PHONE BAN – Education Minister Claude Meisch has revealed more details about the new regulations on phone use in secondary schools. Starting after the Pentecost holidays, schools throughout the whole country can implement one of three different models – from very strict to more lenient. Every school has been allowed to decide in collaboration with their students, teachers, and parents on a fitting system. It is not a complete ban but intended to create a physical distance between the pupils and their phones, with the ultimate aim of achieving better concentration.
CRISIS MANAGEMENT – Home Affairs Minister Léon Gloden has unveiled a new plan to expand the LU-Alert system, designed to enable earlier action and more efficient warnings to the population in case of a disaster or crisis. In the future, for example, warning messages will also be displayed on digital panels such as those found at bus stops.
LUXAIR PROFITS – Luxair has shared the company’s annual report and emphasised a solid performance throughout 2024, which saw the Luxembourg airline transport over 2.6 million passengers in what was their best year in two decades.
EU MEETING – Sanctions against Moscow and the Ukraine war are the main topics at a meeting of EU foreign and defence ministers in Brussels today. The Council will discuss EU military support for Ukraine after an exchange of views with Ukrainian Defence Minister Rustem Umerov and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte. Other topics include the lifting of sanctions against Syria. Luxembourg is represented by Ministers Xavier Bettel and Yuriko Backes.
UKRAINE WAR – Meanwhile, US President Trump said after his call with President Vladimir Putin that Russia and Ukraine will immediately start negotiations for a ceasefire, though the Kremlin said the process will take time. Putin said he was ready to work with Kyiv on a memorandum towards a possible peace deal after the “useful” call – but insisted that more compromises were necessary to end the war.
BELGIUM STRIKE – Train services across Belgium will be reduced today due to a national strike by public sector workers. Other public transport services are also expected to be severely disrupted, although air travel is unlikely to be affected. Trade unions are once against taking again against the government’s austerity measures, including pension reform. Train connections to Luxembourg are likely to be affected.
GAZA WAR – The leaders of Britain, France, and Canada have condemned Israel’s intensified military offensive in Gaza and warned of joint action if it does allow humanitarian aid and halt actions they say risk breaching international law. Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says their joint statement was a “huge prize” for Hamas in the Gaza war. Meanwhile Israel has said it will “take control” of the whole of Gaza as it intensified attacks across the territory. It also announced that limited aid into Gaza would be allowed in for the first time in over two months.
FORTNITE VOICES – An actors’ union is suing the makers of the Fortnite video game over the use of AI to create an interactive Darth Vader. Fortnite announced last week it had got permission from the family of James Earl Jones to make a chatty Star Wars villain based on the late actor’s voice work in the smash hit space opera series. But actors’ union SAG-AFTRA says the the use of AI in video games puts performers out of work.
LINEKER BBC – Former England football captain Gary Lineker will leave the BBC at the end of the season, days after he shared a social media post that contained anti-Semitic imagery. Last week Lineker apologised “unreservedly” for sharing an Instagram story about Zionism, which he deleted.
FOOTBALL – Francesco Farioli has resigned as coach of Dutch giants Ajax, a day after the crushing disappointment of finishing runners-up in the title race. Although Farioli had revived their fortunes when he took over last May, he said he and the board had different visions of how to move forward. The club’s technical director described the resignation as “incredibly disappointing”.
And Napoli and Inter Milan will play their final league matches of the season on Friday with one point separating the top two as the Serie A title race goes down to the wire.
CYCLING – Today’s Stage 10 of the Giro d’Italia will see an almost flat 28.6km individual time trial. Mexican cyclist Isaac del Toro has taken the overall race lead.
Today’s forecast calls for partly cloudy but dry skies with very pleasant temperatures and plenty of sunshine. The morning will be warmer than recent days, with lows of between 12 and 14°C and then afternoon highs of between 22 and 24°C.
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