UN rights expert calls on European leaders to bank on mobility of migrants

UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants François Crépeau said Thursday that the EU must bank on the mobility of migrants in order to secure its borders. The EU, he said, must accept that migrants will continue to enter the EU by any means possible, and therefore must offer incentives for migrants to use official channels of entrance. According to Crépeau, sealing the borders, as nationalist populist groups call for, is not sustainable and will further migrant suffering. Excessive border security policies have reportedly created more porous borders, as migrants seek other avenues beside official channels to enter the EU. Push factors, such as war, poverty, natural disasters, persecution and oppression, and pull factors, including Europe's unrecognized labor needs, are unlikely to change in the foreseeable future. Without proper channels of entry, Crépeau says migrants entering by unlawful means are further pushed underground, creating conditions of alienation, discrimination and marginalization. Crépeau claims this is counterproductive, empowering smuggling rings and disenfranchising migrants. The UN estimates that more than 150,000 migrants and asylum seekers entered Europe in 2014 by sea, compared to 80,000 in 2013, as conditions worsened in places like Syria. Migration policies he says, must change in the EU to become more inclusive, instead of exclusive.

Pfizer deal and other mergers show a case of the Mondays, on a Thursday

Wall Street has a late-in-the-week case of the Mondays. The calendar says Thursday, but the bounty of deals announced today might make an investment banker think of Monday, the day when mega-mergers are usually unveiled. A day like today, when the value of deals outpaced the average "merger Monday," might be called "transaction Thursday." A pair of big deals helped the day stand out. Pfizer announced a $17 billion deal to acquire Hospira, a maker of injectable drugs, and Rexam, the British aluminum can maker, said it was in talks to be acquired by Ball Corporation for about $8.4 billion

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Propiedad Intelectual

Los gobiernos de Hong Kong y de México firmaron en la ciudad asiática un acuerdo de cooperación en el ámbito de la propiedad intelectual para potenciar el intercambio de información entre ambas partes.

Importaciones

La petrolera estatal venezolana PDVSA suspendió las compras de crudo ligero argelino que había iniciado hace pocos meses para mezclar con su petróleo extrapesado debido a problemas técnicos y desacuerdos con el vendedor.

Pepsico

Las multinacional Pepsico cedió a Orangina Schweppes los derechos exclusivos para comercializar sus bebidas en el canal de hostelería español, con la excepción de Canarias y Baleares, donde se mantendrán redes distintas. La alianza no afecta a la venta de refrescos en las grandes superficies y en el resto del canal de alimentación.

• Brief News

Mississippi House approves bill banning use of foreign law

The Mississippi Legislature voted 116-1 to pass House Bill 177 on Monday, which would ban use of foreign law. It also voted 78-37 for House Bill 490, which would ban Mississippi governments from adopting sustainable development principles as in Agenda 21, a non-binding 1992 United Nations declaration. At least five other states have passed laws against Agenda 21. Opponents to the non-binding declaration argue that it may inhibit property rights or other freedoms. House Bill 177 aims to protect constitutional rights including "due process, freedom of religion, speech, or press, and any right of privacy or marriage." Although not specifically identified in the bill, critics claim it targets Sharia. Both measures reflect Republican concerns about improper foreign and international influence on American affairs.

Law professor opposes Grand Central tower plan

In the long-running battle over a proposed 65-story office tower next to Grand Central Terminal, a little-known real estate investor has lobbied New York City officials, supported community opposition and offered to buy the project site from the developer.

Grand jury 'chokehold' records sought

A New York judge is hearing arguments over whether to disclose records of the secret grand jury proceedings in the case of a man killed by police. The panel declined to bring charges against Officer Daniel Pantaleo for putting Eric Garner in a chokehold that led to his death. The prosecutor opposes the move, saying it will hamper witness co-operation.

Assange policing costs UK £10m

Scotland Yard has spent about £10m providing a 24-hour guard at the Ecuadorean embassy in London since Wikileaks founder Julian Assange claimed asylum there. A Wikileaks spokesman said the policing costs were "embarrassing".

Petrobras corruption probe widens

Police in Brazil have questioned the treasurer of the governing Workers' Party in connection with a scandal involving state oil giant Petrobras. Joao Vaccari Neto has not been charged but was taken to a police station in Sao Paolo to make a statement. Investigators allege that companies paid inflated prices for Petrobras contracts and that money was funneled to the Workers' Party and its allies. A statement from the Worker's party called the accusations "lies". The state-run oil giant was embarking on a $220 billion investment plan to develop the largest offshore crude discovery in the Western hemisphere since 1976 and was, in the words of then-President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, the face of "the new Brazil." Today the company epitomizes everything that is wrong with a Brazilian economy that has been sputtering for the better part of four years: It's mired in a corruption scandal that cost the CEO her job this week; it has failed to meet growth targets year after year; and it's saddling investors with spectacular losses.

FCC proposal would regulate internet like a public utility

The chairman of the Federal Communications Commission announced a proposal to regulate the Internet as a public utility. Supporters of the move say it's the best way to guarantee so-called net neutrality. Opponents believe meddlesome regulators will impose intrusive new rules on Internet service. broadband providers like Comcast and AT&T want to be able to make deals with companies like Google-YouTube where those companies would pay providers extra to get to consumers faster than their competitors - say, Vimeo. he FCC's been trying to prevent broadband companies from doing this and from slowing traffic from their competitors. But the commission's efforts have been blocked in court. That's why the FCC has turned to an equally dull term, Title II. Google has been quiet on the debate over "net neutrality," reflecting its growing portfolio of businesses, including one that offers broadband service.

End 'gross indignity', says Greece

Greece's new finance minister urges Germany to help end the "gross indignity" of the Greek debt crisis after talks with his German counterpart. Yanis Varoufakis said "too much time, hopes, lives" had been wasted by Greece's forced austerity program. Varoufakis has been seeking support for Greece's plan to renegotiate its massive international bailout. Meanwhile, the European Central Bank (ECB) has toughened its stance with Greece by restricting financing to the country's banks, sending shares falling.

Harvard bans sexual relationships between professors and students

Harvard University introduces a total ban on relationships between professors and students in bid to stop sexual harassment. Staff said they introduced the ban after considering how "power dynamics can contribute to sexual harassment". Harvard's previous ban on staff-students affairs only applied if couples were in the same class. A committee which drafted the guidelines concluded the university needed to strengthen its language on "relationships of unequal status".

RadioShack files for bankruptcy after long decline

US electronics retailer RadioShack has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in a widely-expected move. It has lost more than 90% of its value over the past years, as it struggled to attract customers to its often outdated stores. In the Delaware court filing, RadioShack said it had $1.2bn in assets and $1.38bn in debt. RadioShack, which first opened in 1921 as a mail-order retailer, currently operates 4,485 stores across the US.

Staples buys Office Depot to fight internet competition

US office supply store Staples has announced it will buy rival Office Depot for $6.3bn (£4bn) in an effort to fend off competition from internet retailers such as Amazon. However, the deal will come under the scrutiny of regulators. Nearly 18 years ago, the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) rejected a merger between the two firms, citing antitrust concerns. But the market for office supplies has changed significantly since then.

Bipartisan senate plan calls for end to Cuba travel ban

US Senators speak proposed their legislation that would end Cuba travel restrictions for US citizens and legal residents of Cuba.

Eleventh Circuit suspends same-sex marriage appeals

The US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit on Wednesday put all pending same-sex marriage appeals on hold until the US Supreme Court rules on the issue. The court issued similar orders on pending appeals from Alabama and Florida. The Eleventh Circuit has refused to delay same-sex marriages in both states.