LUXEMBOURG HOUSING - Housing prices in Luxembourg further increased in the second quarter of the year. According to STATEC’s latest report, housing prices increased on average by 11.5%, while houses became 15.5% more expensive. It is National Housing Week and the government is set to present a number of changes. These include amendments to the rent laws and a reform of the rent maximum, designed to protect tenants.
Today, officials will present the new and long-awaited real estate tax. There will further be a mobilisation tax on real estate and a national tax on empty apartments. Also, a national registry of buildings and apartments will be set up.
LUXEMBOURG LIGHTS - In order to save energy, municipalities will be allowed to switch off street lights between 1am and 5am. Minister for Energy Claude Turmes said that turning off street lights for four hours every night, when almost no one is on the road, may save about 30% of electricity each year.This principle was agreed upon by the Ministry of Energy, the municipalities, the Bridges and Roads Authority, and the energy supplier Creos.
BIDEN NUCLEAR - US President Joe Biden has said the world is facing the biggest threat of nuclear “Armageddon” since the cold war. Speaking at a Democratic Party fundraiser in New York, his ‘off camera’ comments were overheard by journalists from the White House pool. It comes as Russian officials warned of the possibility of using tactical nuclear weapons after suffering huge military setbacks in the invasion of Ukraine.https://news.sky.com/topic/ukraine-6556
THAILAND MURDER - Thailand is mourning the murder, mostly infants shot in a nursery school in the north of the country on Thursday. Flags are at half mast and the King and Prime Minister will visit survivors today. The young victims were all aged 5 or younger. Teachers were also killed. The attacker was a sacked police officer, who was facing drugs charges.
BIDEN MARIJUANA - President Biden has pardoned thousands of Americans convicted of marijuana possession in a major new step towards destigmatizing the drug -- and fulfilling a promise to his supporters a month before midterm elections. Biden did not call for fully decriminalizing cannabis- Instead, he homed in on individual possession of a substance that the government health authorities estimate was used by at least 18 percent of the population in 2019.
NOBEL PEACE PRIZE - The winner of the Nobel Peace Prize will be announced at 11am in Oslo today. Among favourites to win the prize are Belarusian opposition politician Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, British nature broadcaster David Attenborough, the World Health Organization, environmental activist Greta Thunberg and Pope Francis. Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky’s chances are seen as minimal as long as the war is raging, even though he is the bookies’ favourite.
WORLD CUP MASCOT - Qatar hopes the 2022 World Cup mascot of a flying white headdress will symbolise football’s showcase tournament, just as the noisy vuvuzela horn did when South Africa hosted it in 2010.A flying keffiyah headdress named La’eeb, meaning super skilful player in Arabic, is the official World Cup mascot . Reaction to La’eeb has been mixed. Twitter comments have mockingly compared La’eeb to the cartoon character “Casper the Friendly Ghost” or a flying bedsheet.But it has its fans too. La’eeb has been adopted by some internet blockchain communities in China which have issued tokens bearing the mascot’s likeness.
FORMULA 1 VERSTAPPEN - Max Verstappen said that he needs “a perfect weekend” to clinch his second straight Formula One championship at this weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix. Red Bull’s runaway championship leader can secure the title at Suzuka if he gains eight points on nearest rival Charles Leclerc of Ferrari and six on team-mate Sergio Perez.That would happen if Verstappen wins the race and claims the fastest lap, or if he finishes first and Leclerc finishes lower than second place.
Let’s take a look at the weather: It’s yet another misty morning, with the sun bursting through in the afternoon. Morning temperatures start off at 2-4°C, rising to between 14-17°C in the afternoon
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