RENEWABLE ENERGY - Luxembourg currently gets the lowest percentage of its energy from renewable sources in the entire EU. The new data from the EU’s statistics agency Eurostat shows that only 11.7% of Luxembourg’s energy comes from wind, solar, hydro or other renewable energy sources. The Benelux region as a whole performs especially poorly, with the Netherlands and Belgium also in the bottom five countries.
FREE CONTRACEPTION - On Friday, the Council of State approved a draft bill which will see the age limit scrapped for free contraception in Luxembourg. Currently, the National Health Fund (CNS) only reimburses 80% of contraceptive prescriptions for women aged 30 and under. The government and the CNS have agreed to scrap these limits in favour of providing free universal contraception, including the contraceptive pill, the implant, IUDs and the morning-after pill, among others.
AUTOFESTIVAL - The Autofestival officially starts today. It is the 59th edition and runs until the 4th of February. At the beginning of the year, according to Statec, there were around 445,000 cars registered in this country. Just over 3 % are pure electric cars, 27,000 cars are hybrids.
US SHOOTING - The suspect in a shooting in Los Angeles which killed 10 people and left another 10 wounded, has been found dead by the police. He shot himself inside a white van, that officers had surrounded. Officers have identified the 72-year-old man of Asian descent. Saturday’s mass shooting took place at a dance venue in Monterey Park during Lunar New Year celebrations. The city is home to one of the largest Asian-American communities in the United States.
GERMANY TANKS - The German chancellor Olaf Scholz is facing growing domestic and international pressure to allow German built Leopard II tanks to be sent to Ukraine. His foreign minister Annalena Baerbock has repeated her view that Berlin should not stand in the way, if Poland decides to do so. Mr Scholz has been fiercely criticised by both Poland and the Baltic states for failing to authorise the export of German-made tanks to Ukraine.
PARIS SHOOTING - In Paris, a man was shot dead yesterday evening, walking with a knife on the Place de la République. He allegedly threatened two police officers, who then shot the man. An investigation is underway.
EU UKRAINE - The EU Council of Foreign Ministers meets in Brussels today. All topics related to the war in Ukraine are on the agenda. The Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba is joining the meeting. On an informal level, Luxembourg’s foreign minister Jean Asselborn and his counterparts will also consult with the Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh about the situation in the Middle East.
LUXEMBOURG ATHLETICS - Yesterday an international athletics competition was held here in Luxembourg - in the Coque. 150 athletes from 34 countries took part. The Luxembourgish athlete Patrizia Van der Weken was able to prevail in the 60 meters, in 7 seconds and 26 hundredths. Bob Bertemes asserted himself in the shot put, throwing 20m78cm. The European champion Michal Haratyk from Poland came in 2nd place. National champion Vera Hoffmann was able to achieve a new national record in the 1500metres. She came in at 4 minutes, 12 seconds and 52 hundredths. More results are available at rtl.lu.
FOOTBALL – the 16th matchday in the German Bundesliga has concluded with a win for Dortmund, 4-3 against Augsburg. And Leverkusen beat Borussia Monchengladbach 3-2. In England, Arsenal won the top match against Manchester United 3-2, and continues to assert itself sovereignly at the top of the table, 5 points ahead of Man City with one game less. City won yesterday thanks to 3 goals from Haaland, 3-0 against Wolverhampton.
While there is no snow on today’s weather forecast, the cold and clouds look set to remain with us throughout the day - and indeed the entire week. Snow is however expected again on both Tuesday and Wednesday. Morning temperatures are starting off at -3 to 0 °C, rising to a warmer-than-yesterday -1 to 3 °C in the afternoon.
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