METEOLUX WARNING - Meteolux has issued a warning for freezing rain expected during the night from Saturday to Sunday, potentially creating hazardous conditions on roads and pavements. Meanwhile, Meteolux has also confirmed that 2024 ranks as one of the hottest years on record, falling just behind the 11.3°C peak set in 2020. Rainfall was notably high and sunshine was scarce, with just 1564.3 hours, resulting in an unusually cloudy year.
WINTER SALES - Winter sales have kicked off in Luxembourg and parts of the Greater Region, offering shoppers discounts in-store and online until late January. The winter sales run until Saturday, 25 January. However, consumers are advised to stay vigilant. The Guichet.lu website reminds shoppers to be cautious of illegal practices such as fake sales, where “discounted” prices match the usual prices, or unclear discount displays (-20%, -30%, etc).
FLU CASES - The Ministry of Health has announced that flu cases are on the decline. In the week of the between 23 and 29 December, laboratories reported just under 550 flu cases, marking a 38% drop compared to the previous week. Cases of RSV and COVID-19 have also decreased, potentially due to school closures and holidays.
SAME-SEX MARRIAGE - Wednesday marked ten years since Luxembourg approved same-sex marriage, a landmark moment celebrated by many same-sex couples who could finally say “I do” from 1 January 2015. In 2023, 47 same-sex couples tied the knot, a significant drop from the 140 who married in 2015. The trend mirrors a broader societal hesitancy to marry, observed among both heterosexual and same-sex couples.
SOUTH KOREA ARREST - Police in South Korea who have been trying to arrest the impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol say they have given up for the day, after being blocked by his security team. He is wanted over his failed attempt to impose martial law last month.
NEW ORLEANS ATTACK - President Biden has said the US will relentlessly pursue ISIS and other terrorist organisations wherever they are. He was speaking after the truck attack in New Orleans, in which 14 people died and more than 30 were injured. The FBI says the driver, who had declared his support for Islamic State had acted alone.
SLOVAKIA GAS - Slovakian President Robert Fico has said that his government will discuss retaliatory measures against Ukraine after it halted the flow of Russian gas through its territory to Slovakia. Fico has threatened to cut aid to Ukrainian refugees and demanded the renewal of gas transits or compensation for losses. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has hailed the end of Russian gas transit across his country as a significant “defeat” for Moscow amid its near three-year invasion.
APPLE FINE - Apple has agreed to pay $95 million to settle a lawsuit accusing its digital assistant Siri of listening in on users’ private conversations. The proposed settlement, detailed in a court filing came with Apple holding firm that it did nothing wrong.
GOLDEN GLOBES - As the Golden Globe awards are set to take place this week-end, the official list of nominees in key categories has been unveiled. Surreal musical “Emilia Perez” leads all contenders with 10 nods, followed by “The Brutalist” at seven and “Conclave” at six. Comedian Nikki Glaser will host Sunday’s gala in Beverly Hills.
DARTS - Teen sensation Luke Littler has blasted past Stephen Bunting to set up a compelling PDC World Darts Championship title showdown with Dutch seven-time finalist Michael van Gerwen tonight. The 17-year-old Englishman, who took to the darts world by storm last year when he reached his first final said he can’t wait, promising it’s going to be a really good final.
KELETI RIP - Agnes Keleti, the world’s oldest Olympic champion and Holocaust survivor, has died at the age of 103. She passed away at a Budapest hospital after being hospitalised with pneumonia last week. As Hungary’s most successful gymnast, she won ten Olympic medals, including five gold medals in Helsinki (1952) and Melbourne (1956).
FOOTBALL - Denzel Dumfries scored both goals as Inter Milan defeated Atalanta 2-0 in Riyadh last night to book his team a place in the Italian Super Cup final on January 6 against either Juventus or AC Milan. Last season’s Italian Cup winners Juventus play Milan today in the second semi-final of the four-team tournament in Saudi Arabia, which is staging the Super Cup for the third year in a row.
SKIING - French downhill specialist Cyprien Sarrazin is to be repatriated after coming out of intensive care in an Italian hospital where he had undergone surgery for head injuries. The 30-year-old was airlifted to hospital to treat a subdural haematoma last Friday after he crashed into protective netting while training for last weekend’s World Cup meeting in Bormio. Meanwhile, Mikaela Shiffrin says that she hopes to “work into some easy turns on snow in the next week or so” as she continues her recovery after suffering a heavy fall in November.
We should be getting a drier day with no snow or rain, and even some sunshine popping out between the clouds.
Temperature-wise, it is cold and most of the day should stay below freezing, starting at around -2 to -1, slightly moving up to around the zero mark around lunchtime before dropping back down to minus figures.
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