The Today Radio news team brings you the latest headlines for Friday, 22 August.
Luxembourg
GREEN INITIATIVE – Luxembourg residents are being encouraged to look at their walls in a new way, as a campaign spotlights the environmental potential of green façades. The City of Luxembourg and the Oekozenter Pafendall have launched a new campaign to highlight the role of green façades in urban areas.
As part of the 'reNature – restaurer la biodiversité' initiative, the aim is to raise public awareness of the positive ecological contribution of green buildings. A workshop will be held on Sunday, 21 September, from 10am to 12pm, registration is possible via e-mail at environnement@vdl.lu.
INCREASE IN FAKE ROOF SCAMMERS – Since early June 2025, police have reported an increase in so-called 'fake roofers' operating in and around Luxembourg City as well as in the south of the country. The scammers typically arrive in pairs, approaching homeowners with claims of 'accidentally' having spotted roof damage that requires urgent repairs. While one distracts the resident with talk of cost estimates, the other slips inside to steal valuables such as jewellery or cash.
Police have urged vigilance and are calling on residents not to let unknown individuals into their homes without proof of identity. Suspicious activity should be reported immediately via the emergency number 113.
LONG WORK HOURS DECREASE – According to new figures from Eurostat, the European statistics office based in Kirchberg, 6.4 percent of Luxembourg's workforce reported working 49 hours or more per week, compared to the EU average of 6.6 percent. The share of people working long hours has steadily decreased across the bloc in recent years. While 9.8 percent of EU workers fell into this category in 2014, the figure dropped to 8.4 percent in 2019 and 6.6 percent in 2024.
Self-employed people were far more likely to work long hours, with 27.5 percent reporting 49 hours or more per week in 2024, compared to just 3.4 percent of employees. By profession, long hours were most common among skilled agricultural, forestry, and fishery workers (26.2 percent), followed by managers (21.1 percent), Eurostat reported.
World
COLOMBIA ATTACKS – Two separate attacks blamed on dissident guerilla groups killed 18 people and wounded dozens in Colombia on Thursday, one involving a truck bomb while a drone downed a police helicopter in the other, deepening the country's most serious security crisis in decades.
The latest deadly attacks, which struck the southwestern city of Cali and a coca farm in the north, pose fresh challenges to Colombia's fragile peace processes ahead of elections next year.
Cali mayor Alejandro Eder ordered martial law for the country's third most populous city. He also announced a temporary ban on large trucks entering the city and called on the public to report information about the incident for a US$10,000 reward.
UKRAINE RUSSIA PEACE TALKS STALL – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Moscow on Thursday of shirking a meeting between him and Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, despite US-led attempts to arrange a summit to end the war.
Despite Donald Trumps high-profile talks with Putin in Alaska last week and separate meetings with Zelensky and European leaders in Washington on Monday, there has been little tangible progress towards a peace deal. Zelensky said Russia was "trying to wriggle out of holding a meeting… They don't want to end this war," he added.
MENENDEZ DENIED PAROLE - Erik Menendez was denied parole Thursday more than three decades after he and his brother Lyle slaughtered their parents in the family's luxury Beverly Hills home. A California panel ordered the 54-year-old to stay in prison, defying a lengthy campaign waged by family, friends, and celebrities like Kim Kardashian. The result will be a huge blow to a movement that has swelled in recent years, nourished by documentaries and TV dramas, including the smash Netflix hit "Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story."
Sport
TENNIS – Novak Djokovic hopes a selective approach to his scheduling will give him the best chance to win the US Open in his unrelenting pursuit of a record 25th Grand Slam. The 38-year-old Djokovic has not played since a comprehensive semi-final defeat by Jannik Sinner at Wimbledon last month, skipping the two main US Open warm-up events in Toronto and Cincinnati. He briefly returned to court on Tuesday for the revamped mixed doubles in New York but lasted just 43 minutes as he and partner Olga Danilović crashed out in the first round.
World number one Aryna Sabalenka believes she is ready to hit her peak as she prepares to launch the defence of her US Open crown after a tumultuous season of near-misses. The 27-year-old from Belarus arrives at Flushing Meadows sitting on top of the global rankings despite a year in which she has failed to add to her tally of three Grand Slam singles titles. Agonising defeats in the finals of the Australian and French Opens, followed by a semi-final exit at Wimbledon, have left Sabalenka even more determined to retain her crown in New York, a tournament she regards as her favourite Grand Slam.
BOXING – A Japanese amateur boxer underwent brain surgery two weeks ago and has not regained consciousness, authorities said on Friday, as the sport in the country reels from the deaths of two professional fighters. The Japan Boxing Federation (JBF) said the unnamed 39-year-old became unresponsive after sparring for three rounds at three minutes each in Tokyo on August 8. He was rushed to hospital and underwent emergency surgery, and is still in intensive care. The JBF, which oversees amateur boxing in Japan, said the man had not fought a match for over 10 years and had been in training to make a comeback. "We are praying he recovers as quickly as possible," said JBF president Tatsuya Nakama.
Weather
We're not expecting it to rain on this moderately sunny day. But the temperature are taking quite a plunge: we start off at 9–11°C in the early morning, with the max settling around the 21°C mark.
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