While You Were Sleeping: 5 stories you might have missed, Sept 2

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Pressure mounts on Donald Trump to keep migrant amnesty

Pressure mounted on President Donald Trump not to end an amnesty for people brought to the United States illegally as children, with Republican allies and the chief executives of major US firms from Amazon to General Motors urging compassion on Friday.

In a letter to the White House and top Republicans and Democrats in Congress, business leaders - including executives at Cisco, eBay, Facebook, Marriott and Microsoft - warned of the moral and economic impact of forcing almost 800,000 people back into the legal shadows.

Meanwhile, top Congressional Republican Paul Ryan and a slew of his party's lawmakers pressed Trump to step back from a campaign pledge to axe the programme.

"I don't think he should do that. I believe this is something Congress has to fix," Ryan told local radio station WCLO. "These are kids who know no other country, who were brought here by their parents and don't know another home. And so I really do believe there needs to be a legislative solution."

Trump indicated he had not yet decided whether to end the programme instituted by former president Barack Obama, which allowed children brought to the country illegally before they were 16 to get a two-year renewable work permit. The White House said Trump would make his announcement on the policy on Tuesday.

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Donald Trump to host Sept 18 meeting of world leaders on UN reform

US President Donald Trump, a frequent critic of the United Nations, will seek to gather global support for reforming the world body when he hosts an event at UN headquarters in New York on Sept 18, a day before he formally addresses the 193-member organisation.

Countries will be invited to attend Trump's function if they sign on to a US-drafted 10-point political declaration backing efforts by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres "to initiate effective, meaningful reform," according to a draft of the political declaration seen by Reuters on Friday.

Trump has complained that the US share of the world body's budget is unfair, pushed to slash funding and described it as a "club for people to get together, talk and have a good time."

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Muslim pilgrims mark final haj rite with 'Stoning of Devil'

In stifling heat, a Saudi security guard sprayed Muslim pilgrims with water as they advanced through Mina for the final rite of the haj, the "Stoning of the Devil" that has proved lethal in past years.

Pilgrims gathered under the scorching sun in Mina on Friday for the final major ritual - the symbolic Stoning of the Devil - at the Jamarat Bridge, the scene of a stampede in 2015 that left 2,300 people dead.

Saudi Arabia reported no major health or safety upsets at the Jamarat Bridge, as the Muslim faithful made their way through the last leg of the five-day pilgrimage.

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Football: Uefa probes PSG after Neymar, Mbappe deals

Uefa opened a "formal investigation" into Paris Saint-Germain on Friday after the French club broke the world transfer record to sign Neymar.

European football's governing body said it would look at whether PSG had violated its Financial Fair Play rules.

PSG signed Brazilian striker Neymar for a world-record €222 million (S$350 million) on Aug 3 and completed a loan move for Kylian Mbappe on Thursday in a deal that includes an option to buy the French teenager for €180 million.

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Pregnant Serena Williams in labour: Report

Pregnant tennis superstar Serena Williams was in labour at a Florida clinic on Friday, US media reported, prompting an outpouring of goodwill messages for the charismatic former world number one.

Williams, who will turn 36 later this month, was admitted Wednesday to St Mary's Medical Centre, which shut down an entire floor to provide security for the megastar, the local CBS affiliate said.

The network also said the 23-time Grand Slam singles champion - who revealed she was pregnant in April - was induced overnight.

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