LUXAIR TECHNICAL ISSUES – A Luxair flight from Cape Verde to Luxembourg was diverted to Madrid yesterday evening after a crack was discovered in the cockpit window. Passengers have been rebooked on a replacement flight to Luxembourg today. In a separate incident, a Luxair flight to Barcelona was forced to return to Luxembourg yesterday morning due to a technical fault. The airline says it was a precautionary measure.
BETTEL IN CAPE VERDE – Meanwhile Foreign Minister Xavier Bettel is in Cape Verde for a working visit, where he is expected to sign the country’s sixth cooperation programme with the island nation.
WINE PARIS EXPO – Luxembourg is showcasing its wines and crémants at the famous Wine Paris trade fair, with 13 winemakers represented at the event, which runs until tomorrow.
WAGE INDEXATION – Luxembourg’s next automatic wage increase could come sooner than expected. The statistics office STATEC says if inflation reaches 2.5%, salaries and pensions could rise as early as the second quarter of this year, followed by another in the third quarter of 2027.
AIRPORT DEBATE – Luxembourg’s Parliament will debate the future of Findel Airport today. The Greens have called for clarity on the airport’s long-term development, including its environmental impact and whether it might need to relocate in the coming decades. The debate will be broadcast live on the website of the Chamber of Deputies and is scheduled to begin at 2pm.
UKRAINE GENERATORS – President Zelensky has announced subsidies for Ukrainian homeowners to buy electricity generators, as Russian attacks continue to damage the country’s power infrastructure. Interest-free loans of up to €10 million are planned but it is doubtful that will be enough. In Kyiv alone, 1,100 apartments are without heating and electricity.
EPSTEIN FILES – Ghislaine Maxwell has refused to testify before the US Congress about her relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. She invoked her Fifth Amendment right to not incriminate herself, but said she was prepared to speak if granted clemency by President Donald Trump. Maxwell is currently serving 20 years in prison for sex trafficking.
CLIMATE CHANGE – January was the world’s fifth-hottest on record, despite severe cold snaps across Europe and the United States. The EU’s climate monitor says average global temperatures were 1.47°C above pre-industrial levels, highlighting the uneven nature of climate change.
OLYMPICS – A sensational win in the Olympics: Germany’s Philipp Raimund has won a gold medal in ski jumping – his first victory in a World Cup event. Favourite Domen Prevc only came in 6th place. Meanwhile France’s Guillaume Cizeron and Laurence Fournier Beaudry have taken a surprise lead in the Olympic ice dancing competition, just ahead of world champions Madison Chock and Evan Bates going into Wednesday’s final.
Today’s medal events include the mixed team short track relay, men and women’s cross-country skiing sprint classic, men’s ski slopestyle, women’s alpine skiing team combined, men’s biathlon 20km, women’s luge, mixed doubles curling and mixed team ski jumping.
CRICKET – South Africa smashed 47 off the last three overs to reach 213-4 against Canada in Ahmedabad yesterday, the highest total so far in this year’s T20 World Cup. David Miller hit an unbeaten 39 off 23 balls and Tristan Stubbs was not out 34 off 19 as they finished the innings in the Group D encounter with an unbroken stand of 75 in 6.1 overs.
Today will see chill and fog in the morning, clouds and rain to follow. Expect drizzle to start with, and more intense showers towards the end of the day. Temperatures start off cold at -1 to 1°C in the morning, warming up to a maximum of 8°C in the afternoon.
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