9 September photo shows a large glowing cloud from wildfires turn the sky red in the Willamette Valley, Oregon. Photo: Shutterstock Shutterstock

9 September photo shows a large glowing cloud from wildfires turn the sky red in the Willamette Valley, Oregon. Photo: Shutterstock Shutterstock

S&P confirms "AAA" rating

After DBRS Morningstar and Fitch, the Standard & Poor's agency confirmed the "AAA" with stable outlook for Luxembourg. S&P noted the effectiveness of the government's efforts to deal with the pandemic and believes that the country's public finances have the necessary capacity to absorb the negative impact of the crisis. Assuming a controlled pandemic and a gradual weakening of its economic impact over the next few months, S&P expects the country's growth prospects to improve from the third quarter of 2020. Government press release.

Luxembourg fugitive bailed

Spanish authorities have given bail to Luxembourg’s most-wanted criminal, Jean-Marc Sirichai, after the prison escapee was arrested over the summer. A judge on Friday agreed he could remain in Spain because of his connections and the time that had passed since his crime, now 21 years ago. His passport has been confiscated, according to Huelva Informacion. Sirichai was jailed for 20 years for murdering an elderly woman and then setting fire to the crime scene.

Indian summer in Luxembourg

The hot summer has been given extra time in Luxembourg where on Monday afternoon the temperature was expected to reach 31°C. The heatwave will continue until Thursday when the mercury should fall to the mid-20s. Meteolux.

Jungels mowed down

Luxembourg cyclist Bob Jungels was struck by an ambulance during the fifteenth stage of the Tour de France on Sunday. The ambulance clipped the Deceuninck-Quick-Step rider during the mountain stage. He finished in forty-third place, 20 minutes behind stage winner Tadej Pogacar. Cycling Weekly.

US wildfires

Some 17,000 firefighters battled against 29 major wildfires in California while in Oregon the number of fires reached 34 on Sunday. The blazes, which were falsely blamed by President Trump on left-wing activists, have killed over two dozen people and destroyed thousands of homes and livelihoods. High winds on Sunday threatened to exacerbate the fires. Reuters, BBC news.

Russian polls

Russia’s biggest pro-Kremlin party claims it is set to win in all regional legislatures following local polls at the weekend. The opposition says it has won two seats in Siberian cities. Following the suspected Novichok poisoning of opposition leader Alexei Navalny, there were widespread campaigns for tactical voting to unseat incumbents of the ruling party. Meanwhile protests continued in Belarus on Sunday where 100,000 marched on the Minsk residence of the country’s disputed president Alexander Lukashenko. The latter is set to seek the backing of Russia’s Vladimir Putin at a meeting on Monday. BBC news, The Guardian and Reuters.

AstraZeneca trials

Oxford university and AstraZeneca will resume international clinical trials of their coronavirus vaccine candidate, after an independent safety review committee and UK regulators concluded it was safe to resume. The trial was halted after a UK participant fell ill. Some 18,000 people have received the AZD1222 vaccine in the trial in the UK, US, South Africa and Brazil. The FT.

TikTok in US partners with Oracle

Bytedance has struck a deal for TikTok’s US operations to be carried out with Oracle as a technology partner after turning down a buy-out bid from Microsoft. The news follows an executive order by the US president to stop doing business with the video platform’s Chinese parent company or else it would be shut down in the US. Oracle is expected to handle TikTok’s US user data. The Guardian.

Who record rise

The World Health Organization noted a record rise in new coronavirus infections with 307,417 cases over 24 hours and 5,500 deaths. The largest increases in infections were recorded in India, the US and Brazil. Globally, the number of cases tops 28 million. Luxembourg recorded 44 new cases on Sunday, from 7,812 tests, equivalent to 1,248 per 100,000 inhabitants, according to health ministry figures. There were no new deaths. BBC news.

Israel’s second lockdown

Israel imposed a second covid-19 lockdown on Sunday, this time for three weeks, in a bid to tame a dramatic resurgence in coronavirus cases. Israel has reported 150,000 cases and over 1,200 deaths. Infections in the country recently rose to over 4,000 per day. The Guardian.

Agenda

Cyclists will receive goodie bags for their efforts in Luxembourg City on Monday as part of European mobility week. Source: VDL.

On Monday, Luxembourg’s parliament will examine the passing into law of a European directive on detached workers while the afternoon will be taken up with discussions on extending the budget for LuxEOSys, a military satellite. Source: Chd.lu

On Tuesday, don’t miss the Luxembourg Sustainability Forum 2020, offering inspiration for socially responsible programmes.

The same day, there will be a private equity careers webinar organised by Paperjam Club and on Wednesday the Delano Live chat will feature journalist Simon Gray talking about the current state of Luxembourg politics.

 

Today’s breakfast briefing was written by Jess Bauldry