Ray Charles Foundation Sues the Singer's Children
The Ray Charles Foundation is suing seven of the late singer's children for attempting to obtain copyrights on some of Charles' songs, The Wrap reports.
According to the lawsuit, Charles gave each of his children $500,000 in 2002 under the condition that they would not seek further inheritance claims on his musical estate. The Ray Charles Foundation, which provides funding for research into hearing impairment and educational programs, currently owns all the rights to the intellectual property of Charles, who died in 2002.
The foundation claims that several of Charles' children are now violating their agreement by seeking copyrights for more than 50 songs.
"In complete disregard of the confidence, trust, and belief in his own children that their father reposed in them," the lawsuit says, "by undertaking the actions described below in this Complaint, Defendents have reneged on and are in breach or other violation of this agreement."
According to the suit, which was filed in U.S. District Court in Central California last week, the offspring in question applied in March 2010 to reclaim the copyrights of the songs, under a provision of the 1976 Copyright Act that is intended to allow artists to renegotiate their royalty rates after a certain number of years if the value of their work has increased.
The foundation claims that, in addition to the prior agreement not to seek any further portion of their father's estate, the "termination of transfer" rule does not apply because Charles had already renegotiated his royalty rates with his publishers in 1980. It also contends that some of the songs were works for hire, in which case the artist cannot claim the same rights.
The foundation's suit seeks to prevent the children from obtaining the copyrights, along with at least $500,000 from each defendant plus court costs, attorneys' fees and interest.
The Ray Charles Foundation argues that it would be particularly hard hit by the loss of those royalties because it is not allowed to solicit or accept any private donations.
"The self-serving attempts on the part of the Defendants to deprive The Foundation of its said intellectual property rights not only is contrary to the express wishes of their father and in breach of the agreement they signed and promises that they made," the lawsuit says, "but it is contrary to the best interest of those innocent parties who would be benefited by the grants made by The Foundation."
Source: rollingstone
Spain budget: Cuts to total 27bn euros this year
Spain is cutting 27bn euros ($36bn; £22.5bn) from its budget this year as part of one of the toughest austerity drives in its history.
Changes will include freezing public sector workers' salaries and reducing departmental budgets by 16.9%.
The government says it will raise 12.3bn euros this year, aided by an increase in tax for large companies.
Deputy Prime Minister Soraya Saenz de Santamaria said the nation was in an "extreme situation".
"Our top priority is to clean up public accounts," she said.
"This is a moment that demands serious efforts to reduce spending but also structural reforms to cause the economy to grow and create jobs."
But economists are questioning whether the cuts will be enough to satisfy Spain's European partners.
'Insufficient' cuts
Last month Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy agreed with the European Commission to reduce Spain's deficit from 8.5% to 5.3% of GDP in 2012.
Javier Diaz Gimenez, professor of economics at IESE Business School in Madrid, said: "This [budget] seems to be non-credible.
"They will not be making the 5.3% target agreed with Brussels, because the cuts are insufficient given the growth forecast," he told BBC News.
This could mean further cuts are needed before long.
"I suspect that the government could be forced to implement further austerity measures later this year, with lingering economic downturn set to place additional strains on an already perilous budget deficit reduction plan," said Raj Badiani, an economist at IHS Global Insight.
The main risk is that the government's tax revenue projections for 2012 look too optimistic," he said.
There are concerns, however, that even the latest spending cuts could further damage the chances of getting the Spanish economy growing again. It is in recession and is expected to shrink by 1.7% this year.
Soraya Saenz de Santamaria said this would not happen.
"Our obligation towards Spanish people and the rest of the EU citizens is to get public accounts into shape," she said.
"Not at any cost, but with measures that support those citizens who need it the most and not paralysing a possible recovery or job creation."
Budgets slashed
Under the 2012 budget the unemployed will see their benefits maintained and pensions will continue to rise.
Consumers have also been spared some pain as VAT will remain at its current level.
Three US credit firms warn of security breach
Visa, Mastercard and Discover have warned that credit card holders' personal information could be at risk after a security breach.
The firms said there had been "no breach" of its own system, instead blaming a third party.
Security blog KrebsOnSecurity, which first reported the story, said industry sources believed more than 10 million cards may have been compromised.
Reports suggested the stolen details had been obtained in New York.
The Wall Street Journal quoted its own industry sources as saying card-processing firm Global Payments was the company that suffered the breach. Shares in the company fell by more than 9% on Friday.
Global Payments has not responded to requests for comment.
Concern
None of the three companies, which are the three of the largest credit card processors would confirm how many customers were affected.
Visa and Mastercard, also used for debit cards of major US banks, said they had notified banks of the breach.
Discover Financial Services said it was monitoring accounts and would reissue cards if necessary.
In a statement, Mastercard said: "[We are] concerned whenever there is any possibility that cardholders could be inconvenienced and we continue to both monitor this event and take steps to safeguard account information.
"If cardholders have any concerns about their individual accounts, they should contact their issuing financial institution."
Visa echoed Mastercard's statement, emphasising that its customers are not responsible for fraudulent purchases.
Gartner analyst Avivah Litan said she believed the breach was related to a taxi garage in New York City.
"So if you've paid a NYC cab in the last few months with your credit or debit card - be sure to check your card statements for possible fraud," she said.
Iran crisis: US to apply fresh oil sanctions
US President Barack Obama has approved the introduction of fresh sanctions on buyers of Iranian oil.
In a statement, Mr Obama said US allies boycotting Iranian oil would not suffer negative consequences because there was enough oil in the world market.
The move would allow the US to take measures against foreign banks that still deal with Iranian oil.
Iran is facing international pressure to address concerns over its nuclear enrichment programme.
Western countries suspect Iran of attempting to develop a nuclear weapon. Iran insists the programme is purely peaceful.
Mr Obama said in a statement that he would continue to monitor the global market closely to ensure it could handle a reduction of oil purchases from Iran.
The US president was required by a law he signed in December to determine by 31 March whether the market allowed countries to "significantly" cut their purchases from Iran.
'On notice'
A statement from the White House acknowledged that "a series of production disruptions in South Sudan, Syria, Yemen, Nigeria and the North Sea have removed oil from the market" in the first months of 2012.
"Nonetheless, there currently appears to be sufficient supply of non-Iranian oil to permit foreign countries to significantly reduce their import of Iranian oil," the statement says.
"In fact, many purchasers of Iranian crude oil have already reduced their purchases or announced they are in productive discussions with alternative suppliers."
Under the law signed in December, countries have until 28 June to show they have significantly reduced the amount of crude oil they purchase from Iran or face being cut off from the US financial system
Ford invests $1.3bn in Mexico plant
US car giant Ford has announced a $1.3bn (£800m) investment in its plant in the Mexican town of Hermosillo, creating 1,000 jobs.
The investment will help Ford meet growing demand for its Fusion and Lincoln MKZ models, the company said.
Ford has invested about $3bn in Mexico over the past decade.
Mexican President Felipe Calderon hailed the investment which, he said, would help boost car production in his country.
"Mexico in January rose to fifth place in global auto exports... and I think we are about to move into fourth place," he said.
A number of major foreign carmakers run plants in Mexico, including Volkswagen and Toyota.
North Korea Says US Breaking Nuclear Deal over Rocket
North Korea said Saturday the U.S. suspension of food aid is an over-reaction to Pyongyang's planned rocket launch.
North Korea announced in February it would temporarily suspend nuclear tests, long-range ballistic missile launches and nuclear activities. In return, Washington, pledged to provide the North with 240,000 metric tons of nutritional assistance.
Washington considers the planned North Korea launch to be a violation of that agreement, saying Pyongyang is seeking to test long-range missile technology.
North Korea says it is sending a satellite into orbit for peaceful purposes.
8 Killed in Thailand Blasts
Officials in Thailand say eight people have died and at least 70 people were wounded in three bomb blasts just minutes apart in the country's insurgency-plagued south.
The governor of Yala says the explosions went off Saturday around lunchtime in Yala city's business area.
Authorities say the bombs, hidden in two motorcycles and a car, also set several nearby buildings on fire.
Such bombings are a common tactic of Islamic separatists who have been waging an insurgency in the Muslim-dominated provinces of Yala, Narathiwat and Pattani since early 2004. The conflict has taken more than 5,000 lives.
North Korea Says US Breaking Nuclear Deal over Rocket
North Korea said Saturday the U.S. suspension of food aid is an over-reaction to Pyongyang's planned rocket launch.
North Korea announced in February it would temporarily suspend nuclear tests, long-range ballistic missile launches and nuclear activities. In return, Washington, pledged to provide the North with 240,000 metric tons of nutritional assistance.
Washington considers the planned North Korea launch to be a violation of that agreement, saying Pyongyang is seeking to test long-range missile technology.
North Korea says it is sending a satellite into orbit for peaceful purposes.
Burma’s Suu Kyi Set for Public Office
Burma is finalizing arrangements Saturday for Sunday's historic election when pro-democracy campaigner Aung San Suu Kyi, who was under house arrest just over a year ago, is likely to be voted into parliament in the military-dominated country.
Her participation in the polling has been made possible by a fragile detente with a government that has embarked on surprising democratic reforms over the last several months.
Sunday's vote is for only a small minority of seats in national and regional legislatures, but it has not diminished the outpouring of enthusiasm for Aung San Suu Kyi – whom the government tried to silence for two decades – and her National League for Democracy party.
The Nobel Peace laureate said Friday she does not expect Burma's election to be fair, but still significant.
Clinton Seeks End to Syrian Crackdown
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton continues her visit to Saudi Arabia Saturday with a meeting of regional Arab Gulf diplomats to discuss bringing an end to Syria's year-long crackdown on dissent.
The meeting is a prelude to the “Friends of the Syria” meeting Sunday in Istanbul. Clinton, as well as other diplomats from Arab and Western nations who support Syrian rebel groups, are scheduled to attend the meeting in Turkey. The U.S. remains opposed to arming Syria's rebels, which some Gulf states have proposed. Washington is instead working to unify the splintered opposition groups, and find ways to get humanitarian aid into Syria.
Fresh clashes between demonstrators and security forces broke out across Syria Friday. Rights groups say at least 11 people were killed.
U.N. and Arab League envoy Kofi Annan has called on the Syrian government to immediately implement a cease-fire and stop its attacks on opposition groups.
Mr. Annan's spokesperson told reporters in Geneva Friday that the “deadline is now” for President Bashar al-Assad to implement the six-point peace plan drawn up by the former U.N. chief. He did not specify what action, if any, would be taken if Mr. Assad did not comply.
Arab leaders at a Baghdad summit Thursday endorsed the Syria peace plan and called for its immediate implementation.
Mr. Assad agreed to the peace plan Tuesday, but government forces have not shown restraint. The opposition says it suspects Mr. Assad has no intention of stopping his crackdown and has used his agreement to the peace plan as a stalling tactic.
The United Nations says violence linked to Syria's crackdown on the revolt has killed more than 9,000 people.