CLOSE TO BANKRUPTCY - One of Luxembourg’s large construction companies is experiencing financial struggles, putting Collective Agreement negotiations into doubt, say unions. Manuel Cardoso Constructions, which employs 220 people, is said to be close to bankruptcy, according to Luxembourg’s weekly Portuguese newspaper Contacto. The Independent Luxembourg Trade Union Confederation is pushing for a serious collective agreement with employers in the sector, citing employees’ contributions to enormous profits.
NO FOUL PLAY - The public prosecutor’s office said they believed no foul play had taken place following the discovery of a man’s body in a pond earlier this week. Police reported a man’s corpse had been located in a pond in Hoscheid-Dickt the day before. His identity was confirmed on Wednesday, although it has not been made public. RTL sources suggest the victim was an elderly gentleman and that the pond in which he was discovered formed part of his property. When asked by RTL, the public prosecutor’s office said they believed no crime had taken place in relation to the incident.
WITNESS APPEAL - Police are seeking witnesses in relation to a hit-and-run accident that left a person injured in Weiswampach. On Friday 14 July, a female pedestrian was knocked down by a white Jeep at a zebra crossing on Gruuss-Strooss, and Police are now seeking information on the driver, who fled the scene without stopping. Anyone with information should contact Troisvierges police via phone (+352 244 87 1000) or email (police.TROISVIERGES@police.etat.lu).
UNPRECEDENTED CHANGES - July 2023 will probably be the world’s hottest month in “hundreds, if not thousands, of years,” top NASA climatologist Gavin Schmidt said Thursday, adding, “We are seeing unprecedented changes all over the world - the heat waves that we’re seeing in the US, in Europe, and in China are demolishing records, left, right and center”. Schmidt’s warnings come as the world has been buffeted by fires and dire health warnings in the past week, in addition to broken temperature records.
KOREA TENSIONS - Seoul told North Korea on Friday that using its nuclear weapons would mean the “end” of Kim Jong Un’s regime, after Pyongyang threatened nuclear retaliation over growing US military deployments on the peninsula. Relations between the two Koreas are at one of their lowest points ever, with the North ramping up weapons testing as Seoul and Washington boost military cooperation. With Seoul’s defence ministry reiterating, “Any nuclear attack on the alliance will face an immediate, overwhelming and decisive response.”.
DEMOCRACY PROTESTS - Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday that he is still “open for negotiations” on a key clause of his hard-right government’s controversial judicial reforms, as protests intensified ahead of final votes on the bill. Israel has been rocked by a months-long wave of protests after the government unveiled in January plans to overhaul the judicial system that opponents say threaten the country’s democracy. An Israeli parliamentary committee has already moved to limit the “reasonability” clause that allows the judiciary to strike down government decisions, in a marathon debate that ended late Wednesday.
AI NEWS - Google is working with news publishers to design a new AI-backed tool to help journalists report and write their stories, the company said on Thursday. The project was first reported by The New York Times, which is working with both The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal in testing the new product. Citing anonymous sources, the report said the tool -- known internally as Genesis -- was in an early testing stage, but impressive enough to be found “unsettling” by some of the news executives that saw its capabilities. A Google spokeswoman said in a statement that “quite simply, these tools are not intended to, and cannot, replace the essential role journalists have in reporting, creating and fact-checking their articles”.
WOMEN’S WORLD CUP - Australia coach Tony Gustavsson has defended keeping Sam Kerr’s Women’s World Cup injury secret, saying he did so for tactical reasons and to protect his star player. The Chelsea forward’s name was a shock omission from the team sheet for the co-hosts’ 1-0 win over Ireland in Sydney on Thursday. After beating Ireland, Gustavsson admitted he had known that Kerr was a major doubt when the pair fronted the press on the eve of the game. Kerr is expected to also miss Australia’s next game against Nigeria.
KISS GOODBYE - Experienced London Irish coach Les Kiss has signed a three-year deal to replace Brad Thorn at the helm of Australian Super Rugby side the Queensland Reds, officials have said. The 58-year-old Australian guided the English outfit to a fifth-place finish in 2023 - their best season in 15 years - but he said the opportunity to return to his home state was too good to turn down.
With a grey start to the day, temperatures will start off at around 14 to 15 degrees, with cloud cover and light rain expected up until mid afternoon. Afternoon temperatures are then expected to peak at around a high of 22 degrees before dropping off to a cooler 18 degrees in the evening.
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