STATE VISIT – It’s the third and last day of the official State visit to Belgium. The Grand Duke and Belgian King will visit the military base of Melsbroek this morning, where the Belgian-Luxembourgish military aircraft A400M is stationed. Then it is off to Liège, where there is a seminar at the university on the security challenges in space. The Grand Duchess and the Queen are visiting the organisation ‘Child Focus’ in Brussels, which is dedicated to the search for missing children and the fight against the sexual exploitation of minors. After a joint lunch, the Grand Ducal couple will then return to Luxembourg.
JOB LOSSES – The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (STATEC) have reported a 15% increase in bankruptcies in the first quarter of this year. A rise in bankruptcies has led to significant job losses in Luxembourg, totaling 1,239 across the same period. This degree of job loss, in a single quarter, has not been witnessed in the Grand Duchy since 2011.
VIRGINITY CERTIFICATES – Following a debate in parliament yesterday on a ban for so-called virginity certificates, Health Minister Martine Deprez said a legal ban for doctors to issue such a certificate, proving a woman has never had sexual intercourse, will be issued this legislative period. The debate was triggered by a petition. The Minister of Health emphasised that the ban should not be “just a sentence somewhere in a text”, but the right of women to decide for themselves should be significantly strengthened.
EU IRAN SANCTIONS – European leaders have agreed to impose new sanctions on Iran’s drone and missile producers over Tehran’s unprecedented weekend attack on Israel. EU leaders, meeting in Brussels, said that everything should be done now to contribute to stability in the Middle East and to prevent an escalation. They also repeated a clear plea for a quick ceasefire in the Gaza war.
UKRAINE WAR – Ministers also discussed the war in Ukraine. After the meeting, Prime Minister Luc Frieden emphasised in an interview with RTL that anti-aircraft missiles and general ammunition were necessary for Ukraine to defend itself. Yesterday, a Russian strike on the northern Ukrainian city of Chernigiv killed 18 people and wounded around 20, as Kyiv sounds the alarm over shortages in its air defence capabilities. Officials said several multi-storey buildings were hit by three missiles.
CROATIA ELECTIONS – Croatia’s governing party has won the most seats in Wednesday’s parliamentary elections, according to almost complete preliminary results. However it failed to win a complete majority. Neither the Prime Minister’s conservative HDZ party, nor the centre-left SDP have claimed enough seats to govern alone. This means weeks of political talks to follow, with no guarantee that a coalition will result.
FOOTBALL – Starting with the football Champions League, this year’s semi finals will see Dortmund v PSG, and Bayern Munich against Real Madrid. This after Real Madrid claimed a 4-3 win over Manchester City last night after penalties and Bayern beat Arsenal 1-0. The two German clubs must both play at home in the semi-finals. The first semi final is in Munich on April 30th and the second on 1 May in Paris.
Tonight sees the return matches in the Europa League. Liverpool is playing Atalanta Bergamo. Leverkusen are in London with a 2-0 advantage over West Ham. Marseille play Benfica and Rome is playing C Milan. All matches are at 9pm.
CYCLING – Welsh rider Stephen Williams won the Fleche Wallonne Spring cycling classic run across the rain-drenched Ardennes hills and plains on Wednesday as the race delivered its usual nail-biting climax.This revered race was won in 2023 by Tadej Pogacar but the 2024 event saw all the top contenders caught out in a peloton split engineered by the lashing rain.
As you step out the door this morning, expect to be greeted by cloudy skies, with a chance of light rain showers, which should stop around noon. Moving into the afternoon, those clouds should start to part ways, revealing patches of blue sky. However, as evening unfolds, the clouds will gather once more, heralding the arrival of a storm system for Friday’s early morning hours. Very chilly morning temperatures (0–2°C) will increase to 7–10°C by the afternoon.
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