The Today Radio news team brings you the latest headlines for Friday, 2 August.
Luxembourg
NEW PETITIONS - Nine new petitions have been posted to the Chamber's website and can be signed until 12 September. One of these is a so-called counter-petition to the widely debated petition calling for the exclusion of LGBTQ topics from the lesson plans of minor students, which has already been signed by over 8,600 people. Other petitions call for prioritising children of full-time working parents for places in a Maison relais, allowing one parent to transfer their parental leave to the other, and limiting the use of machinery for gardening in residential areas.The full list of petitions can be found petitiounen.lu.
FOREIGN PRISONERS - The opposition party déi Lénk (The Left) has queried the proportion of foreign nationals in Luxembourgish prisons, compared to the number of Luxembourgish citizens, to determine whether any prejudice was involved when handing out convictions. Justice Minister Elisabeth Margue provided data for the years 2014 to 2024, which found that out of the approximately 27,000 cases recorded, 40% were Luxembourgish, 55.6% were foreign nationals, and the remainder had no known nationality. The distribution remained consistent until mid-2024.
TWO EXTRADITIONS - Two people suspected of having committed organised and violent offences were recently extradited to Luxembourg after international search warrants led to their arrest. Authorities were able to detain the suspects after international search warrants had been issued, with investigators from several eastern and southern European countries involved.
PARC MERVEILLEUX FIRE - There was a fire at Park Merveilleux in Bettembourg yesterday afternoon. Shortly before 4pm, an air conditioning system in the Amazon house caught fire. The park was immediately evacuated and a wildlife rescue crew was on site. No-one and no animals were injured. The park will also be able to open normally this morning.
World
PRISONER SWAP - US President Joe Biden has hailed the largest prisoner swap between the West and Russia since the Cold War as a feat of diplomacy. Following Turkey's mediation 26 people were exchanged in Ankara, in a deal involving 7 countries. Both NATO and the EU welcomed the release and praised the multi-national cooperation that led to it. German Chancellor Scholz received 5 Germans, who were in prison in Russia and Belarus and American journalists, including Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and former US marine Paul Whelan have arrived in Washington early this morning.
President Vladimir Putin gave the Russian prisoners a red carpet welcome at Moscow airport, embracing them as they descended from their plane. The prisoners included a Russian intelligence colonel, jailed for at least one murder in Germany.
MIDDLE EAST CRISIS - Iran and its regional allies have vowed retaliation for the deaths of Hamas and Hezbollah leaders, raising regional tensions. A public funeral was held for Hamas's political chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran where he was killed early on Wednesday in an attack on which Israel has not commented. Haniyeh's body has been flown to Qatar, where he will be laid to rest today.
NETHERLANDS WOLF - Authorities have issued an urgent warning to visitors with small children to avoid a forested area in the central Netherlands after several "disturbing" incidents involving a wolf, including a child who was bitten. The latest encounter happened on Wednesday morning when "a large animal", presumed to be the wolf, knocked over a child near the village of Austerlitz.
The child in the latest incident was not injured, but a young girl on an after-school outing was bitten 10 days ago in the same area. DNA tests confirmed a wolf as the culprit. Wolves first appeared back in the Netherlands in 2015 after an absence of 150 years.
BRITNEY BIOPIC - A Britney Spears biopic is in development after Universal Pictures bought movie rights to the pop star's best-selling memoir. "Crazy Rich Asians" director Jon Chu is attached to develop and direct the film, based on Spears's recent autobiographical book "The Woman In Me". The memoir laid bare the troubled singer's journey from child star to global pop phenomenon, as well as her subsequent high-profile public breakdown and legal battles with her father.
Sport
OLYMPICS 2024 - At the Summer Olympics, two Luxembourgish athletes are competing in the qualifiers today. Patrizia Van der Weken is running the 100 meters shortly before midday and tonight Bob Bertemes is in action at the shot put. Luxembourg's Pit Klein got off to a strong start at the men's individual archery final yesterday, although he was ultimately unable to beat his opponent. The 27-year-old, in his first Olympic Games, lost to Colombia's Santiago Arcila in the final.
In the medal table, after the 6th day of competition, China leads with 11 gold, 7 silver and 6 bronze. Behind them come the USA and then France, Japan and Australia. 50 nations have won at least one medal so far, 29 have received at least one gold medal.
Among the highlights yesterday evening, Simone Biles recaptured the Olympic gymnastics all-around crown, warning she was ready to have fun as she targets three more gold in Paris. The American saw off Brazil's Rebeca Andrade to claim her sixth Olympic gold and second in the French capital. She could collect three more in the vault, floor exercise and balance beam.
British tennis legend Andy Murray bowed out of the sport when he and Dan Evans lost in straight sets in the men's doubles quarter-finals.The 37-year-old Murray, a two-time singles gold medallist and three-time major winner, had already announced that the Olympics would be his last hurrah.
Track and field takes centre stage at the Olympics today with a swathe of stars on show. Probably the most keenly-anticipated potential match-up of the Games pits world champion Femke Bol from the Netherlands against Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone from the US in the 400m hurdles. Another must-watch is the clash in the men's 100 metres will see Marcell Jacobs from Italy and America's Noah Lyles, the odds-on favourite and often considered the rightful successor to Usain Bolt.
Weather
While it won't rain too much today, be ready for a misty and foggy morning. Some of that fog may clear up, but ultimately it's going to be a cloudy day with some of that humidity that we are all becoming so familiar with this summer. The morning starts off around 17-20°C and by the afternoon it'll warm up to 23-26°C. ---
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