ISIS leader kills himself in US raid
US President Donald Trump on Sunday confirmed that US special forces had successfully completed a raid resulting in the death ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. Reports say he blew himself and three of his children up by suicide vest. “He died like a dog. He died like a coward. The world is now a much safer place,” Trump said in an address to the nation. CNN and Fox News have reports. The Washington Post says a disaffected Islamic State militant who became an informant for the Kurds working with the Americans provided key information to help the raid. The White House later tweeted a photo of Trump purportedly watching the raid, but the majority of commentators seemed to think the photo was staged. The BBC asks where the death of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi leaves ISIS. And The Guardian has an obituary of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
EU 27 agree Brexit extension
The Guardian says it has seen a draft paper of the agreement reached by the EU 27 on the Brexit extension it will offer the UK government later today. The paper suggests the UK would be able to leave on the first day of the month after a deal is ratified up until 31 January, which means that a no-deal Brexit on 31 October is off the table. The FT reckons that the agreement would also oblige the UK to nominate a member of the next European Commission to serve until it officially leaves the EU. The BBC says the flexible nature of the agreement shows the EU does not wish to be seen interfering in UK domestic politics, and that it also includes a commitment that the Withdrawal Agreement cannot be renegotiated.
AfD makes gains in Thuringia
The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party has won 23.4% of the vote in Thuringia state elections, Deutsche Welle reports. The left-wing Die Linke won the most votes with 31%, but the AfD surged ahead of Angela Merkel’s conservative CDU (21.6%) and left the socialist SPD (8.2%), the Greens (5.1%) and the FDP (5%) in their wake. The results leave Thuringia facing a political stalemate, says the FT.
State of emergency in California
Close to 200,000 people have been forced to flee wildfires in California, leading governor Gavin Newsom to declare a state-wide state of emergency, CNN reports. According to CNBC, plans by the Pacific Gas and Electric Company to shut down power to prevent more wildfires in Northern California would leave as many as 2.7 million people without electricity.
Fernández wins Argentinian election
Centre-left opposition candidate Alberto Fernández gained over 45% of the vote required in the Argentinian presidential election to oust incumbent Mauricio Macri, the BBC reports. The Telegraph has a good “at a glance” summary of Fernández's position on the key economic issues facing Argentina.
Hong Kong restaurants show colours
Reuters has a video report on how Hong Kong restaurants are being labelled “yellow ribbon” if they support the anti-government protests and “blue ribbon” if they take a pro-Beijing stance.
Sports roundup
Rugby: England will face South Africa in the world cup final next Saturday after they beat New Zealand and Wales respectively in the semi-finals. The final kicks off at 10am CET. Baseball: The Houston Astros took a 3-2 lead in the World Series by beating the Washington Nationals 7-1 on Sunday night. F1: Lewis Hamilton edged towards a sixth Formula One world title by winning the Mexico Grand Prix on Sunday. Golf: Tiger Woods won the Zozo Championship in Japan to equal Sam Sneed’s record of 82 PGA titles.
French sign in Flanders
Our final story comes direct from Twitter where locals in Flanders took umbrage at the British Embassy in Belgium’s pride in opening its first Transport Information Point in the country, with a sign in French.
Today’s breakfast briefing was written by Duncan Roberts