End September deadline for UK
The prime minister of Finland, which currently holds the EU's rotating presidency, has suggested that the UK government must present concrete alternatives in writing, “if they exist”, to the Irish backstop in the next two weeks, the BBC reports. At a meeting in Paris, Antti Rinne and French President Emmanuel Macron said that if no proposal is received by the EU by the end of September "then it's over". The Guardian points out that the deadline falls on the eve of the Conservative party conference, which is awkward for prime minster Boris Johnson. Meanwhile, the FT has revealed further details of Johnson’s lunch in Luxembourg with Jean-Claude Juncker and Michel Barnier. Citing an EU source, the paper says the lunch included a “penny dropping” moment for Johnson over the complexity of the Irish border issue.
Trump tempers talk of war with Iran
Reuters reports that US president Donald Trump has said there were many options short of war with Iran over its alleged attack on Saudi oil facilities. But, as CNN reports, secretary of state Mike Pompeo on a visit to Saudi Arabia called the attacks “an act of war”. The BBC has video of Saudi Arabia's defence ministry displaying wreckage of drones and cruise missiles that it says proves Iran was behind the attack.
O'Brien named national security advisor
Meanwhile, president Trump has named Robert O'Brien as his new national security advisor to replace John Bolton, the BBC reports. Aljazeera has a profile of the new appointee, who was most recently the head of hostage negotiations at the State Department. The New York Times says O'Brien “looks the part” but that he has limited government experience.
BBC defends Kuenssberg over tweet
BBC reporter Laura Kuenssberg, who has been accused of pro-Conservative bias, was the subject of criticism on social media on Wednesday after she identified a concerned father who confronted Boris Johnson in a hospital as a “Labour activist”. The BBC dismissed any suggestion of “malicious intent” on Kuenssberg’s part, says The Huffington Post. The father, whose child was being treated at the Whipps Cross University Hospital when Johnson visited, accused the prime minister’s party of destroying the NHS and being at the hospital for a press opportunity. Johnson, gesturing at a camera, said “there’s no press here.” The BBC reports that Johnson later tweeted that the encounter was not “an embarrassment” but “part of my job”.
Fed under fire from Trump
Donald Trump has slammed the Federal Reserve and its chairman Jerome Powell for having “no ‘guts,’ no sense, no vision!”. Politico reports on the president’s tweet, which followed the Fed’s decision to cut interest rates by a quarter point. But CNBC says the Fed has “lost control of the very benchmark rate that it manages.”
Trudeau sorry for brownface incidents
Just weeks before Canada goes to the polls, CBC reports that prime minister Justin Trudeau has been forced to apologise after Time magazine published a photo of him in brownface and wearing a turban at an event in 2001.
Rogue umbrella halts work
Employees of a company hiring space in a WeWork building in Washington DC were unable to enter their office for two days after an umbrella jammed the door, The Guardian reports. A tweet of the incident prompted several suggestions to solve the problem, but eventually the company hired an engineer to drill a hole in the ceiling and move the rogue umbrella using wire.
Today’s breakfast briefing was written by Duncan Roberts