NATO CONFERENCE - It’s the closing day the NATO meeting here in Luxembourg today, which started on Friday. Among today’s speeches, we will hear from Prime Minister Xavier Bettel, Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov as well as Mircea Geoana, the Deputy Secretary General of NATO. The former Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko was also present over the weekend, and explained in an interview for RTL how important he still sees the accession of Ukraine to NATO and also to the EU.
DRIFTERS’ TOUR - Over the last few days, Luxembourg has been left puzzled by a series of incidents involving cars performing so-called ‘drifts’ around roundabouts. The incidents in fact took place as part of an official “Up in Smoke Tour”, aimed to raise awareness of drifting culture in public, which sees hundreds of modified cars take to Europe’s roads. Participants left a number of marks on various roundabouts in Luxembourg and reports surfaced on Friday regarding a number of incidents in Lorentzweiler and Contern.
GREEK ELECTION - The Greek elections have been won by the conservative New Democracy party. The party’s leader, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis described the victory as a political earthquake. The New Democracy party scored a clear 20-point lead over its nearest rival, but it fell short of an outright majority, leaving Mitsotakis with the option of either seeking a coalition or calling a new vote.
US DEFAULT - Anxieties are mounting in Washington ahead of President Biden’s meeting with Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy today, over negotiations to raise the US debt ceiling, less than two weeks before a key deadline to avoid a disastrous default. After a weekend of near deadlock, Biden arrived back in Washington late last night, cutting short a trip to Asia to resume talks ahead of the US Treasury’s June 1 deadline for Congress to authorize more borrowing.
SPACE MISSION - The second-ever private mission to the International Space Station, organized by Axiom Space, has blasted off from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, carrying the first two Saudi astronauts. Rayyanah Barnawi, a breast cancer researcher, is the first Saudi woman to voyage into space and is joined on the mission by fellow Saudi Ali Al-Qarni, a fighter pilot. The crew is due to spend around 10 days on board the ISS, arriving around 1325 GMT today, so 1525 our time.
EU UKRAINE - EU foreign ministers are meeting in Brussels today, to discuss the war in Ukraine, further aid to Kyiv as well as new sanctions against Moscow. Luxembourg’s Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn and his counterparts must also see if the situation between Hungary and Ukraine can be unblocked. Ukraine put the largest Hungarian bank on a black list, because it continues to be active in Russia. The Hungarians have been blocking new financial aid since then, which requires unanimity among EU partners.
ITALY FLOODS - Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni visited flooded homes in northeast Italy on Sunday, after returning early from the G7 summit in Japan following floods which have left 14 people dead. While 36,000 people have been displaced by the incessant rains in Emilia Romagna earlier this week, some 10,000 have since been able to return home. The extreme weather, which saw six months worth of rainfall in just 36 hours, has caused widespread damage. By Sunday, the rain has stopped in most places, though a red weather alert has been extended to Monday. Meloni is expected to hold a cabinet meeting on Tuesday to unblock emergency funds for the region.
NIRVANA GUITAR - A guitar smashed on stage by Nirvana front man Kurt Cobain sold for nearly $600,000, several times its original estimate. The busted black Fender Stratocaster has been put back together, but is no longer playable. It was signed by all three members of the Seattle grunge outfit as they rocketed to global fame.The auction house said it had expected the instrument to sell for $60,000 at an event at the weekend in front of a live audience at the Hard Rock Cafe in New York City. Instead, it went for $595,000.
GOLF - Golf’s second major of the year, the US PGA Championship has been won by the American Brooks Koepka. He finished on nine-under par, 2 shots ahead of his nearest rivals. Koepka, who plays on the controversial tour, funded by Saudi Arabia was booed by some fans on the final hole.
CYCLING - The Fleche du Sud was won by Pim Ronhaar from the Netherlands. He maintained a lead of 3 seconds over the French cyclist Antoine Huby. The best Luxembourger is Mats Wenzel, who came in 12th place.
In the Giro d’Italia yesterday, the American Brandon McNulty won the 15th stage. The general leader since Saturday is the Frenchman Bruno Armirail, one minute and 8 seconds ahead of Brit Geraint Thomas. Today is the 2nd day of rest, before it’s back to the mountains tomorrow.
FOOTBALL - In the German Bundesliga, Dortmund won 3-0 in Augsburg, and have therefore taken the lead in the table with one match to go. And in the English Premier League, it was already established on Saturday after the defeat of Arsenal in Nottingham, that Manchester City is the champion. However, the team also won 1-0 at home against Chelsea yesterday evening.
Another day of sunshine awaits, interspersed with clouds. Keep an eye out for storms as we head into the afternoon, although any rain showers should clear up by the evening. Temperatures start off at 15-17°C in the morning, rising to 21-23°C in the afternoon.
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