Ara City Radio

In the end of January, the townhall of Junglinster caught fire. The interior of the old farmhouse burned down, and it took 90 firefighters and 15 hours to extinguish the fire. The roof collapsed into the municipal archives and got fuelled by loads of paper to burn. On Local Matters this week, we take this as an occasion to talk about archiving. Luckily in Junglinster, no important documents have burnt. Nevertheless, some communes have started focusing more on the relevance of their municipal archives after the incident.

The European Parliament has approved laws that protect from malign interference and limit the use of spyware against journalists. It also obliges outlets to transparently disclose information about ownership, funding, and state advertising.

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Geoff Thompson, Festival Organiser and President of Festival Events Asbl, joined the breakfast show to discuss the upcoming 15th British & Irish Film Festival Luxembourg 2024. The film festival provides a unique opportunity for viewers to experience a wide selection of new films from Britain and Ireland. The 2024 SPRING EDITION includes 13 feature-length films from a cross-section of genres and representing mainly independent cinema. In addition, the festival will be screening five short films and concluding the Young Filmmaker Competition. For more detailed information on the festival programme and ticketing, etc., please visit www.festivalevents.lu

A research conducted on twins revealed that a vegan diet can significantly improve cardiovascular health in as little as eight weeks, resulting in lower levels of 'bad' cholesterol and insulin and weight loss as a result.

All EU based large companies will have to tackle the gender pay gap and make figures public. The EU pay transparency directive obliges all member states to draft a respective legislation. Get all the details on today's "What's right with the world", in the audio file. Photo: wikicommons

Turn the sophites on!

Ireland will vote today to replace old-fashioned and sexist references in the constitution on the importance of women's life within the home as part of updating the conservative document stemming from 1937.

In the beginning of this week, lawmakers in France voted in favor of making abortion rights constitutional. The planning familial Asbl has been advocating to take the same step in Luxembourg as well. In our interview on Local Matters, Ainhoa Achutegui, president of Planning Familial, explains why this is so important and how accessible abortion is in Luxembourg nowadays.

This year’s International Women’s Day takes place tomorrow. The platform Journée Internationale des Femmes (JIF) organises a march through the city. Everyone who wants to join the fight for women's rights is invited to join. In our interview on the breakfast show, two representatives of JIF Gabrielle Antar and Amandine Gorse, talk about JIF's political demand and about why we still need a women's rights day.

Scientists have found a surprisingly simple way to remove nano plastics and microplastics (NMP's) from drinking water. By boiling water, the nmp's are 'encrusted' with limescale - or calcium carbonate - the chalky substance commonly seen in kitchen kettles. Sieving the boiled water can then eliminate up to 90% of NMP's.

The National museum of Resistance and Human Rights in Esch was reopened last week, after almost 6 years of renovation works. On Local Matters, we've had a visit.

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Using gene therapy, scientists have discovered that managing the level of the protein GDNF is key to the the correct transmission of dopamine, the feel-good neurotransmitter, in the brain. GDNF levels plummet when alcoholics abstain from drinking, leading to a dopamine shortage and feeling of discomfort, which makes alcoholics resort to drinking. Gene therapy is now thought to 'fix' GDNF levels, which could be a solution for those suffering from alcoholism.

Depaving means getting rid of asphalt, cement and such and allows water to soak into the ground which reduces flooding in times of heavy rain. Once depaved, planting trees and plants helps wildlife cling on in urban spaces and trees protect residents from heatwaves. Greenery in cities is also said to improve people's mental health.

This afternoon, lawmakers in France vote to enshrine abortion rights in the constitution. France is the first country to do so. Get all the details on today's What's right with the world. Photo: Matt Hrkac via flickr

All aboard! Luxembourg Station, the crown jewel of the railway world in the pint-sized land of Luxembourg! This little hub of locomotion glory sits a mere stone's throw (well, two kilometers, but who's counting?) from the center of Luxembourg City. It's so important, they decided to name one of the city's districts after it! Not just any district, mind you – it's operated by the Société nationale des chemins de fer luxembourgeois (CFL), which is a fancy way of saying they've got their act together when it comes to trains. Find out more at www.bourgmeisterin.com!

According to new research by the International Air Transport Association (IATA), flying in Europe is safer than ever before. Globally, for every 1.26 million flights, there was one accident. The European accident rate is even lower, with a fatality rate of zero since 2018.

To help voters decide whom to vote for, the Centre for political education (ZPB) elaborates the tool smartwielen - together with the University of Luxembourg and the platform for participatory democracy (PLDP). To develop the smartwielen questionnaire for the European Parliament election, the organisations call on the public to participate. Political scientist Raphaël Kies of the Luxembourg University told us more about this call.

According to research in the US and trials currently taking place in business across Europe, the use of AI in the workplace increases the possibility of actually having a four-day workweek, with AI taking over simple tasks, such as data input, planning and software development.