“State actor” behind tanker attacks, say UAE

The UAE (backed by Norway and Saudi Arabia) said an attack on four oil takers off its coast last month was a “sophisticated and coordinated operation” carried out by “most likely a state actor”. The US said that state actor was Iran, an allegation which Iran’s foreign ministry called “ludicrous”. Sources: BBC, Deutsche Welle and Reuters.

Trump Irish border line comments 

Donald Trump said in a meeting with the Ireland’s prime minister that a wall on the border between Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic would “work out very well”, before conceding “that’s a big point of contention with respect to Brexit”. Sources: Associated Press, Deutsche Welle and Irish Times.

Salvini attacks judges

Matteo Salvini, Italy’s deputy PM and interior minister, has called for three magistrates, who challenged his hardline immigration policies, to be investigated. Sources: Ansa and The Guardian.

Sudan’s AU membership suspended following crackdown

The African Union has suspended Sudan until its military regime hands power to a civilian government. Sources: Deutsche Welle, Financial Times and France 24.

Aviva announces redundancies

Britain’s largest insurer, Aviva, said it would cut 1,800 jobs out of its 30,000 worldwide workforce as it aims to reduce costs by £300m by 2022. Sources: The Financial Times, Guardian and ITV.

Troubles persist at Woodford

Woodford Investment Management continued to lose clients, with assets under management shrinking from £8.6bn last week to £5bn on Thursday. Sources: Bloomberg, The Economist and Financial Times.

Later today

11am: The national railway CFL issues its 2018 results. 8pm: Open air poetry slam at Kulturhaus Niederanven.

Looking ahead

Saturday 8-Sunday 9 June: The Confucius Institute at the University of Luxembourg celebrates the Dragon Boat Festival as part of the Multikulti Festival in Differdange. Monday 10 June: Delano newsletters will be off for the Whit Monday public holiday. Tuesday 11 June: Multi-Learn hosts a “Learning over dinner” workshop for jobseekers, 6:30pm-8:30pm. Tuesday 11 June: Delano Live: “Adventure travel: off the beaten track”, 6:30pm-8:30pm. Wednesday 12 June: The British Chamber of Commerce hosts a breakfast workshop on the use of artificial intelligence in the workplace, 8:30am-10:00am.

Here’s 10 science & technology stories you may have missed

Tech policy: Huawei warmed that sanctions against it (by the US government over security concerns) could lead to the balkanisation of global technology standards, per MIT Technology Review. Tech politics: It was Canberra that pressed Washington to take action against Huawei after Australian 5G hacking simulations spooked Oz’s spooks, according to a Reuters investigation. Data privacy: One year in, GDPR has given an advantage to tech behemoths as small rivals struggle with compliance costs, per Politico. Data privacy: Google compiles lists of online purchases by scanning receipts sent to users’ Gmail accounts and CNBC said it’s incredibly tricky to switch off this feature. Long read: The Independent visited Apple’s Silicon Valley HQ for a behind-the-scenes look at the tech firm’s approach to privacy and security. Space: SpaceX’s Starlink fleet of low earth orbit satellites (which will be used for a broadband internet network) are make some astronomers unhappy, per MIT Technology Review. Self-driving cars: A driver using Tesla’s “Autopilot” system died in a Florida crash, the third such fatality in the US, per The Register (Tesla said Autopilot is safe “when used properly by an attentive driver”). Software: Microsoft’s new Excel for iPhone lets you take a picture of a data table and convert it into a fully functioning spreadsheet, reported The Verge. Medicine: Hiking Mount Everest is incredibly hazardous to your health, as explained by Popular Science. Tech problems: German police have not fined a motorist caught on a speed camera because a flying bird obscured part of the image, per Deutsche Welle.

Dr John

The Grammy award winning New Orleans musician Dr John died from a heart attack at the age of 77. Sources: BBC, the Guardian and Reuters.

Going green

This Los Angeles art student tried to go a week avoiding single-use plastic and it was “just as hard as it sounds‎”, she wrote in The Cut.

Today’s breakfast briefing was written by Aaron Grunwald