WAGNER CHIEF PRESUMED DEAD - Russian authorities say the mercenary chief, who led a coup earlier this summer against Vladimir Putin was on board a plane that crashed near Moscow, killing 10 people. The Kremlin hasn’t confirmed Yevgeny Prigozhin’s death.
A social media account, linked to his Wagner mercenary group has accused Russian air defences of shooting down the aircraft. Prigozhin had frequently criticised the Kremlin’s conduct in its war on Ukraine. There has been little sympathy for his apparent demise. The Belarus opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya called Prigozhin a murderer that would not be missed.Ukrainian presidential aides said it appeared that disloyalty to Moscow meant death.
REPUBLICAN DEBATE / TRUMP - Republican presidential hopefuls in the United States have clashed over how they would deal with Donald Trump, if they became President but Trump, who is much more likely to become the candidate skipped the television debate.
Instead he gave a recorded interview with former Fox News star Tucker Carlson that was posted online minutes before the debate got underway. Trump will surrender to authorities in Atlanta today over his fourth indictment of the year, for an alleged criminal conspiracy to steal the 2020 election that he lost to Joe Biden.
WAGE INDEXATION - Workers and pensioners in Luxembourg will benefit from a new wage indexation in a few weeks’ time. As confirmed by the National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (STATEC), projections are aligning, setting the stage for the wage indexation to be applied to September or October salaries.
The result: a substantial 2.5% surge in salaries and pensions across Luxembourg. According to STATEC’s calculations, this means salaries and pensions are set to experience a cumulative growth of approximately +7.7% within the current year alone.
SUMMER BURGLARIES - Police have reported a major wave of burglaries in Luxembourg, with nine incidents in just two days. The summer months have historically witnessed a surge in burglary incidents, with hardly a day passing without fresh reports from law enforcement.
SHORT-TIME WORK - The economic ministry has approved 77 out of the 88 requests for short-time work. For the upcoming month of September, close to 10,000 workers are projected to be affected by the short-term unemployment benefits, meaning the state pays 80% of a worker’s salary. This marks a substantial increase, showing that the country’s job market is slowly feeling a squeeze.
SportsWOMEN’S WORLD CUP - Spain’s women’s football league has demanded that Spanish federation president Luis Rubiales be sacked for kissing star player Jenni Hermoso on the lips after the country’s World Cup victory, describing his behaviour as “disgusting. Rubiales initially attacked his critics before eventually apologising but the criticism of his behaviour has not abated. The Spanish government has demanded transparency and urgent action from the football federation.
FOOTBALL - Lionel Messi has inspired Inter Miami to come back from two goals down to beat Cincinnati 5-4 on penalties after their US Open Cup semi-final ended 3-3 after extra-time. Miami, who won the Leagues Cup on penalties against Nashville on Saturday, are now one win away from their second trophy since Messi joined the club last month.The US Open Cup is American soccer’s oldest and most important knockout competition, similar to England’s FA Cup or Spain’s Copa del Rey.
TENNIS - Big-serving American John Isner, who famously took part in the longest tennis match ever played at the 2010 Wimbledon Championships, has said he will retire from professional tennis after competing in this year’s US Open. Isner -- who defeated France’s Nicolas Mahut in an 11-hour epic that took three days to complete at Wimbledon 13 years ago -- confirmed his retirement on social media.
It’s inevitable - as soon as the Schueberfouer throws open its gates, we’re guaranteed to get bad weather! There are a few showers coming in from the south west and later on, there is a possibility of more rain and thunderstorms around the country. The morning’s temperatures start off at 20-22°C, rising to highs of 29ºC in the afternoon.
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