Bedugul Coffee: Wednesday Morning Briefing: Federal judge bars separation of immigrants from children

Highlights

A federal judge ruled that U.S. immigration agents could no longer separate immigrant parents and children caught crossing the border from Mexico illegally, and must reunite those families that had been split up in custody.

The Democratic Party’s insurgent left wing and Trump each claimed big victories yesterday, as voters in seven states selected the parties’ candidates for November’s midterm elections that will determine control of Congress. Representative Joseph Crowley lost his re-election bid in a stunning upset in this year’s midterm elections. Crowley was defeated by 28-year-old challenger Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in a safely Democratic district in New York City.

Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said he discussed U.S. sanctions on Russia and Moscow’s plan to expand its Nord Stream gas pipeline to Germany, which has irked Washington, in talks with U.S. Treasury and Energy Secretaries.

World

On August 10, hundreds of battle-hardened soldiers famed for their brutal counter-insurgency campaigns against Myanmar's ethnic minorities were dispatched to Rakhine State. Their ensuing crackdown drove nearly 700,000 Rohingya into neighboring Bangladesh in what the United Nations called ''a textbook example of ethnic cleansing.''

The threat of collapse still loomed over Germany’s three-month old coalition government after crisis talks into the early hours failed to resolve a row over immigration between Chancellor Angela Merkel and her Bavarian allies.

Human rights and North Korean defector groups in South Korea say they are struggling to raise money, cutting jobs and programs, and facing pressure to avoid criticism of Pyongyang as Seoul and Washington focus on diplomatic outreach to the isolated country.

Mexican presidential favorite Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador is due to wrap up his election campaign in the country’s largest soccer stadium, fortified by a new opinion poll showing his already-commanding lead growing even further. See more on Mexico's election.

Sponsored by Barclays: Job security in the robot economy As machine learning and AI become more commercially viable, will humans be replaced in the workplace? We don’t think so. Find out why.

Reuters Top News

@Reuters

@Reuters journalists Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo have been detained in Myanmar for 198 days. Follow updates on the case: https://reut.rs/2typESh

4:00 AM - JUN 27, 2018

Business

Short on workers, German companies offer more employee flexibility

German companies are so desperate to attract staff that they are falling over themselves to offer perks such as long holidays, shorter hours, flexible shifts and sabbaticals, even though employees here already work the fewest hours in the developed world. Read more about the World at Work.

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Trade war or not, China Inc already reining in American brands

As Beijing and Washington veer towards a full-blown trade war, American brands in China face what may be an even bigger threat: local rivals armed with innovative products and the Chinese government’s blessing.

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Exclusive: Ackman makes fresh layoffs at Pershing Square hedge fund

Billionaire hedge fund manager William Ackman, whose investment assets have shrunk by more than half in the last three years, has made a second round of staff cuts and laid off three investor relations team members, two sources familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.

3 min read

Breakingviews: Crypto goes to Hollywood without a happy ending

Take a Lamborghini, a few movie stars and a dash of Bacardi, and infuse it all with the scent of cryptocurrency riches. With this cocktail, Italian film producer Andrea Iervolino hopes to revolutionize the entertainment industry. He’s building a social-media platform to take on the likes of Netflix and Facebook, and has raised $575 million through a private sale of tokens. The money was the easy part.

3 min read