Bedugul Coffee: Tuesday Morning Briefing: Deep in the Pentagon, a secret AI program to find hidden nuclear missiles

north korea

Long before U.S. and North Korea started planning for a summit on June 12, a source told Reuters the Pentagon was secretly developing a North-Korea focused pilot project to identify mobile missiles using AI - an effort that has not been previously reported.

When Trump and Kim Jong Un meet for their historic summit in Singapore later this month, they will be protected by men from one of the fiercest warrior tribes in the world - the Gurkhas of Nepal.

No one can know what Kim Jong Un’s “real” intentions are, but his reported reshuffling of top generals ahead of his June 12 meeting with Donald Trump “gives us hints about possible power politics within North Korea,” writes Katharine H.S. Moon for Reuters Commentary.

legal

The heads of Michigan State University and USA Gymnastics, who resigned in the wake of a sex abuse scandal involving a former doctor at their organizations, could face tough questions when they appear at a U.S. Senate hearing on how to protect athletes from similar behavior.

A major legal fight similar to the blockbuster Christian baker case decided by the Supreme Court yesterday is already brewing in several U.S. states over laws allowing private agencies to block gay couples from adoptions or taking in foster children.

environment

As World Environment Day takes place and the U.N. calls for the “biggest-ever worldwide cleanup” of plastic pollution, experts are focused on Southeast Asia - home to four of the world’s top marine plastic polluters.

Some 80 pieces of plastic rubbish weighing eight kg were found in the stomach of a whale that died in Thailand after a five-day effort to save it.

Just south of Vietnam's capital Hanoi, the once-peaceful and clean beach of Da Loc in the Thanh Hoa province, has been slowly suffocating under the weight of plastic waste for decades.

James Pearson

@pearswick

There's almost more plastic than sand on this long, tree-lined beach: Plastic helmets, plastic furniture and the plastic leg of a shop mannequin all just out of an ocean of blue plastic bags.

12:08 PM - June 4, 2018

But there are signs of action to limit plastic pollution, with more than 60 countries enforcing bans or charges on single-use plastics such as bags or polystyrene containers.

Sponsored by Barclays: Automation’s delayed economic impact Workplace automation is increasing, yet key economic indicators seem unaffected. Why aren’t unemployment, wages and productivity responding? Find out.

Business

Tech stocks on a tear as FAANGs and BATTS bite

World tech stocks hit a record high today, spurred on by a new all-time peak for Apple, a 17-year top for European tech firms and news that Twitter and Netflix were set to join Wall Street’s flagship S&P 500 index.

5 Min Read

Britain to rule on Rupert Murdoch's bid for Sky

Britain will give its verdict on Rupert Murdoch’s pursuit of Sky later today, potentially paving the way for the mogul’s Twenty-First Century Fox to go head-to-head with rival Comcast Corp for the European pay-TV group.

2 min read

Employers help pay student loans to attract workers

For U.S. companies trying to lure and retain workers now that unemployment is near an 18-year low, student loan repayment programs offer a way to specifically target millennial workers who are saddled with student debt. Read more from the World at Work series.

5 min read