The Today Radio news team brings you the latest headlines for Tuesday, 30 July.

World

UK STABBING – Two children have died and another six are in a critical condition in hospital after a stabbing at a children's dance class in Southport, northern England, on Monday. Two adults were also seriously wounded trying to save the children. A 17-year-old boy has been arrested, although the motive for the attack remains unclear.

VENEZUELA DEMONSTRATIONS – Riot police in Venezuela have fired teargas and rubber bullets at protesters in the capital as thousands demonstrate against the official outcome of Sunday’s presidential election. Crowds have taken to the streets in towns and cities across Venezuela to denounce Nicolas Maduro's re-election as fraudulent. Maduro has accused his opponents of trying to stage a coup.

ISRAEL DEMONSTRATION – Israel's prime minister has called for calm as demonstrators forced their way into two Israeli military bases. Dozens of protesters, including far-right politicians, were angered by the arrest of soldiers accused of sexually abusing a Palestinian detainee.

FRANCE HEAT – Sweltering temperatures and storm warnings pose a significant challenge for athletes and spectators in Paris and across France as the Olympic Games continue under a "yellow alert" for heat, with some regions facing even higher "orange alerts". Organisers are appealing to spectators to be vigilant, especially in Bordeaux and Lyon where temperatures close to 40°C are expected when these cities stage Olympic football matches.

CALIFORNIA WILDFIRE – Throngs of firefighters have been mobilised in California  to battle the state's largest blaze of the year, which has prompted thousands of evacuations and already burned an area larger than the city of Los Angeles.The Park Fire outside of Chico in the state's north has been raging since Wednesday. It has now ravaged more than 370,000 acres according to the Cal Fire agency, making it one of the largest fires in state history. No casualties have been reported so far.

Luxembourg

YELLOW HEAT ALERT – Meteolux has issued a yellow heat alert for Luxembourg on Tuesday, with temperatures expected to cross the threshold of 30°C over the course of the afternoon.

BETTEL IN LATVIA – Foreign Minister Xavier Bettel is on an official working visit to Latvia today. In Riga, he will hold bilateral talks both with his counterpart Baiba Braze and with President Edgars Rinkevics. Latvia has been a member of the EU for 20 years, has had the euro for 10 years, and is also a NATO country.

CARITAS SCANDAL – The Caritas Luxembourg Board of Directors have announced the appointment of a crisis committee following a major internal embezzlement scandal. The committee will be presided by Christian Billon, who is renowned for his financial and social sector expertise. Billon will be joined by four other members, including Marie-Josée Jacobs, president of the Caritas' board of directors, among others. The board of directors has mandated the accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) to offer assistance to the crisis committee in their work.

Sport

OLYMPICS 2024 – Luxembourg's swimmer will be in action in Paris this morning. Ralph Daleiden will take part in the men's 100m freestyle heats. It is the first Olympic participation for the 21-year-old student from the University of Arizona.

Tomorrow, three Luxembourgers will be competing. Ni Xia Lian is playing China's Sun Yingsha in the round of 16 of the women's table tennis. In the afternoon, Luxembourg rider Nicolas Wagner is taking part in the dressage event in Versailles. And Jeanne Lehaire is competing in the women's triathlon event.

The organisers of the Olympic Games have meanwhile postponed the men's triathlon by a day because of concerns about pollution in the river Seine. Training was cancelled for the past two days and the organisers had considered scrapping the swimming element of the triathlon altogether.

In the medals table, after the fourth day yesterday, Japan continues to lead with six gold, two silver, and four bronze medals. 36 different nations have won at least one medal so far.

Yesterday, the Japanese men's team won gold in gymnastics.

In tennis, Novak Djokovic beat his rival Rafael Nadal in two sets, 6-1, 6-4. Nadal said after the loss that he would decide on his future in the sport after the Olympics, where he is also playing in the doubles with Carlos Alcaraz.

Among today's events are basketball, archery, women's gymnastics, badminton, beach volleyball fencing, football, and judo.

Weather

Clear skies and blazing sunshine make up today's forecast, although Meteolux has issued a heat warning. Southern Luxembourg will be under a yellow alert from 1pm until 7pm, as temperatures are set to reach up to 33°C. In the morning, temperatures start off at 16– 8°C, rising to highs of 31–33°C in southern Luxembourg and 30°C in northern Luxembourg by the afternoon. The evening will stay warm at 28–30°C.

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