BETTEL EU - Prime Minister Xavier Bettel is in Brussels today for a meeting with the President of the EU Commission Ursula von der Leyen. There has been no indication on what the talks are about. But the Head of the Commission meets respective heads of governments at regular intervals to discuss the current challenges of the countries.
ELECTION PROGRAMMES - It didn’t take long: one week after the municipal elections, the Christian Social People’s Party (CSV) is today presenting its electoral programme for the parliamentary elections on October 8. Luxembourg’s Socialist Workers Party (LSAP) is presenting its list of candidates for the parliamentary elections at 4 district congresses, which will be held in the coming days, starting this evening in Grevenmacher.
EU ENERGY - EU Energy ministers are meeting in Luxembourg today. The major goal of Luxembourg’s Energy Minister Claude Turmes and his counterparts is to reform the EU’s electricity market. Ministers hope to make Europe less dependent on global market volatilities and protect consumers from high prices.
SMALL COUNTRIES - A conference of the Presidents of the parliaments of the 9 small European countries are in Luxembourg today. It is the 16th time that the exchange between the Grand Duchy, together with Andorra, Cyprus, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Malta, Monaco, Montenegro and San Marino is taking place. Discussions will centre around sustainable tourism, cyber security and democratic values.
HIGH SEAS TREATY - The world’s first international treaty to protect the high seas is due to be adopted at the UN today. Following more than 15 years of discussions, UN member states finally agreed on the text for the treaty in March after a flurry of final, marathon talks. The landmark treaty will establish a legal framework to extend environmental protections to international waters, which make up more than 60 percent of the world’s oceans.
SUDAN DONORS - An international donors’ conference for Sudan is due to kick off in Geneva today, one day into a 72-hour ceasefire. The army, led by Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, has been battling paramilitary forces commanded by his former deputy Mohamed Hamdan Daglo since mid-April. The war has claimed at least 2000 victims and driven over 2 million people from their homes. According to the UN, 25 million people need humanitarian aid, especially food and medicine. Today’s conference is a joint action of the UN, the EU, Germany, Saudi Arabia and Egypt.
NAVALNY COURT - The Moscow City Court will start examining a new case against Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny today. There are seven charges against him, including “extremism.” Navalny, who used to mobilise massive anti-Kremlin protests, is currently serving a nine-year prison sentence on embezzlement charges that his supporters see as punishment for his political work. He now faces up to another 30 years behind bars.
PARIS AIR SHOW - The Paris Air Show opens today after a four-year break with the aerospace industry bouncing back from the Covid-19 pandemic but under pressure to slash its carbon footprint. The aerospace industry is flocking back to Le Bourget airport outside Paris, as aircraft makers field hundreds of orders and airlines brace for a near-record number of passengers this year. Russia’s war in Ukraine has also led countries to step up military spending, which could benefit aerospace defence firms.
FOOTBALL - Spain has won the Football Nations League with a 5-4 shoot-out victory over Croatia, after a tense match finished 0-0 following extra time. Man of the match is the Spanish goalkeeper Unai Simon, who saved 2 penalties from the Croatians. It is the first title win for Spain, since the European Championship in 2012.
Tomorrow, the Luxembourg national football team will play their 4th match in the current European Championship qualification campaign. Two players will not be flying to Bosnia today - namely Gerson Rodrigues and Vincent Thill. For Rodrigues, these were for disciplinary reasons, as he was missing during training yesterday. Being as this was already the third time he did not go to training, the national coach Luc Holtz removed him from the squad for the match against Bosnia.
Tonight there are more European Championship qualifying matches. France is playing Greece, England against North Macedonia and Turkey plays Wales.
FORMULA 1 - It is the 100th victory for Red Bull in Formula 1. Max Verstappen won last night’s Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal. Ahead of Ferrnando Alonso at Aston Martin, and Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes. For Verstappen it was the sixth win this year and the 41st of his career, pulling him alongside three-time champion Ayrton Senna in Formula One’s record books.
After a windy, stormy Sunday night, the weather will briefly settle into a warm, cloudy day, before the thunder and lightning return towards the evening. Morning temperatures of 17-20°C in the morning, will peak at a slightly cooler 26-28°C in the afternoon.
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