HOUSING MEETING - At yesterday’s housing meeting in Senningen, the Prime Minister and other authorities discussed solutions for Luxembourg’s housing problem. At a press briefing, Luc Frieden said the meeting tackled the issue of how to build more properties, as quickly and as densely as possible. He also said that immediate changes to improve the construction sector and housing market would be put into proposals for the government council over the coming weeks.
ASSAULT SENTENCE - A man who was formerly on Europe’s “most wanted” list was sentenced yesterday, following a violent assault in Remich over three years ago. The accused had shot another man in Remich, then fled to Albania, before his eventual arrest in Brussels in 2022. At the conclusion of the trial on Thursday morning, the man received a two and a half year sentence for illegal weapon possession and bodily injury.
PETROL PRICE DOWN - And unleaded and super unleaded petrol prices have dropped from midnight, as have heating oil costs. Unleaded (95) petrol now costs €1.60 per litre, while super unleaded (98) is €1.78/litre. Heating oil (50ppm) has reduced by 3.4 cents to €1.011 per litre.
MOON LANDING - A commercial company has made history, by becoming the first to successfully land a private spacecraft on the moon. The first lunar landing since 1972. Odysseus touched down in the south pole region of the moon just before 1am our time.
VALENCIA FIRE - Emergency services in the Spanish city of Valencia say at least 4 people have been killed in a massive fire in two adjoined high-rise buildings. 19 others are believed to be missing following the blaze.
BIDEN NAVALNAYA - President Biden has met the widow and daughter of the late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny ahead of an announcement of new sanctions against the Kremlin. Biden said Yulia Navalnaya was going to continue her husband’s fight for a democratic Russia. The visit at a came as the White House backed Navalny’s mother in her fight to retrieve her son’s body, which Russian authorities have refused to release days after he died in an Arctic prison.
UKRAINE WAR - Tomorrow will the see the second anniversary of the war in Ukraine. The UN will debate the war in the General Assembly today. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba will attend as well as the Luxembourg’s Foreign Minister Xavier Bettel. Many events to mark the anniversary are taking place across Europe, including a protest and vigil outside the German parliament in Berlin and here in Luxembourg a solidarity march against Russian aggression in Ukraine is taking place at 2pm from the Gare to Place de Clairefontaine tomorrow.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR - Israel is sending a delegation to talks on a ceasefire in Paris. The US is pushing hard for a deal before the start of Ramadan in little over 2 week’s time. Israel and Hamas are still thought to be far apart on a number of issues, including how many Palestinian prisoners might be released in exchange for the remaining 134 Israeli hostages.
RUGBY - Ireland are in a “very good place” as they pursue unprecedented back-to-back Six Nations Grand Slams and should move a step closer with victory over Wales on Saturday, according to former Irish fullback Hugo MacNeill. The Irish sit at the top of the table after two bonus points wins and welcome an inexperienced Wales side, who have gone down to narrow defeats against Scotland and England.
FOOTBALL - AC Milan overcame Rennes 5-3 on aggregate despite a 3-2 loss in yesterday’s play-off round second leg to reach the Europa League last 16, where they will be joined by fellow former European champions Benfica and Marseille.
POLE VAULT - Pole vault star Armand Duplantis broke through six metres for the first time this season but agonisingly just missed out on improving his world record. The Swede triumphed with 6.02m. Despite support from the crowd, Duplantis failed at a new record height of 6.24m, just brushing the bar on his second attempt.
KIPTUM FUNERAL - Kenya’s world marathon record-holder Kelvin Kiptum will be laid to rest today, after the 24-year-old died in a car accident. President William Ruto and World Athletics head Sebastian Coe are expected to be among the mourners at the funeral in the Rift Valley where Kiptum was born, trained and died.The father of two veered off the road and hit a tree on February 11, just months after shattering the marathon record in Chicago in October, stunning the world of athletics.
Today should bring us a slight reprieve from yesterday’s unpleasant conditions. It will still be windy, mind you, with gusts reaching up to 60 km/h. Otherwise it’s a cloudy day with some scattered showers here and there, but we will have the odd glimpse of the sun in the morning and late afternoon too. Temperatures start off at a cool 2-4 degrees this morning, increasing to around 8-9°C in the afternoon.
Flood warnings continue to be in effect today, with the south under orange alert and the north under yellow alert.
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