Thursday 21 June 2018

Thursday Morning Briefing: Trump, trade and immigration

Highlights

Trump backed down and abandoned his policy of separating immigrant children from their parents on the U.S.-Mexico border, after images of youngsters in cages sparked outrage at home and abroad. Trump signed an executive order requiring immigrant families be detained together when they are caught entering the country illegally for as long as their criminal proceedings take.

Hender Huerta, a 30-year-old former police detective from Venezuela, applied for asylum in the U.S. in December 2016. Last year, he was pulled over on a traffic stop in Georgia. He tried to explain his situation, including that he had a newborn at home, but the sheriff’s office handed him over to federal authorities. A Reuters Special reports investigates how Trump’s catch and detain policy can split families when parents are put in extended lockups.

At least three U.S. coal shipments on their way to China may end up casualties of the escalating trade dispute after Beijing said it would impose steep tariffs that may kick in before the ships reach their destinations.

North Korea

The missile engine test site that Trump said North Korean leader Kim Jong Un had committed to destroy is a major facility in the western part of the country that has been used for testing engines for long-range missiles, according to a U.S. official. Trump told reporters after their June 12 summit that Kim had pledged to dismantle one of his missile installations, which would be North Korea’s most concrete concession at the landmark meeting in Singapore.

Trump said North Korea had returned the remains of 200 U.S. troops missing from the Korean War, although there was no official confirmation of the move from military authorities.

World

Pope Francis has appealed for greater press freedom around the world, citing the case of two Reuters journalists jailed in Myanmar on accusations of possessing secret documents. Follow the latest updates on the case.

The European Court of Human Rights rejected an appeal by Norwegian mass killer Anders Behring Breivik who says his prison condition amount to inhuman or degrading treatment, the court said.

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.

Commentary: There are ways to stop American social media companies acting as the global speech police without using censorship, writes David Kaye, the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to freedom of expression. Among his key proposals: involving local users in content moderation; applying global human rights laws rather than local standards like the U.S. First Amendment; providing "radically more information" about how the corporations enforce their rules and establishing independent councils to evaluate claims of wrongful media behavior.

Business

OPEC strives for new deal as Iran still wary of output hike

OPEC’s leader Saudi Arabia and Russia were trying to convince fellow oil producers to raise output from July to meet rising global demand, with Iran still signaling it would support only a modest increase in supply.

3 Min Read

Bank investors await U.S. stress test results for capital returns

U.S. investors expect banks and other financial institutions to announce large returns of capital to shareholders after the Federal Reserve publishes the first set of results from its annual “stress test".

6 min read

Double whammy: U.S. pork, fruit producers brace for second wave of Chinese tariffs

U.S. producers of pork, already saddled with duties enacted in an earlier round of the escalating trade dispute with China, are bracing for further pain after Beijing hit the products with additional tariffs due to come into effect next month.

5 min read

 

Disney raises bid for the bulk of Twenty-First Century Fox’s film and television assets to $71.3 billion, sweetening its deal with cash as it looks to upend Comcast’s offer https://reut.rs/2M7zqSc via @MunsifV $DIS $FOXA $CMCSA

4:52 AM - Jun 21, 2018

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