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• MiMIC Journal

China groups stole US trade secrets

The US has charged six Chinese nationals over the alleged theft of technology used in mobile phones. The six, including three university professors, are accused of using the technology to benefit universities and companies controlled by Beijing. One of the group, Tianjin University professor Hao Zhang, has been arrested but the rest are believed to be in China. Alleged Chinese economic espionage has long been a concern in Washington.

Chinese man 'with 17 girlfriends' arrested

A Chinese man who was caught cheating on 17 girlfriends at once has been arrested for fraud. The man from Hunan province made headlines last month when all 17 women discovered each other when they rushed to his hospital bedside. The allegation of fraud relates to sums of money which he regularly took from the deceived women. The women set up an online chat group called "revenge alliance".

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• Historia Verdadera

Chevron

La Fiscalía brasileña emitió una recomendación para que la demanda interpuesta por Ecuador contra la multinacional petrolera Chevron no sea reconocida para su ejecución bajo las leyes brasileñas e internacionales. (Presione aquí)

HSBC

La filial del banco español Santander en Brasil analiza las condiciones de compra de la filial HSBC Holdings en el país, está a la espera de la apertura del denominado "data-room" o datos preliminares antes de tomar una decisión, confirmó el presidente ejecutivo de la unidad de Santander, Jesús Zabalza. HSBC podría decantarse por un pujador preferente durante el mes de junio. Está previsto que la venta de la división brasileña de HSBC esté finalizada en agosto.

China - Petrobras

China y Brasil firmaron este martes en Brasilia dos acuerdos de cooperación y financiamiento de proyectos para la atribulada petrolera estatal Petrobras por un total de US$ 7,000 mlls. Los convenios fueron anunciados en una ceremonia en la sede del gobierno después de una reunión entre el primer ministro chino, Li Keqiang, y la presidenta brasileña, Dilma Rousseff.

Minera

La compañía belga Nyrstar, la mayor productora mundial de zinc, vendió una opción de compra de su mina ociosa ubicada en la localidad peruana de Coricancha a la firma canadiense Great Panther Silver Limited. La operación fue cerrada por US$ 1.5 mlls.

Vale

El gigante minero brasileño Vale acordó el martes vender cuatro grandes cargueros de mineral de hierro. Dos a la China Merchants Energy Shipping Co - CMES -, e informo que detalles del contrato aún no se han finalizado. Sin embargo en otro comunicado dijo que completó la venta de otros cuatro grandes cargueros a China Ocean Shipping Company (Cosco), que fue acordada en septiembre pasado. La empresa afirmó que espera recibir en junio US$ 445 mlls. partir de la venta.

• Brief News

Supreme Court: Felons may sell or transfer firearms

The US Supreme Court ruled Monday in Henderson v. United States that individuals convicted of felonies may transfer firearms to independent third parties or have them sold. The court reversed the decision of the US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, which ruled that through constructive possession, a felon might still exert control over those firearms. In its ruling, the court rejected the government's main premise based on the theory of "unclean hands," which proscribes equitable relief when an individual's misconduct has "immediate and necessary relation to the equity that he seeks," and concluded that the prohibition on firearm possession did not extend to firearm transfers. The court did not do away with the doctrine completely, however, as the reviewing court is permitted to "seek certain assurances" that may still "fail to provide adequate safeguard, a court should then disapprove of the transfer." In ruling, the court ultimately held that transfer of firearms in accordance with Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 41(g) does not violate 18 USC § 922(g)(1), which makes it unlawful for convicted felons to possess firearms.

Drop in patent lawsuits

Patent lawsuits and damage awards in the US fell in 2014, snapping five years of increases, according to a study that may embolden opponents of litigation rules being considered by Congress. The number of suits dropped 13 percent to 5,700 in the fiscal year ended in September. Median damage awards from judges and juries fell to $2 million, the second-lowest amount in 20 years. The findings signal a reversal of the rising number of lawsuits in the past decade, which led companies such as Google Inc. and Cisco Systems Inc. to lobby Congress for curbs on patent-licensing firms. Often derided as "trolls," the companies profit by obtaining patents cheaply and turning them into big payouts with lawsuits or royalty demands. Even after passing a 2011 law overhauling the patent system, lawmakers are weighing more lawsuit curbs, such as making the loser pay the winner's court costs.

Iraq calls for volunteers for IS fight

Iraq's government has called for volunteers to fight against Islamic State and help retake the city of Ramadi. A cabinet statement said a voluntary recruitment drive was necessary to fill shortages in squads in the west of Anbar province. Thousands have fled Ramadi since its capture by IS on Sunday. Meanwhile, the US National Security Council said it was considering "how best to support local ground forces".

France answers hostile bids with the two-vote share

For besieged public corporations in the United States, giving favored shareholders two votes instead of one sounds like an answer. France certainly thinks so. France once barred its companies from using anti-takeover defenses, known in Europe as "frustrating actions," to stop hostile bidders. But last year, with the takeover market heating up and European countries worried about losing jobs, France reversed course. The French Parliament passed a law, known as the Florange Law, to give companies the ability to fend off hostile bids. The title of the law says it all. Florange is the French town where ArcelorMittal tried to close down two blast furnaces after a successful hostile takeover. ArcelorMittal backed down after France threatened to nationalize the plant. The centerpiece of the Florange Law is a mandate that French companies give two votes to any share held for longer than two years. This goes against the historical one-vote-for-every-share system that most countries have. The law allows an opt-out if two-thirds of shareholders approve one by March 31, 2016.

Ninth Circuit reverses decision requiring Google to remove Islam video from YouTube

Sitting en banc, the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit overturned a three-judge panel decision against Google that had required it to remove the controversial, anti-Islam Innocence of Muslims video from its YouTube site. The court dissolved the takedown injunction, holding that the injunction infringed upon the First Amendment and was an incorrect remedy as a matter of law.

Cuba establishes banking ties in the US

Cuban diplomats will now have access to banking services in the US, clearing a major hurdle to restore diplomatic ties between the two counties. The US State Department declined to the name the bank, but a senior official expressed optimism ahead of Thursday's talks between the US and Cuba. This week's talks in Washington could be the last round of negotiations before embassies are re-opened. The US will remove Cuba from its list of sponsors of terrorism on 29 May.

Ukraine in 'real war' with Russia

Ukraine's president said his country is now in a "real war" with Russia - and that Ukrainians should prepare for a Russian offensive. Petro Poroshenko said he did not trust his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin. However he has no option but to negotiate with Putin and have faith in diplomacy. When asked whether he feared a summer offensive by Russia, Poroshenko said: "I not fear anything (sic). I believe they are preparing an offensive and I think we should be ready and I think that we do not give them any tiny chance for provocation. That will totally be their responsibility."

Orban's death-penalty remarks criticized in EU parliament

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban faced criticism in the European Parliament for saying Hungary should consider introducing the death penalty. Politicians across the European Union, which bars capital punishment, have lashed out at Orban for reacting in late April to the murder of a tobacco-shop saleswoman in Hungary by saying the country should "keep the death penalty on the agenda." Frans Timmermans, principal vice president of the European Commission, the EU's executive arm, threatened to pursue "far-reaching" sanctions against Hungary under the bloc's treaty should the country move to introduce capital punishment.

Pressure to act unethically looms over Wall Street, survey finds

About half of the financial professionals surveyed say their competitors have behaved unethically or illegally to gain an advantage. And many say compensation and bonuses can create bad incentives.

Row over reduced sentence for Argentina paedophile

Two Argentine judges are facing calls for their impeachment after reducing the sentence of a paedophile on the grounds that his six-year-old victim had been abused before. The ruling was made last year but only came to light this week. Mario Tolosa, a sports club official, was originally given a six-year sentence, but the judges halved it. Among the arguments they used to justify this was a claim that the boy showed signs of transvestite conduct. The Interior Minister, Florencio Randazzo, said the ruling was "an embarrassment".

LA city council votes to raise minimum wage to $15 by 2020

The increase — from $9 per hour — could cover as many as 800,000 people. LA is the biggest U.S city to raise its minimum wage to $15.

Google wins court bid to avoid 'Swiss cheese' copyright law

Google Inc., joined by broadcasters and free speech advocates, beat back an actress' bid to block her appearance in a controversial online video and avoided a ruling it warned would make "Swiss cheese" of copyright law. Cindy Lee Garcia was "bamboozled" into appearing in an anti-Muslim film which stoked violent protests when it was made public in 2012, a federal appeals court ruled. Nevertheless, the court declined to block the video while her lawsuit proceeds. Garcia said she should be granted an injunction because of her independent copyright interest in her performance in "Innocence of Muslims." Google warned that such a ruling would upend the entertainment industry. The court agreed. "Garcia's theory can be likened to 'copyright cherry-picking,' which would enable any contributor from a costume designer down to an extra or best boy to claim copyright in random bits and pieces of a unitary motion picture," US Circuit Judge M. Margaret McKeown wrote for the majority. The decision by the San Francisco-based court reversed an earlier decision in Garcia's favor. That ruling triggered an outcry by Internet companies including Netflix Inc. and Twitter Inc., who joined in Google's case.

UBS to pay fines for currency manipulation and to plead guilty on Libor

UBS said it had settled a probe over manipulated currency markets and that its settlement includes pleading guilty to allegations it rigged Libor.

Bank settlements can die fast

US authorities sent out a strong message earlier this month, when it tore up its non-prosecution agreement with UBS AG: settlements don't always settle things.

Big law firms winning more of intellectual property work

As disputes over patents, copyrights, trademarks and trade secrets have grown, the nation's biggest law firms have wrested away much of the lucrative intellectual property litigation work from smaller boutique firms. Last year, the 50 largest firms had 61 percent of the specialized litigation work, up from the 36 percent in 2011. The share of intellectual property business at smaller firms dropped, with legal work at firms employing 201 to 500 lawyers falling to a 13 percent market share last year, from 35 percent four years ago.

• Daily Press Review

Hundreds of refugees rescued off Indonesian coast
Al Jazeera, Doha, Qatar

Canada arrests 10 youths for wanting to join ISIS
Haaretz, Liberal daily, Tel Aviv, Israel

Business should speak up for EU - CBI
BBC News, Centrist newscaster, London, England

Official: Cancer charities kept 97 cents of each dollar
CNN International, London, England

Kendall Jenner looks stylish in cream coat for Cannes Film Festival†
Daily Mail, Conservative daily, London, England

Randy Quaid released from Canadian immigration jail after conspiracy claims
Daily Mail, Conservative daily, London, England

Army brought in to break bread strike in Bolivia
EuroNews, International news, Ecully Cedex, France

Cannes review: 'Mediterranea' brings plight of African migrants to big screen
France 24, Issy-les-Moulineaux, France

Four detained in song contestant's shooting
Hurriyet Daily News, (Liberal, English-language), Istanbul, Turkey

Norwegian cruise ship freed after running aground in Bermuda
Independent The, London, England

Kim Jong-un in pictures: The bizarre photoshoots of North Korea's leader
Telegraph The, Conservative daily, London, England

The rise of the 'glamavan'
Telegraph The, Celebrity news, London, England

Japan economy picks up pace in wobbly recovery
China Post, English-language daily, Taipei, Taiwan

Diplomatic Ineptitude Makes THAAD Dilemma Worse
Chosun Ilbo, Conservative daily, Seoul, South Korea

Myanmar says ready to provide humanitarian help to boat migrants
Hindustan Times, New Delhi, India

Missing jeweler found dead
India Times, Conservative daily, New Delhi, India

Fukui court rejects Kansai Electric appeal of reactor ruling
Japan Times, Independent centrist, Tokyo, Japan

Asia stocks mostly rise as dollar gains after robust US data
New Zealand Herald, Conservative daily, Auckland, New Zealand

Ukraine President cancels trip over protests in eastern Ukraine
Straits Times, Pro-government, Singapore

Beat the post holiday blues
Sydney Morning Herald, Centrist daily, Sydney, Australia

China's BoCom buys 80 per cent of Brazil's BBM in $173 mn deal
The Economic Times, Business, Mumbai, India

79K litres of oil spill from ruptured pipeline on California coast
Canadian Broadcasting Centre, Toronto, Ontario

Indonesia, Malaysia agree to give temporary shelter to migrants still stranded at sea
Globe and Mail The, Centrist daily, Toronto, Canada

Liberty Reserve Brought Down By 'Joe Bogus': How The Feds Arrested Arthur Budovsky
International Business Times, Business news organization, New York, U.S

Poor Land Use Worsens Climate Change in St. Vincent
IPS Latin America, International cooperative of journalists, Rome, Italy

Asia shares slip, but upbeat Japan GDP lifts Nikkei to 15-year high
Reuters, Business News, New York, U.S

South Korea reports first case of MERS virus; patient stable
Reuters, World News, New York, U.S

Students worry teacher strikes putting year in jeopardy
Toronto Star, Toronto, Ontario

'Huge drugs haul' in Sahara desert
BBC News, Centrist newscaster, London, England

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