UK to welcome Trump
Protests were planned across the UK on Monday in anticipation of the state visit of US president Donald Trump, who was expected to land in Air Force One at London Stansted Airport at 9am, BBC news reports. On Monday, he’ll meet the Queen, Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall and receive a tour of Westminster Abbey. According to Politico, planning for the visit has been in “disaster management” territory since the resignation of prime minister Theresa May. Trump has expressed admiration for Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage and vocally backed Boris Johnson to replace May as Conservative Party leader and prime minister. On Saturday, the FT published an “op ed” from Vince Cable, who declined an invitation to the royal banquet and says he sees “no justification” for the visit.
French centre-right leader quits
Leader of Les Républicains (LR) Laurent Wauquiez quit live on television on Sunday after his party finished fourth, scoring 8.5% in the European Parliament elections. National Rally leader Marine Le Pen called on LR’s supporters to join her party. More from politico and euronews.
Papal apology
Pope Francis apologised to the Roma people on behalf of the Catholic Church during a visit to Romania on Sunday. BBC news reports the pope asked forgiveness from the ethnic minority for “all those times in history when we have discriminated, mistreated or looked askance at you.” Reuters reports that the move is likely to increase tensions with Italy deputy-prime minister Matteo Salvini.
Apple to close iTunes
Apple CEO Tim Cook is expected to announce the closure of iTunes at the Worldwide Developers Conference in San Jose on Monday, Bloomberg reports. It will replace the app with three new apps for the Mac- Music, TV and Podcasts.
Airline profits slump
Global airline profits are expected to reach a 5-year low thanks to fuel cost rises and weakening world trade, the International Air Transport Association (Iata) has said at its annual meeting in Seoul. Profits in 2019 could reach $28bn instead of $35.5bn as forecast by Iata in December. On the plus side, The Guardian writes that despite these challenges, the industry was still expected to record its tenth consecutive year of profits since the financial crisis. Among Bloomberg’s take aways from the meeting were the troublesome impact of US tariffs on freight and the passenger comfort, or rather the lack of, expected in the new 20-hour, non-stop services from Sydney to London.
Drought halted whisky production
Scotland’s distilleries have delivered a glass half-empty forecast for the future of Scottish whisky production after some announced they had to stop production last summer because they ran out of water. Water levels in springs and rivers fell so low that in the Scottish Highlands some makers halted production for up to a month, The Guardian reports.
Later today
Startup eco-system the House of Startups looks back over its first year of activities with a press conference later this morning. Parliament will, meanwhile, discuss Bill 7431, transposing into law a European directive on tax dispute settlement mechanisms. The directive is part of the OECD’s action plan on tax base erosion and profit transfer.
Coming up
On Tuesday the University of Luxembourg’s SnT department, which turns 10, will showcase its work at a partnership day at Casino 2000 in Mondorf. The same day, parliament will consider new petitions and reflect on the effectiveness of the Luxembourg ecommerce platform Letzsshop.lu. On Wednesday evening, the BIL Business Woman of the Year will be announced.
Overlanding makes comeback
Looking for travel inspiration for the summer? BBC news features this report on the return of the trend for overlanding, defined as “self-reliant travel where the journey is more important than the destination”. Speaking of travel, don’t forget to register to attend the next Delano Live on 11 June, all about adventure travel.
Today’s breakfast briefing was written by Jess Bauldry