WHO rapid testing plan
The World Health Organization outlined plans to provide 120m rapid covid-19 tests to low- and middle-income countries. Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the WHO’s director general, said during a press conference on Monday: “These tests provide reliable results in approximately 15 to 30 minutes, rather than hours or days at a lower price with less sophisticated equipment. This will enable the expansion of testing, particularly in hard-to-reach areas that do not have lab facilities or enough trained health workers to carry out PCR tests.” Sources: Associated Press, The Guardian and Reuters.
US rapid testing plan
Donald Trump said the US government would distribute 150m rapid coronavirus tests to care homes and other facilities “in the coming weeks”. His vice president, Mike Pence, warned that the number of covid-19 cases in the US would rise “in the days ahead”. Sources: CNBC, CNN and Reuters.
New Netherlands restrictions
The Dutch government introduced several measures to combat a resurgence in covid-19 cases, including earlier closing times for bars and restaurants, limiting travel between certain cities, and recommending that people wear face masks in shops. Sources: BBC, The Guardian and Reuters.
Covid-19: one million mark
The worldwide death toll from the coronavirus surpassed 1m on Tuesday, according to Johns Hopkins University. Sources: BBC, CNBC and Deutsche Welle.
Latest Luxembourg coronavirus figures
14 out of 706 Luxembourg residents tested for covid-19 on Sunday were positive. 36 patients were in hospital with the coronavirus, including 3 in intensive care. The effective reproduction rate was 0.52, well below the threshold of 1. Sources: Health ministry and Paperjam.
60,979 emergency services calls in 2019
Luxembourg’s fire and rescue service, the CGDIS, answered an emergency call every 9 minutes last year. The vast majority, 88%, were medical emergencies. Source: CGD
IS annual report.
€600m military plane purchase
Luxembourg’s government is stumping up the cash that will let several EU countries jointly buy an additional military aircraft. Sources: Delano and Paperjam.
Dozens killed as Caucasus conflict continues
More than 90 people have been killed and hundreds wounded as Armenia and Azerbaijan clashed for a second day in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh. Sources: BBC, Deutsche Welle and The Guardian.
California fire evacuations
70,000 residents and a local hospital were ordered to evacuate in the wine country north of San Francisco as strong winds helped spread a rapid wildfire. Three people were killed in a separate fire further north. Sources: Associated Press, The Guardian and Los Angeles Times.
Apple v Epic Games case sees virtual inside of courtroom
The judge hearing the antitrust suit between Apple and Epic Games, the maker of “Fortnite”, over Apple’s in-app purchase commissions, expressed doubt over some of Epic’s claims but said a jury trial would likely be set for July 2021. Sources: Cnet, CNN and New York Times.
Google to take 30% app fee
Google said it would start enforcing an existing policy requiring software developers to use its billing system--on which it collects a 30% fee--to sell in-app purchases for apps in its Google Play Store. Sources: CNBC, New York Times and Techcrunch.
LVMH strikes back Tiffany’s
The French luxury goods group LVMH countersued Tiffany’s, the US jeweller, citing poor management during the global pandemic. Tiffany’s had sued LVMH for backing out of a $16bn takeover deal. Sources: Financial Times, Marketwatch and Seeking Alpha.
Uber wins London case
After a 3 year legal battle, Uber has been granted a London operating license for 18 months. Sources: BBC, CNBC and Financial Times.
Agenda
Tuesday 29 September, 10am-12noon: House of Entrepreneurship’s free online workshop on how to start a business in Luxembourg. Wednesday 30 September, 12noon: Delano Live Chat on anxiety and burnout. Wednesday 30 September, 6:30pm: Free digital privacy and security tips during this online apéro. Thursday 1 October, 5pm: Chinalux’s online culinary mixer to mark China’s National Day and Mid-Autumn Festival (book and pick up tasting box in advance). Thursday 1 October, 5pm: ABBL and Accenture’s “CFO community webinar”.
Ear plugs
There is a burgeoning movement to listen to music offline on iPods (and not streaming on mobile phones), which this GQ writer wholly subscribed to.
Today’s breakfast briefing was written by Aaron Grunwald