KOSOVO WAR CRIMES - A former president of Kosovo Hashim Thaci goes on trial at a special court in The Hague today, to answer charges of war crimes during a campaign for independence from Serbia in the 1990s. Thaci and 3 former leaders of the Kosovo Liberation Army are accused of being members of a criminal organisation that murdered, tortured and persecuted its opponents.
UKRAINE BAHKMUT - The head of the Wagner mercenary group has raised the Russian flag in Bahkmut’s city hall in eastern Ukraine. Yevgeny Prigozhin said that Bahkmut was now Russian in a legal sense but he said Ukrainian forces were still concentrated in western districts of the city. Analysts say Bahkmut’s strategic value is limited and it’s importance is only symbolic. Thousands of soldiers have died in the fight for control of the city.
FINLAND ELECTIONS - The 53-year old leader of Finland’s centre-right party Petteri Orpo is likely to become the country’s new prime minister, after winning Sunday’s elections. The leader of the national coalition party said he would start attempting to form a coalition government.
PARIS SCOOTERS - Paris has voted to ban electric scooters from its streets. The public consultation was called by the city’s mayor Anne Hidalgo after three people died and more than 400 injured in accidents involving e-scooters last year. Paris introduced the self-hire electric vehicles back in 2018.
MOBILE PHONE 50 - 50 years ago today, the world’s first mobile phone call was made from a street corner in New York. American engineer Marty Cooper, who is now 94, used his phone to call a rival at a different company to say his invention was a success.
FOOTBALL – yesterday saw the 23rd matchday in the national football championship. Among the results Hesperange beat Mondorf 4-0, Dudelange beat Differdange 4-0, and Petange beat Wiltz 2-1
In international football, in yesterday’s Bundesliga games there were no goals between Cologne and Gladbach and Hoffenheim beat Bremen 2-1. In the French Ligue, Paris Saint-Germain suffered a second home defeat in a row, falling 1-0 to Lyon as their World Cup winning superstar Lionel Messi was jeered by a section of supporters.
In the English Premier League Newcastle won 2-0 against Manchester United, lifting them into third place.
CYCLING - Tadej Pogacar won the Tour of Flandres yesterday. After 273km, the Slovenian crossed the finish line in Oudenaarde alone. Mathieu Van der Poel was second, Mads Pedersen came third. The Luxembourgish cyclists Alex Kirsch and Kevin Geniets gave up.
After rain, rain, and more rain, the forecast for the next week looks rather promising! Today’s forecast promises glorious sunshine in the morning, while the odd cloud will dot the sky as we enter the afternoon. Temperatures start off at around -1 to 3 °C, rising to a peak of 11 °C in the afternoon.
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