Indigenous rights, politics on X, Storm Idalia intensifies and fuel price rises

Luxembourg

HOUSING BILLS REJECTED - Two more housing bills, integral to the housing policy introduced by Minister for Home Affairs Taina Bofferding, have been rejected by the Council of State. This recent development comes in the wake of prior setbacks, notably the unsuccessful attempts in June to reform property tax and implement a novel land mobilisation tax. A Ministry of Home Affairs representative confirmed that legal experts within the ministry have been tasked with conducting an exhaustive legal assessment, and subsequent modifications to the bill may be contemplated in collaboration with the relevant parliamentary committees.

FUEL COSTS - Luxembourg is currently experiencing a surge in fuel prices, particularly for diesel and petrol. From midnight on Wednesday, diesel will be priced at 1.654 euros per litre, while SP 95 petrol will cost 1.683 euros per litre. However, SP 98 petrol prices will remain stable at 1.917 euros per litre.

World

ABORIGINAL RIGHTS - Australia will hold an historic Indigenous rights referendum on October 14th, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced on Wednesday, setting up a defining moment in the nation's relationship with its Aboriginal minority. If passed, Indigenous Australians -- whose ancestors have lived on the continent for at least 60,000 years -- would be recognised in the constitution for the first time.

POLITICS ON X - Elon Musk on Tuesday lifted a ban on political ads put in place at Twitter to thwart misinformation before the billionaire bought the platform now called X. The welcoming back of potentially misleading political messages at X comes less than a week after former president Donald Trump posted there for the first time since January 2021. X said it is expanding its safety and elections teams to focus on combating manipulation of the platform and will provide an online center where political ads can be reviewed.

TROPICAL STORM IDALIA - Hurricane Idalia intensified Tuesday as it approached the west coast of Florida, triggering mass evacuation orders and flood alerts as authorities warned of a life-threatening ocean surge and catastrophic destruction when the storm rages ashore later today. The US National Hurricane Center said Idalia, which earlier raked western Cuba, had strengthened to a Category 2 storm with winds of 160km per hour. The storm is also forecast to dump up to 30cm of rain in parts of the Florida Panhandle, potentially triggering flash and urban flooding.

AIR TRAFFIC MELTDOWN - Britain's government on Tuesday ordered a review after the country's air traffic control system suffered its worst disruption in almost 10 years, stranding thousands of passengers. Flights departing and arriving in the UK continued to be cancelled, one day after air traffic control systems were temporarily hit by a technical fault. Transport Secretary Mark Harper said there would be an independent review into the worst incident of its kind for "nearly a decade". The National Air Traffic Services said it "identified and remedied" a technical issue which forced it to impose traffic flow restrictions, adding that the issue meant flight plans had to be processed manually, while it indicated to AFP that hundreds of flights had been affected and that it would take "several days" for the situation to return to normal.

Sports

BAN AVOIDED - All Blacks coach Ian Foster said it was a "great result" that Scott Barrett avoided a World Cup ban after being sent off against South Africa. Barrett, 29, was dismissed in the 35-7 defeat at Twickenham on Friday for a second yellow card. But an independent judicial committee found his sending off was sufficient sanction. It means the second-row forward is free to face France in the World Cup curtain-raiser at the Stade de France in Paris on September 8th.

US OPEN - Venus Williams bowed out of her record-extending 24th US Open at the first hurdle on Tuesday, with the seven-time Grand Slam champion losing 6-1, 6-1 to Belgium's Greet Minnen.The 43-year-old tennis icon was no match for her 26-year-old opponent, who was born just weeks before Williams played her first Grand Slam final at the US Open in 1997.

Weather

Today begins dry and overcast with temperatures of around 9 to 10 degrees Celsius. As the morning progresses we should see some scattered sunshine along with a light breeze. But, as the afternoon begins, rain will move in with a possibility for thunderstorms in the late afternoon/early evening. A maximum temperature of 16 to 17 degrees Celsius is expected.

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