New Zealand mosque shootings

There are “multiple fatalities”, said police, following shootings at two mosques in Christchurch, the largest city on New Zealand’s South Island. One unofficial report said up to 60 people may be injured. Schools in the city went into “lockdown” mode and residents in the city centre were advised to remain indoors. Jacinda Ardern, New Zealand’s prime minister, tweeted that the act “has no place in New Zealand” and told a press conference: “This is and will be one of New Zealand’s darkest days.” Coverage by the BBC, Guardian, New Zealand Herald, Radio New Zealand and Reuters.

House of Commons votes to seek Brexit extension

British MPs voted 412 to 202 in favour of asking for a delay to Brexit. The UK will ask the EU for a delay until June if parliament agrees next week to PM Theresa May’s current withdrawal agreement with Brussels (which MPs have already rejected twice); London will seek a longer extension if they don’t. All remaining 27 EU countries have to agree to a delay unanimously; EU leaders meet to discuss Brexit next Thursday. Reported by the BBC, Financial Times and Guardian.

Senate votes to overturn Trump’s border wall declaration

The US Senate has joined the US House of Representatives in voting to block Donald Trump’s emergency declaration allowing him to build a wall on the country’s border with Mexico. Congress rejected the wall in a budget standoff earlier this year. Trump tweeted that he would veto the bill. Reported by the Financial Times, New York Times and Reuters.

Student climate strikes

High school students around the world are walking out of the classroom today to protest the lack of progress in tackling climate change. Reported by DW, France 24 and the Guardian.

Turning the lights back on

Wired explained why it’s difficult to restart a power grid, in Venezuela or anywhere, after a major blackout. 

Beijing passes new investment law

China’s parliament has approved a new investment law aimed at reducing trade tensions with the US. The law addresses longstanding complaints about access to China’s domestic market and forced technology transfers. Reported by the Associated Press, BBC and South China Morning Post.

Scandals chased deposits out of eurozone banks (but not Luxembourg’s)

Total foreign deposits in euro area banks dropped following recent Baltic money laundering scandals, according to European Central Bank data. Luxembourg, Ireland, Finland and Portugal were the only countries in the currency bloc that recorded higher foreign deposits than 6 months ago, Reuters reported. Luxembourg also had the highest proportion of bank deposits belonging to companies or people located outside the eurozone.

Facebook execs quit

Two top Facebook executives have unexpectedly resigned without explicitly saying why. Chris Cox was chief product officer (and had been with the firm for 13 years) and Chris Daniels was head of WhatsApp. Facebook shook up its management last May and CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced a shift towards “privacy” last week. Reported by the BBC, Financial Times and Techcrunch.

Dot Amazon

The ecommerce giant Amazon may finally get the “.amazon” top level internet name soon, after a seven year battle with Brazil and Peru, as explained by the Register. 

Oxford comma enthusiasts on Tinder

The Oxford comma, and where singles stand on it, has become a dividing line on dating sites, according to GQ.

Today’s breakfast briefing was written by Aaron Grunwald