REFUGEE SHELTERS - The Grand Ducal Fire and Rescue Corps has installed shelters in exhibition hall 7 at the LuxExpo in Kirchberg, to provide a temporary, transitional solution to house refugees currently living outside in tent structures. Minister Max Hahn said the hall would provide accommodation for up to 600 people as temperatures drop over the winter months.
ENTREPRENEUR OF THE YEAR - Marc Giorgetti has been named Luxembourg’s Entrepreneur of the Year 2023. He joined his family business at a young age, working on construction sites and learning to operate machinery. Now, the group is one of Luxembourg’s leading construction companies, with over 1,300 employees and a strong presence in the hospitality industry and real estate sectors.
EUROVISION AUDITIONS - As dozens of hopeful Luxembourgish artists gather for three days at the Rockhal to perform some 70 preselected songs, an international jury of Eurovision experts is set to decide on the happy few that will advance to the final national selection round in January. It’s been three decades since five-time winner Luxembourg last took part in the world’s largest and longest-running annual TV musical event.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR - A four-day halt in fighting between Israel and Hamas has been in place in Gaza since 6 o’clock this morning. Fighting continued in the lead up to the ceasefire. 50 women and children, seized in a deadly attack by Hamas last month, are expected to be freed over the next four days. Palestinians will also be released from Israeli jails, as part of the deal. According to the Foreign Ministry of Qatar, which brokered the deal, the first 13 hostages are to be release this afternoon at 3 o’clock our time.
The ceasefire should also enable larger aid deliveries to the Gaza Strip. They are urgently needed by the UN and many NGOs. Egypt wants to send 130,000 liters of diesel into the Gaza Strip every day, which is needed for the operation of the hospitals. Have a look at our live ticker for the latest updates.
DUBLIN RIOTS - Police in Dublin say the streets are now mainly calm after rioting broke out last night with a police car, bus and tram set on fire. Some shops were looted and fireworks were thrown at officers. The violent scenes followed a knife attack outside a school, which injured a woman and three children.
DUTCH ELECTIONS - After the election victory of the right-wing populist Geert Wilders, thousands of people took to the streets in Dutch cities last night to protest against exclusion and discrimination. Demonstrations took place in Amsterdam and Utrecht. Wilders’ party, the PVV has won 37 out of 150 seats in the Dutch parliament and is therefore the strongest. The formation of a government will likely run into difficulties, as possible coalition partners of the PVV currently rule out becoming Wilders’ junior partner.
INDIA TUNNEL RESCUE - Just a few metres of rock and earth separate Indian rescue teams from 41 workers who have been trapped inside a collapsed road tunnel for nearly two weeks. Late on Wednesday, the operation to rescue them was slowed down a when a drilling machine encountered a steel structure it could not cut through.
PISTORIUS PAROLE - South African Paralympic champion Oscar Pistorius could be granted early release from prison, a decade after he killed his girlfriend in a crime that gripped the world. Pistorius is to appear before a parole board today. It will be Pistorius’ second shot at parole in less than eight months.FORMULA 1 - The last race of the F1 season takes place in Abu Dhabi this weekend. The race is on Sunday at 2 o’clock our time. Max Verstappen has rejected the notion, rumoured and reported in recent days, that his Red Bull team were considering approaching Lewis Hamilton to partner him in a dream line-up. Verstappen, who has already wrapped up a third successive title, said “it’s not happening.”
FOOTBALL - Bayern Munich coach Thomas Tuchel has hit out at the crowded fixture list, saying it was “not for the good of the game and not for the good of the players”. Bayern play in Cologne in the Bundesliga today, just 24 hours after some of their first XI returned to Munich following the international break.
OLYMPICS - Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo has said the transport system in France’s capitol city will not be ready in time for the 2024 Olympic Games, sparking anger from political opponents. Political opponents lashed out at the Socialist mayor, who has been under pressure this month after it emerged she extended a low-key official trip to a French Pacific territory in October with a two-week private visit in the holiday paradise.
It will be a cold, changeable day in the Grand Duchy, with winds blowing clouds and rain across the country and the chance of some sunshine in between. In the Éislek region in the north , scattered rain showers could even turn to light snow. Morning temperatures of 3-6°C will remain throughout the afternoon, dropping to a very chilly 2-4°C come evening.
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