ATHLETE DOPING - The Luxembourgish anti-doping agency ALAD has reacted to rumours about a Luxembourgish athlete who supposedly ignored anti-doping measures. The agency has specified that it does not concern an athlete from the Luxembourgish delegation currently in Paris. But there is an ongoing procedure about an athlete who has failed to show up for his doping test three times during a period of twelve months. The name of the suspected person will only be made public after a verdict has been reached by the CDD, the Luxembourgish council of doping discipline.
OLYMPIC VISIT - Grand Duke Henri has praised Luxembourg’s athletes, especially table tennis star Ni Xia Lian, while celebrating the nation’s vibrant presence at the Olympics. Grand Duke Henri, a passionate sports enthusiast and member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), has been avidly following the Olympics alongside Grand Duchess Maria Teresa, cheering on Luxembourg’s athletes. He noted that the Olympics are a fantastic showcase for Luxembourg, particularly for our athletes.
HEALTH INSURANCES - State employees’ health insurance has been found to be more efficient than the CNS. In a RTL investigation CMFEP (the health insurance for state employees) reimbursed insured individuals within seven to ten days for doctor visits within Luxembourg. CNS takes an average of six weeks.
PARLIAMENT AI - Luxembourg’s parliament has recently adopted an Artificial Intelligence (AI) code of ethics, making it one of the first parliaments in the European Union (EU) to adopt a framework of its kind. AI is being used to transcribe parliamentary debates, for archiving and translating.
IRAQ ATTACK - US officials say several American soldiers have been wounded in a suspected rocket attack on a military base in Iraq. Tensions are rising in the Middle East after Iran promised reprisals against Israel, following the killings of senior members of the militant groups Hamas and Hezbollah.
HURRICANE DEBBY - At least 4 people have died after Hurricane Debby made landfall in Florida. Despite now being downgraded to a Tropical Storm, heavy rainfall and catastrophic flooding is expected in Georgia and South Carolina by Friday. The Director of the National Hurricane Center said people should be prepared for disruption, evacuations and flooding.
GOOGLE ANTI TRUST CASE - A judge in the US has ruled Google acted illegally to maintain a monopoly for online searches. The court says the company paid billions to other tech firms to make sure it was the default search engine on their products.
BANGLADESH PROTESTS - Bangladesh’s military is in control of the country after mass protests forced longtime ruler Sheikh Hasina to resign and flee. Hasina was accused of rigging the elections in January. Army chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman announced on Monday afternoon on state television that Hasina had resigned and the military would form a caretaker government.
HIROSHIMA ANNIVERSARY - The mayor of Hiroshima said earlier today that wars in Ukraine and Gaza were deepening fear and distrust worldwide, on the 79th anniversary of the atomic bombing that devastated the Japanese city. Kazumi Matsui made a sombre speech at a memorial event to commemorate the victims of the US nuclear attack on August 6, 1945 that left around 140,000 people dead. The strikes led to the end of World War II, and to this day Japan remains the only country to be hit by atomic weapons in wartime.
GERMANY SPEED CHECKS - if you have travel plans to visit Germany, exercise extra caution on the roads. The majority of German states are participating in a speed check marathon this week. While Saarland and Bavaria will not be taking part this time, Rhineland-Palatinate will be. Speed checks will be conducted in residential areas like towns and villages, as well as in sensitive areas such as 30 km/h zones or country roads known for speeding.
OLYMPICS 2024 - In the Olympics today, we will see the last appearance of a Luxembourgish athlete. Vera Hoffmann is competing in the 1500 meters this morning. If she doesn’t make it into the top 6 today, there is another chance to qualify for the semi-finals tomorrow. There is a total of 45 runners at the start, 24 will make it to the semi-finals.
Luxembourg’s Ruben Querinjean finished 26th among 36 competitors in the 3000 meter steeplechase yesterday. He ran around 10 seconds above his own national record.
In terms of medals, after the 10th day, the USA continues to lead with 79 medals, including 21 gold. China has the same number of gold medals.
Among yesterday’s highlights: there was gold and a new world record for the Swedish pole vaulter Armand Duplantis With 6.25m, he improved his own world record by 1 centimeter. Gold also for Britain’s Keely Hodgkinson in the women’s 800m while America’s Valerie Allmann defended her discus title to win gold with just just under 70 m.
In cycling, Britain smashed the women’s team sprint world record in the Olympics qualifying competition yesterday, crossing the line in 45.472sec. The British trio of Emma Finucane, Sophie Capewell and Katy Marchant powered round the Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines velodrome ahead of New Zealand and Germany.
And in surfing, French Polynesian Kauli Vaast won the gold medal in men’s surfing while Caroline Marks from the US won the women’s surfing in Tahiti.
Today there will be medal decisions in equestrian jumping, skateboarding, wresting and athletics in the 1500m and 200m sprint and steeplechase.
RUGBY - Twickenham is to be renamed Allianz Stadium from September after the Rugby Football Union (RFU) agreed a long-term sponsorship deal with the Germany-based multinational insurance company. The first fixture to be played at Twickenham, under its new banner will be the women’s international between England and New Zealand on September 14.
Once the morning mist has cleared, it should be plain sailing for the sun as its rays will shine throughout the day! There’s a good chance of some cloudiness in the day but it could be a welcome respite as temperatures won’t be a million miles off 30°C in the afternoon. Even with the clouds, there should be no sight of rain!
In terms of temperatures, the morning should be pleasant at around 16°C and will rise to a solid 25-28°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.
