POLICE ARREST - A fourth police officer has been arrested over allegations of assault, after three others were taken into custody earlier this week. The public prosecutor’s office confirmed a fourth officer had been arrested in connection with an ongoing judicial investigation into aggravated police violence, obstruction of justice and forgery. Three other officers were arrested on Monday. The officers involved are all said to belong to a Luxembourg City police station.
BARI TRIAL VERDICT - It was one of the biggest drug trials that has ever happened in the country. Since mid-April, 20 people have been in court, charged with drug trafficking, money laundering, forgery and fraud. Yesterday the verdict was delivered in the 1st instance. There were individual acquittals, and prison sentences ranging from one and a half to 16 years in prison. In addition, several cars and homes were confiscated by order of the judges.
TRIAL VOLLEYBALL COACH - In another trial ongoing in Luxembourg, two men were sentenced yesterday for possessing and distributing child pornography. One of them was a volleyball coach, who filmed girls in the shower for over 5 years. He was sentenced to 5 years in prison. The second man received a two-year suspended sentence and a fine of 2,000 euros. Both men have to undergo psychiatric treatment.
LUX ID - Cactus, CFL, POST and RTL have teamed up to create LuxID, a digital identity solution. LuxID aims to provide a common, secure login solution and offer a unified experience on websites, platforms, and online applications. It will be available at the end of 2023.
ACTORS STRIKE - Hollywood actors are going on strike, effectively bringing the giant movie and television business to a halt as they join writers in the first industry-wide walkout for more than 60 years. The Screen Actors Guild issued a strike order after last-ditch talks with studios on their demands over pay and the threat posed by artificial intelligence ended without a deal. Some 160.000 performers are stopping work at midnight local time (0700 GMT). The shutdown means the vast majority of US film and TV productions will grind to a halt.
BASTILLE DAY - It is the 14th July, France’s national day. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be guest of honour for the Bastille Day celebrations, which are set to take place under tight security two weeks after the country was swept by riots. Around 45,000 police will be deployed nationwide in the evening while firework sales have been banned as the government aims to prevent a repeat of the urban violence seen at the end of June.
ASPARTAME CANCER RISK - Aspartame, a sweetener commonly used in diet drinks and chewing gum, has been declared a potential cancer risk by the WHO. The artificial sweetener has been listed as “possibly carcinogenic to humans” -- though the acceptable daily intake level remains unchanged. WHO’s nutrition and safety director Francesco Branca said they were not advising companies to withdraw product, only for consumers to use a bit of moderation.
CYCLING - The ongoing duel between defending champion Jonas Vingegaard and two time winner Tadej Pogacar may ignite on the Grand Colombier mountain on today’s stage in the Tour de France. Vingegaard holds a slender 17 seconds lead over Pogacar. Today on the 14th of July it goes “just” over 138km from Chatillon-sur-Chalaronne, up to Grand-Colombier, with a final climb of over 17km.
TENNIS - In tennis, the Wimbledon women’s final this year is Ons Jabbeur against Marketa Vondrousova tomorrow. The men’s semi-finals are today. Novak Djokovic will face Yannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz will face Danil Medvedev. The men’s final takes place on Sunday.
Sunshine, fluffy clouds, and warm breezes! We’ll be experiencing some highs, but occasionally denser cloud cover moving in from France. As we head into the evening, the skies will clear up and we can expect increasing sunshine.Temperatures start off at 16-22°C in the morning, rising to 26-27°C in the afternoon.
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