Court Deals Blow to US Migrants

USA — The Supreme Court has said a deported Mexican who lived in the US for 20 years cannot seek legal residency, in a blow to long-term illegal immigrants.

The judges upheld the decision of the migration authorities in the case of Humberto Fernandez Vargas. He had applied for citizenship but was sent back to Mexico under rules for migrants with prior deportation orders.

Mr Fernandez Vargas was born in Mexico but worked north of the border in the 1970s, when he was deported several times. He returned to the US in the early 1980s and then stayed for more than 20 years, marrying an American citizen and starting a company. When he applied for citizenship, he was deported under a law that streamlines the expulsion process for illegal migrants.

The case could have a profound impact on illegal migrants in the US, who are in a state of legal limbo. Legislation to legalise most of them has been passed in the Senate, but a rival bill in the House of Representatives rejects such a move.

Both seek to tighten border security, but while the Senate bill includes a guest-worker programme and offers illegal immigrants a ‘path to citizenship’, the House bill seeks to deport illegal immigrants, and makes it a felony to remain in the US illegally. (Source: www.bbc.co.uk)

Web Paedophile Given Nine Years

UK — A sex offender who was caught through an anti-paedophile website has been given a nine-year jail term for sexual grooming and pornography offences.

Lee Costi, 21, was sentenced at Nottingham Crown Court where he admitted to grooming schoolgirls for sex. He was the first to be caught in a police internet operation called the Virtual Global Taskforce. The scheme, a multinational organisation set up to tackle internet child abuse, invites youngsters to go online to report suspicious grooming activity.

During his trial, Costi admitted meeting three girls, aged 13 and 14, following sexual grooming. He also admitted three counts of sexual activity with a child, two counts of making indecent images and the possession of more than 40 indecent images of children.

Judge Jonathan Teare jailed him for six years for having sex with the two teenagers, and 18 months for inciting his third victim to perform sex acts over her computer web-cam. He was also given a further 18 months in prison for possession of more than 40 indecent images of children. (Source: www.bbc.co.uk)

Emergency Response Law ‘Will Ensure Accurate Info’

China — The proposed new law on dealing with emergencies is not designed to prevent the truth being revealed, but to allow the timely release of accurate information, said a senior official. Under the law, media outlets could face fines of up to 100,000 yuan if they ‘report the development and handling of emergencies without authorisation.’

The 57th article stipulates ‘news media violating certain rules to report the development and handling of emergencies without authorisation, or releasing fraudulent reports, will be fined between 50,000 yuan and 100,000 yuan, if the reports lead to serious consequences.’

The draft law defines emergencies as industrial accidents, natural disasters, and health and public security crises. It prods government officials to release information in a ‘uniform, accurate and timely manner,’ and violation may result in administrative punishments such as ‘a demerit or a serious demerit’ for government officials, or even removal from office. Amendment VI of the Criminal Law also allows a maximum seven-year jail sentence for officials.

During discussions in June, some lawmakers still had different views on the provision. Under China’s legislation, a law usually goes through three rounds of reviews before it is passed. (Source: www.china.org.cn)

Music Industry to Sue Yahoo China

China — The music industry is to sue Yahoo China for allegedly providing links to pirated tracks.

‘We’ve started the process and as far as we’re concerned we’re on a track to litigation,’ said John Kennedy, chairman of the International Federation of the Phonographic Industries (‘IFPI’).

Yahoo China is the second largest search engine in the country, and is 40 per cent owned by Yahoo Inc. Last year, the IFPI, whose members include EMI, Sony BMG and Warner Music, sued Baidu, the most popular search engine in China and the dispute is ongoing.

Mr Kennedy declined to say how much in damages the music industry was seeking, if its claim proved successful. With similar cases in the US, damages ‘would certainly run into tens of millions and perhaps even more than that,’ he said.

A simple search on Yahoo China found MP3 files of recent releases for direct download within a few clicks. No one from Yahoo China was available for comment. (Source: www.bbc.co.uk)