CARITAS SCANDAL - The special commission tasked with investigating the Caritas embezzlement case will meet again in the Chamber again this afternoon and discuss further steps. The case involves a sum of €61 million and was first uncovered in 2024.
PEDESTRIAN HIT - According to the emergency report, a pedestrian was hit by a car at around 10.50pm on Rue du Moulin in Reckange, near Mersch. In addition to the fire brigade from Mersch and the ambulance from Lintgen, the emergency doctor from Ettelbruck was also on the scene.
GOOGLE DATA CENTER - Bissen council is meeting today, to discuss and vote on permits for the construction of a Google data centre. The project has been under discussion since 2017 when Google announced it was planning to invest 1 billion euros to construct a state-of-the-art data centre in Luxembourg. In December last year, the Bissen mayor David Viaggi announced plans for significant infrastructure improvements between Bissen and Roost.
US AMBASSADOR - US ambassador to Luxembourg Thomas M Barrett looks back on his time in The Grand Duchy with fondness. In his goodbye interview with RTL, he shares what he will miss most about Luxembourg City, the strong ties between both countries, and his life back in Wisconsin. He is leaving on 19 January. Watch the interview here.
LSC SONGS - The seven finalists of the Luxembourg Song Contest will take the stage on 25 January, and now you can make sure you’re ready to belt out these jams with them by practicing with the new lyrics videos! You can find all the videos here, on RTL Play, and on the Luxembourg Song Contest Youtube channel.
BELGIUM STRIKE - A nationwide day of action over the new pension reform is causing large-scale disruption in Belgium today as many teachers, bus, airport, and rail staff have registered to strike. Railway operator SNCB has confirmed that it will only be running about one in three trains and many flights have been cancelled for today. A demonstration with at least 10,000 demonstrators is planned in Brussels.
LA FIRES - The number of people killed in the Los Angeles wildfires has risen to 24. With strong winds forecast in the coming days, there are fears LA county could face major devastation. Two major fires remain virtually uncontained.
UKRAINE WAR - Ukraine’s President Volodymr Zelensky has offered to return two North Korean soldiers captured fighting for Russia, if they can be swapped for Ukrainian prisoners of war. He also said the men could stay in Ukraine if they chose to spread the truth, as he put it, about the war.
GAZA WAR - President Biden has spoken by phone to Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu about negotiations on a ceasefire in Gaza. The call is part of a last-ditch attempt to reach a deal before Donald Trump enters the White House.
KUMBH MELA - Millions of Hindu devotees are bathing in the Ganges as the world’s biggest religious gathering begins in India. Over the next six weeks, a staggering 400 million people are expected to attend the Maha Kumbh Mela, which only takes place every 12 years.
FOOTBALL – Starting with some football results around Europe last night: Stuttgart beat Augsburg 1-0 in the Bundesliga.
In France, Paris St Germain won 2-1 against St. Etienne.
In Italy, the leader Napoli saw off Verona 2-0. Bologna and AS Rome drew 2-2.
In Spain, Barcelona has won the Supercup with a 5-2 victory over Real Madrid.
And in England, ten-man Manchester United beat Arsenal 5-3 on penalties after a dramatic 1-1 draw in the FA Cup third round. Round.
SKIING - Marco Odermatt has won the Adelboden giant slalom for the fourth successive time bringing the home crowd to their feet in a Swiss 1-2.
CYCLING - The national Cyclocross Championship took place in Cessange on Sunday. Marie Schreiber secured her third title at the Elite level. In the Espoirs (U23 category), Liv Wenzel took the win. Loïc Bettendorff is the new Elite-level men’s cyclocross champion and Mathieu Kockelmann secured the title in the U23 category.
TENNIS – Stefanos Tsitsipas, number 11 in the world, has crashed in the first round of the Australian Open to American Alex Michelsen.
What a lovely way to start the week. Yes, the temperatures are giving us some real shivers, but the sky is blue and the sun is shining. Prepare yourselves for temperatures starting at -4 to -3, then rising to a maximum of 1°C in the afternoon, and once again falling overnight to a low of -3°C. In the north of the country it will stay below freezing, but sunny all day.
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