POST ELECTRIC - The postal service has officially started its electrical transition. The plan: to switch to green electricity and reduce its energy consumption. The medium-term goal is to have 90% of company cars run on green electricity. The switch will be worthwhile: Last year alone, its car fleet consumed 1.5 million litres of petrol and diesel over 13 million kilometres. This means that hundreds of thousands of tonnes less CO2 are emitted into the air via electric mobility.
FRANCE FIRE - A devastating fire that raged through a holiday home for adults with disabilities in Wintzenheim in the Alsace yesterday, has left 11 people dead. It is not yet clear what caused the fire. An investigation has been underway since yesterday, which will continue today. French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne arrived at the scene in the afternoon. She said she wanted to show the government’s support for the families of the victims and for the firefighters and rescuers on site. The adults, who had “slight intellectual disabilities” were on a holiday sponsored by two specialised associations. Many of the visitors came from the city of Nancy.
HAWAII WILDFIRE - Catastrophic wildfires in the US state of Hawaii have killed at least 6 people. Large parts of the tourist town of Lahaina on the island of Maui have been burnt to the ground. Flames spread rapidly, forcing some people to jump into the sea to escape. More than a dozen were rescued by the coast guard.
PORTUGAL FIRES - In Portugal, huge forest fires are raging across southern Portugal for the 5th successive day. The biggest blazes are in the southern Odemira region, where more than 1,500 people have been evacuated with the fires reaching the Algarve, a hugely popular tourist destination.
RUSSIA DRONES - Russia says it shot down Ukrainian drones heading for Moscow for the second night running. The defence ministry said 2 were destroyed without causing injuries or material damage. The Kremlin said it also prevented what it called a “terrorist attack” by 11 drones on the city of Sevastopol in occupied Crimea.
HOLIDAY TRAFFIC - Drivers are being warned in France and Germany that the roads this weekend will be the most difficult of the summer as people leave the cities and head to the coasts. The traffic monitoring service Bison Futé has issued a red warning – the second highest level - for tomorrow, Saturday and Sunday, which means that a lot of traffic can be expected, especially in the direction of the Mediterranean as well as on the major axes to the north. Heavy holiday traffic has also been confirmed by the German ADAC. The 2nd August weekend is one that is associated with a lot of traffic jams every year, in particular in the north, along the Baltic and North Seas, but also towards the Alps.
MARS SEASONS - Scientists say they have found evidence that Mars may have had wet and dry seasons, similar to earth. Researchers in France analysed 4 billion-year-old salt deposits, gathered by NASA’s Curiosity rover and discovered evidence of a sustained, cyclical Martian climate. It is thought conditions would be able to support life on the planet.
FOOTBALL - In the third round of the qualification for the Europa Conference League, Hesperange is playing the North Macedonian champions FC Struga tonday at 5pm. The return match is in a week’s time at the Stade de Luxembourg.
The football match between Luxembourg and Iceland as part of the European Championship qualifiers on September 8 is sold out. But due to Iceland’s limited fan presence in Luxembourg, the FLF has decided to convert these seats into a “family” section. You can buy tickets on the FLF’s homepage from 2 o’clock this afternoon.
Staying with football, the Saudi Pro League kicks off tomorrow amid unprecedented attention on Saudi football following a year of high-profile transfers and growing accusations of “sportswashing”. Clubs in the oil-rich Gulf state have lured global stars, with Karim Benzema, Jordan Henderson and Sadio Mané among those following in Cristiano Ronaldo’s footsteps. Eighteen clubs will take part in the league, with each allowed eight foreign players. According to Simon Chadwick, professor of Sport and Geopolitical Economy in Paris, “Saudi Arabia aspires to be like the English Premier League and the media is paying attention.”
CYCLING - Emma Finucane has won the women’s sprint title at the track cycling world championships, beating Germany’s Lea Sophie Friedrich 2-0 in a best-of-three final. The 20-year-old from Wales edged the first round in Glasgow with 4,000 fans in the stands, coming from behind. She then went off first in the second leg and sprinted away early leaving Friedrich no margin. Today the women’s time trials will take place, Nina Berton from Luxembourg goes to the start of the 28km race in the afternoon.
It took some time, but it’s beginning to look a lot like summer! Dry summer weather awaits you, with radiant sunshine and only a few scattered clouds. Morning temperatures will start off at between 9 and 11°C, rising to a peak of 24°C in the afternoon.
Be sure to catch our full bulletin on the hour, every hour and headlines at half past the hour on Today Radio. You can also access the news via Alexa, and on RTL Play.
