"Difficult times have helped me to understand better than before, how infinitely rich and beautiful life is in every way, and that so many things that one goes worrying about are of no importance whatsoever..."

Isak Dinesen

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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

US top court rules for generic drugmaker on patent

The US Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday in favor of a generic drug maker in a case over how companies can fight brand-name rivals in an effort to get their cheaper medicines to market. The high court unanimously ruled that the generics company, Caraco Pharmaceuticals, could sue a brand-name drug maker to get it to narrow its patent description with the Food and Drug Administration. The FDA uses this information to decide whether to approve a generic "copycat" version of a medicine before the patent has expired. Caraco, a unit of India's Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, argued that the description of the patent for the diabetes drug, Prandin, was too broad and therefore prevented any generic from entering the market. It raised a "counterclaim" to challenge the description. The US government said generic drugs saved consumers billions of dollars each year, and it opposed a lower court ruling in favor of the brand-name company, Denmark's Novo Nordisk. The justices agreed, and overturned a US appeals court ruling that Caraco could not file a legal counterclaim to challenge the way Novo had described its patent to the FDA.

ABA pulls proposal on non-lawyer ownership of firms

The American Bar Association on Monday abandoned the idea of allowing non-lawyers to take an ownership stake in law firms. In a statement, Jamie Gorelick and Michael Traynor, who co-chair a committee that had studied the controversial issue, said they decided to pull the plug on developing a proposal last week. "Based on the commission's extensive outreach, research, consultation and the response of the profession, there does not appear to be a sufficient basis for recommending a change to the ABA policy," said the statement from the ABA Commission on Ethics 20/20. The proposal would have been submitted to the House of Delegates, the association's policy-making body, in 2013. Attorney ethics rules in all US jurisdictions but the District of Columbia bar non-lawyers from having an equity interest in law firms. In 2012, the UK began allowing the practice, and Australia also permits it.

When too big to fail gets bigger

Goldman Sachs says its assets on its balance sheet have grown by 7.6 percent since the end of 2008. Does that mean financial reform isn't working? Goldman has been able to grow since the financial crisis, despite facing new, more stringent regulations, many of which are intended to make it inconvenient and expensive for banks to bulk up their balance sheets. Morgan Stanley, which reports earnings on Thursday, had $750 billion of assets at the end of 2011, which is 14 percent higher than in 2008. Other large banks, like JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo, have also grown a lot since the crisis, but that's mainly because they acquired large ailing banks, like Bear Stearns, Washington Mutual and Wachovia. Since 2008, assets at JPMorgan Chase's investment bank are actually down 5 percent. Banks aren't shrinking. But nor is the anger behind the too-big-to-fail bailouts.

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2 - Norway trial: 'I would've done it again' - click here.

3 - Depp sued over alleged concert clash - click here.

4 - Samsung and Apple to meet over patent fight - click here.

5 - American Airlines sues former flight attendant behind parody videos - click here.

6 - Physicist writes four-page math paper to beat $400 traffic ticket - click here.

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• MiMIC Journal
  

China official quizzed in Heywood case

Chinese police are investigating a local official devoted to the family of Bo Xilai, the purged Chongqing Communist party secretary, for allegedly helping to organise and cover up the murder of Neil Heywood, the British businessman who died after his close ties with the Bo family turned sour.

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Spain weighs response to nationalization of YPF

Repsol YPF said that it would seek at least $10.5 billion in compensation for Argentina's planned nationalization of its extensive operations there.No Repsol executive could have envisaged last year that its investment in YPF, Argentina's largest oil company by revenues, and in which the Spanish group has had a controlling stake in since 1999, could go up in smoke so quickly – seized by the populist government of Cristina Fernández. The expropriation came after a sudden burst of repeated attacks from Buenos Aires against YPF's investment record since the turn of the year. Now Repsol, which has spent years rebuilding its international credibility after a reserve accounting scandal in 2006, is facing life without what had become its crown jewel. "The battle is not over, there is a long way to go," Antonio Brufau, president says. "The illegal expropriation of YPF does not damage capacity for growth of our other businesses outside of Argentina." Repsol has vowed to demand compensation, saying it could seek international arbitration over its 57% stake in YPF. As yet, there has been no indication from Buenos Aires that compensation will be anything but meagre, with investors in Repsol for the moment left with nothing more than a share price that has fallen 30.8 per cent since the start of the year. In spite of the mounting diplomatic row between Madrid and Buenos Aires, an increasing number of analysts have also begun to argue that Repsol shares are now completely discounting the entire value of YPF.

New World Bank boss wants growth

The World Bank's new president, Jim Yong Kim, says that capitalist market-based growth is a priority for all countries. He said that was the best way to create jobs and lift people out of poverty. However, many critics questioned his credentials and said Dr Kim's selection was based on politics not merit.

Supreme Court denies new trial for Enron ex-CEO

The US Supreme Court declined review in the case of former Enron CEO Jeffrey Skilling on Monday. The court, without any comment, allowed to stand the decision of the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, which ruled the errors were harmless and rejected Skilling's challenge to his conviction. Skilling's attorney believed the court should summarily reverse the appeals court or fully consider the case. The government said the the erroneous Pinkerton instruction given by the trial judge was correctly deemed a harmless error. Last April, the appeals court denied the new trial, but did vacate the original sentence against Skilling and remanded for resentencing due to lower court error.

Bans upheld on Egypt candidates

Ten candidates - including those considered front-runners - disqualified from Egypt's presidential election lose their appeals against the decision. There is deep unease about the impartiality of the HPEC - Higher Presidential Election Commission announcing that it had disqualified 10 of the 23 candidates. This decision completely reshapes the prospects for the presidential election.

Pursuing foreign fraud claims on American soil

A Securities and Exchange Commission report on whether investors should be able to pursue fraud claims on foreign securities that take place outside the United States may face a hostile reception in Congress.

Pyongyang 'not bound to US deal' New

North Korea says it is no longer bound to a moratorium on missile and nuclear tests agreed with the US in February in return for food aid.

US Senate blocks Obama's Buffett Rule proposal

Senate Republicans have blocked the Buffett Rule, President Barack Obama's proposal to raise tax rates for top earners to at least 30%. Senators largely voted on party lines and failed to win the 60 votes to move the bill forward for a full debate. Republicans have resolutely opposed the measure, saying it is a political gimmick that will not create jobs. The bill is named after tycoon Warren Buffett, who complained his secretary paid a higher rate of tax than he does.

Philippines supreme court dismisses suits challenging martial law

The Supreme Court of the Philippines on Monday released its 9-6 decision dismissing seven suits filed against former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo that challenged the constitutionality of the declaration of martial law she made in 2009. The court also determined that the suits were rendered moot because Arroyo lifted Proclamation No. 1959 after eight days, thus preventing Congress from reviewing it. The majority opinion determined that Arroyo followed the applicable constitutional rules when declaring martial law by informing Congress and submitting a report within 48 hours and the issue of whether the proclamation was itself constitutional need not be reached.

Netherlands Supreme Court affirms terror suspect's extradition to US

The Supreme Court of the Netherlands on Tuesday approved the extradition of a Dutch-Pakistani man suspected of preparing terrorist attacks on an American military base in Afghanistan in 2010. The suspect, known under Dutch privacy laws only as Sabir K., claimed that his transfer to the US would be illegal under Article 3 of the ECHR - European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms because American authorities had allegedly tortured him following his arrest in Pakistan last year. The high court, however, flatly rejected K.'s argument and declared that "no direct involvement of US officials had been determined" in K's arrest or alleged subsequent treatment while in Pakistan. Ultimately, the court concluded that there are no legal obstacles to K's extradition, and the decision as to whether he will actually be delivered to the US now lies with the Netherlands Ministry of Security and Justice.

Google fined in Street View probe

Google has been fined $25,000 after US authorities found the internet giant stalled an investigation into its Street View mapping feature. The Federal Communications Commission said Google "deliberately impeded and delayed" the investigation for months. The online search leader did not respond to requests for information and documents, according to the agency. Information gathered by passing Street View cars in more than 30 countries included passwords, emails and other data that was being transmitted wirelessly over unprotected routers, according to the FCC. The FCC said it still had "significant factual questions" about the Street View project that have not yet been answered.

Court to rule on copyright protection for imported goods

The US Supreme Court granted certiorari Monday in Kirtsaeng v. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. to determine whether, under the Copyright Act, a copyrighted work obtained legally outside the US may be sold in the US without the copyright owner's permission. Defendant and Thai national Supap Kirtsaeng resold foreign-manufactured textbooks in the US. The textbooks, published by an Asian subsidiary of US publisher John Wiley & Sons, Inc., were authorized for sale only in Europe, Asia, Africa and the Middle East. The US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit held that the textbooks could not be resold in the US without the copyright owner's permission, because the first-sale doctrine providing that the owner of any particular copy "lawfully made under this title" may resell that good without the authority of the copyright holder, does not apply to imported goods. The court concluded "that the phrase 'lawfully made under this Title in § 109(a) refers specifically and exclusively to copies that are made in territories in which the Copyright Act is law, and not to foreign-manufactured works."

Dewey loses eight more partners as departures accelerate

At least 66 of the 300 partners at Dewey & LeBoeuf have left the firm since the beginning of the year. Dewey missed its financial targets last year and cut its partners' salaries, many of which were guaranteed.

Rich lawyers are getting richer faster

The gap between legal fees charged by the top-billing lawyers and those on the lower rungs is growing wider, according to a new study.

NY police take sex workers' condoms

Advocates for New York sex workers call for legislation that would stop police officers confiscating condoms from prostitutes. The Sex Workers Project says two surveys suggest that police frequently take away condoms from sex workers as evidence in prostitution cases. The campaign group says the tactic has led to some prostitutes carrying fewer or no condoms and having unsafe sex. The Sex Workers Project wants condoms to be inadmissible as evidence. But a New York prosecutor said that not allowing supporting evidence such as condoms could allow pimps and traffickers to walk free.

• Daily Press Review

Syria urged to implement faltering peace plan
Al Jazeera, Doha, Qatar

Gulf bloc united over island dispute with Iran
Asharq Al-Awsat, Pan-Arab daily, London, England

Hundreds of Palestinians declare hunger strike
Egyptian Gazette, English-language, Cairo, Egypt

Ehud Barak condemns IDF officer who beat pro-Palestinian protester
Haaretz, Liberal daily, Tel Aviv, Israel

Ex-Hamas official freed in Damascus
JPost, Conservative, Jerusalem, Israel

Cleric can be deported, says May
BBC News, Centrist newscaster, London, England

UK welcomes Chinese probe of mysterious death
CNN International, London, England

Results show improvement for Yahoo
Daily Express, Conservative tabloid, London, England

'We don't want them defrosting': Officials may need EXPLOSIVES to dislodge cows that wandered into a cabin and then froze solid
Daily Mail, Conservative daily, London, England

Rihanna scribbles 'Thug Life' across her midriff in memory of Tupac at Coachella 2012
Daily Mail, Conservative daily, London, England

Repsol-YPF nationalisation: what can the EU do?
EuroNews, International news, Ecully Cedex, France

SYRIA: The UN's high risk observer mission to Syria
France 24, Issy-les-Moulineaux, France

Kuwaiti finance minister faces questions over deal to pay 'millions' to Tony Blair's company for advising royal family
Independent The, London, England

Last ever Lada 'semyorka' rolls off the conveyor belt
Moscow News The, Independent, Moscow, Russia

Wealthy woman with connections with a foreign head of state wins ban on allegations of her sex life being made public
Telegraph The, Conservative daily, London, England

Gary Barlow to return as an X Factor judge
Telegraph The, Celebrity news, London, England

Seven days road toll 320
Bangkok Post, Independent, Bangkok, Thailand

Gov't to use rates to control price hikes
China Post, English-language daily, Taipei, Taiwan

Staffing Shortfall Feared as Male Doctors Lose Interest in Ob-Gyn
Chosun Ilbo, Conservative daily, Seoul, South Korea

Grass with Gandhi blood sold for 10,000 pounds
Hindustan Times, New Delhi, India

ACP booked for rape, faces arrest
India Times, Conservative daily, New Delhi, India

Abduction issue even more muddled by rocket launch
Japan Times, Independent centrist, Tokyo, Japan

Six-year-old handcuffed after tantrum
New Zealand Herald, Conservative daily, Auckland, New Zealand

UN chief congratulates new World Bank president
People's Daily Online, English-language, Beijing, China

Mother shot dead, newborn taken in Texas
Straits Times, Pro-government, Singapore

Who really has the voice?
Sydney Morning Herald, Centrist daily, Sydney, Australia

Deportivo Quito, Bolivar reach knockout stage
Taiwan News, English-language daily, Taipei, Taiwan

Vedanta says full-year iron ore production drops
The Economic Times, Business, Mumbai, India

Norway gunman Anders Breivik grins at massacre trial
Canadian Broadcasting Centre, Toronto, Ontario

E-mails key to case by Mexican prosecutors in Gadhafi, SNC-Lavalin scandal
Globe and Mail The, Centrist daily, Toronto, Canada

US Economic Outlook 2013 Heading Off 'Fiscal Cliff'
International Business Times, Business news organization, New York, U.S

Mexican Seeds, the New Spoils for Food Corporations
IPS Latin America, International cooperative of journalists, Rome, Italy

Shares buoyed by easing worries over Spanish debt
Reuters, Business News, New York, U.S

U.S. agents, military took up to 21 women to Colombia hotel
Reuters, World News, New York, U.S

Racist views are no longer reserved for the fringes of French political sphere
Toronto Star, Toronto, Ontario

Ex-governor jailed for GBP 50m fraud
BBC News, Centrist newscaster, London, England

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