The Today Radio news team brings you the latest headlines for Friday, 23 May.

Luxembourg 

MONEY LAUNDERING – The Luxembourg-based bank Edmond de Rothschild has been fined 25 million euros as a result of a money-laundering scandal which has rocked the Grand Duchy's financial centre. Nicknamed the "1MDB" affair, the case relates to the fraudulent misappropriation of several billion US dollars, taken from a Malaysian wealth fund, created in 2009 by the then Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak.

SCHOOL SHOOTING THREAT – A young man has been sentenced following an incident in August 2022 in which he threatened to conduct a school shooting in Lallange. Then aged 17, the accused stated he planned to carry out the act on the anniversary of the Columbine High School massacre, which left 16 people dead. He has been sentenced to two years in prison with probation and he will also have to undergo a psychological or psychiatric follow-up at the Centre against Radicalisation.

CARGOLUX BEARS – Two abused bears rescued from a grim life in Azerbaijan are finally en route to a new sanctuary home in the UK – thanks to a groundbreaking airlift by Luxembourg-based Cargolux. Last year, the UK-based Wildheart Animal Sanctuary began raising funds to build a new habitat for the bears but was unable to find a humane and cost-effective means of transporting them. Cargolux agreed to cover the costs and build transport crates specifically designed for the bears Benji and Balu. They are expected to arrive on the Isle of Wight in June. 

World

TRUMP HARVARD – Donald Trump's administration has revoked Harvard's ability to enrol foreign nationals – more than a quarter of the student body – in a dramatic escalation of the US president's fight against the prestigious university. Harvard, which has sued the government over a separate raft of punitive measures, quickly fired back, calling the move "unlawful".

GAZA WAR – The Israeli army has issued an evacuation warning for 14 neighbourhoods of northern Gaza, as it pressed a renewed offensive that has drawn international condemnation. The warning came hours after the United Nations said it had collected and begun distributing around 90 truckloads of aid in Gaza, the first such delivery since Israel imposed a total blockade on the territory on March 2.

US SHOOTING – The suspect accused of gunning down two Israeli embassy staffers outside a Jewish museum in Washington, has been charged with murder, as international tensions over anti-Semitism erupted over the attack.

DENMARK RETIREMENT – Denmark's parliament has adopted a law raising the retirement age to 70 by 2040 from the current age of 67. Since 2006, Denmark has indexed the official retirement age to life expectancy and has revised it every five years.

AUSTRALIA FLOODING – The body of a man has been found in a car trapped in floodwaters in Australia's southeast, raising the death toll to four, after three days of incessant rain cut off entire towns, swept away livestock and destroyed homes. Salvage crews are preparing to launch a major clean-up operation as waters started receding this morning, surveying the damage from half a year's worth of rain dumped in just three days.

KARDASHIAN SENTENCING – A French court is to give a verdict today in the trial of 10 people accused of robbing reality TV star Kim Kardashian of some $10 million worth of jewellery in Paris. Nine men and one woman have been standing trial since April, with prosecutors seeking the toughest jail terms of 10 years for the four men accused of carrying out the robbery.

Sport

FOOTBALL – Arsenal face Barcelona in Saturday's Champions League final. Barca have cruised into a fifth consecutive final, as they seek a fourth European crown at Sporting Lisbon's stadium. Arsenal are the only English club to have ever won Europe's top prize, back when it was the UEFA Women's Cup back in 2007.

Laura Miller, captain of the Luxembourg women's football team, has joined FC Nürnberg. The German club was recently promoted to the top flight of the women's Bundesliga.

In the Bundesliga, Heidenheim came from two goals down to force a 2-2 draw at home to Elversberg in the first leg of their Bundesliga relegation playoff last night. Elversberg, from a town of just 13,000 people, are bidding to become the smallest club to play in the top flight.

CYCLING – Dutch sprinter Olav Kooij has won the dash to the line at Viadana after a powerful lead out from teammate Wout Van Aert to take stage 12 of the Giro d’Italia. Giro rookie Isaac del Toro remains in the overall leader's pink jersey.

FORMULA 1 – It’s the Monaco Grand Prix this weekend and Max Verstappen has warned that Sunday's race could produce a "completely crazy" race as teams decide how to tackle a new rule making two pit stops mandatory. The rule change has been introduced to enliven an often-processional race in which the teams usually made only one stop – to change tyres – on the narrow barrier-lined street circuit where it is notoriously difficult to overtake.

Weather

We'll have plenty of clouds in the sky today, with the occasional rush of sunshine but no rain yet. We will save that for the weekend. After a chilly start, we should see temperatures of around 7-8 degrees this morning, rising to 14–16°C in the afternoon. It will feel colder though, as the clouds and wind gusts of up to 27 km/h will give the day more of a chill.

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