Trump issues emergency telecoms measures
The BBC reports that, as expected, US president Donald Trump on Wednesday issued an executive order aimed at banning information or communications technology that “poses an unacceptable risk to the national security of the United States.” Huawei Technologies and 70 affiliates has been added to the commerce department’s “Entity List”, Reuters reports. The national emergency measure means US companies cannot sell or transfer technology to Huawei without a license issued by the Bureau of Industry and Security, CNBC says. It comes at a delicate time in relations between China and the US, The Guardian says.
SpaceX launch delayed
The launch of a SpaceX rocket containing 60 small low-Earth orbit satellites as part of Elon Musk’s Starlink internet-from-space programme was delayed on Wednesday. The Verge was due to show live coverage of the launch, which will now take place on Thursday, weather permitting. Reuters says Starlink is key to generating the funds that SpaceX needs for even more ambitious projects, which Musk says include “establishing a self-sustaining city on Mars and a base on the moon.”
Merkel says EU must unite
“The old certainties of the post-war order no longer apply,” German chancellor Angela Merkel has said in an interview ahead of the EP elections. The Guardian was one of the media that shared the talk with Merkel, who said the EU must unite to face the challenges posed by global rivals, China, Russia and the US. Merkel also tackled issues including Brexit and the environmental crisis, which she said remained her “greatest worry”.
Spitzenkandidat debate
The lead candidates of political factions in the European Parliament elections clashed in a televised debate broadcast across the EU, the BBC reports. It is unclear, however, whether EU leaders will agree to continue the practice, first introduced at the 2014 elections, of having the so-called Spitzenkandidat become the next EU Commission president.
US immigration announcement
Reuters reports that Donald Trump will today unveil a plan to harden border security and overhaul the US immigration system. High-skilled people with jobs would be given priority under the new scheme.
Le Pen’s white power symbol controversy
Marine Le Pen has claimed she was tricked into making a white power symbol, according to the Daily Mail. The leader of French far-right party National Rally has asked Ruuben Kaalep of Estonia’s far-right EKRE party to remove a selfie from Facebook showing them both make the “ok” gesture, The Guardian reports.
Trump pardons Black
The White House has issued a presidential pardon for former media mogul Conrad Black, who was convicted in 2007 of fraud and obstruction of justice, Reuters reports. The Canadian-British businessman once owned the Daily Telegraph, the Chicago Sun-Times and the Jerusalem Post. The pardon cited “broad support from many high-profile individuals who have vigorously vouched for his exceptional character”, The Guardian reports.
DNA breakthrough
The Guardian reports that researchers at the laboratory of molecular biology, at Cambridge University have created the world’s first living organism that has a fully synthetic and radically altered DNA code.
Today’s breakfast briefing was written by Duncan Roberts