The Today Radio news team brings you the latest headlines for Thursday, 24 July.

Luxembourg 

NETWORK OUTAGE – A major problem occurred at Post Luxembourg yesterday afternoon, lasting around four hours. Customers reported significant network issues, including failed phone calls and interrupted 5G/internet access. Rescue services and the police were also not reachable on the Post network, forcing the Grand Ducal Fire and Rescue Corps (CGDIS) to trigger contingency measures. In the event of an emergency, residents were advised to go to the nearest staffed fire and rescue station, where CGDIS personnel were able to contact hospitals via radio.

In response to the emergency, Prime Minister Luc Frieden convened the crisis unit. The meeting in the early evening was chaired by Minister of the Economy Lex Delles and Minister for Home Affairs Léon Gloden. At around 9.15pm, the crisis unit confirmed that the situation had stabilised by 8pm, with emergency numbers 112 and 113 fully accessible once again.
The outage also led to delays and diversions at the airport – one return flight to Luxembourg was cancelled and several flights out of Findel airport were delayed.

Reasons for the outage are still not known but Post Luxembourg said it would only be able to assess the reasons today at the earliest.


METEOLUX – Meteolux has issued a yellow-level thunderstorm warning for the day, affecting the entire country from 6am to 8pm. The meteorological service warns of "significant rain quantities" throughout the day, which it expects due to the "slow movement of storm cells".

SCHUEBERFOUER PREPARATIONS – Parking spaces at Glacis are disappearing in phases as preparations begin for this year's Schueberfouer, scheduled to run from 22 August to 10 September. The Glacis car park closure is being implemented in four phases. The first section closed to the public on 13 July, with additional spaces becoming inaccessible starting Tuesday, 29 July.

NATO HANGAR – Luxembourg has inaugurated a new military hangar at the Warehouse Service Agency site in Sanem as part of a major expansion to boost NATO readiness, with further infrastructure planned to support joint operations, including a bi-national battalion with Belgium. Sanem contains the largest US Air Force storage site in Europe.

World

UKRAINE WAR – Ukraine has proposed direct talks within weeks between its President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russia's Vladimir Putin, while Moscow only agreed to the latest in a series of prisoner exchanges, allowing dead and wounded soldiers to be recovered. Host country Turkey urged steps towards a lasting ceasefire and peace deal, but the Kremlin played down any expectations of a breakthrough after three and a half years of war.

CHINA-EU RELATIONS – Chinese President Xi Jinping said China and the EU must deepen trust in a turbulent world but the bloc's chiefs, Ursula von der Leyen and Antonio Costa, have called for "real solutions", as they met in Beijing earlier today. China's leadership is looking to draw the European Union closer as it positions itself as a more reliable partner than the United States. But the EU has made clear it will confront deep divisions over trade, fears that cheap, subsidised Chinese goods could overwhelm European markets and Beijing's tacit support for Russia's war against Ukraine. 

ECB INTEREST RATES – The European Central Bank looks set to keep interest rates unchanged today while the introduction of higher US tariffs threatened by US President Donald Trump hangs in the balance. But the relatively more favourable monetary policy conditions look fragile with a 1 August deadline for the possible imposition of punitive tariffs on European exports into the United States.

ICJ ON CLIMATE CHANGE – The world's highest court has declared that states are obliged under international law to tackle climate change and warned that failing to do so could open the door to reparations. In a historic statement, the International Court of Justice said climate change was an "urgent and existential threat" and countries had a legal duty to prevent harm from their planet-warming pollution.

Sport

FOOTBALL – Aitana Bonmati netted the only goal of the game late in extra time as world champions Spain edged Germany 1-0 in their Women's Euro 2025 semi-final last night to set up a title decider this weekend against England. The final is taking place at 6pm on Sunday.

In other football news, big success for FC Differdange as they beat The New Saints from Wales 1-0. It is the first Luxembourg victory at European level this season. The return match takes place next Tuesday evening.

And in the Conference League, UNA Strassen are playing against Dundee United in Scotland tonight. 
 
Manchester United striker Marcus Rashford is on loan to Spanish champions Barcelona, with a future purchase option. The 27-year-old England international has been out of favour under Man United coach Ruben Amorim and has spent the final months of the 2024/25 season on loan to Aston Villa.

CYCLING – Italy's Jonathan Milan escaped a spectacular pile-up of flying bikes and bodies to win stage 17 of the Tour de France in lashing rain yesterday, extending his lead in the sprint points race. Tadej Pogacar is still in the overall lead. Today's stage goes 171.5 km across the Alps, from Vif to Courchevel. You can follow it live on RTL Today and RTL Play from 2pm.

Weather

Meteolux has issued a yellow-level thunderstorm warning for the day, affecting the entire country from 6am to 8pm. Wind gusts of up to 50km/h are forecast while the majority of rain is believed to come down over the course of the morning. Temperature-wise, the day will start off at around 12–14°C. In the afternoon, a noticeable rise is expected, with highs reaching 21–23°C.

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