Warsaw signals compromise on EU budget veto
Poland’s deputy prime minister, Jarosław Gowin, said Warsaw could compromise over its current block on the EU budget. Warsaw along with Budapest have said they will veto the EU’s entire €1.8trn 2021-2027 budget, including the €750bn covid recovery fund, over ‘rule of law’ provisions. But now the Polish government would accept a “binding” statement on the link between EU funds and ‘rule of law’ provisions, Gowin told reporters on Thursday, per Politico and Reuters. Earlier on Thursday, European Commission officials said the other EU25 countries could continue with the rescue package without including Hungary and Poland, per Bloomberg, EUobserver and the Financial Times.
Brexit talks teetering
Negotiations between the EU and UK have reportedly stalled again. London said the French have made last-minute demands; Paris presumable would describe it as pushing to have its red lines respected. Talks could conclude over the weekend. Sources: BBC, Financial Times, The Guardian and Politico.
Ispace scoops up moon dirt deal
Luxembourg-based Ispace Europe was one of four firms to win Nasa contracts to collect moon rock samples. The startup and its Japanese parent company will each earn $5,000 from the US space agency. The other two outfits will earn $15,000 and $1. Sources: BBC, CNBC, Space.com and US Embassy in Luxembourg.
EIB supports Spire
The European Investment Bank granted a €20m venture loan to the nanosatellite maker Spire Global, which operates out of the Gare district. Sources: Delano and Paperjam.
LSAP picks up support
If a general election were held today, the LSAP would likely pick up 2 seats in the Chamber of Deputies, according to polling by TNS Ilres released yesterday. The LSAP has been bolstered by the performance of Paulette Lenert, the health minister. The CSV would likely lose 2 seats, but remain the single largest party in parliament. Sources: RTL and Wort.
Statec updates Luxembourg economy forecast
The grand duchy’s economy will take a hard hit in 2020 and 2021, but it will not be as bad as previously expected. Source: Delano.
Latest Luxembourg covid-19 update
Out of 11,237 PCR tests conducted on Wednesday 2 December, 625 Luxembourg residents were positive for the coronavirus. That is a rate of 99.82 per 100,000 inhabitants (compared to 107.33 the previous day). The RT effective reproduction rate was 1.05, above the target threshold of 1.00 (compared to 1.04). There were 201 patients in hospital (down from 210), including 41 in intensive care (unchanged). Five people died due to covid-19, bringing the national total to 339. Sources: Delano and health ministry.
Christmas travel ban in Italy
Italian authorities said no travel will be permitted between regions from 21 December to 6 January. Sources: BBC, DPA and The Guardian.n
Fauci apologises for UK vaccine comments
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the top US infectious disease official, backtracked on his statement that the UK’s review of the Pfizer/Biontech covid-19 vaccine was “much less deep” than the American process. Fauci later said that he had “great deal of confidence” in the UK regulator and “did not mean to imply any sloppiness”. Sources: BBC, CNBC and The Guardian.
EU top court sides with taxi app
The European Court of Justice said a Romanian ride hailing app was an online service, not a taxi operator. The ruling could potentially support Uber’s similar battles across Europe. Sources: Courthouse News Service and Politico.
Boeing gets 737 Max orders
Ryanair ordered 75 new Boeing 737 Max aircraft (now dubbed 737 8200). The jets were grounded for about two years after two fatal crashes and only recently regained authorisation to fly. Sources: BBC, CityAM, Financial Times and The Guardian.
Google AI ethics exec sacked over research
Timnit Gebru, who was co-head of AI ethics at Google, said she was fired after pushing back on Google’s refusal to publish a research paper. Google has not commented. Sources: Bloomberg, Financial Times, NPR and The Verge.
Vanguard international chief to retire
Jim Norris, head of international business at the world’s second largest asset manager, Vanguard, is stepping down. Since he took charge in 1998, Vanguard’s non-US division grew from $100bn to $460bn in assets under management. Source: Financial Times.
Warner shifts on streaming in US
The film studio Warner Bros said it would release all films in the US on its HBO Max streaming service and in movie theatres on the same day. Sources: BBC, CNBC, Financial Times and Seeking Alpha.
Here are 7 science & technology stories you may have missed
AI: Deepmind, part of the same company as Google, says its machine learning software can now accurately predict the structure of proteins, a potentially leap forward in the development of new drugs, per The Economist and The Register. Archaeology: Researchers now think that catastrophic tsunamis 8,000 years ago did not totally obliterate Doggland, the landmass that once connected Britain with mainland Europe, per The Guardian and Smithsonian magazine. Consumer electronics: Italy’s competition authority fined Apple €10m over inaccurate iPhone water resistance claims, per Macrumors and The Register. Health: This Wired article explains that sunscreen works by converting ultraviolet radiation into heat, what “SPF” means, why it’s called “sunscreen” and not “sunblock” in the US, and that sunscreen might not help protect against skin cancer as much as you’d think. Materials science: Researchers developed a magnetic spray that can turn small inanimate objects into mini-robots, or “millirobots”, per Science magazine (video). Neuroscience: Your brain is mostly making predictions “about what’s going to happen next, not reacting to experience as it unfolds,” according to a psychologist interviewed by GQ (trippy examples: how our skin doesn’t really feel when it starts to rain, how your brain tricks you after drinking a glass of water and how accepting information that challenges existing perceptions saps our brainpower). Social media: Apparently you can reason with conspiracy theorists, as “people seem receptive to you exposing the ways in which they may have been manipulated,” per The Observer.
More metal monoliths
Following the mysterious appearance and disappearance of a metal monolith in the Utah desert, there are now ones in Romania, per ABC News and NPR, and in California, per the Associated Press and The Guardian.
Memorable company names
A locksmith called “Surelock Homes”, a flooring contractor named “Lino Richie” and movers dubbed “Jean-Claude Van Man” are some of the punny British business names featured in this Bored Panda list.
Today’s breakfast briefing was written by Aaron Grunwald