January 28, 2015 nº 1,588 - Vol. 13

"People will stare. Make it worth their while."

Harry Winston

____________

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

_____________

Get Migalhas International on your mobile

You can now read the newsletter on your mobile device, through the migalhas.com/mobile website. The content of the main sections is the same as that found on the newsletter, but optimized for small-screen displays on mobile devices. Migalhas International Mobile, advancing legal news.

_____________

• Top News

On-demand workers: 'We are not robots'

Companies that rely on freelance labor describe their workers as micro-entrepreneurs. But lawsuits, protests and forums suggest that many flexible laborers feel less enthusiastic about the new work model. Current and former workers for Uber, Amazon Inc.'s Mechanical Turk and Handybook, better known as Handy, say on-demand work platforms give them little control over the terms of their labor, and complain that the contracts they're required to accept force them to shoulder personal and financial risk without the returns or advantages they'd hoped for. At issue for many is whether the contractors should be considered employees—a debate that has surfaced in recent court decisions as more large employers rely on contract work.

S.E.C. faces challenges over the constitutionality of some of its court proceedings

Defense lawyers say the Securities and Exchange Commission's push to bring more cases before its administrative law judges rather than in federal district courts is not just unfair but also unconstitutional. A recent push by the agency to bring more cases before its administrative law judges rather than filing charges in federal district court is drawing increased attacks from defense lawyers claiming that the entire process is not just unfair, but also unconstitutional. Those criticisms could call into question the legality of the process used by a number of federal agencies that have in-house judges who decide whether laws were violated.

Visit our new 'Magic Eye' page and boost your career

Migalhas International, with the support of executive search firms, brings the best career and professional development opportunities to its readers. We call this service the "Magic Eye". Click here to go to our special webpage and find your next lease on life.

• Crumbs

1 - Nutella not a girl's name, French court rules -click here.

2 - Google Fined Over Abortion Ads as Putin Pushes Values - click here.

3 - C.I.A. Officer Is Found Guilty in Leak Tied to Times Reporter - click here

4 - Ten go on trial in France for 'exploiting' frail L'Oreal heiress -click here.

_____________

China accuses Alibaba of failing to curb fakes, bribes

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. has a "credibility crisis" fueled by its failure to crack down on shady merchants, counterfeit goods, bribery and misleading promotions in online malls, the Chinese government said.

China sweetens visa policy to draw talent

China's expanding its programs to attract foreign talent as it focuses on innovation for future growth in its economy.

_____________

Auschwitz 70th anniversary

Auschwitz survivors have urged the world not to allow a repeat of the crimes of the Holocaust as they mark 70 years since the camp's liberation. "We survivors do not want our past to be our children's future," Roman Kent, born in 1929, told a memorial gathering at the death camp's site in Poland. Some 1.1 million people, mostly Jews, were killed there between 1940 and 1945, when Soviet troops liberated it.

Washington lawmakers propose bills to abolish death penalty

The Washington state legislature proposed bills on Monday to eliminate the death penalty. HB 1739 and SB 5639 are sponsored by Democratic Representative Reuven Carlyle and Republican Senator Mark Miloscia, respectively, and the bills will replace the death penalty with life imprisonment without opportunity for parole or early release for those convicted of aggravated first degree murder. This legislation would also require the convicted felons to work throughout their prison sentence to pay restitution to their victims' families. Last year Washington Governor Jay Inslee announced a moratorium on executions in the state, and these proposed laws seek to further this goal. Currently nine men are on death row in Washington. This legislation would make Washington the nineteenth state to eliminate the death penalty.

EU weighs more sanctions on Russia

EU leaders ask their foreign ministers to consider imposing further sanctions on Russia in response to the continued fighting in Ukraine.

US strengths buoy consumers but hurt corporations with business abroad

A growing number of big American multinational companies have begun to suffer from lower oil prices and a strong dollar.

Russia's credit rating is cut to junk by S&P

Russia's credit rating has been cut to junk – or below investment grade – by US ratings agency Standard and Poor's for the first time in a decade. S&P gave Russia a rating of BB+, which puts it at the same level as Indonesia and Bulgaria. This makes it harder for Russia to borrow money from investors. "We… see a heightened risk that external and fiscal buffers will deteriorate due to rising external pressures and increased government support to the economy," S&P said. Russia's economy has been in free fall since the middle of last year, when plummeting oil prices cut the income for its oil industry and the unrest in Ukraine led to international sanctions.

Child abuse and neglect laws aren't being enforced

Laws intended to protect children from abuse and neglect are not being properly enforced, and the federal government is to blame. That's according to a study by the Children's Advocacy Institute at the University of San Diego School of Law, which says children are suffering as a result. The numbers are grim. Almost 680,000 children in the United States were the victims of abuse and neglect in 2013. More than 1,500 of them died. Federal officials say they're encouraged that the numbers are lower than they were in 2012. But children's advocates say abuse is so often not reported that it's impossible to know if there's really been a decline.

Petrobras readies results to avert debt breach

Petroleo Brasileiro SA is set to release its long-delayed earnings report this week and investors want to know one thing: How much has Brazil's biggest-ever corruption scandal cost so far? Petrobras, the state-run oil producer embroiled in an alleged kickback scheme involving $23 billion of contracts, plans to post unaudited third-quarter results following a board meeting today. The company, which has posted negative free cash flow in every quarter since 2010, has twice delayed the release as it tries to calculate how big of a writedown it needs to account for losses from corruption.

Supreme Court rejects BP executive's appeal

The US Supreme Court on Monday denied certiorari in an appeal by David Rainey, a former British Petroleum (BP) executive. Rainey sought to contest the charge of obstruction of justice that arose when he misled Congress about the extent of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The charges against Rainey were dismissed by the district court but reinstated in June when the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in New Orleans declared that the obstruction statute used against Rainey was misinterpreted.

Mexico authorities make arrest in connection to alleged massacre of students

Mexican authorities have arrested a hit man for the Guerreros Unidos gang in connection with disappearance and alleged massacre of 43 students from a teacher-training college in Ayotzinapa, in the state of Guerrero. The Mexican government believes the students were killed by the Guerreros Unidos gang after being handed over to the group by local police in the city of Iguala.

Number of exonerations last year reached new high

The National Registry of Exonerations says 125 people were exonerated in 2014 after being falsely convicted of crimes. The number surpasses the previous record of 91 set in 2013. The report noted that almost all exonerations for drug crimes across the US last year were for convictions based on guilty pleas.

Turkish court orders Facebook to censor pages insulting Prophet Muhammed

A Turkish court on Sunday ordered a ban on Facebook pages that contain materials insulting the Prophet Muhammed. The Golbasi Duty Magistrate Court ruled that Facebook would be blocked in Turkey if the order is not implemented. The Anadolu Agency, Turkey's official press agency, reported that the court order was forwarded to the Presidency of Telecommunication and Communication and to the Access Provider Association. Earlier this month, another Turkish court blocked web pages showing the cover of French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo that features a cartoon of the Prophet Muhammad.

Peru's Congress repeals law aimed at changing labor code for youths

Peru's Congress on Monday repealed a hotly contested law aimed at changing the labor code for youths. Labor unions and student groups allied with opposition politicians to overturn the law aimed at boosting hiring by suspending some social benefits for workers. Students say the law treated youths as second-class citizens. Government officials say the goal was to increase formal employment.

For foreign law firms in China, it's survival of the fittest

The gamble of doing business in China came into sharp relief this past week when one US law firm parted ways with China while another global firm took its relationship with the country to a whole new level. New York law firm Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP announced that it's shutting down its offices in Shanghai and Hong Kong in coming months. Meanwhile, global law firm Dentons unveiled plans to merge with mainland China's largest law firm, Dacheng. The moves underscore the pressure on law firms to succeed in China, where 170 other international firms with offices there compete not only with each other but with thousands of Chinese firms.