NATIONAL ELECTIONS - The Luxembourg Socialist Workers’ Party, the LSAP is the first political party to present a list of candidates for the parliamentary elections in October. The top candidate is the Minister of Health and national candidate Paulette Lenert. Co-leading candidate for the East is the district president Ben Streff. The Christian Social People’s Party, the CSV on the other hand has unveiled its election programme, focusing on improving purchasing power, lowering taxes and tackling the housing crisis. Lead candidate Luc Frieden elaborated on the programme in an interview with RTL yesterday.
SALARIES BY COMMUNE - Luxembourg has released a new data set titled “Salaries by commune in Luxembourg”, offering a fresh perspective on the distribution and variation of salaries across the nation’s municipalities. According to the latest statistics, the wage picture is rather diverse across Luxembourg, with a clear concentration of high salaries around the capital city. Notably, municipalities like Niederanven, Schuttrange, Kopstal, Strassen, Leudelange, and Bertrange all report median salary levels topping €6,000 monthly, while Luxembourg City itself lies at €5,139 per month. On the other hand, municipalities to the north and south-west of the country show a contrasting situation with median salaries falling below €3,400.
EU ENVIRONMENT- EU environmental and climate ministers are meeting in Luxembourg today. The ministers are expected to adopt a proposal for a regulation on nature restoration. The ministers will also discuss two other Commission proposals: an amendment to the regulation on CO2 emissions from heavy-duty vehicles and a recast of the air quality directive.
World
OCEAN RESCUE - Search teams from the US and Canada are racing against time to locate a submersible that is missing in the North Atlantic with 5 people on board. The vessel was descending to explore the wreck of the Titanic, when it lost contact on Sunday. Planes and ships are scouring the ocean and dropping sonar buoys to detect underwater activity.
EUROPA-PARK FIRE - A major fire at Germany’s largest theme park sent a dense plume of smoke billowing into the sky that was visible for miles on Monday afternoon. The Europa-Park plans to open to visitors today, but some areas around the fire site will most likely not be accessible. The park was evacuated after the fire broke out, injuring two firefighters. The cause of the fire is still unknown.
PARTYGATE VOTE - Lawmakers in the UK have voted to endorse a report into former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s conduct during the COVID-19 pandemic. After a five-hour debate on its findings, the parliament backed the conclusions that Johnson had deliberately lied to colleagues when he assured the House of Commons that all COVID-19 rules had been followed at all times. Johnson abruptly resigned from parliament earlier this month, after seeing an advance copy of the findings of a yearlong investigation.
ENERGY REFORM - EU countries have failed to agree on planned new rules for the bloc’s energy market, having clashed over a proposal to extend subsidies for coal plants under the reform or expand state aid for other power production, such as France’s nuclear energy. EU energy ministers meeting in Luxembourg ended talks without a joint stance on the reforms that seek to avoid a repeat of last year’s energy crisis, when record-high gas prices left consumers with soaring energy bills.
VERSAILLES ANNIVERSARY - And the chateau of Versailles will reopen the private rooms of Queen Marie-Antoinette as part of its ongoing 400th anniversary celebrations today. The restored apartments feature 100 square metres of luxurious living space where France’s last queen played with her children and received friends. The palace welcomed nearly seven million visitors last year.
Sports
FOOTBALL - The Luxembourg football national team will play against Bosnia-Herzegovina tonight, as part of the UEFA European Championship qualification. You can watch the match live on RTL Today at 8.45pm. In the Luxembourg group, Iceland will play Portugal tonight and Liechtenstein against Slovakia. Last night England won 7-0 against North Macedonia while France beat Greece 1-0, after Kylian Mbappe scored a penalty in the second half.
ATHLETICS - Tomorrow is the starting shot of the third edition of the European Games in Krakow. It is the biggest sports event ever hosted in Poland and Olympic athletes will directly qualify from here to the Olympic Games in Paris 2024. Several sports will feature for the first time, including padel, teqball, rugby sevens, ski jumping muaythai, beach handball.
Weather
Following a stormy Monday night, the weather will clear up by midday, allowing some sunshine to break through. However, in the evening, there is a possibility of more thunderstorm showers. Morning temperatures start at 17-20°C, rising to 27-29°C in the afternoon.
Be sure to catch our full bulletin on the hour, every hour and headlines at half past the hour on Today Radio. You can also access the news via Alexa, and on RTL Play.
