August 31, 2015 nº 1,665 - Vol. 13

"No man chooses evil because it is evil; he only mistakes it for happiness, the good he seeks"

Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley

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• Top News

EU calls emergency talks on migration

The European Union has called emergency talks on tackling the bloc's escalating migration crisis. The EU presidency said interior ministers from all 28 member states would hold an extraordinary meeting on 14 September, and the crisis had reached "unprecedented proportions". The UN says the continuing conflict in Syria is a major factor behind the rise in numbers. Discussion points will include internal co-operation, fighting the trafficking of migrants, and return policy. Germany, France and the UK have said the EU should establish a list of "safe countries of origin" that would allow immediate repatriation of some migrants. On Saturday Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said much more was required to prevent the deaths of people fleeing to Europe and called for a "collective political response".

Federal court lifts injunction on NSA phone surveillance program

The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on Friday reversed a ruling that blocked the National Security Agency (NSA) from obtaining call detail records from US citizens. Plaintiffs contended that the NSA's collection of such data violated their Fourth Amendment rights against unreasonable search and seizure. The DC Circuit disagreed and reversed the district court's ban on NSA metadata collection, finding that the plaintiffs lacked standing for failure to prove that NSA had actually collected their own telephone data. The case will now return to the lower court for further proceedings.

Judges to weigh California's death penalty

A federal appeals court in Pasadena, Calif., will hear arguments Monday over whether California's death penalty violates the Constitution, the latest flash point in an escalating nationwide debate about states' capital punishment systems. Three judges of the Ninth US Circuit Court of Appeals will consider a ruling by a federal trial judge last year that found the state's death penalty violates the Eighth Amendment's ban on "cruel and unusual" punishment. In June, the US Supreme Court reiterated its long-held position that capital punishment, when administered properly, is constitutional. But the opinion by US District Judge Cormac J. Carney in Santa Ana, Calif., last year found California's system to be "so plagued by inordinate and unpredictable delay" that it violates the Eighth Amendment. The judge, in tossing out the 1995 death sentence of Ernest Dewayne Jones for murder, pointed to several statistics to support his conclusion that the death penalty in California essentially amounts to "life in prison, with the remote possibility of death."

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• Brief News

Meet the private watchdogs policing finance

The use of so-called outside monitors to police financial institutions that have misbehaved has exploded in recent years, as authorities increasingly insist on them as a condition for not pursuing criminal or civil charges against companies. Banks and other companies frequently grumble about excessive prying by monitors, and about the seven or eight-figure bills they run up. But as the Western Union case illustrates, the monitors themselves can be vulnerable if they clash with the companies they are supervising. About a dozen financial institutions, including HSBC Holdings PLC, Credit Suisse Group AG and Standard Chartered PLC, operate under the watchful gazes of such monitors. Their use has shot up over the last five years as more companies are required by government officials to hire outside consultants to check on their work.

Doctors ask full appeals court to reconsider gun speech law

Physician groups are asking a federal appeals court to reconsider a ruling upholding a Florida law restricting what doctors can ask patients about guns. Organizations representing some 11,000 medical providers want the full 11th US Circuit Court of Appeals to rehear arguments about the so-called "Docs vs. Glocks" law. A divided three-judge panel of the court rejected challenges to the law that claimed it violates constitutional free speech rights. The law signed in 2011 by Gov. Rick Scott prohibits doctors from asking patients about gun ownership or recording such information unless it is medically necessary. Doctors and their supporters say asking about guns, particularly if children live in a home, is a safety issue and could save lives. The court has not yet decided whether to rehear the case.

Puerto Rico spends more than $60 million on debt restructuring

The old adage that it takes money to make money assumes a whole new meaning when its comes to Puerto Rico. The commonwealth and its main electric utility have spent more than $60 million in legal and advisory fees over the past two years as the governor and public finance officials seek to restructure the island's $72 billion debt burden. And the billable hours will probably keep adding up. Commonwealth officials plan to unveil a proposal next week expected by analysts to seek a reduction in debt payments that may lead to protracted negotiations with creditors. Unlike Detroit, Puerto Rico localities cannot file for Chapter 9 bankruptcy protection, leaving the island without a clear legal framework to resolve its debt crisis.

UN condemns use of sexual violence as war tactic

The United Nations Security Council on Friday condemned the use of sexual violence as a "tactic of war" in Iraq and Syria. Following a briefing by UN Special Representative for Sexual Violence in Conflict Zainab Bangura, the council emphasized that rape and other forms of "serious sexual violence" are war crimes and violate the Geneva convention. The council went on to urge members of the international community to hold those responsible accountable, and underscored the importance of women's rights, especially in areas of conflict.

Brazil mayor who ran town via WhatsApp wanted for corruption

A mayor in Brazil is on the run after she was accused of siphoning off funds from the school system and running the town remotely through WhatsApp. Lidiane Leite, 25, lived a life of luxury in the capital of Maranhao state, prosecutors said. They say her only contact with her town, Bom Jardim, was through daily WhatsApp messages to her cabinet. An arrest warrant has been issued against her and her boyfriend, who served as her main adviser. Beto Rocha, the boyfriend, was banned from running for mayor in 2012 for alleged corruption. Leite stepped in and was elected. She appointed Rocha as her main adviser and went to live in the state capital, Sao Luis, 275km (170 miles) away.

Egypt row over Facebook Muezzin call

An Egyptian muezzin is facing disciplinary action for altering the words of the call to dawn prayer. The country's ministry of religious affairs is taking legal action against Mahmoud al-Moghazi, the cleric of the Nile Delta town of Kafr al-Dawar. Instead of chanting "praying is better than sleeping", the traditional call, he has been saying "praying is better than spending time on Facebook". Worshippers at the Sayed Ghazi mosque have lodged complaints against him.

VW and Suzuki settle four-year dispute

A court ruling has settled a four-year dispute between VW and Suzuki over their failed partnership. The International Chamber of Commerce ruled that VW should sell its 19.9% stake in Suzuki. Japan's Suzuki first requested the sale of VW's shares in 2011 after a plan to collaborate on new technology failed, but the German firm had refused. The two companies had agreed to work together on fuel efficient cars but Suzuki accused VW of withholding information it had promised to share, while VW objected to a Suzuki deal to buy diesel engines from Fiat. As part of the 2009 agreement, VW bought the Suzuki stake as a way of it gaining access to the Indian market for small cars, where the Japanese firm had a leading position. Suzuki said it planned to buy back the shares from VW at a "reasonable" price, which one analyst told Reuters was likely to be Friday's closing price of 4,151.5 yen ($34.1).

Chile 'torture ship' draws protest

Dozens of people have protested against the "outrageous" docking of a Chilean naval vessel, dubbed the "torture ship", in UK waters. The Esmeralda docked at West India Docks in Canary Wharf as part of an organized visit. Used as an interrogation center during the 1973 military coup, protestors said the ship should not be in UK waters. “Men were tortured, women were raped and people were actually killed. The Navy refused to recognize what they've done and they continue to use this vessel in a diplomatic way and it's an outrage.” The Ministry of Defense said its arrival was routine and symbolic of the UK's relationship with Chile.

Doctors Without Borders to take legal action against Bollywood film

The aid organization also known as Médecins Sans Frontières says that Phantom portrays a worker for a "confusingly similar" group who helps track down a terrorist.

City cannot govern where sex offenders live, Massachusetts high court rules

The Massachusetts Supreme Court on Friday ruled that a city within the state has no right to pass ordinances restricting where sex offenders can live. The ruling invalidates the "Ordinance Pertaining to Sex Offender Residency Restrictions in the City of Lynn" which created a zone where level two and three sex offenders were prohibited from residing. The ruling could have implications for about 40 other Massachusetts communities, as many other areas had ordinances similar to Lynn's. Failure to comply with the ordinance within 30 days of receiving a notice resulted in a $300 per day fine. The ordinance was challenged based on several constitutional grounds. The ruling came as the result of an appeal of a Superior Court ruling filed by the city. The state's Supreme Court upheld the lower court's ruling based on the statute's violation of the Home Rule Amendment and Home Rule Procedure Act of the Massachusetts state constitution. While the state may create laws governing where sex offenders may live within a municipality, the court clarified, cities lack the power to do so.

Valls says France has No Plans to Revoke 35-Hour Working Week

Prime Minister Manuel Valls said he has no plans to revise France's 35-hour work week, a day after Economy Minister Emmanuel Macron said it had been a mistake to believe that cutting work time would lead to prosperity. "There were will be no reconsideration of the working hours and the 35 hours," Valls said. The Socialist government of Prime Minister Lionel Jospin cut the work week to 35 hours 15 years ago. Every government since then has weakened the 35-hour law without actually revoking it. As a result, French full-time employees worked an average of 40.5 hours a week in 2014, just an hour less than the European average.

EU regulators go too far in bank bonus rules scope

New European Union curbs on banker bonuses may go beyond legislators' intentions by dragging in legal, advisory, and support staff at banks, the European Banking Federation said. The European Banking Authority and the European Commission could go beyond the goals of laws designed to rein in executive excess if regulators don't change their approach. The rules, as interpreted in draft guidelines, would tap lower-level employees such as local branch heads, information technology workers and auditors, because of a broad interpretation of the EU law.

Bitcoin technology piques interest on Wall Street

Financial firms are looking at the network and software that make it possible for Bitcoin to move around the world instantly and inexpensively.

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The content of the Migalhas International newsletter is edited for purposes of news reporting, comments and education from several sources, including: The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Boston Globe, The London Times, Le Monde, Frankfurter Allgemeine, The Financial Times, Radio Netherlands Worldwide, Google News, International Herald Tribune, Paper Chase (jurist.law.pitt.edu), The World Press Review: https://www.worldpress.org, Forbes, Fortune, Time, Newsweek, Harvard Business Review, American Bar Association, American Lawyer Media, FindLaw.com, The National Law Journal, Reuters, Associated Press, Internet Business Law Services, Folha de S. Paulo, O Estado do S. Paulo, Lexis Nexis, West Law, CNN, The Globe and Mail, The Los Angeles Times, Wikipedia and more.