BEGGING BAN - The begging ban was yesterday’s subject in a joint meeting of the Justice and Home Affairs Committee. The government and the majority of the opposition are not in agreement on the legal basis of the ban. In this context, the Socialist Party (LSAP), the Pirates, Greens and the Left are holding a joint press conference this morning. They will charge the government with a lack of respect for the rule of law.
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT - The President of the European Parliament is on a working visit to Luxembourg. Roberta Metsola will meet Prime Minister Luc Frieden and the chamber president Claude Wiseler today. Frieden met Metsola for the first time as Prime Minister in Brussels at the end of last year.
BETTEL JAPAN - Foreign Minister Bettel is visiting Japan. The programme includes a visit to Osaka, where he will view the start of the work on the Luxembourg Pavilion for the World Expo next year.
US ELECTIONS - Former President Donald Trump has won the New Hampshire Republican primary, defeating his sole remaining rival Nikki Haley. He is now the clear front-runner to become the Republican party’s presidential candidate in November’s election. Speaking after Trump’s victory, Haley said she would remain in the race, telling supporters that “this race is far from over”.
GERMANY STRIKE - German train drivers have begun their longest-ever strike, piling on travel misery for thousands of passengers. The walk out runs from 0200 this morning to 6pm on Monday evening. Rail unions are demanding higher wages and better working conditions. The strike will also have an impact on Luxembourg connections. Details are available on cfl.lu.
SWEDEN NATO - Turkey’s parliament has ratified Sweden’s NATO membership after more than a year of delays that upset Western efforts to show resolve in the face of Russia’s war on Ukraine. Turkish president Erdogan is expected to sign Sweden’s ratification document in the coming days.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR - According to reports in the Wall Street Journal, Hamas is open to talks about the release of Israeli hostages. Hamas would release women and children if Israel would accept a significant ceasefire in the Gaza war. It comes as UN chief Antonio Guterres described Israeli’s rejection of a two-state solution as “unacceptable”.
TENNIS - Ukraine’s Dayana Yastremska cruised past unseeded Czech Linda Noskova earlier today to become just the second women’s qualifier to reach the semi-finals at the Australian Open.
Jannik Sinner has swept past Andrey Rublev in straight sets to reach his first Australian Open semi-final, where he faces a daunting task against defending champion Novak Djokovic.
Meanwhile, Nick Kyrgios has conceded his tennis career could be over, but said he was OK with that. Kyrgios had knee surgery a year ago, then withdrew from Wimbledon after tearing a ligament in his wrist. He is not taking part in the Australian Open as he continues to struggle for fitness, but is there as a commentator.
SKIING - Marco Odermatt has won the World Cup giant slalom in Schladming. The Swiss skier, who has dominated the discipline for the last three years, had a horrible first run that left him in 11th place, but he turned it round with a sensational second run to edge the Austrian skier Manuel Feller by 0.05sec.
Luxembourg is set to experience strong wind gusts today, prompting a yellow weather alert across the country. MeteoLux has issued a cautionary alert effective from 5am to 4pm. The forecast indicates high south-western winds, with gusts ranging from 65 to 80 km/h, and potentially even higher in localised areas. Accompanying the wind gusts will be cloudy skies with episodes of rain and drizzle. But it will become drier and clearer throughout the day. Afternoon temperatures are anticipated to hover between 10 and 12°C.
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