REMOTE WORK – The pandemic-fuelled “golden age” of remote work appears to be waning in Luxembourg, with stark disparities emerging between residents and cross-border workers, according to a recent Idea Foundation report. Just 3% of Luxembourg’s cross-border workers work from home regularly compared to 20% of residents, reveals the report, exposing stark inequalities in post-pandemic work flexibility. The divide persists despite over half of all jobs being theoretically suitable for remote work.
MORTGAGE MARKET – Luxembourg’s mortgage market is showing signs of recovery, with a “clear increase” in lending activity following months of declining interest rates, according to the latest STATEC economic report. The upturn, which began in spring 2024, accelerated sharply in the fourth quarter, driven primarily by loans to private home-buyers. In contrast, developers continue to face what STATEC describes as a “prolonged slump” in financing demand.
EVACUATION IN KIRCHBERG – The BNP Paribas building in Kirchberg was temporarily evacuated on Thursday afternoon when a malfunctioning powerbank triggered the building’s fire alarm system. Approximately 300 people were safely evacuated as a precaution. The Grand Ducal Fire and Rescue Corps confirmed that emergency protocols were activated after smoke was detected.
SPACE RACE – Luxembourg is poised to make space history in as its “Tenacious” rover attempts a lunar landing aboard Japan’s ispace lander. Marking the Grand Duchy’s first direct participation in Moon exploration, the miniature rover developed in Luxembourg is scheduled to land on the Moon in June. The 50cm rover, equipped with a shovel and camera, will analyse lunar rock and dust and transmit data to Earth.
TIME FOR CHANGE? – The biannual clock change across the European Union will continue this weekend despite widespread public support for its abolition, as political deadlock stalls reform efforts. The saying goes that time is money but in the European Union, time is political too. When clocks spring forward across the bloc on Sunday, it will not be the last time despite a desire by millions of EU citizens to see the lights turned out on the biannual change. Research shows that moving the clock back and forth in autumn and spring negatively impacts the economy as well as people’s health, fuelling growing calls to end the system in Europe and beyond.
ROYAL WOES – King Charles III was forced to cancel his engagements on Thursday and Friday due to temporary side effects from his cancer treatment, Buckingham Palace announced. “Following scheduled and ongoing medical treatment for cancer this morning, the king experienced temporary side effects that required a short period of observation in hospital”, the statement said. The king had experienced temporary and relatively common side effects, the BBC reported, quoting sources, adding that it had been a very minor bump in his recovery.
IN CITY CENTRE – Five people were wounded following a knife attack in Amsterdam, Dutch police said. Police erected a cordon around the area where the stabbings took place on Thursday afternoon, near the central Dam Square. A suspect was taken into custody following the attack with no cause or motive known as yet for the incident.
CANADA, US RELATIONS – The era of deep economic, security and military ties with the United States “is over”, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has declared. This comes after President Donald Trump announced steep auto tariffs of 25 percent on vehicle imports to the US, due to come into force next week. It could be a devastating blow for the Canadian auto industry that supports an estimated 500,000 jobs.
RUGBY – Bill Sweeney, the chief executive of England’s Rugby Football Union, has survived a vote of no confidence in his leadership at a special general meeting on Thursday. Sweeney faced a call for his dismissal by the board as soon as practically possible. The special general meeting came about following months of public anger within the English game over Sweeney’s pay and bonuses.
FORMULA 1 – It has been confirmed that 24-year-old Japanese driver Yuki Tsunoda will make his debut for Red Bull next weekend at the Japanese Grand Prix after the team axed underperforming Liam Lawson. Lawson’s two-race stint with Red Bull was marked by crashes and poor qualifying performances. Tsunoda earned the promotion from junior team Racing Bulls after outshining Lawson in the first two race weekends of the season.
BASKETBALL – NBA scoring leader Shai Gilgeous-Alexander netted a game-high 37 points to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder over Memphis 125-104 on Thursday for a team-record 61st season victory. The host Thunder also had 20 points from Jalen Williams plus 18 points and 11 rebounds from Isaiah Hartenstein in stretching their win streak to eight games and breaking the team’s single-season win mark. The Thunder haven’t gotten past the second round of the playoffs since 2016 but they pulled away in the last seven points to turn a tied game into a lopsided triumph.
TENNIS – Philippines sensation Alexandra Eala’s remarkable run at the Miami Open came to a brave end with a three-set loss to Jessica Pegula in the semi-finals on Thursday. In an enthralling battle over 2hrs 24mins, fourth-seeded American Pegula emerged with a 7-6 (7/3), 5-7, 6-3 win to seal a place in Saturday’s final against world number one Aryna Sabalenka. Sabalenka blasted her way into the final with a 6-2, 6-2 demolition of Italy’s Jasmine Paolini. The 19-year-old Eala, ranked 140th in the world, had only two WTA main draw victories to her name before arriving in Miami.
The sun will be out this morning in all its glory. However later in the afternoon, clouds will begin to settle in.
Temperature-wise, were looking at around 2-4°C going up to a nice high of 16°C in the afternoon.
---
Be sure to catch our full bulletin on the hour, every hour, and headlines at half past the hour on Today Radio. You can also access the news via Alexa and on RTL Play.
