The Today Radio news team brings you the latest headlines for Wednesday, 3 September.
Luxembourg
TRI-PARTITE TALKS – The government is meeting trade unions and employers' representatives today for a third round of negotiations on the social reforms that are causing turmoil in the country: pensions, working time, Sunday work, and shop opening hours.
LUXEMBOURG NATO – NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte met Prime Minister Luc Frieden and Minister for Defence Yuricko Backes in Luxembourg yesterday. At a joint press conference it was announced that Luxembourg would take part in the NATO project PURL. PURL is an initiative by NATO and US President Trump to purchase existing weapons and deliver them to Ukraine. These are largely American weapons. The Dutch, Belgian, and German governments have already announced their participation in the PURL project.
INFLATION GROWTH – According to the latest figures released by Eurostat, the annual inflation rate for Luxembourg, measured using the harmonised indices of consumer prices (HICP), continues to show a steady climb since spring. Annual inflation for the Grand Duchy stood at 1.5% in March and has almost doubled to 2.8% in August – a rise of 46.43%.
World
CHINA MILITARY PARADE – Chinese President Xi Jingping has warned the world is facing a choice between peace or war as he held his country's largest-ever military parade earlier today, flanked by Russian President Putin and North Korea's Kim Jong Un. The lavish event to mark 80 years since Japan's defeat at the end of World War Two has been largely shunned by Western leaders.
AFGHANISTAN QUAKE – Hope is fading of finding survivors in the rubble of homes devastated by the weekend's powerful earthquake in eastern Afghanistan, as emergency services struggle to reach remote villages. The earthquake has killed more than 1,400 people and injured over 3,300, making it one of the deadliest in decades to hit the impoverished country.
FRANCE STABBING – French police have killed a man suspected of stabbing at least five people in the southern port city of Marseille, one of whom is in apparently in critical condition. According to the public prosecutor the attacker was a Tunisian national with legal status in France who stabbed the manager of a hotel that had just evicted him for non-payment. The suspect also attacked the manager's son, another hotel guest -- who suffered the most serious injuries -- and two passers-by on the street.
GOOGLE RULING – A US judge has rejected the government's demand that Google sell its Chrome web browser, but has ruled that it must share information with competitors. The case centres around Google's position as the default search engine on a range of its own products such as Android and Chrome as well as others made by the likes of Apple.
CARDI B TRIAL – Rapper Cardi B has been cleared of assault in a $24 million civil trial in which the star was accused of slashing a woman's face with her fingernails. A jury in the city threw out claims by plaintiff Emani Ellis that the then-pregnant singer assaulted her while she was on her way to a medical appointment in Beverly Hills in 2018.
Sport
ATHLETICS – Four Luxembourg athletes are set to compete in the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, starting on 13 September. Patrizia van der Weken will represent Luxembourg in the women's 100m. Middle-distance runner Vera Bertemes-Hoffmann has earned her place in the 1,500m, ranking 38th among 56 qualified athletes. Ruben Querinjean and Charel Grethen have also secured qualification via the world rankings.
TENNIS – Novak Djokovic has advanced to a blockbuster US Open showdown with Carlos Alcaraz after beating Taylor Fritz 6-3, 7-5, 3-6, 6-4 yesterday. Alcaraz, a five-time Grand Slam champion needed just one hour and 56 minutes beat Czech 20th seed Jiri Lehecka in just one hour and 56 minutes in three sets.The semi-final takes place on Friday. Meanwhile in the women, world number one and defending champion Sabalenka moved into the semi-finals after Czech quarter-final opponent Marketa Vondrousova pulled out with a knee injury. She will now face American fourth seed Jessica Pegula on Thursday.
CYCLING – Jonas Vingegaard has claimed the overall Vuelta a Espana lead while Jay Vine earned stage 10 victory for his second triumph of the race. Today's Stage 11 starts and ends in Bilbao, winding 157 kilometres through the Basque Country, and including several short but steep climbs.
Weather
Today's weather will be almost identical to yesterday and the day before, but it might be a couple of degrees warmer. We will have a cloudy start, some lingering showers and a little sun in the afternoon. Morning temperatures will start around 13–15°C, and rise between 21-23°C.
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