ICE SCULPTURE DEATH VERDICT – A court has handed suspended prison sentences to two sculptors over the death of two-year-old Emran, who was killed at Luxembourg City's Christmas market in 2019 by a collapsing ice sculpture. The lead sculptor received a 12-month suspended sentence and a €5,000 fine, while his colleague was given a nine-month suspended sentence and fined €1,500. The court acquitted Luxembourg City, the Luxembourg City Tourist Office, and their employees of involuntary manslaughter charges.
RIGHT OF ESTABLISHMENT REFORM – Failed entrepreneurs in Luxembourg could get a second chance under proposed reforms to the country's business licensing law. The draft would raise the debt threshold before bankrupt entrepreneurs are barred from starting a new business and scrap the requirement for company managers to be physically based in Luxembourg. Economy Minister Lex Delles says the changes would align Luxembourg's rules more closely with the EU single market.
MURDER INVESTIGATION – A man found dead in a house in Merl has been identified as a 27-year-old Belgian national, prosecutors have confirmed. A 27-year-old French suspect is accused of fatally stabbing the victim after inviting him home for a meal. However, it is understood that the two men had no known prior connection. The suspect remains in pre-trial detention as investigators continue their inquiry, including a psychiatric assessment.
VENEZUELA QUAKES – A 43-year-old man has been pulled alive from the ruins of a collapsed building eight days after deadly twin earthquakes struck Venezuela. The astounding rescue of security guard Hernan Gil after so long under the rubble was hailed as a miracle by his wife. Gil was brought out on a stretcher after a painstaking operation to extract him from the collapsed seven-story building where he worked in Catia La Mar, a coastal area almost entirely razed to the ground in the 24 June disaster.
FATAL UN PROTEST – A man died after setting himself on fire outside the UN's headquarters in New York on Thursday, police said, with activists and reports identifying him as a pro-Tibet campaigner. The New York Police Department told AFP that "at 1832 (2232 GMT) NYPD received a call... a male set himself on fire at First Avenue and 42nd Street. He was pronounced dead at Bellevue Hospital. Investigations ongoing." No motive was given. A spokesperson for United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a statement to AFP: "We are saddened by this tragic and horrific incident, and offer our condolences to his family."
ANTI-KUSHNER PROTESTS – Violent clashes erupted between police and demonstrators outside Albania's parliament yesterday, as protests sparked by a resort development linked to US President Donald Trump's family threatened to escalate. Protests began in late May against the planned construction of a luxury hotel linked to Trump's daughter Ivanka and her husband Jared Kushner in a nature reserve in Zvernetz, on Albania's southwestern coast.
FOOTBALL – It was another night of dramatic knockout-stage action in the FIFA World Cup, as several football giants booked their places in the Round of 16. Portugal edged past Croatia 2–1 in one of the tournament's most thrilling encounters. Spain continued its impressive campaign with a commanding 3–0 victory over Austria, while Switzerland defeated Algeria 2–0.
Croatia coach Zlatko Dalic and Portugal's Roberto Martinez paid tribute on Thursday to Luka Modric, who almost certainly played his last World Cup match. After a gut-wrenching 2-1 loss to Portugal in Toronto, Croatia midfielder Modric, 40, shared a long exchange with 41-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo as the two football greats near the end of their international playing careers. "This was probably his last World Cup, and I'm sorry that it ended this way", said an emotional Dalic. "He has shown his quality and his character and of course he was leading Croatia until the very end." Martinez lauded the Croatian great for having "inspired millions of kids."
RUGBY – Banned Japan coach Eddie Jones will be absent as his team begin their Nations Championship campaign in Tokyo on Saturday against an Italy side looking to build on Six Nations success. Jones is serving the last game of a four-match suspension imposed by the Japan Rugby Football Union for abusing match officials on a tour of Australia this year. Forwards coach Neal Hatley will fill in for the visit of Italy, who are riding high after beating England for the first time this year and matching their Six Nations record with a fourth-place finish.
We can look forward to another pleasant and warm day in Luxembourg. It should stay dry, with only a very small chance of rain, and a light to moderate north-westerly breeze. Expect a mix of sunshine and patchy cloud. This morning's temperatures are starting off at around 11°C, with highs later of 25°C to 27°C.
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