Rochester mayor suspends police officers who pepper sprayed 9 year old
Police officers in Rochester, in New York state, have been suspended after handcuffing and pepper spraying a 9 year old girl. Officers were responding to a family disturbance and said the girl refused to get into a police car. In (disturbing) bodycam video released by the Rochester Police Department, an officer is heard saying: “You’re acting like a child.” The girl responded: “I am a child.” The girl was treated and released from a Rochester hospital. The city’s mayor did not specify how many officers were suspended and face an internal investigation. Sources: AFP, CNN, The Guardian, NPR and New York Times.
EU appeals Apple tax ruling
The European Commission said the EU General Court, the bloc’s second highest tribunal, used “contradictory reasoning” when it overruled Brussels’ €13bn Irish back tax claim against Apple. Apple said the facts of the case remained unchanged. The commission’s appeal to the European Court of Justice could take 2 years or more to adjudicate. Sources: Bloomberg, Euronews, Politico and Reuters.
Silver hits 8-year high
The price of silver rose on Monday by 11%, to more than $30 an ounce, before falling below $29. Retail investors are rushing into silver based on social media chatter. Silver mining stocks have also risen. Sources: CNBC, Financial Times, The Guardian and Reuters.
Tiktok rival’s IPO generating big interest
Kuaishou, a videosharing app, is expected to be valued at $60bn when it goes public on Friday. Sources: Bloomberg, Financial Times and Nikkei.
Covid-19 vaccination: health ministry outlines phase 2 (out of 6 stages)
Phase 2 of Luxembourg’s vaccination campaign will start in March. It will target people over the age of 75 and those with conditions that make them vulnerable, such as cancer and organ transplant patients. The 6th and final phase will reach people aged 16 to 54. Sources: 100,7, Delano and Paperjam.
Luxembourg City care home outbreak
41 (out of 110) residents and 40 (out of 120) staff members at the Ste Elisabeth am Park nursing home have tested positive for the coronavirus. Eight residents have died. None of the residents have been vaccinated yet. Corinne Cahen, the family minister (DP), said the situation was now under control. Sources: RTL and Wort.
Latest Luxembourg covid-19 figures
There were 65 coronavirus patients in hospital on Sunday (compared to 76 the previous Sunday), including 11 in intensive care (compared to 15). The reproduction rate was 1.10, above the target threshold of 1.00 (compared to 1.01). Four people died due to covid-19 on Sunday, bringing the national total to 584. Sources: Delano and health ministry.
Fake covid certificates
Europol, the EU police coordination agency, warned that fraudsters are selling bogus covid-19 screening certificates to help people evade travel restrictions. Sources: AFP, BBC, The Guardian and NHK.
UK seeking membership in transpacific trade group
The British government said it would apply to join the CPTPP, the Asia-Pacific free trade bloc. Sources: BBC, Euractiv and Financial Times.
Iran says its ready for nuclear deal
Javad Zarif, Iran’s foreign minister, asked the EU to moderate a rapprochement between Tehran and Washington. Sources: AFP, CNN and Reuters.
SpaceX flight will have 100% civilian crew
Elon Musk’s SpaceX will launch “the world’s first all-civilian mission” later this year. The mission is a fundraiser for a children’s research hospital. Sources: Bloomberg, CNN, CNBC and The Verge.
Agenda
Tuesday 2 February, 1pm: British chamber panel on “The Future of the UK/EU Trade Relations: UK-EU Customs and Borders”. Wednesday 3 February, 1:30pm: Paperjam Club webinar on using blockchain in fund administration. Thursday 4 February, 11:30am: House of Startup’s “The Art of Storytelling” webinar. Thursday 4 February, 1pm: Luxembourg’s national health laboratory (LNS) holds a covid-19 informational session. Thursday 4 February, 4pm: Luxinnovation’s “Data based economy” EU research funding webinar. Monday 8 February, 5pm: Chinese new year celebration hosted online by several business and cultural organisations. Tuesday 9 February, 8:15am: 9th cross-border distribution conference. Tuesday 9 February, 9:30am: Paperjam Club’s “Cybersecurity trends for 2021” workshop. Tuesday 9 February, 4pm: Luxembourg Private Equity and Venture Capital Association and Luxembourg Open Innovation Club hold members-only briefing on corporate venture capital in Luxembourg. Thursday 11 February, 10:30am: Luxembourg for Finance’s “Focus on tokenisation” roundtable
Dustin Diamond
The actor Dustin Diamond, best known for portraying Screech in the 1990s sitcom Saved by the Bell, died at the age of 44. He was diagnosed with lung cancer 3 weeks ago. Sources: BBC, The Guardian, NPR and Variety.
CIA’s UFO cache now online
The Black Vault website has published more than 2,700 pages of CIA documents (that it secured via freedom of information requests) from the 1940s to 1990s on what the agency knew about UFOs. Sources: Cnet, New York Post, The Register and Vice.
Today’s breakfast briefing was written by Aaron Grunwald