The Today Radio news team brings you the latest headlines for Friday, 6 September.

Luxembourg

REFUGEES RETURN – Minister for Home Affairs Léon Gloden explained in an RTL interview yesterday that the purpose of the new Maison de Retour is to regroup people who cannot remain in Luxembourg and facilitate their return to their home country or the EU country where they first sought asylum. Currently housing 40 men, the facility has a capacity for about180  and will begin accepting women and children from 1 October.

BRAM JOBS – German department store group Breuninger has been the subject of sale rumours over the past week, leading to questions on the future of its subsidiary, Bram, which is situated in the City Concorde shopping centre in Bertrange. On Thursday, the OGBL trade union issued a press release in which they said Bram management representatives had reassured the union that no jobs in Luxembourg would be put at risk over the discussions.

TUNNEL MAINTENANCE – Anyone driving at night has probably noticed: twice per year, tunnels are inspected and repairs are carried out. Bi-annual tunnel maintenance often means extended detours for motorists, but for the National Roads Administration, these disruptions are essential for the inspection and upkeep of the country's tunnels.  According to Paul Mangen, Deputy Director of the National Roads Administration, these inspections are mandated by both EU and Luxembourgish laws and performing these maintenance works at night is aimed at minimising disruptions. The question of why such inspections were generally not conducted during the holiday period was not answered.

World

FRANCE PM – President Emmanuel Macron has named Michel Barnier as France’s new prime minister, hoping the Brexit negotiator and veteran conservative can form a government, 60 days after the elections in July resulted in a hung parliament. At 73, Barnier becomes the oldest Prime Minister in the history of modern France, succeeding Gabriel Attal, who had been the youngest at 35 years old.

US SHOOTING – Police in the US state of Georgia have arrested the father of a 14-year-old boy, who was charged with shooting four people dead at a school on Wednesday. Colin Gray is accused of involuntary manslaughter, second-degree murder and cruelty to children. Police said he knowingly allowed his son to have a weapon.

UKRAINE TALKS – President Volodymyr Zelensky is visiting Germany today where Ukraine's military backers are meeting, days after one of the deadliest strikes of the war. Zelensky and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will hold "one-on-one" talks in Frankfurt, according to a German government spokesman. The German news outlet Der Spiegel has reported that Zelensky will also attend the gathering of Kyiv's backers, which includes the United States, at the US Ramstein Air Base. The meeting at the base southwest of Frankfurt is being hosted by US defence chief Lloyd Austin.

GERMANY ATTACK – German police have shot dead a man who opened fire on them yesterday in what they treated as a foiled "terrorist attack" on Munich's Israeli consulate on the anniversary of the 1972 Olympic Games killings.Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Bavarian police "may have prevented something terrible from happening today", declaring in a post on X that "anti-Semitism and Islamism have no place here".Police identified the gunman, who died in a hail of police bullets as an 18-year-old Austrian man.

US ELECTION – Donald Trump has announced that if he wins November’s US Presidential election, he will appoint his billionaire supporter Elon Musk to head a government efficiency commission. Trump said it would develop a plan to eliminate fraud and improper payments within six months.
 
EU HEAT – The EU’s climate change monitor Copernicus has said during the last three months, the globe experienced the hottest June-August ever recorded and the hottest day on record. A report from the agency said that 2024 saw the highest temperatures ever recorded for the northern hemisphere summer.

MERCURY PRIZE –  British indie rock band English Teacher won this year’s Mercury prize with their debut album, This Could Be Texas. The prize is one of the most prestigious awards in Britain and recognises artistic achievement, rather than commercial success.

Sport

FOOTBALL – Luxembourg lost to Northern Ireland 2-0 last night in their first Nations League game of the season.  The team will soon have forget their poor performance, as the Red Lions welcome Belarus to the Stade de Luxembourg this Sunday afternoon. The first goal came in the 11th minute after the Luxembourg defence failed to deal with a corner. Six minutes later, the Luxembourg team was caught out by a free kick. 
Among other games on Matchday 1 of the Nations League, Denmark beat Switzerland 2-0, Spain and Serbia drew 0-0, Scotland lost to Poland 3-2 and Portugal beat Crotia 2-1. Tonight’s  Nations League action includes France hosting Italy in Paris.

TENNIS –  Jessica Pegula scripted an astonishing comeback to defeat Karolina Muchova and reach her first Grand Slam final at the US Open where she will take on Aryna Sabalenka for the title.

AMERICAN FOOTBALL – Defending champion Kansas City edged Baltimore 27-20 in yesterday's 105th NFL season-opener after a video review denied the Ravens a touchdown on the game's final play.

Weather

Thunderstorms were predicted to hit the Grand Duchy up until Friday morning, so it's possible that you just woke up to a loud, rumbling sound. We might get some early leftover rain under a heavily clouded sky, but the good news is that things are expected to gradually improve as the day goes on. The sun might even peek out a little in the afternoon.
The wind is sticking around for a while, though: a southwest "breeze" blowing around 10-20 km/h, with the potential for 50 km/h gusts. Hold on to your hats, just in case.
And, like yesterday, temperatures should hover around 14–16°C on the low end, going up to 20–22°C in the afternoon.

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