September 26, 2011 nº 1,094 - Vol. 9


"Given the choice between the experience of pain and nothing, I would choose pain."

William Faulkner

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

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Read Migalhas LatinoAmérica in Spanish every Tuesday and Thursday. Visit the website at www.migalhas.com/latinoamerica

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  • Top News

UN Security Council to consider Palestinian membership

The UN Security Council is to begin consultations on an application by Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas for full state membership of the UN. The request needs the support of nine out the 15 members of the council, but the US has said it will veto the bid. The threat of confrontation has triggered a diplomatic scramble to neutralize the effects of a possible US veto. The Security Council has to decide whether to refer the Palestinian request to a committee or postpone consideration of it, given the threat of an American veto. Both would buy time for efforts by international powers to steer the diplomatic focus away from the membership application and onto peace talks. But the Palestinians are not happy with proposals presented so far, and may use allies on the council to push their agenda. Diplomats say it could take weeks before the issue comes to vote. Abbas last week urged the council in New York to back a state with pre-1967 borders. Israel reiterated its call for peace talks without preconditions. Direct talks between Israel and the Palestinians stalled in September 2010.

IMF warns on funding levels if crisis worsens

The IMF - International Monetary Fund has warned it may not have enough money to bail out larger eurozone countries if the debt crisis were to spread. IMF chief Christine Lagarde says the global lender can meet its current obligations but this could change if the crisis worsens. Meanwhile the Greek finance minister says Greece will do "whatever it takes" to reduce its deficit. Publicly, world leaders have said there is "no plan" for a Greek default.

Eurozone rescue plan 'emerging'

The outline of a large and ambitious eurozone rescue plan is taking shape, reports from the IMF - International Monetary Fund in Washington suggest. It is expected to involve a 50% write-down of Greece's massive government debt. The plan also envisages an increase in the size of the European Union bailout fund to 2tn euros ($2.7tn). European governments hope to have the plan in place in five to six weeks, but turning the present outline into a practical reality will be immensely difficult. The price of failure could be a financial crisis that would probably turn anemic growth into a recession or worse.

Felsberg, Pedretti e Mannrich - Advogados e Consultores Legais advises Ocean Rig with Petrobras

The Rio de Janeiro Oil & Gas Department of Felsberg, Pedretti e Mannrich - Advogados e Consultores Legais, coordinated by partners David L. Meiler and Silvia Y. Shimamoto, has advised Ocean Rig during negotiations with Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. – Petrobras which led to the execution of charter and services contracts for the newbuild drillships Ocean Rig Corcovado and Ocean Rig Mykonos. Such deals represent potential revenues to Ocean Rig of approximately US$ 1.1bn in daily rates throughout the 3-year term of such contracts. (Click here)

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  • MiMIC Journal

Authorities 'to investigate land sales'

The Chinese authorities have agreed to investigate local government land sales that prompted several days of sometimes violent public protests, media say. Villagers in southern China say they are being pushed off farmland for property development.

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  • Brief News

Women in Saudi Arabia to vote and run in elections

Women in Saudi Arabia are to be given the right to vote and run in future municipal elections, King Abdullah has announced. He said they would also have the right to be appointed to the consultative Shura Council. The move was welcomed by activists who have called for greater rights for women in the kingdom, which enforces a strict version of Sunni Islamic law.

UBS CEO quits over 'rogue-trader' loss

Oswald Gruebel, CEO of Swiss bank UBS, has resigned over an alleged $2.3bn rogue-trading loss. The move is part of a major shake-up at the bank, which will also see it shrink its investment banking division to reduce its risks. The trading losses are an embarrassment to the bank which is still recovering from its near collapse during the 2008 financial crisis.

Boeing Dreamliner set for delivery

US planemaker Boeing is due to deliver its first 787 Dreamliner to Japan's All Nippon Airways, after three years of delays.

Texas abolishes last meal request

Prison officials in the US state of Texas have abolished the traditional last meal request for inmates who are facing execution. The move came after a prisoner requested a huge meal then did not eat any of it, saying he was not hungry. The abolition followed a complaint by Texan Senator John Whitmire, who called the meal privilege "inappropriate". "Enough is enough," he said. "It is extremely inappropriate to give a person sentenced to death such a privilege. It's a privilege which the perpetrator did not provide to their victim."

UN Security Council urges end to Yemen violence

The UN Security Council on Sunday called on Yemen to end ongoing violence related to attacks on unarmed, peaceful protestors and urged the nation to comply with international law.

Libya leaders meet to discuss formation of interim government

Libyan leaders, including NTC - National Transitional Council chairman Mustafa Abdel Jalil, met Sunday to begin a discussion regarding the formation of the country's interim government. During the meeting, which is set to last three days, the leaders are expected to work out the details of the new government and the positions therein, which will include a premier, vice premier and 22 ministers. Meanwhile, the NTC's troops continue to scour the country looking for ex-colonel Muammar Gaddafi, who has publicly announced his refusal to surrender. Leaders of the international community who helped oust Gaddafi have pledged economic and military support to the new Libyan administration.

Accounting change cuts Groupon's revenue

Groupon disclosed a major accounting change on Friday, essentially halving its once-jaw-dropping revenue after it encountered resistance from regulators with its filing to go public. Groupon, the online coupon titan, announced separately that its chief operating officer of about five months, Margo Georgiadis, had stepped down. The company has grown rapidly, but its ability to sustain that growth, the ways it measures growth and the eccentric public persona of its chief executive have come under fire at times. Despite those criticisms, and the current turmoil in the stock market, Groupon is still aiming to go public next month, people briefed on the matter have said. That offering could value Groupon at more than $15bn.

Former Pennsylvania judge sentenced to 17 1/2 years in federal prison

Former Pennsylvania Judge Michael Conahan, 59, was sentenced on Friday to 17 and a half years in federal prison for his involvement in a juvenile sentencing scandal. Conahan appeared in a federal courtroom and apologized to the legal community, the public and the youths incarcerated throughout the "kids for cash" scandal, during which Conahan sent juveniles to for-profit jails in exchange for money. Conahan, the former president judge of the Luzerne County Court of Common Pleas, pleaded guilty to racketeering and conspiracy charges for accepting more than $2.6m in return for sentencing teenagers to two private juvenile detention facilities. A district court judge accepted a plea agreement in July 2010.

Obama to allow states to opt out of No Child Left Behind

Obama announced changes to the NCLB - No Child Left Behind Act on Friday, allowing states to opt-out of the program. The new program gives states flexibility in how they design their curriculum, provides schools relief from the "failing" designation and provides increased flexibility in how education funding is distributed. If states choose to opt into the new flexible standards, they are required to adopt new standards to promote college and career readiness and "set basic guidelines for teacher and principal evaluation and support systems.

Mubarak trial suspended after former ally testifies

The trial of former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak was paused on Saturday, after lawyers representing victims and their families filed motions to change both the location and judge for the trial. That morning, confidante to Mubarak and his former defense minister, Field Marshal Tantawi testified against Mubarak in a closed-session, but left early and refused to be cross-examined by counsel for the victims. Due to the closed-session, nothing has been revealed about the testimony, nor how the lawyers' actions stem from it.

Are hedge funds breeding grounds for insider trading?

Rajaratnam is the hedge fund founder who was convicted in May of trading on illegal stock tips — tips that produced fantastic results for his Galleon Group. He is still awaiting his sentencing. Federal authorities compare him with notorious white-collar crooks like Bernie Madoff and Jeffrey Skilling, and they argue for a long time behind bars. His lawyers, however, say Rajaratnam is a lesser-order felon — "not . . . as culpable as a defendant who affirmatively steals," as they put it in a pre-sentencing memorandum. The lawyers raise a problem of culture and law: Is insider trading merely an illicit version of a common American cleverness, trading on gossip from a colleague or friend that helps the trader and hurts no one? Or is it the quintessential Wall Street crime, one that has undermined Americans' faith in the markets?

UK lawyer to start News Corp action in U.S.

Mark Lewis said he had held talks with lawyers in New York about seeking depositions potentially against all the company's directors, which he thought would include Rupert Murdoch and his son James.

  • Weekly Magazine Review

Time
Why mom liked you best? Playing Favorites. Never mind what your parents told you. They had a favorite child — and if you have kids, so do you. Why it's hardwired into all of us.

Newsweek
On! Roger’s Reality Show. First, Ailes dialed back the Tea Party talk. Now he’s turning the GOP race into a political X-Factor—and steering the election agenda one more time.

Business Week
The How To issue. Practical Pointers in an Anxious Age. Our First Annual Guide to career enhancement and life lessons in the age of not being too sure about anything anymore.

The Economist
Hunting the rich. Taxation and class war.

Der Spiegel
Die Geldbombe - Wie aus einer großen Idee eine Gefahr für Europa werden konnte.

L'Espresso
Serie B. Carezze agli evasori. Altro che manette... Chi evade rischia solo se commette il reato (più raro) di "dichiarazione fraudolenta con altri artifizi". Oppure per la più diffusa "dichiarazione infedele" dove però la soglia è altissima.

  • Daily Press Review

Yemen's Saleh seeks polls for power transfer
Al Jazeera, Doha, Qatar

King Abdullah elevates Saudi Women's political role
Asharq Al-Awsat, Pan-Arab daily, London, England

Saudi king gives women right to vote
Egyptian Gazette, English-language, Cairo, Egypt

Ukrainian rightists riot over mass Hasidic pilgrimage ahead of Rosh Hashannah
Haaretz, Liberal daily, Tel Aviv, Israel

'Hezbollah arrest 4 of its own for spying for Israel'
JPost, Conservative, Jerusalem, Israel

Balls vows to get tough on debt
BBC News, Centrist newscaster, London, England

Yemen's president addresses nation amid deadly violence
CNN International, London, England

Thousands strip for protest run
Daily Express, Conservative tabloid, London, England

From the unwelcome visitor she turfed out of the Palace to the joy of losing herself in a crowd... continuing his landmark series, Robert Hardman reveals the private side of a thoroughly modern monarch
Daily Mail, Conservative daily, London, England

What do you think Abbey? Peter Crouch buys Freddie Flintoff's Cheshire mansion for GBP 4.5million
Daily Mail, Conservative daily, London, England

Ethnic clashes in Bulgaria leave five injured
EuroNews, International news, Ecully Cedex, France

FRANCE: French left claims historic Senate majority victory
France 24, Issy-les-Moulineaux, France

Four blasts kill 16 in Iraq's Kerbala
Hurriyet Daily News, (Liberal, English-language), Istanbul, Turkey

Over 1,000 victims of Tripoli jail massacre found in mass grave
Independent The, London, England

Duke of Cambridge talks warmly of his close relationship with Queen
Telegraph The, Conservative daily, London, England

Brad Pitt dodges zombies on World War Z set
Telegraph The, Celebrity news, London, England

Poll: Govt passes one month test
Bangkok Post, Independent, Bangkok, Thailand

Institute downgrades forecast for Taiwan
China Post, English-language daily, Taipei, Taiwan

Aid to N.Korea Only Benefits the Regime
Chosun Ilbo, Conservative daily, Seoul, South Korea

Gun attack at Kabul 'CIA compound': officials
Hindustan Times, New Delhi, India

Wife pays ransom, Noida businessman returns
India Times, Conservative daily, New Delhi, India

Divining the will of a Russian puppet master
Japan Times, Independent centrist, Tokyo, Japan

Utah's un-uptight undie run
New Zealand Herald, Conservative daily, Auckland, New Zealand

San Francisco tests its limits on public nudism
Straits Times, Pro-government, Singapore

Kogan buckles to Apple
Sydney Morning Herald, Centrist daily, Sydney, Australia

Argentine Football Results
Taiwan News, English-language daily, Taipei, Taiwan

China Vice-Premier Li: Global risks rising
The Economic Times, Business, Mumbai, India

Russell Williams' victim sues police over 'betrayal'
Canadian Broadcasting Centre, Toronto, Ontario

Photos: Puppies hang four at California's surf dog competition
Globe and Mail The, Centrist daily, Toronto, Canada

Banks Prepare for Greek default, want EU help
International Business Times, Business news organization, New York, U.S

No Birds Sing in Monoculture "Forests"
IPS Latin America, International cooperative of journalists, Rome, Italy

Samsung's legal woes threaten to crimp tablets, chips
Reuters, Business News, New York, U.S

Kenya Nobel laureate Maathai dies in hospital - group
Reuters, World News, New York, U.S

McGuinty denies killing plant to save his skin
Toronto Star, Toronto, Ontario

Tripoli prison mass grave found
BBC News, Centrist newscaster, London, England

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