February 1, 2017 nº 1,833 - Vol. 14
"Growth, in some curious way, I suspect, depends on being always in motion just a little bit, one way or another."
Norman Mailer
Read Migalhas LatinoAmérica in Spanish every Tuesday and Thursday. Visit the website at www.migalhas.com/latinoamerica
_____________
Legal challenges to travel ban face uphill battle
Trump's immigration and refugee order faces a series of lawsuits seeking to challenge the policy's constitutionality and legality. Constitutional challenges to federal immigration policies mostly have foundered over the years, with courts granting wide latitude to the executive and legislative branches. The recent flurry of lawsuits, if unsuccessful, could ultimately shore up the government's authority to regulate immigration. At least nine lawsuits have been filed challenging the travel and refugee ban since it went into effect late last week. The lawsuits argue, among other things, that the order favors other religions over Islam in violation of the First Amendment, and that the order's implementation violates due-process and equal-protection guarantees embedded in the Fifth Amendment. A legal concept known as plenary power gives the federal government tremendous sway over immigration laws. The challenges to Trump's executive order will likely test the boundaries of plenary power, which has evolved slowly over time, legal experts said.
Obama criticizes Trump's travel ban, says 'values are at stake'
The former president is "heartened by the level of engagement" and "fundamentally disagrees with the notion of discriminating against individuals because of their faith or religion," a statement said.
UN SG: national security management should not be based in discrimination
UN Secretary-General António Guterres expressed "concerned over the decisions that around the world have been undermining the integrity of the international refugee protection regime." While he acknowledged that "countries have the right, even the obligation, to responsibly manage their borders to avoid infiltration by members of terrorist organizations," he stated that those legitimate concerns should not be a cover for prejudice and discrimination.
1 - Former New York fund analyst convicted of insider trading - click here.
2 - Shell set to sell $3 billion North Sea assets to Chrysaor - click here.
_____________
100% Migalhas: www.migalhas.com
_____________
Trump aide's deal with Chinese firm raises fear of tangled interests
Anthony Scaramucci, who has been named the White House liaison to the business community, is selling his firm to a company with deep ties to China's Communist Party.
MoneyGram deal may test Trump's view on Chinese investment
An Alibaba spinoff sees the American money transfer business as a path to greater global reach — if its plans pass muster with an administration leery of Beijing.
_____________
Tell your friends and colleagues you’ve read it in Migalhas International
_____________
Odebrecht
El banco japonés Sumitomo Mitsui retiró su apoyo a la constructora brasileña Odebrecht para financiar con US$ 250 mlls. en un proyecto para navegabilidad del río Magdalena en Colombia. (Presione aquí)
Bioceánico
Representantes de Bolivia, Perú, Paraguay, Alemania y Suiza se reunirán en marzo próximo para concretar acuerdos para la construcción del tren bioceánico. El Corredor Ferroviario Bioceánico Central (FCBC) unirá el puerto de Santos en Brasil (Atlántico) e Ilo en Perú (Pacífico). Existe una nueva propuesta, que se gestó en Alemania, y sugiere que para llegar al Atlántico sea por Paraguay, según confirmó el ministro de Obras Públicas de Bolivia, Milton Claros.
Libre comercio
Empresarios de México y Estados Unidos cerraron filas para mantener "vivo" el Tratado de Libre Comercio de América del Norte. El Consejo Coordinador Empresarial (CCE) y la Cámara de Comercio de Estados Unidos en México (Amcham) afirmaron que las inversiones y los empleos se mantienen firmes entre las partes, toda vez que para este año se prevé el arribo de US$ 25,000 mlls. por concepto de Inversión Extranjera Directa y la repatriación de inversiones.
Trump picks Neil Gorsuch as nominee for Supreme Court
Trump has nominated Colorado federal appeals court judge Neil Gorsuch for the US Supreme Court. If confirmed by the Senate, the 49-year-old would replace the vacancy left on the court by the late Justice Antonin Scalia. Trump said Judge Gorsuch had a "superb intellect, an unparalleled legal education, and a commitment to interpreting the Constitution according to text". Gorsuch is the kind of Supreme Court nominee evangelical and traditional conservative voters dreamed of as a reward for sticking with Trump through the general election despite campaign missteps, controversies and occasional political apostasies. Judge Gorsuch's nomination is expected to spark a political showdown in the Senate. The upper chamber's Democratic leader has already said he has "very serious doubts" about the nominee. Protests against Trump's choice were held outside the Supreme Court following the announcement. (Click here)
Deutsche Bank fined for money laundering claims
US and UK regulators fined Deutsche Bank a combined $630 million in connection with a Russian money laundering scheme. Clients illegally moved over $10 billion from Russia via shares that were bought and sold through Deutsche Bank's offices in Moscow, London and New York, and regulators assert that bank officials repeatedly missed opportunities and to catch and stop the operations. Financial Services Superintendent Maria Vullo of the New York Department of Financial Services supported the US fine by stating, "In today's interconnected financial network, global financial institutions must be ever vigilant in the war against money laundering and other activities that can contribute to cybercrime and international terrorism." These fines come less than a month after Deutsche Bank announced a $7.2 billion settlement with the US Department of Justice regarding the sale of toxic mortgage securities that contributed to the 2008 financial crisis. (Click here)
2016 a record year for bribery cases against companies — but not individuals
The Justice Department instructed its prosecutors in 2015 to focus more on charging individuals in corporate criminal investigations, but only charged one person in connection with 11 corporate foreign bribery cases brought in 2016, a new report from the law firm Jones Day points out.
Britain posthumously pardons thousands of gay men in 'Turing law'
Thousands of gay and bisexual men who were convicted of now-abolished sexual offenses in Britain have been posthumously pardoned under a new policing law, the Justice Ministry announced. The "Turing law" received royal assent on Tuesday, the last stage in a bill becoming law in the United Kingdom. It gives an automatic pardon to men who died before the law came into force, and makes it possible for living convicted gay men to seek pardons for offenses no longer on the statute book. The law was named after World War II codebreaker and mathematician Alan Turing -- subject of the 2014 film "The Imitation Game" -- who killed himself in 1954 after he was subjected to chemical castration as punishment for homosexual activity. (Click here)
Record number of data breaches in 2016
The number of data breaches and files stolen worldwide reached a record high in 2016, according to cyber security firm Risk Based Security Monday. Inga Goddijn, Risk Based Security's vice president, stated that "while the number of data breaches actually remained relatively flat from last year, the big story coming out of 2016 is obviously the massive increase in the number of records exposed." The report by Risk Based Security revealed that breaches at FriendFinder Networks, Myspace and Yahoo accounted for more than 2.2 billion records compromised and that Yahoo alone reported 500,000 records breached in one incident and more than a billion in another. The US and Britain represented more than half of all data breach cases reported last year. Less than 20 percent of breaches were the result of insider activity, and hacking continued to dominate as the leading breach type. Stolen laptops, which were once a primary cause of data compromise, accounted for only 1.6 percent of breaches.
Civil liberties group ACLU seeks help using anti-Trump donations
The American Civil Liberties Union is turning to Silicon Valley for help after receiving a surge in funds from opponents of US President Donald Trump. The non-profit organisation received $24m last weekend after a controversial immigration order was issued on Friday. ACLU is teaming up with Y Combinator - which usually works with start-ups - over how to best utilize the donations. Businesses and actors are among those who've contributed.
Trump slams "astronomical" drug prices
Trump has called on pharmaceutical bosses to cut "astronomical" drug prices. During a White House meeting with senior pharmaceutical executives he told the firms to manufacture more of their drugs in the US. However, he also vowed to help the firms by speeding the approval of new medicines and by cutting taxes. Drugmakers have faced intense criticism from US politicians - including Trump - as well as insurance companies and patients' groups over the high cost of new medicines and price hikes in some older generic drugs. To help the firms, Trump said his administration was "going to be lowering taxes big league". "We're going to be getting rid of regulations that are unnecessary - big league," he added.
US Army to allow work on final section of Dakota pipeline
The US Army has been ordered to allow the construction of the final section of a controversial oil pipeline under Lake Oahe, a reservoir on the Missouri River. Native Americans, who have protested against the Dakota Access Pipeline for months, vowed legal action to stop it. Trump recently signed an executive order signaling his support for the pipeline.
Slain Florida priest begs mercy from beyond grave for accused
A Florida priest murdered last year has appealed from beyond the grave for his alleged killer to be shown mercy. Reverend Rene Robert enshrined his opposition to the death penalty in a letter he wrote 22 years ago, in which he apparently foresaw his own killing. The Catholic priest's note requested that whoever took his life be spared execution "no matter how heinous their crime or how much I may have suffered". Bishops have petitioned the court to drop capital punishment in the case.
Austria to ban full-face veil in public places
Austria's ruling coalition has agreed to prohibit full-face veils in public spaces such as courts and schools. It is also considering a more general ban on state employees wearing the headscarf and other religious symbols. The measures are seen as an attempt to counter the rise of the far-right Freedom Party, whose candidate narrowly lost last month's presidential vote. The centrist coalition nearly collapsed last week amid crisis negotiations over the government's future direction. (Click here)
Turkey ordered to free detained UN judge
A UN legal body has ordered that Turkey release a judge detained in the aftermath of last year's failed coup attempt. Aydin Sefa Akay is part of a panel of UN judges reviewing the case of a former Rwandan minister convicted of involvement in the 1994 genocide. The UN's Mechanism for International Criminal Tribunals said Akay was protected by diplomatic immunity. Turkey has ignored past requests for his release. The Mechanism for International Criminal Tribunals ordered Ankara to release Judge Akay by 14 February and end all legal proceedings against him. (Click here)
Trump fires Acting Attorney General for refusing to defend immigration order
The president concluded that Sally Yates had "betrayed the Department of Justice" by refusing to defend his executive order imposing a temporary ban on certain refugees and visa holders. (Click here)
-----
How are we doing?
We would like to hear from you how we perform. What you like and what we should change or add… Send us an email; we aim to please!
Tell your friends and associates…
to subscribe to Migalhas International! www.migalhas.com
Express yourself
Want to share your opinion, your experience, your questions? You are welcome to do so. This forum is yours. Please contact the editor: [email protected]
Events
We welcome information about your events or conferences to come. Please contact the editor.
Sponsors
Become a sponsor. Spread your name in the business and legal spheres around the world in Migalhas International.
Subscription
To subscribe:Register your name and your address at https://www.migalhas.com
To unsubscribe:Send your name and e-mail address to in the subject line.We will remove your name soonest.
Address changes:If you want to continue to receive Migalhas International, please make sure we have your current e-mail address.
Contact
Michael Ghilissen, editor: [email protected]
Miguel Matos, publisher: [email protected]
Please feel free to send your comments, questions and suggestions to the editor.
Your comments
We always welcome information, articles, testimonials, opinions and comments about something you've read in Migalhas International. Please forward your contributions to the editor.
Confidentiality
When you add your name to Migalhas International, you can be sure that it's confidential. We do not share, trade, rent or sell this list.Our "privacy policy" contains no fine print.No one gets our list. Period.Your e-mail address is safe with us.
Sharing Migalhas International
If you'd like to share this Migalhas International with friends and colleagues, feel free to forward this issue including the copyright notice.Or, invite them to subscribe so they receive their own Migalhas International every week.
Sources
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.
Fair use notice
This newsletter contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of legal, environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material in this newsletter is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.
The messages that appear in this newsletter are for informational purposes only. They are not intended to be and should not be considered legal advice nor substitute for obtaining legal advice from competent, independent, legal counsel in the relevant jurisdiction.
Transmission of this information is not intended to create, and receipt does not constitute, an attorney-client relationship. The information contained on this list may or may not reflect the most current legal developments.
www.migalhas.com
Copyright 2017 - Migalhas International