ARMY PLANNING - The Minister of Defence François Bausch has presented a strategy of how the Luxembourg army wants to prepare itself until 2035. At a press conference yesterday, Bausch spoke about concrete projects and those in the planning. Luxembourg’s army will remain autonomous but the minister is for ‘pooling and sharing’ with other countries, making Luxembourg more efficient and cost effective, according to the minister. He also said risks and threats have become more complex and that propaganda plays a new role in warfare. The army is also looking at rules and red lines in the field of artificial intelligence.
PETITIONS JAM - There is a petitions-jam in parliament. All the petitions that have the necessary 4,500 signatures, will no longer be discussed in public debates with the petitioners in this legislative period. According to the president of the petition committee, Nancy Kemp-Arendt, the schedule is too tight up to summer and there will be no more debates organized in the Chamber after the summer vacation, ahead of the elections.
UK/LUXEMBOURG DECLARATION - Since Brexit, there has been a lack of regular diplomatic exchanges between Luxembourg and Great Britain. Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn and the British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly have now met in London. For the first time, a declaration was signed, ensuring joint cooperation between the two countries again in areas, such as defence, the economy, finance, energy and also in the fight against climate change. Around 4,000 Britons live in the Grand Duchy and around 1,800 Luxembourgers in Great Britain.
DUKE WATER - The Grand Ducal court has responded to accusations that they violated water restrictions in the south of France. As droughts continue to pose problems in the south of the country, there are restrictions in place including a ban on watering gardens, filling pools and washing cars. According to the mayor of Chateauneuf-Grasse Emmanuel Delmotte, foreign VIPs are allegedly ignoring the water restrictions, including Grand Duke Henri. The court has responded to the mayor’s accusations, saying it had rented out the property in this municipality from 2020 and sold it in 2022. The Marshal of the Court said this meant the family did not bear responsibility for the overconsumption of water.
SCHOOL DRUG RAIDS - The Ministry of Education has confirmed to RTL that police officers searched two classrooms at the Lycée classique de Diekirch on Wednesday, with the K-9 unit deployed to search for any illegal substances. During the operation, the K-9 unit was successful in detecting drugs on a student, although the nature and quantity of the substance were not disclosed. According to a letter from the prosecutor’s office, school administrations can request drug searches in classrooms if they have concrete suspicions.
TURKEY ELECTIONS - 2023’s most important elections are taking place in Turkey on Sunday. The May 14 vote is expected to be the most hotly contested race in Erdogan’s 20-year rule — as the country grapples with years of economic mismanagement and the fallout from a devastating earthquake. President Erdogan will face an opposition aligned behind Kemal Kilicadarglu , nicknamed the “Turkish Ghandi” who is promising big changes.
SPORTS
FOOTBALL - Last night the semi final matches in the Europa League took place. Juventus and Sevilla drew 1-1. Rome won 1-0 at home against Leverkusen. In the Conference League, Basel beats Fiorentina away 2-1. And there was also a 2-1 win for WestHam against Alkmaar.
Tonight is kick off in the third-last matchday in the German Bundesliga. Köln will be playing Hertha Berlin.
CYCLING – It was the 6th stage in the Giro d’Italia yesterday. Mads Pedersen was the fastest in Naples in the sprint. The general leader is still the Norwegian Andreas Leknessund. Among the Luxembourgish cyclists Bob Jungels is 67th, Michel Ries 104th and Alex Kirsch 130th. Today, the 7th stage covers 218 km from Capua to Gran Sasso, with a difficult finish after 40 km uphill.
Weather
Today’s forecast calls for mostly cloudy skies with intermittent rainfall expected throughout the morning, tapering off towards midday. Later in the afternoon, clouds may slightly disperse, but the chance of scattered showers persists. Morning temperatures of 9-12°C will rise to 14-16°C in the afternoon.
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