Hong Kong reviews bank-arranged IPOs after finding securities firm lapses

Hong Kong's central bank is reviewing initial public offering work done by JPMorgan Chase & Co., UBS AG , HSBC Holdings Plc , Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc and Deutsche Bank AG last year after a similar inquiry into securities firms by the city's regulator.

Syria emergency laws to be lifted

Syrian president Bashar al-Assad on Saturday announced in a televised speech that he will lift emergency laws that have been in place for 48 years. For the past four weeks, tens of thousands of protesters have taken to the streets each Friday, demanding, in part, that the emergency laws be revoked. The law will be formally lifted next week, he said.

Egypt court dissolves Mubarak's National Democratic Party

An Egyptian court on Saturday ordered that the political party of former president Hosni Mubarak be dissolved. It would be illogical for Mubarak's National Democratic Party, which took control in 1978, to remain an entity, the country's High Administrative Court said. The court also liquidated the party's assets. Analysts call the court's decision an important step in the building of a multi-party system, which the country has not had for more than 30 years.

Algeria president announces constitutional reforms amid political protests

Algerian president Abdelaziz Bouteflika on Friday declared an initiative for sweeping constitutional and political reforms in order to increase the role of democracy in the African nation. The announcement, which came in a nationally televised address, was seen as a progressive step for the country in the wake of political protests in the Middle East and North Africa. During his speech, Bouteflika pledged to amend the constitution and make changes to current electoral law, ensure fairness in the country's elections, and work to improve relations between opposing political parties before the presidential elections in 2014. Bouteflika also promised to improve media relations in the country by introducing a new information law that would decrease fines for defamation and allow the release of currently imprisoned journalists. Unlike other nations, the political protests in Algeria have been relatively small, local events in the capital city of Algiers. However, the political movements have been gaining strength in recent weeks.

Kazakhstan president fires six supreme court justices for corruption

Kazakh president Nursultan Nazarbayev on Thursday discharged six justices of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Kazakhstan for corruption. The Kazakh Prosecutor-General's Office has opened criminal cases against the judges, who are suspected of corruption activity. The Kazakh State Agency for Combating Economic Crimes and Corruption approached Nazarbayev and asked him to remove the judges. Supreme Court chairman Musabek Alimbekov resigned after the charges were filed. Senators voted unanimously to approve Nazarbayev's decision and subsequently approved the appointment of Bektas Beknazarov, chairman of the Aktobe Oblast Court, to replace Alimbekov.

Fifth Circuit strikes order to put names of gay adoptive parents on birth certificate

The US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit on Tuesday ruled en banc against same-sex adoptive parents seeking an amended Louisiana birth certificate that listed both unmarried men as the parents of the child. In 2006, Oren Adar and Mickey Ray Smith adopted their child in NY, where unmarried couples can legally adopt. The child was born in Louisiana, and the state refused to issue a birth certificate naming both fathers. The couple brought suit alleging Louisiana had violated the Full Faith and Credit Clause and the Equal Protection Clause [Cornell LII backgrounders] of the US Constitution. Rejecting the Full Faith and Credit argument, the court clarified that the clause only has compelling effects on state courts and not state officials.

Business professor defends Galleon chief's trades

Professor Jarrell's analysis of the data tries to show why Raj Rajaratnam's trades were executed using publicly available information.

NY ex-comptroller gets at least one year in prison

A judge on Friday sentenced former NY state comptroller Alan Hevesi to a minimum of 1 year and a maximum of 4 years in prison for a state pension kickback scheme in which governor Andrew Cuomo said Hevesi "presided over a culture of corruption."

Internet gambling sites owners charged with fraud

The owners of three of the largest Internet poker companies operating in the U.S. were accused on Friday of tricking regulators and banks into processing billions of dollars of illegal Internet gambling proceeds.

A bad precedent for Nasdaq

A Justice Dept. antitrust suit against milk processor Dean Foods is serving as one possible guide for how U.S. regulators might approach the antitrust issues around Nasdaq's $11bn unsolicited offer for NYSE Euronext.

Wal-Mart settles slur suit

Wal-Mart will pay $440,000 to settle an EEOC suit on behalf of Mexican immigrant workers at a California Sam's Club who claimed they were harassed about their national origin by a colleague.

• Weekly Magazine Review

Time
What, there is no hell? Is Hell Dead? Rogue pastor Rob Bell's argument about salvation and judgment has Evangelicals in a fury — and a young generation rethinking Jesus.

Newsweek
Beached white male. He had a big job, a big office, a big bonus. Now he's all washed up and doesn't have a freakin' prayer. Dead Suit Walking. If this isn't the Great Depression, it is the Great Humbling. Can manhood survive the lost decade?

Business Week
Washington Plays Chicken With the Debt. Forcing a U.S. default is no small matter, yet many Americans say they want just that. It's time for cooler heads on Capitol Hill to step up and lead.

The Economist
The drug war hits Central America. Organised crime is moving south from Mexico into a bunch of small countries far too weak to deal with it.

Der Spiegel
Circus Krone - Vom Sinn und Wahnsinn der britischen Monarchie.

• Daily Press Review

GCC asks UN to stop Iran
Al Arabiya, Online news, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Jonathan set for landslide in Nigerian vote
Al Jazeera, Doha, Qatar

Al-Assaf affirms strength of Saudi banking sector
Arab News, Pro-government, Jidda, Saudi Arabia

Allies say Libya campaign on until Gaddafi goes
Asharq Al-Awsat, Pan-Arab daily, London, England

Report: 17 Libyans killed as pro-Gadhafi forces advance on Misrata
Haaretz, Liberal daily, Tel Aviv, Israel

Ahmadinejad: 'The era of Zionism has passed away'
JPost, Conservative, Jerusalem, Israel

In Tokyo, Clinton vows full support for disaster-hit Japan
Nahamet, Online news portal, Beirut, Lebanon

1,000 killed by Kadhafi forces in Misrata in 6 weeks
Times of Oman, English-language daily, Muscat, Oman

Yemen opposition meets GCC foreign ministers in Riyadh
Yemen Observer, Sana'a, Republic of Yemen

Police 'too focused on kettling'
BBC News, Centrist newscaster, London, England

Mullah arrest sparks Afghan clashes
BreakingNews.ie, Online news portal, Cork, Ireland

Nigeria's president likely headed for re-election
CNN International, London, England

Succession rights: David Cameron backs calls for change but reform could take years
Daily Mail, Conservative daily, London, England

Castro announces two term-limit for Cuba's leaders
EuroNews, International news, Ecully Cedex, France

Moody's cuts Irish banks to junk status
Irish Times The, Centrist daily, Dublin, Ireland

Global giants worried about payment legislation changes
Moscow News The, Independent, Moscow, Russia

Ahmadinejad accuses U.S. of creating Iran, Arab tension
Radio Free Europe, Prague, Czech Republic

China's cyber hackers target Western firms
Sky News, Independent newscaster, Middlesex, England

Nuclear energy: clean, reliable and powerful
Spiked, (Alternative Internet Magazine), London, England

NHS reform timetable could slip, David Cameron says
Telegraph The, Conservative daily, London, England

Tornado kills 43 people in the U.S.
WNC News, London, England

Egypt continues interrogation on Mubarak's sons in jaill: Mena
Antara News, News agency, Jakarta, Indonesia

DSI again wants reds' bail revoked
Bangkok Post, Independent, Bangkok, Thailand

Telecom makes final offer to CFH after UFB negotiations
Computer World, IT information, Fairfax, New Zealand

Attack on troops shows Taliban danger
Daily Jang, Left-wing daily, Karachi, Pakistan

Qadhafi forces pound Ajdabiya and Misrata
Dawn, English-language daily, Karachi, Pakistan

Bomb kills one, injures 23 in Thailand
Hindustan Times, New Delhi, India

Opposition to nukes sweeping Europe
New Zealand Herald, Conservative daily, Auckland, New Zealand

Gen. Mujahid laid to rest in Arghandab
Pajhwok Afghan News, (Independent news agency), Kabul, Afghanistan

Opponents challenge U.S. health care reform bill
People's Daily Online, English-language, Beijing, China

Australia defends deporting Briton after 40 years
Straits Times, Pro-government, Singapore

Polling peaceful in West Bengal, boycott in eight booths (Third Lead)
Thaindian News, Bangkok, Thailand

NYSE eyes big fee from Nasdaq before engaging in deal talks
The Economic Times, Business, Mumbai, India

Storms kill at least 47 across US
Times of India, Conservative, New Delhi, India

BP handling of claims slammed by Gulf residents
Caribbean360, Online news portal, St. Michael, Barbados

Intelligence officer's tour reveals Washington's concern with Dominican-Haiti border
Dominican Today, Independent daily, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

Google's rising operational costs to erode earnings
International Business Times, Business news organization, New York, U.S

France halts Italy trains to block immigrants
Newser, News web site, Chicago, U.S

Most Japan voters want new PM
Reuters, World News, New York, U.S

NDP moves into tie with Liberals: Poll
Toronto Star, Toronto, Ontario

Permell to piggyback on Denbow's lawsuit
Trinidad Guardian, Independent daily, Port-of-Spain, Trinidad

'Bi-winning' Charlie Sheen to raise money for Calgary non-profit
Vancouver Sun The, Conservative, Vancouver, Canada

Construction of new International Airport is not negotiable - Samia
GhanaWeb, Online news portal, Amsterdam, Netherlands

HEALTH: Demand for dengue vaccine to exceed supply
Irin News, Humanitarian news and analysis, Nairobi, Kenya

North Sudan offers to bear the country's external debt in return of joining relief initiative
Sudan Tribune, Khartoum, Sudan