WHISTLEBLOWER ACT - The Whistleblower Act is being voted on in Parliament today. With this, an EU directive is being implemented, with which people who report any unlawful conduct are better protected. The Luxembourg law is expected to go further, also protecting state employees, including trainees. The government proposed changes to the bill, introduced in response to the LuxLeaks scandal.
YANDEX SANCTIONS - At the European Court here in Kirchberg this morning there is a hearing on the EU sanctions against the former head of Russia’s tech firm Yandex. Tigran Khudaverdyan does not agree that he was put on the EU sanctions list in 2022, as a member of the close circle of oligarchs around President Vladimir Putin. Assets were frozen and a travel ban were put in place on the ex-head of the search engine Yandex, which is described as the Russian Google.
APRIL WEATHER - Although it didn’t feel as if it rained a lot in April, according to meteorologists last month saw 21% more rainfall than the April average in the last thirty years. The average temperature in April was just 8 degrees Celsius, or 1.6 degrees colder than the usual monthly average. The Pescatore weather station counted just 181.1 hours of sunshine last month, compared to the April average of 196 hours. In contrast, areas in southern Europe saw heatwaves with record temperatures, such as in Spain, in the last couple of weeks.
RUSSIAN CASUALTIES - According to the US, more than 20,000 Russian soldiers have been killed in fighting in Ukraine since December. 80,000 have been injured in the Russian war in Ukraine, especially in Bakhmut. The National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said that about half of the dead were members of the Wagner mercenary group.
US DEBT - The United States could run out of money. The debt limit could already be reached on the first of June, Finance Minister Janet Yellen announced last night, if no cross-party agreement is found to raise it. In the budget, the United States has capped the public debt at 31,000 billion dollars.
FRANCE PROTESTS - Hundreds of thousands of people massed in France on Labour day on Monday to vent their anger against President Emmanuel Macron’s pension reform. Unions had been hoping for a vast turnout across France for the May 1 protests to further rattle Macron, who has been greeted by pot-bashing and jeers as he toured the country seeking to defend the reforms and relaunch his second mandate. Macron last month signed a law to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64, despite months of strikes against the bill.
FAKE JOHNSON - Dutch police officers were surprised on arresting a man in connection with a drunk driving incident over the weekend, when his driver’s licence named him as “Boris Johnson”. The fake Ukrainian driver’s licence, complete with the former British prime minister’s picture and correct birth date, was “issued” in 2019 and valid until the end of the year 3000. Police spokesman Thijs Damstra said “As far as I’m aware, the real Mr Boris Johnson was not in the Netherlands at the time.”
LUXEMBOURG MARATHON - Bob Bertemes has won the half marathon of the two Luxembourgs. The Luxembourgish runner was the fastest of 600 runners who ran the race half through the Province of Luxembourg in Belgium and half through Luxembourg.
SNOOKER - Belgium’s Luca Brecel has become the first player from continental Europe to win snooker’s World Championship as he withstood a fightback from four-time champion Mark Selby to triumph 18-15 in the final on Monday. Playing in Sheffield’s Crucible theatre, he is only the fourth modern-era world champion from outside the United Kingdom.
Weather
It looks like we will get some sunshine today! Although the sky will largely be overcast, there should be sunny intervals throughout the day, with mild temperatures for the second day of May. Morning temperatures start at around 7-8°C, rising to highs of 16°C in the afternoon.
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