SOCIAL ELECTIONS - The unions are satisfied after the social elections yesterday. Some 617,000 employees and pensioners were called upon to elect a new Chamber of Employees and union representatives. Initial results indicate strong results for the Luxembourg Confederation of Christian Trade Unions (LCGB) in the Commerce sector, while the Independent Luxembourg Trade Union Confederation (OGBL) has secured seats in all 9 electoral sectors, specifically in companies such as ARCELOR-Mittal, the Cactus group and Servior. The votes for the Chamber will only be revealed in the next few days.
STATEC ECONOMY - Last year, the Luxembourgish economy shrank by a good 1%, with serious declines in the construction, real estate and travel sectors. Luxembourg’s statistical office presented the figures to Parliament’s Finance Committee yesterday, adding that they expect a growth of up to 2.7% this year with inflation at 1.5%. Unemployment is at 5.5%.
ALERT.LU - The Ministry of Home Affairs has invited the public to participate in the trial phase of the upcoming “lu-alert.lu” website, aimed at providing timely alerts during crises or disasters. Minister for Home Affairs Léon Gloden introduced the testing phase of the forthcoming platform on Tuesday, asking for feedback from Luxembourg residents. The website will provide comprehensive information on the LU-Alert system, including its alert channels, levels, and categories.
OLYMPIC TRAIN - Luxembourg’s National Railway Company (CFL) has unveiled a new offer that will enable commuters to travel from Luxembourg to the Olympic Games in Paris. The TGV service will operate from the Rodange and Belval-Université stations and will operate exclusively from 28 July to 11 August 2024. Tickets for this service can be reserved starting today.
US ELECTION - President Biden and Donald Trump have both secured sufficient delegates to become their party’s candidate in November’s presidential election. In a statement President Biden said he was honoured that the Democrat party had put its faith in him again.
UKRAINE WAR - A Russian missile has slammed into two apartment building in the central Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih, killing three people and injuring at least 38. Ten children were among the injured. Ukraine is now receiving more artillery ammunition from the United States, worth 300 million dollars. A larger aid package, however, is still blocked in Congress. Meanwhile, Russia is stationing troops on the border with Finland, President Vladimir Putin said in an interview, in reaction to the Finnish NATO accession.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR - A Spanish charity boat taking food to Gaza left Cyprus yesterday in hopes of opening a maritime corridor to carry much needed aid to the war-ravaged Palestinian territory. In a sign of worsening humanitarian conditions, the health ministry in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip said “the death toll from malnutrition and dehydration rose to 27", most of them children. Under pressure from the United Nations, Israel has now let 6 trucks from the World Food Program into the north of the Gaza Strip for the first time.
FOOTBALL - In football’s Champions League, Barcelona survived a nervy second half to beat Napoli 3-1 and reach the Champions League quarter-finals 4-2 on aggregate. Italian champions Napoli, who salvaged a 1-1 draw in the last-16 first leg, were finally beaten when Robert Lewandowski swept home from close range. Arsenal beat Porto on penalties and therefore join Barcelona in the quarter-finals.
Tonight Atletico Madrid will play against Inter Milan and Dortmund take on PSV Eindhoven.
And a shock result in the German Cup. Third division FC Saarbrücken beat Mönchengladbach Gladbach 2-1 last night.
Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal has set a world record for consecutive victories with their 28th win in a row to reach the Asian Champions League semi-finals on Tuesday. A 2-0 victory at fellow Saudi side Al Ittihad saw them surpass the previous record of 27 straight wins by a top-flight team, set by Welsh team The New Saints in 2016.
TENNIS - Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz and Italian rival Jannik Sinner remain on course for a semi-final showdown after cruising into the last eight of the Indian Wells Masters. Alcaraz sailed into the last eight as he took revenge on Hungary’s Fabian Marozsan with a 6-3, 6-3 victory. In-form Sinner meanwhile booked his last eight berth with a 7-6 (7/4), 6-1 defeat of Ben Shelton.
While the conditions are looking set to get dryer throughout the day, we must contend with yet another rainy and foggy start this morning. The rain looks set to finish around lunchtime, but it’s still looking like another grey and cloudy day. We do have relatively mild temperatures forecast: 7–9°C in the morning and 11–13°C in the afternoon.
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