FUEL PRICES – The decline in fuel prices, which began more than 10 days ago, continues. From today, the price of SP95 will be lowered by another 3.2 cents, bringing the price down to €1.59 per litre, while SP98 will drop by 2.7 cents to €1.73.
DEFENCE SPENDING – Luxembourg is to spend more on defence next year. Defence Minister Yuriko Backes has told MPs the budget will rise to 2.1% of Gross National Income in 2027, up 0.1 of a percentage point. She said there's still time to reach NATO's target of 5% by 2035. The army's own budget goes up 14% to €226 million, mainly to pay for recruitment, spare parts, and ammunition.
CNS CONTRIBUTIONS– Employers and workers in Luxembourg will pay a little more towards health and maternity insurance from January. The National Health Fund, the CNS, will raise the single contribution rate to 5.85%, its first increase since 2011. The rise is split equally between employers and workers, and pensioners are also affected.
MICROSOFT OUTAGE – Microsoft says its efforts to fix a major Outlook outage are not working as expected, and it is looking for other ways to restore service. The disruption has lasted hours and has hit email, Teams, and the Copilot AI assistant, in 74 countries and territories, mainly in the Americas, Europe, and Australia. Microsoft has attributed "elevated load" on its infrastructure, and has not said when service will be fully back.
EU SUMMIT – EU leaders are in Dublin today for an informal summit, and Luxembourg's Prime Minister Luc Frieden is among them. The 27 leaders are due to discuss strategic priorities, including artificial intelligence and international rules to regulate it. Funding for Ukraine is also expected to feature, amid a growing dispute over the EU's next long-term budget.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz wants all 27 member states to contribute to fresh support for Kyiv. Slovakia, Hungary, Czechia, and Bulgaria are opposed. Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has accused Merz of blackmail and threatened to use his veto. A press conference is expected at 4.45pm Luxembourg time.
NVIDIA RESIGNATION – Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang has reportedly resigned after reports of extramarital affairs, one involving a woman suspected of links to Chinese intelligence. The chip maker has named finance chief Colette Kress interim chief executive while an independent investigation continues. Nvidia shares have fallen sharply.
US SHOOTING – In Washington DC, one person has been killed and four injured in a shooting that began inside a gym. Police say the suspect barricaded himself in a building and appears to have shot himself. The motive is unclear.
US BUILDING COLLAPSE – In New York, at least eight people have died and 17 were injured when a three-storey building collapsed into a neighbouring construction site in Brooklyn on Wednesday. Rescuers are still searching the rubble, and the cause is being investigated.
FOOTBALL – Belgium came from behind to beat Turkey 2-1 in the Nations League. Turkey are now relegated to League B. Italy beat France 3-1 in Milan. Italy and France are level on 10 points, with Belgium on 9, ahead of Sunday's final round. Italy then face Belgium in Brussels.
England beat Croatia 2-1, in Harry Kane's record 126th appearance. He scored the winner from the penalty spot. Spain beat the Czech Republic 2-0 and, with England, have reached the quarter finals.
Luxembourg’s Red Lions will be looking to turn the page on their earlier defeat to Estonia as they prepare for tonight’s Nations League clash. Luxembourg's campaign so far has been underwhelming: after four matches, the team sits on three points, with just two goals scored and seven conceded.
Head coach Jeff Strasser is calling for improvements across the pitch, both in attack and defence, as his side aim for a better result than last month. The match will be streamed live on RTL Play and rtltoday.lu with English commentary from 8.45pm.
Arsenal drew 1-1 at holders Barcelona in the Women's Champions League on Thursday. Arsenal host Lyon next Thursday, and Barcelona are back in action in midweek.
CRICKET – Australian cricket captain Pat Cummins has strongly denied claims in Usman Khawaja's new autobiography that the whole team knew about the 2018 ball tampering plot. Cummins said the claim is completely wrong and that he knew nothing about sandpaper.
The day starts with a touch of frost and some isolated fog patches. Low clouds may briefly affect northern areas, before giving way to a mix of sunshine and clouds across the country. Dry conditions are expected throughout the day. The main issue will be the cold, really. Temperatures start off at -1°C, going up to a maximum of 9°C in the afternoon.
________________________________________________
Stay connected: Tune in to RTL Today Radio, now on 93.3 FM and DAB+, and be sure to catch our full bulletin on the hour, every hour, and headlines at half past the hour.
