Cargo plane crashes in Vilnius, far-right candidate leads in Romanian election, and Lux airport hotel opens

Luxembourg

COP29 - Luxembourg has announced an increase in its financial commitment to climate efforts, raising its contribution from 220 to 320 million euros over the next five years. Environment Minister Serge Wilmes, representing Luxembourg at the conference, acknowledged the challenges but expressed cautious optimism.
 
LUXAIR ENVIRONMENT - In a study that analysed over 34 million flights, encompassing 92% of global aviation, Luxair has been ranked as one of the most environmentally harmful companies in the aviation industry. Coming in 104th place out of a possible 119 contenders, Luxair's reputation could be damaged by the study published by the Berlin-based company Atmosfair.

AIRPORT HOTEL - Rooms with with direct access to the terminal building and a unique view onto the airport are only a few benefits of a new hotel. The Moxy hotel at Luxembourg airport is built out of wood, making it one of the biggest wood-based hotels in the world. Its opening marks the opening of the first business in the new Skypark Business Center at Findel. The Skypark is meant to become a large business centre, with offices and restaurants soon to join.

COW ON THE ROAD - Part of the A3 motorway towards France was closed on Saturday afternoon due to a cow on the road, leading to significant traffic congestion. According to our colleagues from RTL Infos, the section between Livange and Croix de Bettembourg was shut down temporarily to allow for the cow's removal.

World

LITHUANIA PLANE CRASH - One person has been killed and two other have been taken to hospital after a cargo plane flying from Leipzig, Germany crashed outside Vilnius Airport in Lithuania. The incident happened at about 5.30am local time. Reuters are reporting that everyone in the house has survived, and that the cargo plane that crashed was operated by SWIFT airline on behalf of DHL.

ROMANIA ELECTION - Far-right candidate Calin Georgescu has surged unexpectedly in Romania's presidential election, pulling ahead of the pro-European prime minister with more than 98 percent of votes counted. The pro-Russian Georgescu appears to be leading with 22.59 percent to Ciolacu's 19.55 percent. In the absence of an outright winner in the first round, the top two candidates go through to a second round on December 8.

GERMANY ELECTION - Olaf Scholz will be officially named today to lead his centre-left Social Democrats into Germany's snap elections in February, but the embattled chancellor faces a tough fight to win a second term. The way has been cleared for Scholz to become the SPD's chancellor candidate after his popular defence minister, Boris Pistorius, last week ruled himself out of the race.

FRANCE RAPE TRIAL - With evidence over in the trial of a man who drugged his wife for years so he could invite dozens of strangers to abuse her, French prosecutors will, from today, set out their sentencing requests to judges. Chief defendant Dominique Pelicot has been in the dock in the city of Avignon along with 49 other men for organising the rapes and sexual abuse of his now ex-wife Gisele Pelicot. The case has shocked a France, with the latest demonstrations calling for increased protection against sexual violence bringing out tens of thousands on Saturday.

PLASTIC WASTE - High-stakes negotiations to forge a global treaty on plastic pollution opened in South Korea earlier today, with nations split over ambitious production caps and waste management strategies. The meeting opened just hours after a chaotic end to the COP29 climate talks in Baku, which agreed to a boost in climate funding that developing countries have said are insufficient. Plastic pollution is so widespread it has been found in clouds, the deepest ocean trenches and even in human breastmilk. And while almost everyone agrees it is a problem, there is less consensus on how to solve it.

MIDDLE EAST CONFLICT - Israel's military says Hezbollah has fired around 250 projectiles into its territory from Lebanon, with the militants saying their attacks targeted the Tel Aviv area and Israel's south. Medical agencies reported that at least 11 people were wounded in Israel. It follows at least four deadly Israeli strikes on in the heart of Beirut in the past week, including one that killed Hezbollah spokesman Mohammed Afif.

UK STORM BERT - Several people have been killed as Storm Bert has battered the UK. At least five deaths have been reported in England and Wales since the storm hit, thousands of homes have been left without power and flights and train services have been delayed and cancelled because of the weather.

Sport

TENNIS - Jannik Sinner has completed his sensational year by leading Italy to a successful defence of the Davis Cup with victory over the Netherlands in the final. The world number one eased to a 7-6 (7/2), 6-2 triumph against Tallon Griekspoor for the winning point.  Italy can now be considered the best tennis nation in the world, after the women also won the Billie Jean King Cup last week.

FOOTBALL - In the German Bundesliga, Mainz won 3.0 against Kiel and Moenchengladbach beat St Pauli 2.0.

In France, Nice won 2-1 against Strasbourg. And in the English Premier League, Liverpool has extended their lead in the table to 8 points over Manchester city, following a 3-2 victory over Southampton.

Bayern Munich host Paris Saint-Germain tomorrow in a battle between two sides flying high domestically but seemingly struggling to adjust to the new Champions League format. After four games, Bayern have lost twice -- including a 4-1 defeat by Barcelona and sit 17th, which would leave them unseeded for the knockout phase play-off. PSG's situation is even worse, with the French champions in 25th -- one spot outside the knockout places entirely.

SWIMMING - Emma McKeon, Australia's most decorated Olympian and an eight-time world-record holder has retired from the sport aged 30. McKeon won 14 Olympic medals, six of them gold, over the Rio, Tokyo and Paris Games this summer.

Weather

It’s going to be one of those rainy days where the sky’s got no plans of clearing up anytime soon! Expect showers to linger for most of the day and the wind will be kicking in too, strong enough to make the rain feel like it's coming at you sideways.

It’s still relatively warm for November, we'll start off around 10—12°C in the morning. The max could be around the 14–16°C mark in the afternoon.

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