POLITMONITOR SURVEY - With a new government in place and a fresh year underway, the 2024 ranking of Luxembourg politicians has been revealed. Foreign Minister Xavier Bettel is the most popular politician in Luxembourg. In second place comes the LSAP MP Paulette Lenert, one place ahead of Prime Minister Luc Frieden, who comes in 3rd place. Further results can be found on RTL Today. A Politmonitor survey will today reveal the top concerns of people, as well as the work of the government.
AIRPORT FIRE - A fire at Findel Airport in the early hours of Tuesday morning resulted in substantial damage worth over two million euros to Luxembourg Air Rescue equipment.According to Luxembourg Air Rescue officials, the fire originated in the storage area housing medical equipment and devices.
FOOTBALL PITCH VANDALISM - Municipality officials have confirmed that the pitch in Colmar-Berg was found riddled with tyre tracks on Monday. This incident marks yet another instance of misuse of the football pitch, with the local authorities stating that the pitch had fallen victim to rogue drifters just earlier this winter season. The identity of the individuals responsible for the latest act of vandalism remains unknown.
PETROL PRICES - Unleaded and super unleaded petrol prices have risen from today. Although diesel dropped in price earlier on Tuesday, super unleaded now costs €1.858 per litre, while SP95 costs €1.6278. This is the second time petrol prices have risen in just eight days.
US BRIDGE COLLAPSE - The US coastguard says 6 people still missing after a container ship brought down a major bridge in the city of Baltimore are now presumed dead. Rear Admiral Shannon Gilreath said it was unlikely the construction workers were alive, because of the length of time they had been missing and low water temperatures. Officials said they are now focusing on recovering the bodies.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR - The southern Gaza Strip came under intense Israeli bombardment overnight, despite international pressure for an immediate ceasefire. The sound of explosions was also heard and smoke was seen rising in Gaza City in the north, where Israeli troops have been attacking the city’s largest hospital for more than a week.The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said early Wednesday that 66 people had been killed overnight, including three killed in Israeli air strikes in and around Rafah.
BRAZIL INVESTMENT - The presidents of France and Brazil have unveiled a green investment programme, worth more than 1 billion dollars, aimed at protecting the Amazon rainforest. The plan was announced in the Brazilian city of Belem, which will host next year’s UN climate summit.
SERRA DIES - Contemporary American artist Richard Serra, known for his massive yet minimalist steel sculptures, died on Tuesday at the age 85. He is known in Luxembourg for the ‘Exchange’ sculpture, a notable landmark on the Kirchberg roundabout.
DACHSHUND BAN - Dachshunds, also known as sausage dogs could be banned in Germany under a new law that could prohibit breeding practices inflicting long-term suffering on animals. Dachshunds are prone to spinal problems linked to their short legs and long backs. But the German kennel club has launched a petition to save, what they called our favourite dogs.
FOOTBALL - The national football team won 2-1 against Kazakhstan last night. Last night’s result will not see them attend EURO 2024. That will be all for Luxembourg, except for a June friendly with Belgium, until the new Nations League season later this year.
Ukraine came from behind to beat Iceland in a play-off to qualify for Euro 2024 last night, while Poland secured their place at the finals with a penalty shoot-out victory over Wales and Georgia qualified for a first ever major tournament.
The Luxembourg U21 team lost 0-7 to England yesterday.
TENNIS - Top seed Carlos Alcaraz marched into the quarter-finals of the tournament on Tuesday with convincing victories. Medvedev earned a 7-6 (7/5), 6-0 win over Germany’s Dominik Koepfer while Alcaraz took care of Italian Lorenzo Musetti with a 6-3, 6-3 win in 85 minutes. Second seed Jannik Sinner of Italy also moved into the last eight beating Christopher O’Connell of Australia.
In the women, Victoria Azarenka battled for nearly three hours to get past a determined Yulia Putintseva and take her place in the semi-finals. Fourth-seeded Elena Rybakina also won her match against Maria Sakkari of Greece.
RUGBY - New Zealand Rugby has proposed a “once-in-a-generation” overhaul of its leadership structure. It comes after a scathing independent review concluded that NZ Rugby’s current leadership structure was “not fit for purpose”.The rugby board’s proposals include a panel to appoint its leadership group so all nine board members are independently elected.
We’ve got a rainy morning ahead of us, before the showers clear and the wind really sets in during the afternoon, with gusts of up to 50 km/h predicted. However, conditions will dry up somewhat as the day progresses, clearing any rain by the evening. Temperatures start off at 5-7°C, rising to 7-9°C in the afternoon
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