SCHENGEN PONTOON – The pontoon in Schengen, which was inaugurated with great pomp 9 years ago, is being torn down. The construction, designed by the Luxembourg architect François Valentiny must make way for the historic ship on which the Schengen agreement was signed in 1985. The government brought the former “MS Princesse Marie-Astrid” back from Germany 3 years ago, where it was in use taking tourists across the Danube. It is now planned for the ship to contribute to history tourism in Luxembourg’s Moselle region.
BANANA RULING – Fairtrade Luxembourg is calling for stronger regulations and condemning consumer indifference following a historic court ruling that fined Chiquita $38 million for financing a Colombian paramilitary group accused of murdering plantation workers. Nonetheless, all of this is relatively far removed from the consumer. Fairtrade Luxembourg is now urging the government to refrain from accepting the supply chain law in its current form, as this no longer has anything to do with competition.
SCHOOL PHONE BAN – The use of mobile phones is now prohibited on the premises of the Kirchberg European School. Headmaster Martin Wedell and deputy headmaster Caroll Lemarié explained that the school took the major decision for the start of the 2024-2025 school year. It’s a decision that will inevitably displease many pupils, but one that will please parents who are sometimes helpless when faced with their children’s dependence on screens.
TRAVEL DESTINATIONS – A new STATEC report has revealed that Porto, Lisbon, and Frankfurt were the top three flight destinations from Luxembourg’s Findel Airport last year. The most popular city is Porto by far, with close to half a million passengers counted. Lisbon ranks second, with over 300,000 visitors flying to the Portuguese capital from Luxembourg in 2023. The third place goes to Frankfurt am Main, where Luxembourgers tend to take advantage of the huge airport to find connections to destinations further afield.
UKRAINE WAR – Russia has mounted another attack on Ukraine, a day after 51 people were killed in the city of Poltava. Explosions were heard over the capital Kyiv early this morning, as air defences tried to down Russian missiles. The rubble of a military institute in Poltava is being searched for survivors of Tuesday’s attack. President Zelensky is beginning what officials say will be a thorough reshuffle of his government. The parliamentary leader of Zelensky’s ‘Servant of the People’ party said half the cabinet posts would change hands this week.
GRENFELL FIRE – The final report into the Grenfell tower fire is published this morning, six years after it began hearing evidence about what led to the deaths of 72 people. The fire spread rapidly through the 24-storey block in west London due to highly combustible cladding fixed to the exterior. The findings are expected to criticise successive governments, the building industry, manufacturers and the London fire brigade. Any criminal proceedings are likely to be at least 18 months away.
CHANNEL DEATHS – At least 12 migrants tragically lost their lives off the northern French coast on Tuesday while attempting to cross the Channel to England, marking the deadliest incident of its kind. Announcing the death toll on X, French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin also said that two migrants were still missing. According to French maritime authorities, emergency services were out in force and supplying urgent medical assistance. A source close to the investigation said the dead included three minors.
PARALYMPICS 2024 – American amputee athlete Ezra Frech cemented his status as a new Paralympics star on Tuesday as he added a sparkling high jump title to his 100 metres crown. Frech, jumping with a prosthetic blade, cleared a Paralympic record height of 1.94m in the T63 high jump event to win his second gold of these Games.
At the La Defense Arena pool, China won four of the 15 golds on offer and swept the medals in two finals to extend their advantage in the overall medal table. China streaked ahead in the medal standings on the sixth day of competition to stand on 53 golds, opening up a big gap on closest challengers Britain who have 30. The USA are third on 20.
TENNIS – Frances Tiafoe has set up an all-American US Open semi-final against Taylor Fritz, guaranteeing a home player in the men’s final for the first time in 18 years. Tiafoe, the 20th seed, progressed after ninth-ranked Grigor Dimitrov suffered an injury in the third set of their quarter-final and quit in the fourth with the score at 6-3, 6-7 (5/7), 6-3, 4-1. Earlier in the day, Taylor Fritz won a big-hitting battle with Alexander Zverev to reach his first Grand Slam semi-final at the US Open.
FOOTBALL – You can win tickets to see Luxembourg play Belarus on Sunday. As a part of the Uefa Nations League group C, Luxembourg will be looking to continue their recent good form against Belarus. Today Radio are giving some lucky people the chance of winning tickets and seeing the action live in the Stade de Luxembourg. All you need to do is send your predictions for the game to +352 621 52 5000 and you could be there on Sunday!
Summer is giving us a good old send-off with rain this morning, but never fear; it should clear up a little bit in the afternoon. You can still expect the odd shower here and there. After a tumultuous weather day, everything should settle down in the evening.
Morning temperatures start off at 16–18°C, rising to highs of 23°C in the afternoon.
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