BETTENDORF REFERENDUM - A citizens’ initiative in Bettendorf has successfully gathered enough signatures to trigger a referendum on whether the municipality should reconsider its decision to withdraw from the proposed Nordstad merger. The petition was launched in response to an October decision by the Bettendorf municipal council to end merger talks with four other municipalities–Schieren, Ettelbruck, Erpeldange-sur-Sûre, and Diekirch–aimed at creating a new municipality known as “Nordstad” (“North City”).
LIBERTY STEEL - Hundreds of Liberty Steel workers in Dudelange are growing increasingly restless after two years of standstill and deadlocked negotiations, with trade unions reiterating their call for urgent action to resolve the situation. Approximately 150 people still working at the site have still not received their October salaries. Stefano Araujo, speaking on behalf of the union OGBL, stated that the company has yet to inform them whether it even still has the means to pay employees and, if so, when.
NURSING SHORTAGE - Luxembourg is facing a critical shortage of nurses and caregivers, with projections indicating a deficit of 4,000 caregivers within the next five years. To address the looming shortage, the Federation of European Social Employers (COPAS), has proposed introducing the role of a graduate technician, positioned between a caregiver and a nurse. However, trade unions and the Luxembourgish association of caregivers (ALAS) oppose the creation of new health professions, arguing that this would dilute the value of existing roles.
UKRAINE WAR - Ukraine’s military said earlier today an air raid alert had been declared across the country, reporting inbound missiles targeting several regions. In a message on Telegram, Ukraine’s airforce said that missiles were detected headed for Kharkiv, Odessa and eight other regions. The latest missile salvo comes a day after US president-elect Donald Trump named staunch loyalist and retired general Keith Kellogg as his Ukraine envoy, charged with ending the two-and-a-half-year Russian invasion.
TRUMP MEXICO - Donald Trump says Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum has agreed to stop migration into the US with immediate effect. It follows a call between the two , in which they discussed what Trump called an illegal invasion. President Sheinbaum has challenged his account of their conversation.
DINOSAUR STUDY - A team of European scientists has constructed a step-by-step model of how dinosaurs rose to dominate earth, by studying fossilised excrement, vomit and food left by the animals. Researchers say the dinosaurs used evolutionary advantages such as standing upright to capitalize on environmental changes that set back other species. For the study, scientists examined more than 500 remains from sites in Poland.
FOOTBALL - Liverpool are the only team with a perfect record in this season’s Champions League after beating title-holders Real Madrid 2-0 in their clash last night. Among other matches last night, Borussia Dortmund beat Dinomo Zagreb 3-0, Aston Villa drew 0-0 with Juventus and Celtic also drew with Brugge 1-1 and Monaco missed the chance to cement their top-eight spot as they went down 3-2 at home to Benfica in a dramatic game.
Since the start of the Israel-Hamas war in October last year, many home fixtures of Israel’s national football team and clubs have been moved to Hungary. Today’s Europa League clash between Besiktas and Maccabi Tel Aviv will be played in the eastern Hungarian city of Debrecen, which already hosted a Belgium-Israel Nations League match in September. Authorities are careful to avoid incidents.
FORMULA 1 - Newly-crowned quadruple world champion Max Verstappen will switch his attention from the drivers’ title race to the teams’ contest this weekend when he leads Red Bull’s bid to retain their crown at the Qatar Grand Prix.
Verstappen won last year’s race ahead of Lando Norris and his McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri, but given more recent form it will be a weekend that may favour the vastly-improved McLaren team in this race.
The day starts off quite cloudy, with the coverage slowly clearing up as the afternoon approaches.
It should be an uneventful day, but beware: late tonight / tomorrow morning, the temperature will drop back down to (and slightly below) zero, which, coupled with some traditional fog, could lead to a frosty start.
Throughout the day, temperatures will be a bit colder but in the same neighbourhood as yesterday’s: a minimum of 2–4°C, and a max of 6–8°C in the middle of the day.
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