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Photo: Flickr/Howard Lake. Leadership shifts and non-retail partner impacts are planned for Starbucks Corps 

Starbucks layoffs

Coffee retailer Starbucks Corps is planning to axe jobs, according to a memo from its CEO. Kevin Johnson was cited by Reuters in last week’s memo as saying that “starting next week and into mid-November there will be leadership shifts and non-retail partner impacts as we evolve the direction of teams across the organisation in size, scope and goals.” The shake-up and layoffs were earlier reported by Bloomberg.

BaFin sends in auditor

Germany’s financial regulator, BaFin, has appointed an independent auditor to assess Deutsche Bank’s progress against money-laundering and terrorist financing. The Guardian reports Germany’s biggest bank was fined nearly $700m last year for allowing money-laundering.

Instagram chiefs quit

Instagram’s co-founders have resigned from the photo-sharing app, according to Reuters. Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger stepped down as CEO and CTO, respectively, the company announced on Monday, giving no reason for their departure. The move was earlier reported in the New York Times.

New Zealand’s first baby

New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern made an impression in her first UN address on Monday, though not for its content. She was joined by three-month old daughter, Neve, and her partner and the child’s carer, Clarke Gayford. Ardern, who is only the second leader to give birth while in office, said she would bear the cost of travel of her partner. More on this story on bbc.com.

China shuts down sites

China has closed 4,000 websites in the wake of a three-month campaign against “harmful” content. Citing state news agency Xinhua, the BBC said the content identified included copyright infringement and material which spread “improper values, vulgarity or obscenity”. The purge also targeted platforms offering free e-books.

Poland court challenge

The European Commission is to take Poland to the European Union’s highest court over its government’s changes to the law on appointing judges at Poland’s Supreme Court and early retirement. According to euronews, the commission believes the changes undermine the independence of the judiciary. Poland claims the reform improves efficiency and accountability, removing judges whose careers benefited under the communist regime.

Syrian air defence

Russia is to beef up Syria’s air defences by sending a modern S-300 system to the Syrian army within two weeks, according to Aljazeera. The announcement comes after Moscow accused Israeli pilots of premeditated actions over the downing of a Russian plane in Syria last week.

Memory wins

Just 10 minutes of yoga or slow walking can boost the memory, a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences suggests. The Guardian writes that the findings could offer a simple and effective means of slowing down or staving off memory loss and cognitive decline in the elderly and less mobile.

Today’s breakfast briefing was written by Jess Bauldry