NEGOTIATION TALKS - Coalition negotiations between the CSV and the DP begin at Senningen Castle today. A timeline and methodology should be established this morning. The negotiating team of the CSV is led by the co-party president Claude Wiseler. On the side of the DP, Xavier Bettel is the lead. Both delegations consist of 10 people. The CSV has already made it known that the negotiations should take place on the 10 major issues that it also highlighted in the election campaign. Namely purchasing power, housing, the Economy, mobility, education, climate, family, health, digitization and security.
NAUTILID FOUND - The Nature Museum in Luxembourg City is in the possession of a remarkable find that stands as a global rarity: the fossil of a “nautilid,” a cephalopod species dating back to the Early Middle Jurassic period, approximately 168 million years ago.The fossil was found in an active quarry along the French-Luxembourg border in Rumelange in the 1990s and has been in the possession of the Nature Museum since 2022. The ancient marine creature, a distant relative of modern-day octopuses. Beyond being a novel species, the fossil sets a record as the world’s largest nautilid documented in scientific literature.
ISRAEL PALESTINE WAR - The Israeli army says it has struck another 200 targets within Gaza overnight. Palestinian officials say more than 900 people have been killed since the strikes began. A Palestinian envoy to the UN described the bombardment as war crimes. Hamas has continued to send rockets into Israel, targeting the city of Ashkelon.
A clear majority of EU states are against stopping financial aid to the Palestinian territories. This became clear yesterday at an emergency meeting of EU foreign ministers. The EU’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell repeated the EU’s condemnation of attacks by Hamas but he said Israel’s response was breaking international law by imposing a total blockade of Gaza.
Luxembourg’s Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn clearly pleaded in the RTL interview yesterday evening that humanitarian aid must continue unconditionally, without Hamas benefiting from it. He also warned against an Israeli ground offensive in Gaza, which would cost the lives of tens of thousands of people.
UKRAINE NATO - NATO defence ministers are meeting in Brussels today to discuss a winter aid package for Ukraine. François Bausch will be present at the talks on behalf of Luxembourg. Countries such as Great Britain, the Netherlands and Denmark have already pledged further assistance to Ukraine, in clearing minefields, which are in the thousands, especially in the east of the country.
AFGHANISTAN EARTHQUAKE - There has been another earthquake in western Afghanistan, in the same region where another earthquake claimed over 2000 lives just days ago. The ground shook with 6.3 points on the Richter scale, so relatively strong. At the moment, little is known about the victims. Thousands of people have been living in emergency shelters since the last earthquake, because their homes were destroyed.
BIGGEST PUMPKIN - A monster pumpkin weighing the same as a hippopotamus has claimed the world record for the mightiest gourd -- and bagged its grower a $30,000 prize. Travis Gienger squashed the competition with his enormous fruit weighing in at an improbable 2,749 pounds (1,247 kilograms) at the Half Moon Bay Pumpkin Festival in California on Monday. The contest, in its 50th year, pits growers of mega-gourds from all over North America against each other to see who can produce the biggest
FOOTBALL - UEFA has announced the UK and Republic of Ireland will co-host Euro 2028, while Italy and Turkey will be joint hosts of the 2032 tournament. Both bids ran unopposed but still needed official approval from European football’s governing body, which they received at a meeting in Switzerland yesterday.
Staying with football, the Luxembourg men’s team is flying to Iceland today, where the next match for the European Championship qualifiers is taking place on Friday. It’s cold in Reykjavik, snow reported and 1 degrees Celsius!
CRICKET - It is cricket’s fiercest rivalry, watched by millions, sparking raucous celebrations in victory and wild accusations in defeat, but when India and Pakistan clash at the World Cup, there has been only one winner. India have defeated Pakistan seven times out of seven at the tournament since they first met in Sydney in 1992, a run that the Pakistan side will hope to end at the huge Ahmedabad stadium this Saturday.
Instead of the usual mist, brace yourself for the bright morning sun today. Subsequently, clouds will provide cover for a warm day that doesn’t necessarily cool down at night or bring rain. Morning temperatures of 10-12ºC will rise to 21-24°C by the afternoon.
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