SOLAR ECLIPSE – Many people looked to the skies yesterday evening as a partial solar eclipse swept over Luxembourg and large parts of Europe. In Spain, hundreds of thousands travelled to the so-called path of totality to witness the sky go completely dark for exactly 1 minute and 18 seconds.
Thousands of people turned up in Ettelbruck yesterday evening for Solar Eclipse Day, far exceeding organisers' expectations. The free public event offered safe solar observation, science talks, family workshops, and evening stargazing. Organisers had planned for 600 to 700 attendees and had 1,000 glasses on hand for the eclipse viewing. Turnout ran well beyond that, leaving them short on glasses and some chaos on the night.
The natural spectacle also led to an unusual emergency callout in Junglinster yesterday evening: two people had climbed onto RTL's transmitter mast. The CGDIS confirmed that the pair climbed down again unaided. Nobody was injured.
ITALY DEADLY FIGHT– Two Luxembourgish brothers, one a member of the national rugby team, have been arrested in Calabria following the death of a 34-year-old man outside a nightclub in Sangineto. The victim was reportedly struck multiple times during a violent altercation on Saturday night and died in hospital later. The brothers had allegedly entered the club without tickets, sparking an argument with security that escalated outside. According to Italian media, they face charges of aggravated homicide and are presumed innocent as the investigation continues.
EUROPEAN ARREST WARRANT – Luxembourg police handed a 57-year-old German national over to German police on Tuesday morning, at the border crossing in Wasserbillig. The transfer followed a European arrest warrant. The man, already serving a 38 day sentence for fraud, was also under investigation in three separate fraud and forgery cases. He appeared before an investigating judge and was taken to prison.
COLOMBIA EARTHQUAKE – The confirmed death toll from Monday's severe earthquake in Colombia has now risen to 265. More than 3,500 people have been injured, according to Colombian authorities, and 500 are officially still missing, though unofficial estimates suggest around 4,000 people are still being searched for. The magnitude 7.4 quake mainly struck the cities of Cali, Pereira, and Manizales. Thousands of people have lost their homes.
DRC EBOLA – The World Health Organisation has expressed concern over the current Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo, warning it could reach an unprecedented scale. So far around 4,400 people in Congo have been infected with the virus, which spreads through bodily fluids. More than 2,000 people have died from the disease.
MOUNT ETNA ERUPTION – Catania airport in Sicily will stay closed longer than planned because of the Etna volcano, with takeoffs and landings suspended until 2am on Friday. Further extensions have not been ruled out. The recent eruption of Europe's most active volcano has caused days of disruption, with hundreds of flights delayed, cancelled, or diverted during the holiday season.
EUROVISION RULES – Eurovision organisers have announced that countries in armed conflict will no longer be allowed to host the contest. No country was named directly but Israel, at war in Gaza since 2023, came close to winning in both 2025 and 2026, finishing second both times. Five countries (Spain, Ireland, the Netherlands, Slovenia, and Iceland) boycotted this year's contest in Vienna over Israel's participation.
FOOTBALL – PSG have won the UEFA Super Cup for the second time in the club's history, beating Aston Villa 2-1 in Salzburg last night. From a Luxembourg perspective, Brian Madjo was the standout: the 17-year-old striker, who has represented Luxembourg at youth level, equalised for Villa on the stroke of half time to make it 1-1. His goal made him the youngest ever scorer in Super Cup history, but it wasn't enough. Desire Doue put PSG back in front after the break to seal the win.
Former Manchester United striker Romelu Lukaku has joined Fenerbahce in Turkey. Lukaku, who has previously played for Chelsea, Manchester United and Inter Milan in a glittering but injury-plagued career, is Belgium's all-time leading scorer with 93 goals.
And Xavi Hernandez has been named as head coach of the Netherlands national team, becoming their first foreign boss in 48 years. The Barcelona great, who won the 2010 World Cup with Spain as a player, has not held a head coaching job since leaving the Camp Nou in 2024.
SWIMMING – Italian teenager Sara Curtis broke the women's 50m backstroke world record at the European championships with a blistering swim in Paris on Wednesday. The 19-year-old clocked 26.63sec in winning her semi-final, bettering the previous mark set by Australia's Kaylee McKeown three years ago by 0.23sec.
Meteolux has upgraded their weather warnings. The north is under yellow alert today, while the south has been bumped up to orange. Both warnings remain in place until 7am on Friday.
Despite high temperatures forecast to reach between 34-35°C in the afternoon, it’s still a beautifully sunny day and you might just feel a little warm breeze throughout the day.
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