NATIONAL ALERT - The national warning system for all types of emergencies should be ready by July. The Gouv-Alert system which sends a warning text message to residents will be used by police, the water administration, MeteoLux, the rescue services as well health authorities and the High Commission for National Protection. ROYAL EXPENSES - A report has revealed lavish travel expenses by the Grand Ducal family, particularly notable during the head of state’s frequent unofficial trips abroad. During the floods of 2021 in Vianden, the report suggests the head of state chartered a flight from his summer residence in Provence, with a total cost of €8,400. Another noteworthy journey was the attendance at Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral in September 2022, with a luxury accommodation bill of over over €17,000.
ROYAL BABY - The Grand Ducal Court has announced the birth of Prince Félix and Princess Claire’s third child, a boy named Balthasar Felix Karl. Prince Félix, the Grand Duke’s second son, has two other children with his wife Claire, whom he married in 2013.
EUROVISION SONG - Eight candidates will now go head to head to compete for the chance to represent Luxembourg at Eurovision this year. The finalists will unveil their songs for the first time exclusively on RTL today. Joel Marques, Naomi Ayé, Edsun, CHAiLD, Krick, One Last Time, Tali, and Angy & Rafa Ela are all hoping to represent Luxembourg in Malmö this May. Tune in to Today Radio today to hear all of Luxembourg’s potential Eurovision entries for the first time!
FRANCE RESIGNATION - French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne has resigned, as President Macron prepares to unveil a long-awaited cabinet reshuffle in a bid to give new momentum to the final three years of his presidency. After days of intense behind-the-scenes manoeuvring, Education Minister Gabriel Attal is emerging as the favourite to succeed Borne. If appointed, Attal, who is 34-years-old, would be France’s youngest ever and first openly gay prime minister.
BOEING 737 - United and Alaska Airlines have both reported that loose parts and screws have been discovered on some of their Boeing 737 MAX 9 planes during inspections. Last week, a so-called door plug component blew out on an Alaska Airlines passenger plane, forcing it to make an emergency landing. After the incident last week, US aviation authorities have grounded part of the MAX fleet for closer inspections.
UKRAINE WAR - Russia is said to have abducted close over 19,500 children from Ukraine during the war. This is reported by the Ukrainian authorities, who refer to figures from the United Nations. Meanwhile, intense fighting continues in the east and south of Ukraine. Russian bombings have become more intense in recent days.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR - The Israeli offensive in the south and centre of the Gaza Strip continues unabated. And the humanitarian situation remains very tense. At the same time, diplomatic efforts for a ceasefire are in full swing. Today the American Secretary of State Antony Blinken is expected in Israel. And Luxembourg’s chief diplomat Xavier Bettel is currently in the Middle East to mediate. Yesterday there was a meeting with his Israeli counterpart Israel Katz. Today he is with the Palestinian authorities in the West Bank.
BECKENBAUER DIES - The German football legend Franz Beckenbauer has died at the age of 78. Widely regarded as one of the sport’s best players, Beckenbauer achieved World Cup glory as a player in 1974, before leading Germany to victory a second time as national coach in 1990. Beckenbauer had largely withdrawn from public life in recent years as he battled a number of ailments. Germany has united to mourn his death with figures from across the sporting and political landscape bidding farewell to the ‘Kaiser’.
TENNIS - The Australian Open is underway and Novak Djokovic is once again red-hot favourite as he chases an unprecedented 25th Grand Slam title, but a wrist problem and the emergence of Carlos Alcaraz puts his all-conquering reign under threat. Djokovic lost the Wimbledon final to Alcaraz, who is a different player to the one that last graced the Australian hard courts as an 18-year-old ranked outside the top 30.
MeteoLux has placed the country on yellow alert until 11am, as temperatures were set to drop as low as -8°C in parts of Luxembourg overnight. According to today’s forecast, we’ll get off to an overcast start, before the cloud cover disperses in favour of sunshine! It’s definitely a day for grabbing your thermals though, with morning temperatures kicking off at -8 to -6 °C. As we head into the afternoon, the mercury will creep up slightly towards 0°C.
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