_____________

100% Migalhas: www.migalhas.com

_____________

• MiMIC Journal
  

Lagarde says China must reform

IMF - International Monetary Fund head Lagarde has said that China must stop its economy being too dependent on exports and investment. She also said the yuan could become a global reserve currency if China implemented market-oriented changes. stressed that at the highest levels, China leadership appears to be willing to make the changes needed to ensure that the world's second-largest economy remains a main driver of global growth. However, she said that as well as financial reforms, authorities needed to boost household incomes and make sure that the benefits of growth were reaching more people.

_____________

Tell your friends and colleagues you've read it in Migalhas International

_____________

Nimble neighbors outshine Brazil on growth

Swift growth by nimble Latin American countries like Chile, Colombia and Peru has put renewed focus on regional heavyweight Brazil, whose relatively closed, high-tax economy is now sputtering below its potential. The three Andean countries grew more than twice as fast as Brazil last year and are expected to outpace it again this year. Brazil has also lagged its peers in the BRIC club of emerging market heavyweights that includes China, India and Russia. In Brazil, politics have at times stymied ambitious fiscal reforms to eliminate the deficit in a country with powerful public sector unions. Strong business groups anxious to protect their lucrative positions in the domestic market of 200 million people have resisted free-trade pacts. That has left consumers in the lurch. Brazil's economy has expanded steadily over the last decade and it grew 7.5 percent in 2010, leading some economists to say it had finally buried its history of slow growth. But with last year's sharp decline, those worries are back. Most economists now say Brazil will grow only around 3.3 percent this year. Peru expects to grow up to 6 percent and Colombia is so confident of its expansion that the central bank has been boldly raising interest rates. "In open economies like Peru there are fewer market distortions, unlike economies which tend to close themselves and create new artificial barriers," Peruvian Finance Minister Luis Miguel Castilla said. "That also means the capacity of companies in open economies to adapt in a context of international competition is much greater."

Brazil judge rejects attempt to try former army colonel

A Brazilian federal judge has blocked a move to try a retired army colonel for abuses allegedly committed during the country's military dictatorship. Prosecutors wanted Sebastiao de Moura to face criminal charges over the kidnap of five leftist guerrillas in the 1970s. But Judge Joao Matos ruled on Friday that the charges would run counter to Brazil's 1979 amnesty law. Federal prosecutors who brought the case can appeal against the ruling. Judge Matos, the federal judge in Maraba in the northern state of Para, said in his ruling: "To try after more than three decades to dodge the amnesty law and reopen the debate on crimes committed during the military dictatorship is a mistake." The amnesty law grants immunity from prosecution for politically motivated crimes committed during the 1964-85 military dictatorship.

Brazil to charge Chevron executives over fresh oil leak

Brazilian prosecutors say they will bring criminal charges, including "environment crimes", against 17 executives from the US oil company Chevron and drilling contractor Transocean after a new leak of crude. The executives have been barred from leaving the country until the investigation concludes. Chevron halted production in Brazil after the new oil leak was found on the seabed off Brazil earlier this week. The oil company is already facing a multi-billion-dollar lawsuit over November's spill.

Nazi looted poster art must be returned

A Jewish man has won his fight against a German museum for the return of thousands of rare posters stolen from his father by the Nazis in 1938. The Federal Court of Justice in Karlsruhe ruled Peter Sachs, who now lives in the US, is the rightful owner of the posters. The judges said that not returning the posters "would perpetuate Nazi injustice". The Berlin museum said in a statement that it "accepts the ruling", bringing an end to the seven-year legal battle.

Iran cut off from global commerce

Swift, the body that handles global banking transactions, says it will cut Iran's banks out of the system on Saturday to enforce sanctions. The move will isolate Iran financially by making it almost impossible for money to flow in and out of the country via official banking channels. It will hit its oil industry, but may also have a heavy impact on Iranians who live abroad and send money home. The move follows EU sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program.

Protesters rally against Morocco rape-marriage law after teen suicide

Protesters in Morocco rallied Saturday to call for reform of a law that prohibits punishing rapists of minors if they marry their victims. Moroccan Penal Code Article 475, along with provisions that allow judges to require marriage in situations of rape, has been the subject of harsh criticism since a minor was forced to marry her rapist and subsequently committed suicide. The article, translated from French, reads: "When a minor removed or diverted married her captor, the latter can not be prosecuted on the complaint of persons entitled to apply for annulment of marriage and can not be sentenced until after the cancellation of marriage has been pronounced." This section has been used to exonerate rapists who marry their victims after the fact, regardless of the circumstances surrounding the marriage.

Legal fees may take mound in Madoff-Mets case

The court-appointed trustee recovering money for Madoff's victims wants to exclude evidence concerning the more that $275 mln in fees racked up by his law firm.

Major DC law firm looks to expand in South Korea after trade agreement

Covington & Burling, the District's largest law firm, is joining the throng of firms flocking to South Korea in hopes of capitalizing on the US-Korea Free Trade Agreement, which went into effect last week.

Italy high court recognizes right of same-sex couples to have 'family life'

The Italian Supreme Court on Friday recognized same-sex couple's right to have a family life after it denied a same-sex couple's right to have their foreign marriage recognized in the country. The ruling is expected to force the country's government officials to reconsider Italy's ban on same-sex marriage. The ban on same sex-marriage has been controversial, but a 2010 attempt to overturn it was unsuccessful. After hearing arguments from same-sex couples, Italy's Constitutional Court upheld the ban. In 2007, Italy's Cabinet approved a controversial proposal to grant a number of legal rights to unmarried couples, including those of the same sex. The proposal, harshly criticized by the country's justice minister and bishop, ultimately failed. Italy is one of few Western European nations that does not offer legal recognition to same-sex couples.

India seeking to tax overseas acquisitions will limit claims to six years

India will claim capital gains tax on cross-border acquisitions completed in the past six years through an amendment after Vodafone Group Plc won a case against such levies, according to Finance Secretary R.S. Gujral.

• Weekly Magazine Review

Time
The richer $ex. Women, Money and Power. As female economic clout grows, it is changing how men and women work, play, shop, share, court and even love each other.

Newsweek
'Mad Men' Goes Back to the Office.

Business Week
Hey China! Stop Stealing Our Stuff.

The Economist
Can it be…the recovery?

Der Spiegel
Der Leviten-Leser. Wie Joachim Gauck das Land verändern will.

L'Espresso
L'uomo che fa tremare il centro sinistra. Un tesoro milionario di rimborsi pubblici alla Margherita. Gestiti da Lusi tra case di lusso per sé e generosi versamenti per beneficiari ignoti. Senza controlli. Mentre spuntano centinaia di migliaia di euro destinati alla fondazione di Rutelli.

• Daily Press Review

'Heavy fighting' shakes Syrian capital
Al Jazeera, Doha, Qatar

UK says Iran blocking website in censorship battle
Asharq Al-Awsat, Pan-Arab daily, London, England

Saudi, Iraq agree to prisoner exchange
Egyptian Gazette, English-language, Cairo, Egypt

At least 80 killed in heavy clashes near Syrian capital
Haaretz, Liberal daily, Tel Aviv, Israel

Mashaal: Israel using Gaza as 'guinea pig' for Iran
JPost, Conservative, Jerusalem, Israel

PM to urge private roads funding
BBC News, Centrist newscaster, London, England

Blasts, gunfire as fresh fighting grips Syria
CNN International, London, England

Troops and gunmen clash in capital
Daily Express, Conservative tabloid, London, England

Last Grand National for the BBC as it enters the final furlong on its racing coverage
Daily Mail, Conservative daily, London, England

Emmerdale actress Natalie Anderson shows off tiny baby bump as she reveals she is four-and-a-half months pregnant
Daily Mail, Conservative daily, London, England

Heavy fighting breaks out in Syrian capital
EuroNews, International news, Ecully Cedex, France

SYRIA: Fierce clashes reported in Syrian capital Damascus
France 24, Issy-les-Moulineaux, France

What Feb. 28 could not do to Erbakan, his family is doing
Hurriyet Daily News, (Liberal, English-language), Istanbul, Turkey

Romney wins Puerto Rico primary
Independent The, London, England

Proposal sees Russian officials forced to drive local cars
Moscow News The, Independent, Moscow, Russia

Child benefit cuts: 20,000 middle class children to be pushed below poverty line
Telegraph The, Conservative daily, London, England

George Clooney unabashed about using celebrity to highlight Sudan
Telegraph The, Celebrity news, London, England

Thirayuth's coup fear rejected
Bangkok Post, Independent, Bangkok, Thailand

Gauck elected new German president
China Post, English-language daily, Taipei, Taiwan

Will the N.Korean Regime Never Learn?
Chosun Ilbo, Conservative daily, Seoul, South Korea

India displaces China as world's largest arms importer
Hindustan Times, New Delhi, India

Hyderabad Times Most Desirable People 2011
India Times, Conservative daily, New Delhi, India

Provisional rebuilding budget eyed for April to cover legislative delays
Japan Times, Independent centrist, Tokyo, Japan

Govt fracking inquiry looks unlikely
New Zealand Herald, Conservative daily, Auckland, New Zealand

Syrian opposition calls on Turkey to build buffer zone
People's Daily Online, English-language, Beijing, China

Musicians scale Sydney Harbour Bridge for landmark's 80th birthday
Straits Times, Pro-government, Singapore

'Help me': Taser victim
Sydney Morning Herald, Centrist daily, Sydney, Australia

Thorpe fails in bid to qualify for London 2012
Taiwan News, English-language daily, Taipei, Taiwan

Sri Lanka C. bank: Will act to curb rupee volatility
The Economic Times, Business, Mumbai, India

Syria stocking up on Russian weapons, report says
Canadian Broadcasting Centre, Toronto, Ontario

How do we govern our technology?
Globe and Mail The, Centrist daily, Toronto, Canada

What Will Apple do with $100bn Cash Stockpile?
International Business Times, Business news organization, New York, U.S

Conditions for Construction Workers Improving in Brazil
IPS Latin America, International cooperative of journalists, Rome, Italy

____