BETTEL IN STRASBOURG – The Grand Ducal Couple and Foreign Minister Xavier Bettel were in Strasbourg yesterday at the Council of Europe. In his speech, Bettel addressed a number of geopolitical issues. Regarding US tariffs, he spoke out in favour of cohesion and diplomacy instead of individual counter-reactions. As foreign trade minister, he said Europe finally has to think globally, harmonise its defence industry, and change competition rules. Speaking on the Ukraine war, Bettel said Luxembourg would support the rapid implementation of a special court to investigate war crimes.
FARMERS’ CONCERNS – The beginning of the year has been drier than average and farmers are starting to worry. Despite the general public enjoying the sun and lack of rain or snow, fears are that if the weather situation does not change in the upcoming weeks, it will have a negative impact on this year’s harvest. In addition, the cold nights are harmful to crops.
TAX DECLARATIONS – A technical error in Luxembourg’s Form 100 disrupted the launch of the 2024 tax declaration process on MyGuichet.lu this week. The glitch, which affected the PDF’s ability to correctly calculate certain fields, prompted the Tax Administration to pull the form shortly after it went live on 7 April. The error has been fixed and the form re-released the following day.
US TARIFFS – In a dramatic change of policy, President Trump has announced a 90-day pause for most of the countries he hit with big import tariffs, but has singled out China for even higher taxes – a further increase of 125% with immediate effect. Trump said only the baseline 10% would remain in place while negotiations were held with governments that had asked to make deals.
The EU announced yesterday some retaliation for the American tariffs on steel. Incoming German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said the pause announced by Trump was evidence of the importance of a united front. He called for the removal of all tariffs on transatlantic trade and said that would solve the problem.
American stock markets surged immediately when President Trump announced his change of heart.
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC NIGHTCLUB – Dominican Republic rescue workers have ended the search for survivors of a nightclub roof collapse as the death toll surpassed 180 in the Caribbean nation’s worst disaster in decades.
GAZA WAR – Israel says its troops are seizing “large areas” in Gaza and making the Palestinian territory “smaller and more isolated”, as an air strike on a residential block killed at least 23 people. French President Emmanuel Macron meanwhile said that France plans to recognise a Palestinian state in the “coming months”, a move that risks antagonising Israel, which insists such moves by foreign states are premature.
GERMANY STUDY – According to a new long-term study in Germany, receiving a universal basic income (UBI) makes people happier without causing a drop in employment. Researchers found that participants who received a basic income were no more likely to leave their jobs, reduce their working hours, or see a decline in work-related income. However, their overall wellbeing and mental health improved significantly.
FOOTBALL – Starting with some results from last night’s Champions League quarter final matches: Robert Lewandowski scored twice as a rampant Barcelona thrashed Borussia Dortmund 4-0 in their quarter-final first leg, and Paris St Germain won 3-1 against Aston Villa.
Today are the quarter-finals in the Europa League. The matches are Tottenham vs Eintracht Frankfurt, Lyon against Manchester United, Glasgow Rangers vs Athletic Bilbao, and Lazio Rome vs Bodo/Glimt.
https://today.rtl.lu/sport/international/a/2292808.html
SWIMMING – Six new events have been added to the Olympic swimming programme, with 50m backstroke, butterfly, and breaststroke to be contested for the first time at the 2028 Los Angeles Games. Previously, only freestyle was raced over the sport’s shortest distance despite all four strokes being on the schedule at world championships.
TENNIS – Novak Djokovic has crashed out of the Monte Carlo Masters in his opening match against Chilean Alejandro Tabilo, losing 6-3, 6-4. Carlos Alcaraz, meanwhile, picked up his first ever Monte Carlo win when he came from a set down to win his second round match against Francisco Cerundolo 3-6, 6-0, 6-1.
It will be dry, but it’ll be cloudier – especially in the beginning of the day. Morning temperatures will be between 3–5°C. By the afternoon, it’ll warm up to 13–16°C and the clouds will dissipate, letting the sun shine through again.
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