International reporting filtered through a Luxembourg lens — global stories that touch the Grand Duchy through trade, finance, diplomacy, climate, or the diaspora.
NATO's 32 leaders opened a two-day summit in Ankara on Tuesday, chaired by Mark Rutte and hosted by Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, under pressure from Donald Trump to lift defence spending toward a new five-percent target. The gathering convened hours after Russian missiles and drones killed at least 16 people in Kyiv.
A small Chinese-built aircraft crashed into the upper floors of Beijing's CITIC Tower on Friday evening, scattering debris across the central business district and forcing evacuations. Authorities offered no account of casualties or cause, imposed an information blackout and began scrubbing videos from social media, leaving open the central question of whether the crash was an accident or something deliberate.
Donald Trump has threatened a 100 percent tariff on goods from any country that imposes a digital services tax on American technology firms, declaring it would supersede signed trade deals and reopening a dispute that pits Washington against France and much of Europe.
Twin shallow earthquakes off Venezuela's central coast killed at least 32 people and injured more than 700, collapsing homes in Caracas and prompting a nationwide state of emergency just months after the United States captured the country's president.
Japan said on Wednesday that China had detained two of its citizens in the port city of Dalian over an alleged rare-earth export attempt. The case surfaced as Beijing opened a whistleblower hotline for illegal mineral exports, sharpening a rivalry that runs through every economy — Europe's included — dependent on Chinese supply.
The Rapid Support Forces have massed fighters around El Obeid, a strategic city of half a million in central Sudan. The US State Department says mass atrocities 'could be imminent'; a European-led coalition has sounded the same alarm at the United Nations. The question is whether warning is the same as protecting.
An explosion at the Barzan gas facility in Qatar's Ras Laffan complex killed at least 13 workers and injured 66, days after the plant was restarted following a war-related shutdown. The energy minister blamed a technical malfunction, ruled out sabotage and said exports would be unaffected.
The United States and Iran held their first formal negotiations since this year's war, in Switzerland on Monday. Washington claimed Tehran agreed to readmit nuclear inspectors and won broad sanctions relief; Iran insisted it made no new commitments on its nuclear programme.
Abelardo de la Espriella, a criminal-defence lawyer endorsed by Donald Trump, has narrowly won Colombia's presidential runoff, ending the brief left-wing experiment of Gustavo Petro. With the margin under one point, his opponent is contesting tens of thousands of ballot boxes.
Since US forces captured Nicolas Maduro on 3 January 2026, deputy Delcy Rodriguez has governed Venezuela, opening the oil sector to private investors and freeing hundreds of prisoners while sidestepping the elections the constitution requires. Analysts call it 'normalization without transition.' The Trump administration, focused on stability and energy, has effectively backed Rodriguez over Nobel laureate Maria Corina Machado, who now vows to run for president.
WHO said on 8 May 2026 that real-world data confirm the malaria vaccine cuts child deaths, not only in trials. A Lancet evaluation in Ghana, Kenya and Malawi found 1 in 8 deaths averted; a Phase 4 study found a 17% drop in all-cause mortality and 58% in severe malaria. Rollout reached 25 African countries, with 28.3 million doses given in 2025. WHO says the vaccines could prevent up to 500,000 child deaths by 2035 if scaled, but a near-30% funding gap threatens momentum.
Indigenous Ngururrpa rangers and scientists have detected up to 50 night parrots in WA's Great Sandy Desert, the largest known population of a bird feared extinct until 2013. Using acoustic 'songmeters' across 31 sites chosen by blending ranger knowledge with satellite and geology data, they found a stronghold dwarfing Queensland's. Camera traps showed dingoes, not cats, dominate roosts as the species is uplisted to critically endangered amid mining pressure.
Researchers have described Nagatitan chaiyaphumensis, a long-necked sauropod from northeastern Thailand estimated at roughly 27 metres long and around 27 tonnes. Reported as the largest dinosaur yet found in Southeast Asia, it lived 100 to 120 million years ago and was unearthed after a local resident spotted unusual rocks beside a pond in 2016.
Japan recorded 705,809 births in 2025, a 10th consecutive record low, while South Korea's fertility rate rose to 0.80 from 0.75. Tokyo and Seoul are forming a joint task force on the demographic crisis. Here is what the numbers mean, why Korea's uptick may not last, and why below-replacement Europe should pay attention.
The Nippon Foundation-Nekton Ocean Census says it logged 1,121 new marine species in a single year - a 54% jump in the annual discovery rate, from depths down to 6,575 metres. Highlights include a deep-sea ghost shark and a worm that lives inside a glass-sponge 'castle.' With an estimated 90% of ocean species still undescribed, a new platform called NOVA aims to cut the historic 13.5-year wait to formally share a find down to weeks.
President Bassirou Diomaye Faye dismissed PM Ousmane Sonko and dissolved the government on 22 May 2026, fracturing the PASTEF movement that won power in 2024. The split turns on economics: Sonko resisted raising fuel prices and IMF-backed restructuring of Senegal's roughly $13bn debt, while Faye's team pushes reforms to unlock a frozen $1.8bn IMF programme. On 26 May, lawmakers made Sonko parliament speaker, creating a rival power centre as IMF talks resume.
On 3 June the UN General Assembly elects five non-permanent Security Council members for 2027-2028, and Luxembourg's one vote weighs on two contested races. In the Asia-Pacific group, the US-backed Philippines, which Luxembourg has publicly endorsed, faces a late push from China- and Russia-backed Kyrgyzstan. In Luxembourg's own WEOG bloc, Austria, Germany and Portugal compete for just two seats.
3I/ATLAS, found in July 2025, is only the third confirmed interstellar object. As it passed the Sun, ALMA measurements led by University of Michigan astronomers found its water's deuterium-to-hydrogen ratio is the highest ever measured in a comet — over 40 times Earth's oceans and at least 30 times typical Solar System comets. That points to a birthplace far colder than the Sun's nursery, and it may be among the oldest comets known. The 'alien' claims did not hold up.
On 11 May 2026 the Philippine House impeached Vice-President Sara Duterte a second time, 257-25, making her the first official ever impeached twice. The articles allege misuse of P612.5 million in confidential funds, unexplained wealth, bribery and a plot to assassinate President Marcos Jr. The Senate opened the trial on 18 May. Conviction needs 16 of 24 senators and would bar her from a 2028 presidential run.
Far-right lawyer Abelardo de la Espriella led Colombia's 31 May first round with 43.74% to leftist senator Iván Cepeda's 40.90%, forcing a 21 June runoff. President Gustavo Petro refused to accept the preliminary tally, alleging the vote contractor altered software and inflated the rolls; officials say he has no power to reject results. The race will steer security policy, Total Peace and frayed ties with Washington.