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President Donald Trump called “for new regulations” of “social media companies that engage in censoring or any political conduct”. Trump is pictured in the White House on 28 May 2020. Photo credit: The White House on Twitter 

Trump targets Twitter

Donald Trump ordered a review of Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, the law that shields social media (and other internet) firms from liability over content posted on their platforms. Trump made the move after Twitter flagged two of his tweets as potentially misleading. Any change to the legislation would have to be passed by the US Congress. Sources: Axios, CNBC, CNN, Deutsche Welle, Financial Times, Marketwatch, and NPR.

Minneapolis riots over Floyd’s death

National Guard troops were deployed to the US city of Minneapolis after two days of violent demonstrations following the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man, in police custody. Sources: Associated Press, BBC, CNN, NPR and Reuters.

Fresh US jobless claims rise, but total unemployment falls

An additional 2.1m Americans filed for unemployment benefits last week, bringing the total since the pandemic started to 41m. However, ongoing claims dropped by 3.9m, to 21.1m, representing about 14.5% of the workforce. Sources: Bloomberg, CNBC, Financial Times, Marketwatch and RTE.

Amazon keeping US jobs

The e-commerce giant Amazon said it would give permanent posts to 125,000 of the 175,000 temporary workers it hired to deal with the covid-19 shutdown surge. Sources: AFP, CNN, Marketwatch, Reuters and Seeking Alpha.

China passes HK security law

Beijing’s rubberstamp parliament approved a national security law for Hong Kong, bypassing the semi-autonomous region’s legislature. Sources: AFP, BBC, Financial Times, RTE and South China Morning Post.

UK boosts rights of HK residents

The British government will extend the visa-free rights of Hong Kong holders of British National (Overseas) passports to stay in the UK from 6 months to 12 months, in response to Beijing’s new national security law. The UK will also consider a pathway to citizenship. About 300,000 Hongkongers have BN(O) passports, which were issued before the handover in 1997. Sources: Financial Times, The Guardian, Sky News and South China Morning Post and Sydney Morning Herald.

Cummings might have committed “minor breach”

British police said Dominic Cummings, PM Boris Johnson’s top advisor, potentially broke virus lockdown rules by driving more than 250 miles (400km), but will not pursue a case against him, since he likely would have been let off with a warning if they had caught him in the act. Sources: BBC, The Guardian, Reuters, Sky News and the Telegraph.

Premiere League to resume play

The English Premiere League will return to the pitch on 17 June after three months of coronavirus shutdown. Sources: BBC, ESPN, Euronews, Marketwatch and Politico.

French hospitality sector to restart

France’s PM Edouard Philippe said bars, cafés and restaurants could reopen on 2 June with safety measures in place. In the Paris region, only terraces will be permitted. France fully reopens in borders to neighbours on 15 June. Sources: AFP, BBC, Financial Times, The Guardian and RTE.

GSK plans mass production of vaccine booster

GlaxoSmithKline, the world’s largest vaccine maker, said it was preparing to produce 1bn covid-19 vaccine boosters next year. Sources: Financial Times, RTE, Reuters and Seeking Alpha.

Hutchinson wins O2 appeal

The EU General Court struck down the European Commission decision to block the takeover of the UK’s O2 mobile carrier by Hong Kong’s CK Hutchison on competition grounds. The ruling can be appealed to the European Court of Justice. Sources: Bloomberg, Financial Times, The Register, Reuters and the Telegraph.

Musk gets Tesla bonus

The electric carmaker Tesla granted CEO Elon Musk his first performance payout, worth about $775m. Sources: CNBC, Marketwatch and Seeking Alpha.

Agenda

Friday 29 May, 2pm-4pm: House of Entrepreneurship’s “How to set up my company in Luxembourg?” online workshop. Saturday 30 May, 3pm: Code Club Luxembourg’s free online coding workshop for kids age 8-12. Tuesday 2 June, 1:30pm-2:30pm: Paperjam Club’s “Is my career on lockdown?” personal development webinar. Wednesday 3 June, 5pm: Luxembourg Private Equity and Venture Capital Association’s “10 years, 10 minutes” interview with Tonika Hirdman of the Fondation de Luxembourg. Thursday 4 June, 5pm: British Chamber of Commerce’s “ESG: Essential and strategic for growth” online sustainable finance panel talk.

Here are 5 science & technology stories you may have missed

Cybersecurity: Bellingcat was able to use the beer rating app Untappd to track the movements of military and intelligence personnel, including to secret bases. Cryptography: The Dutch intelligence agency apparently helped the British decipher Argentine communications during the Falklands War, per The RegisterEnergy: The US government has given $230m in research grants to develop new, smaller nuclear power reactors, per Popular Mechanics. Nature: Scientists are not sure why moss balls living on glaciers in Alaska, Iceland and elsewhere apparently move in tandem over the course of several years, per NPR. Space exploration: In simulations on Earth, Martian mud looked and acted like molten lava flows, per the BBC

Dunkirk letter delivered 80 years later

A letter written by Private Harry Cole, a British soldier fighting in the second world war, three days before he was killed in Belgium in May 1940 was delivered to members of his family this month. Sources: BBC, Daily Mail and East Anglian Daily Times.

Advice for eyeglass wearers

GQ explains how to keep your face mask from fogging up your spectacles.

Today’s breakfast briefing was written by Aaron Grunwald