LUXEMBOURG WELLBEING - Luxembourg residents are slightly less satisfied with their lives than they were in 2018. On a scale of 1-10, 10 being very satisfied, Eurostat data (from 2021) shows that residents have given their life satisfaction a mark of 7.4, down from 7.6. Only 12% said their satisfaction was ‘low’, while 61.7 said it was ‘medium’ and 26.3% saw it as ‘high’.
WORLD CUP ARGENTINA - Huge crowds are celebrating through the night in Buenos Aires, after Argentina won the football World Cup for the first time in more than 30 years. They beat France on penalties, after a dramatic final ended 3-all after extra time. The captain Lionel Messi lifted the trophy to cement his place one of the sport’s greatest ever players.
EU ENERGY - EU energy ministers are meeting in Brussels today. Once again, the subject is a price cap on gas. EU countries do not agree and some fear supply shortages.
At the same time Benelux countries, Germany, France, Austria and Switzerland want to work more closely together on the issue of energy supply. This was decided yesterday in Brussels, in the so-called Penta lateral Energy Forum. An agreement on crisis communication was signed and ministers agreed more should be invested in energy transition.
UN COP15 - Countries are closing in on a historic deal to reverse decades of environmental destruction threatening the world’s species and ecosystems at a marathon UN biodiversity summit, which ends in Montreal today. In a first draft of the final declaration, delegates are expecting to agree that 30% of land and sea on our planet should become nature reserves. There is also an appeal to rich countries to invest more in the biodiversity of developing countries.
UKRAINE ATTACKS - The Ukrainian military are reporting that there have been further Russian drone attacks on Kyiv this morning. People are being urged to get to safety. At least 9 drones have been shot down. There is not information about possible casualties. Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Zelensky has proposed a global peace conference. This, in a video that should have been shown before the World Cup final. However, FIFA refused to show the video message.
WORLD CUP MESSI - Lionel Messi has left the World Cup stage for the final time in the most dramatic way possible on Sunday. Messi dazzled in Doha as Argentina beat France 4-2 on penalties at the Lusail Stadium after one of the greatest finals in history finished 3-3, with Messi scoring twice. The 35-year-old picked up the Golden Ball for the best player of the World Cup, finishing one goal behind Kylian Mbappe in the race for the Golden Boot. WORLD CUP 2026 - Staying with football, FIFA is now preparing to organise the biggest World Cup. For the first time, football’s greatest tournament will be held across three host nations -- the United States, Canada and Mexico in 2026. The tournament will see an expansion to 48 teams, up from the current 32-team format. The biggest beneficiaries of the expansion to 48 teams will be Africa and Asia.Under the new format, Africa will receive nine qualifying slots for the finals, while Asia will nearly double to eight.
The big freeze seems over for now and we are back to autumn temperatures. There is still a chance of some freezing rain this morning, leaving patches of ice on roads, pavements and bridges. Temperatures are expected to rise sharply throughout the day, up to 6-8°C, putting an end to the risk of black ice and we might even have some sunshine in the afternoon.
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