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London law firm says Brexit can’t happen without Parliament vote
Mishcon de Reya, one of London’s biggest law firms, said it’s representing a group of unidentified clients threatening to take legal action against the British government if it tries to initiate the process of leaving the European Union without consulting parliament. The formal start to Brexit talks is likely to be the triggering of Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty. Mishcon de Reya said in a statement that this process can only be started with parliament’s consent. The UK government’s position is that it’s a decision for whoever is prime minister after David Cameron tendered his resignation. “The result of the referendum is not in doubt, but we need a process that follows UK law to enact it,” Kasra Nouroozi, a partner at the firm, said. “Everyone in Britain needs the government to apply the correct constitutional process and allow parliament to fulfill its democratic duty, which is to take into account the results of the referendum along with other factors and make the ultimate decision." The law firm said it has been in touch with government lawyers since June 27 to “seek assurances that the government will uphold the UK constitution and protect the sovereignty of parliament in invoking Article 50.” (Click here)
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China fits final piece on world's largest radio telescope
China has fitted the final piece on what will be the world's largest radio telescope, due to begin operations in September, state media report. The 500m-wide Aperture Spherical Telescope, or FAST, is the size of 30 football fields. The $180m satellite project will be used to explore space and help look for extraterrestrial life, Xinhua news agency reported. Advancing China's space program remains a key priority for Beijing.
China to hold military drills in South China Sea
China will hold military drills in the disputed South China Sea, ahead of a ruling by an international court on a challenge to its maritime claims. They will be held in waters around the Paracel Islands, said a statement by the maritime safety administration. China regularly holds such exercises even though Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan have overlapping claims in the seas. But tensions are running high ahead of the ruling expected next week.
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Brexit: Legal steps seek to ensure Commons vote on Article 50
A law firm is taking action to ensure the formal process for the UK leaving the EU is not started without an act of Parliament. Mishcon de Reya, lawyers acting for a group of business people and academics, said it would be unlawful for a prime minister to trigger Article 50 without a full debate and vote in Parliament. It comes after the UK voted to leave the EU in the 23 June referendum. The government said Parliament had "a role" to find "the best way forward". Following the referendum, David Cameron announced he would stand down as prime minister by October and would leave his replacement to trigger Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty. Once the legal process is triggered there is a two-year time limit to negotiate an exit deal from the EU.
London stock exchange shareholders to vote on German deal
Shareholders in the London Stock Exchange are due to vote on a planned merger with its German counterpart Deutsche Boerse. The two agreed a $27bn deal earlier this year but the Brexit vote has raised questions about how it should be implemented. Both companies have said the outcome does not affect the logic of the deal. However Germany's regulator, Bafin, said the headquarters could not be in London, as had been planned.
UN human rights council votes to appoint expert on LGBT rights
The UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) voted on Thursday in favor of appointing an independent expert to report on and investigate worldwide violence and discrimination against the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community. The appointment passed by a vote of 23 to 18 with 6 abstentions. Supporters of the initiative referenced the recent violence against LGBT individuals in Orlando, Florida, and stressed that the UN must give a voice to those discriminated for their sexual orientation and gender identity. Opponents such as Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Nigeria, argued that such an initiative was religiously or culturally motivated and does not properly reflect the views of the entire UNHRC. British Ambassador Julian Braithwaite responded to opponentsby stating that a vote against the initiative was a vote for discrimination and violence.
America’s offshore tax cheats are feeling the heat once again
US taxpayers who entered into an IRS program that made it easier to disclose their hidden offshore bank accounts may have thought they put their legal troubles behind them. Instead, prosecutors may try to put some of them in jail for not telling all. Since 2012, 30,000 Americans avoided stiff tax penalties by declaring they had innocent reasons for failing to disclose offshore holdings. But under the program they received no guarantees that they wouldn’t be prosecuted in the future. And now the Justice Department and the Internal Revenue Service are combing through thousands of secret records obtained from 80 Swiss banks to determine whether the taxpayers were truthful. We’re “taking all of that data and scrubbing it for leads,” Nanette Davis, a trial attorney in the Justice Department’s tax division, said. The effort has been fruitful already. With some taxpayers, “we say ‘we could indict this case tomorrow,”’ said Davis, who is overseeing the review. The US government got a trove of data from Swiss banks under settlements in which they disclosed how they helped Americans evade taxes. The banks handed over account information, as permitted by Swiss secrecy law, and recordings of phone calls with US clients. In exchange for the cooperation, the US agreed not to prosecute those banks, which paid penalties totaling $1.37 billion. The risk of being scrutinized falls on those taxpayers who came forward under the government’s so-called streamlined program. Those living in the US paid penalties of 5 percent of their undisclosed offshore assets, while overseas residents paid none. Another 54,000 Americans took a more arduous route in voluntarily disclosing their offshore accounts to the IRS since 2009, including their dealings with bankers and advisers. They were hit with penalties of as much as 27.5 percent of their assets, in addition to the total of $8 billion in back taxes and other penalties. But the government agreed to never prosecute these taxpayers over the disclosures.
BHP fights Brazil claim over iron mine collapse
Mining giant BHP Billiton says it will fight the suspension by the Brazilian Supreme Court of a settlement for damages caused by a dam burst at an iron ore mine. The flood down the Rio Doce in November sent a wave of wastewater into the river valley and flattened two towns. BHP and the Brazilian company Vale which owns the mine agreed to pay around $2bn. Prosecutors said the settlement favored the mining companies. The Supreme Court ruling questioned the "absence of adequate debate" about the settlement and said that local municipalities affected by the disaster had not been included. Members of the government of the Minas Gerais state, where the dam burst occurred, had also not been involved, said the ruling.
Hillary Clinton questioned by FBI on emails
US presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has been questioned by the FBI over her use of emails while she was secretary of state, her campaign says. A spokesperson said it was a voluntary interview. The FBI is investigating Clinton and her aides over whether they mishandled classified information on a private email server she used while serving as secretary of state. Clinton denies handling classified information in her private emails. She said she set up the email address for reasons of convenience, because it was easier to do everything from her Blackberry than to have several phones or tablets. However, a state department inquiry accused her and other former US secretaries of state of poorly managing email security. The justice department is now seeking to establish whether this constitutes a criminal offence.
California governor signs gun control laws
California Governor Jerry Brown on Friday signed 20 bills into law, six of which were bills altering the gun laws in the state. Brown stated that he signed the bills "to enhance public safety by tightening our existing laws in a responsible and focused manner, while protecting the rights of law-abiding gun owners." The bills have various effects, such as expanding the definition of "assault weapon", specifying relationships qualified for lending weapons, making it a misdemeanor to make a false report about a lost or stolen firearm, creating regulations regarding who can purchase ammunition, and prohibiting possession of a large-capacity magazine capable of holding more than ten rounds. The laws come after months of debate within the state following the San Bernardino shootings.
Canada Supreme Court overturns drug charges due to trial delay
The Supreme Court of Canada on Thursday overturned a man's drug possession and trafficking conviction because he had been made to wait too long for his trial. The man, Shane Vassal, had waited three years before his three day trial was held, leading the court to the conclusion that he was denied the right to be tried within a reasonable time in violation of s.11 of the Canadian Chart of Rights and Freedom. Justice Michael Moldaver, writing for the court, stated that, in considering a legal case, "courts must be careful not to miss the forest for the trees," and that "[l]ooking at this forest - that is, the overal delay in a case of moderate complexity - satisfied that the delay was unreasonable."
Cinemark wants losing Aurora massacre plaintiffs to pay legal costs
A court is deciding whether the Aurora theater massacre plaintiffs who lost their wrongful death suit against Cinemark should have to pay the company's legal costs.
Federal judge rules Mississippi religious objections law unconstitutional
A federal judge on Thursday ruled that a Mississippi law allowing for religious objections to the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community is unconstitutional. HB 1523, set to go into effect Friday, sought to protect three religious beliefs: "(a) Marriage is or should be recognized as the union of one man and one woman; (b) Sexual relations are properly reserved to such a marriage; and (c) Male (man) or female (woman) refer to an individual's immutable biological sex as objectively determined by anatomy and genetics at time of birth." The bill would have allowed court clerks, businesses, and private persons to invoke religious exceptions in defense of discriminatory treatment. Judge Carlton Reeves of the US District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi granted the plaintiffs' requst for preliminary injunction and declared the bill unconstitutional based on the Establishment Clause, religious freedom, and equal protection.
Visa files counterclaim to Wal-Mart in PIN debit card lawsuit
Visa Inc. fired back at Wal-Mart Stores Inc. in a legal dispute over letting customers authorize a debit-card transaction with a signature, saying that the retailer secretly configured its payment terminals so only personal identification numbers could be used.
Time
240 reasons to celebrate America. The Bright Side in America Today
Newsweek
Boris Johnson: 'Project Fear' Has Warped Reality Of Brexit Positives
Business Week
Under Armour’s Quest to Dethrone Nike and Jump-Start Baltimore
The Economist
Anarchy in the UK
Der Spiegel
Jeder fuer sich (Klein Europa)
L'Espresso
La fine delle elite
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