Football: super league condemned

Football authorities, commentators, fans interest groups and politicians have condemned plans unveiled on Sunday for a European super league. 12 clubs have signed up for the new competition including AC Milan, Chelsea, Barcelona, Internazionale, Juventus, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and Real Madrid. Further clubs are expected to join, although notable names missing include Paris Saint-Germain, Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund. The new league says it hopes to start as soon as this August, with clubs participating in two groups of 10 and proceeding to knock-out stages for 8 qualifiers. It also wants to launch a corresponding women’s league. Uefa, which recently unveiled its own plans for an expanded and restructured Champions League, has said the league is a “cynical project founded on the self-interest of a few clubs.” UK prime minister Boris Johnson on Twitter labelled the plans as “very damaging for football”, while on Sky Sports former Manchester United player Gary Neville was among the most vocal critics, saying he was “disgusted” and calling for domestic league sanctions for the clubs involved, including United. ESPN says that its sources claim JP Morgan “will underwrite the project, with $6 billion distributed as loans to the teams.” The BBC has more details and The Guardian has an explainer of how the super league would work.

Navalny protest planned over health concerns

Reports that Russian opposition dissident Alexei Navalny is in a critical condition in prison has brought condemnation from western leaders and sparked plans for a massive nationwide protest by his supporters on Wednesday. The US, France, the UK and the EU over the weekend issued statements expressing concern over Navalny’s ailing health after he started a hunger strike on 31 March. US national security adviser Jake Sullivan told CNN there would be “consequences” if Navalny dies in prison. Reuters and the BBC have more.

Czechs and Russians in tit-for-tat expulsions

Moscow on Sunday responded to the expulsion of 18 of its diplomats from the Czech Republic by announcing that Czech 20 diplomats will be expelled from Russia. The moves follow accusations from the Czech authorities that Russian diplomats aided the notorious Unit 29155 of the GRU intelligence agency in blowing up a munitions storage depot in a forest at Vrbětice in 2014. Two people died in the explosion. The main suspects are Alexander Mishkin and Anatoly Chepigov, the two GRU officers accused by the UK of involvement in the 2018 poisoning of Sergei Skripal and his daughter. The BBC and France24 report.

Paul Helminger

The death was announced on Saturday of former Luxembourg City mayor Paul Helminger at the age of 80. Helminger, who served as the Democratic Party mayor of Luxembourg City from 1999 to 2011 first made his political mark as the cabinet chief of prime minister Gaston Thorn between 1974 and 1979. More recently he was the chairman of the board of Cargolux. Delano has more.

Clubhouse gets new funding

San Francisco-based tech firm Clubhouse has completed a new round of financing that, according to a Reuters source, would value the audio-chat app company at $4 billion. The funding was announced at the company’s weekly town hall on Sunday, without any mention of a specific sum. The invite-only app, which hosts audio chatrooms on different topics, has reported 10 million weekly active users. MarketWatch and Bloomberg also have details.

Fire destroys part of former Diekirch brewery

A huge fire engulfed a 900m2 building on the site of the former brewery in Diekirch late on Saturday night. Emergency rescue teams, including between 60 and 100 firefighters at one stage, tackled the blaze, which was brought under control in the early hours of Sunday morning. Police have not ruled out arson. RTL has photos of the blaze.

Two die in driverless Tesla crash

Two men died when the Tesla Model S in which they were travelling crashed and burst into flames north of Houston, Texas. One of the men was in the front passenger seat, the other in a rear passenger seat, but there was nobody in the driver’s seat. According to Reuters, Tesla is preparing to launch its updated “full self-driving” software to more customers.

Egyptian rail crash kills 11

At least 11 people died and close to 100 were injured after four wagons of a train travelling from Cairo to Mansoura ran off the track. Local media reports that authorities have detained several railway officials, including the train driver and his assistant, while they investigate the crash. The Guardian and CNN have details.

Concerns over Peloton Tread+ safety

The US Consumer Product Safety Commission has advised owners of the Peloton Tread+ to ensure small children and pets are no in the vicinity when using the treadmill machine. The commission says it is aware of 39 incidents including one death, involving the Peloton Tread+. The BBC and CNBC have more.

Verstappen wins Emilia Romagna Grand Prix

Red Bull's Max Verstappen took first place in what the BBC described as a “chaotic, incident-strewn” Emilia Romagna Grand Prix on Sunday. World champion Lewis Hamilton finished second and McLaren’s Lando Norris joined them on the podium in third place.

Today’s breakfast briefing was written by Duncan Roberts