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Gunmen attacked several locations in central Vienna on Monday evening. The Austrian chancellor, Sebastian Kurz, said late on 2 November that the country would “never be intimidated by terrorism” and called up the army to patrol the streets of Vienna while the police continue their manhunt. Library picture: Sebastian Kurz is seen speaking during a press conference, 29 October 2020. Photo credit: BKA 

Vienna hit by terror attack

At least 3 people have been killed and 15 injured in terror attacks in Vienna. Shootings took place at 6 different locations, starting around 8pm Monday evening near the city’s main synagogue, although it is not clear if it was the target. Police said there were several suspects armed with rifles. One suspect was shot and killed by police officers, one has reportedly been arrested, and police are searching for at least one other. Sebastian Kurz, Austria’s chancellor, said: “Our police will act decisively against the perpetrators of this repulsive terrorist attack.” European leaders including Emmanuel Macron expressed support for Austria. Xavier Bettel, Luxembourg’s prime minister, called it a “hideous attack on our freedom”. Sources: Associated Press, BBC, Deutsche Welle, The Guardian, Politico and Reuters.

US election day finally here

American voters head to the polls today to elect the next US president, members of the House of Representatives, several US senators, as well as dozens of state and local officials. Election guides: Associated Press, BBC, Financial Times, New York Times, Politico and Wall Street Journal. Pre-election analysis: CNN and NPR.

Latest Luxembourg covid-19 cases

Out of 6,403 PCR tests conducted on Sunday, 320 Luxembourg residents were positive for covid-19. That’s a rate of 51.11 per 100,000 inhabitants. There were 150 patients hospitalised due to the coronavirus, including 29 in intensive care. No deaths were reported. Source: Luxembourg health ministry.

New testing centres

Two new covid-19 testing sites open this week, one in Esch-Alzette and the other in Dudelange. Sources: Delano and Luxembourg health ministry.

Affordable housing builder has land backlog

Luxembourg’s housing fund (Fonds du Logement) currently has 142.3 hectares of land available for construction, but only a relatively small portion will be developed in the next 5 years. Sources: Delano and Paperjam.

Possible police border checks

Luxembourg’s foreign ministry said that Belgium, France and Germany could conduct spot checks at their borders with the grand duchy, to ensure compliance with covid-19 restrictions, but the ministry said it was confident the frontiers would remain open. Source: 100,7 public radio.

Ardern appoints diverse cabinet

Jacinda Ardern, recently reelected as New Zealand’s prime minister, announced her new cabinet, calling it “incredibly diverse”. They will take office on Friday. Sources: AFP, Deutsche Welle, The Guardian and Radio New Zealand.

Snowden seeks Russian nationality

The American surveillance whistleblower Edward Snowden and his wife, who are expecting their first child, have applied for Russian citizenship. Snowden has lived in Russia since 2013. Sources: AFP, Deutsche Welle and NPR.

Paris to dissolve far right Turkish group

The French government said it would ban the Turkish nationalist organisation Grey Wolves after an Armenian genocide memorial was defaced. Sources: BBC, France 24 and Politico.

Ryanair: no covid-19 reimbursements

Ryanair will not refund passengers who cancel flights in November to comply with England’s coronavirus lockdown. The budget carrier said many flights are still operating. Sources: BBC, Daily Mail and The Guardian.

Apple announcement next week

The next generation of Mac computers are expected to be unveiled at an Apple event on 10 November. Sources: CNBC, Cnet and Marketwatch.

Twitter board expresses ‘confidence’ in Dorsey

Jack Dorsey will remain CEO of Twitter, after board of directors committee completed a review of the social media firm’s management structure. Sources: Bloomberg, Financial Times and Reuters.

Paypal revenue up, but stock falls

Shares in the payments firm Paypal fell after it posted better-than-expected quarterly earnings but said growth would slow in Q4. Sources: Investor’s Business Daily, Marketwatch, Seeking Alpha and Techcrunch.

Literally ‘Saved by the Whale’s Tail’

A Rotterdam metro driver, whose train crashed through a barrier and went off an elevated track, was saved from falling into the water when their carriage landed on a statue entitled ‘Saved by the Whale’s Tail’. Sources: AFP, BBC, Deutsche Welle and The Guardian.

Depp loses London court case

The actor Johnny Depp lost his libel case against the Sun newspaper, which described him as a “wife beater”. Sources: Deutsche Welle, Financial Times, The Guardian and Reuters.

Agenda

Thursday 5 November, 7pm: Post-US election party in Howald. Friday 6 November, 10am-5pm: University of Luxembourg student career fair. Monday 9 November, 12noon: American and British chambers hosts a personal tax info session. Tuesday 10-Wednesday 25 November: Mind & Market startup pitches. Wednesday 18-Thursday 19 November: Forum for anti-money laundering and financial crime professionals.

Robot message stops thief

A homeowner in Lippstadt, Germany, foiled a robbery when he went to check on a smartphone error message sent from his robot lawnmower, per the Associated Press.

Today’s breakfast briefing was written by Aaron Grunwald