Washington to publish Khashoggi killing report
A declassified version of a US intelligence report, which could be released as soon as today, is expected to implicate Saudi Arabia’s crown prince in the murder of the journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Ahead of the release, Joe Biden spoke with the Saudi king, with the White House saying the US president stressed human rights and the rule of law (although not the report itself). Khashoggi, a columnist for the Washington Post, was killed inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in October 2018. Riyadh has said it was a “rogue operation” that went wrong. Sources: CNBC, Financial Times, NPR, Reuters and RTE.
EU vaccine passport proposal
The EU is planning to issue certificates to people who have been vaccinated, have a negative PCR test or have recovered from covid-19, which would allow them to travel freely within the bloc. The European Commission said the scheme could be ready by this summer. Sources: BBC, DW, Euronews and RTE.
French introducing tighter German border checks
The French government will beef up checks on its border with Germany in the Moselle department (which neighbours Luxembourg). Cross-border commuters will need to submit weekly PCR test results. Sources: DW and Reuters.
Airbnb expecting travel turnaround
The hospitality booking service Airbnb posted a $3.9bn fourth quarter loss, but said it expected a “big rebound” in travel. Sources: BBC, Bloomberg, CNBC and Financial Times.
American nursing home cases fall sharply
The vaccination drive in US long-term care facilities is paying off: new infections among nursing home residents were down by more than 80% and deaths dropped by more than 65% between 20 December and 7 February. Source: New York Times.
Latest Luxembourg covid-19 update
There were 30.83 new cases per 100,000 inhabitants on 24 February (compared to 37.21 on 17 February). The reproductive rate was 1.15, above the target threshold of 1.00 (compared to 1.00). There were 78 covid-19 patients in hospital (compared to 74), including 15 in intensive care (compared to 17). Two people died due to the coronavirus, bringing the national total to 634. A cumulative total of 34,760 vaccine doses have been administered, including 9,475 people who have received both doses. Sources: Delano and health ministry.
Luxembourg court rejects EIB fraud allegations
A former European Investment Bank employee was cleared by a Luxembourg criminal court of fraud charges. The ex-EIB staffer received €136,500 in compensation after seeing an intern commit suicide, but the EIB then accused him of not really witnessing the death. “I am relieved that the judge found the bank’s claims to be unfounded,” Paul Van Houtte said. The EIB did not comment. Source: Bloomberg.
Mitsubishi Bank plans local layoffs
Japan’s Mitsubishi Bank will make 10% of its Luxembourg staff redundant, according to the Aleba trade union. Sources: Delano and Paperjam.
SES earnings drop
The satellite operator SES recorded 5% lower revenue and nearly 50% lower net profits for 2020. Sources: Delano and Seeking Alpha.
Kinepolis earnings hard hit by covid
The cinema chain Kinepolis posted a €69.1m loss for its 2020 fiscal year. Sources: Delano and Paperjam.
Twitter plans to supercharge its cash flow
The social networking site Twitter said it could introduce a “Super Follower” service that would let users charge for content. Twitter wants to double its revenue by 2023. Sources: Bloomberg, CNBC, Financial Times and The Guardian.
Boeing fined for safety process failures
The aircraft maker Boeing will pay the US Federal Aviation Administration $6.6m to settle 3 safety compliance cases. Sources: Bloomberg, CNBC, Reuters and Washington Post.
German man arrested for spying for Russians
A German national has been charged with passing floorplans for the Bundestag parliament building to Russian military intelligence agents. Sources: AFP, BBC, DW and The Guardian.
Armenian PM coup plot claims
Nikol Pashinyan, Armenia’s prime minister, led a rally after saying the country’s military was attempting a coup. Several senior officers had called for his resignation. Sources: AP, BBC, NPR and RTE.
US airstrikes in Syria
The Pentagon said it carried out airstrikes on sites in eastern Syria that are linked with Iranian militia forces. Sources: Bloomberg, DW, The Guardian and Reuters.
Man seriously injured in Lady Gaga dognapping
The performer Lady Gaga is offering a $500,000 reward after her dogwalker was shot and her French bulldogs stolen in Los Angeles. The dogwalker is in critical condition. Sources: BBC, DW and RTE.
Here are 7 science & technology stories you may have missed
Archaeology: Researchers dated a life-sized painting of a kangaroo as 17,100-17,500 years old, making it Australia’s oldest rock art, per New Scientist. Health: A meta-analysis of studies from the past decade found that eating cheese is not linked with weight gain, cardiovascular disease and diabetes; it’s neutral at worst, per Wired. Public health: Initial studies indicate that a new strain of the covid-19 virus first detected in California is more contagious, sends more patients into intensive care and represented 50% of new cases recorded in the state at the end of January, per Science magazine. Public health: Sniffer dogs can detect the coronavirus that causes covid-19 with 94% accuracy, according to German veterinarians, per Reuters. Research: Scientists can become allergic to the organisms they study--such as butterflies, corals, leeches and snakes--because they spend too much time with them, per Undark. Social media: Internet chatter claims that the pattern on the parachute used by Nasa’s Perseverance Rover to land on Mars contains coded messages, per The Guardian. Space: The user agreement for SpaceX’s future Starlink satellite-based internet service requires users to “recognize Mars as a free planet and that no Earth-based government has authority or sovereignty over Martian activities," per The Register.
When calling customer service doesn’t work...
A 90 year man who lives in the North Hollywood neighbourhood of Los Angeles spent $10,000 on an advertisement in the Wall Street Journal to complain that his internet connection was far slower than the speeds advertised for other areas. It worked. Less than a week later, AT&T technicians installed a new fibre connection to his home that is now faster than those advertised speeds. Sources: Ars Technica and NBC News.
Today’s breakfast briefing was written by Aaron Grunwald