The Today Radio news team brings you the latest headlines for Wednesday, 7 August.

Luxembourg

LULTZHAUSEN ACCIDENT – A pedestrian was seriously injured in an accident in Lultzhausen yesterday afternoon. First updates reported that the victim was hit by a car and that the rescue helicopter was called immediately. There are no further details known at the moment, but the route on the crossroads between the N27 and CR314 remains closed until further notice.

CARITAS EMBEZZLEMENT – The Luxembourg prosecutor's office has announced new developments in the Caritas case, revealing that the organisation has fallen victim to an "executive phishing" scam. This method, also known as a 'CEO scam', was identified during the investigation into the embezzlement of over €60 million from Caritas.

WASTE COLLECTION PRICE – People living in 44 municpalities in the country need to pay 60% more for their waste collection. Since 1 July, the waste management syndicate Sidec has charged €137.6 instead of €86 in order to empty a 60-litre bin, blaming inflation rates for the change.

World 

HOTEL COLLAPSE – A hotel in Kröv, near the popular tourist destination Bernkastel-Kues in Germany, collapsed overnight, resulting in one death and leaving eight people trapped under the rubble. According to news outlet SWR, the building's gable roof collapsed on Tuesday night, causing two floors on one side of the hotel to be crushed together. Shortly before 7am on Wednesday, Trier police reported that eight people were still trapped within the building, some of whom had suffered serious injuries.Firefighters have been unable to enter the building as of the time of writing due to the acute danger of the entire building collapsing

US ELECTION – Kamala Harris made her debut with new White House running mate Tim Walz, who unleashed a stinging rebuke of their Republican rival Donald Trump. Hours after being announced on the Democratic ticket, the Minnesota governor took to the stage with Vice President Harris in the crucial swing state of Pennsylvania. He accused Trump of deliberately weakening the economy for his own ends, mocking law and order, and sowing "chaos and division".

HAMAS CHIEF – Hamas have named Yahya Sinwar, the man Israel says masterminded the October 7 attack that sparked the Gaza war, as its new political chief following last week's killing of his predecessor Ismail Haniyeh. The announcement came with the Middle East on edge as it awaited Iran's retaliation over the killing of Haniyeh in Tehran.

UK RIOTS – Suspected far-right rioters appeared in British courts yesterday as the government said 6,000 specialist police were ready to deal with England's worst disorder in over a decade. Almost 400 people have been arrested and 100 charged over the week-long disturbances sparked by online misinformation about the murder of three children in a mass stabbing. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, a former chief state prosecutor, said he expected "substantive sentencing before the end of this week" for the rioters, after chairing his second emergency meeting yesterday.

MESSI VANDALISM – Climate activists have spray-painted a mansion on the Spanish holiday island of Ibiza belonging to Argentinian football star Lionel Messi, sparking the ire of his country's President Javier Milei. Campaigners from the group Futuro Vegetal released a video showing two members standing in front of the house holding a banner that read: "Help the Planet -- Eat the Rich -- Abolish the Police." The activists then sprayed the white facade of the building with red and black paint.

SEINE POLLUTION – Paris Olympics organisers say training for open water swimming in the River Seine has been cancelled due to pollution, raising questions over why triathletes were allowed to use the waterway the day before. A statement from World Aquatics and the organising committee early on Tuesday said that one out of four readings for enterococci bacteria in the river – an indicator of the presence of faecal matter – was above the upper authorised limit. The marathon swimming – a 10-kilometre open water race – is set to take place on Thursday for women and Friday for men.

Sport

OLYMPICS 2024 – Luxembourg's Vera Hoffmann faces her second chance today to secure a spot in the next round at the Olympics. After coming 12th in the first heat of the 1.5000m qualifiers yesterday, she will have one last chance to secure a spot via the repechage today. She will compete just before 1pm, with 27 athletes in two series. Six athletes will secure a place in the semi-finals, taking place tomorrow.

In the medals table, after 11 days of competition, the USA extended their lead yesterday. They now have 86 medals, of which 24 are gold. Next comes China with 22 gold medals and then Australia with 14.

American sprinter Gabby Thomas was the fastest woman in the 200m race and won gold ahead of Julien Alfred of St Lucia, who won the 100m.

There was a new Olympic record in the women's 3000m steeplechase. Winfred Yavi won gold for Bahrain.

American Cole Hocker produced a devastating finish in the home straight to pull off an upset victory in the men's Olympic 1500m. Hocker outsprinted defending champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen of Norway and Britain's world champion Josh Kerr to take gold in an Olympic record of 3min 27.65sec.

In boxing, Ireland's Kellie Harrington retained her Olympic boxing title, winning gold and then called it quits. It was Ireland's fourth gold in all sports in Paris.

And in wrestling, Cuba’s Mijain Lopez made Olympic history with a fifth successive gold medal.

Today, there are medal decisions in climbing, sailing, cycling on the track, taekwondo, skateboarding, and athletics in the men's discus and 400m.

Weather 

Although this morning is set to be cloudy with rain showers, particularly from mid-morning until early afternoon, later on the sun is likely to come out amid dry conditions.Temperatures start off at 18–20°C in the morning, rising to highs of around 25°C in the afternoon.
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