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Irish Times
4 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Times
No shortage of effort, but Ireland fail to find the net against Luxembourg
Luxembourg 0 Ireland 0 Progress report. Stephen Kenny predicted that the fast-tracking of the Republic of Ireland under-21s from 2019 would lead to an established team of 20-somethings with 30-plus caps come the 2026 World Cup. In November 2021, Ireland appeared to be ahead of schedule after a 3-0 win at Stade de Luxembourg to conclude their dismal Qatar 2022 qualification campaign on a high. That result stretched their unbeaten run under Kenny to six matches since the disastrous 1-0 loss to Luxembourg the previous March. Gerson Rodrigues's winner at an empty Aviva Stadium was the start of an alarming concession of long-range goals on Kenny's watch. READ MORE Only two players in the current squad, Adam Idah and Matt Doherty, started in Luxembourg four years ago. Caoimhín Kelleher and Nathan Collins were unused subs. Now, in 2025, the Brentford duo are the leaders. Troy Parrott and Jason Knight both came off the bench in 2021. It was Knight's ninth cap. The 24-year-old made his 38th appearance last night, while Parrott and Idah have compiled 60 caps and 10 goals between them since the last trip to the Grand Duchy. There is still plenty of room for Ireland to improve against Hungary in the opening World Cup qualifier on September 6th, mainly by reintegrating Josh Cullen, Finn Azaz, Sammie Szmodics and Chiedozie Ogbene into the team. Cullen and Azaz were rested for this international window while Szmodics and Ogbene are inching back from surgeries. The problem with being rested or injured is it has invited Knight, Will Smallbone, Kasey McAteer and the rangy Killian Phillips to play their way into contention. McAteer has earned his place wide on the right, unless Ogbene or Festy Ebosele can hit form for their clubs in August. Daniel Sinani could not handle the Leicester City winger's pace, swallowing a yellow card from referee Stefan Ebner. The benefit of this low-key summer camp is Ireland manager Heimir Hallgrímsson has unearthed alternative options. Jake O'Brien or Matt Doherty at right back? Power or panache? Take your pick. More importantly, everyone clearly understands the Icelander's fluid system. The 4-4-2 defensive shape springs into 3-2-3-1 as soon as Ireland win the ball back. Hallgrímsson is not afraid to tinker with his personnel. On 30 minutes, he instructed Will Smallbone to drop into midfield and release Phillips to the inside left slot, which encouraged Ryan Manning to overlap down the wing. Manning started warming up in the 18th minute after Robbie Brady's calf tightened. Brady was gone three minutes later. Opportunity knocked. Manning built on his performance in last Friday's 1-1 draw with Senegal. At 28, the versatile Southampton player has made more progress than anyone on Hallgrímsson's watch. Max O'Leary, another 28-year-old who has bided his time, was given his debut ahead of Caoimhín Kelleher and Tottenham Hotspur's young goalkeeper Josh Keeley. 'I am really pleased for Max,' said Hallgrímsson before kick-off. 'He has travelled with the team since 2019, that was his first time with us, always supporting, always positive, always keeping up the standard for all this time without having a cap – he is getting his chance to show himself and shine for our fans.' O'Leary picked off a dangerous cross from Tomas Moreira in the early going and when Sinai unleashed the first shot from distance, the Bristol City 'keeper pushed the ball for a corner. The expected red card protest happened in the 18th minute after several banners were unfurled: 'Rout kaart eir gewalt geint fraen' (Red card for violence against women), 'fussball ass politesch' (football is political) and 'brissons le silence' (let's break the silence) – the latter being the name of a campaign to raise awareness about violence against women in Luxembourg. Ireland's Kasey McAteer has a shot at the Luxembourg goal early in the second half. Photograph: Ryan Byrne/Inpho Unlike Friday's 1-0 defeat to Slovenia at Stade de Luxembourg, the stewards did not remove the banners or the people who brought them. The aim was to bring attention to the Luxembourg football federation's determination to continue selecting Rodrigues, after the country's record goal scorer lost an appeal in April of an 18-month suspended sentence for three violent offences, including the assault of his former girlfriend, the 2020 Miss Luxembourg, Emilie Boland. Rodrigues was roundly booed by the 365 Irish fans behind the goal. At least another 100 travelling supporters were seated among the home crowd. In total, there were 6,312 inside this postmodern stadium on the edge of town. The loudest cheer of the first half came when Rodrigues spun and shot wide of O'Leary's far post. Soon after, the protesters and Irish visitors produced large red cards. This lasted about two minutes before everyone's focus returned to the game. Ireland looked comfortable in possession, but they lacked urgency until a Nathan Collins header hit the post before the break. Parrott put the ball in Tiago Pereira's net on 66 minutes, but the linesman was quick to flag for offside. That seemed to spark something in Ireland as Evan Ferguson and McAteer went unrewarded for lung-busting runs into the Luxembourg box. The urgency came from the alternative options – Festy Ebosele and Idah energised the Irish attack in the final minutes of a very long season, although the gift of a goal to celebrate Hallgrímsson's 58th birthday never happened. It was not for a lack of effort as Jack Taylor's piledriver belted the crossbar with three minutes to play. Luxembourg: Pereira; Dzogovic, Jans (Thill 62), Korac, Carlson (Gerson 89), Bohnert (Pinto 62); Moreira, Barreiro, Sinani; Dardari (Curci 76), Rodrigues (Veiga 82). Ireland: O'Leary; O'Brien, Collins, O'Shea, Brady (Manning 21); McAteer (Doherty 76), Phillips (Ebosele 57), Knight (Patrick 90), Smallbone (Taylor 67); Ferguson (Idah 76); Parrott. Referee: Stefan Ebner (Austria).
CNA
23-05-2025
- Business
- CNA
Luxembourg bank fined over Malaysian 1MDB fund scandal
LUXEMBOURG: A Luxembourg court on Thursday (May 22) fined Edmond de Rothschild bank €25 million (US$28 million) for its role in a money-laundering scandal in which a Malaysian wealth fund lost billions of dollars. "This is the first time that a Luxembourg banking establishment has been convicted in a money laundering case," the Grand Duchy's judicial authorities noted following the punishment in the so-called 1MDB affair, which involved the misappropriation of money from 1Malaysia Development Berhad. The fund, created in 2009 as then Prime Minister Najib Razak set out to modernise Malaysia, soon found itself embroiled in corruption allegations, leading to a swathe of investigations notably in Switzerland, Singapore and the United States. "A very large portion of the funds raised by 1MDB was siphoned off ... particularly between 2009 and 2013, by the prime minister, Malaysian officials, and others," the court stated. In Luxembourg, which hosts the European subsidiary of Switzerland's Edmond de Rothschild bank, dozens of accounts opened at the establishment by an Emirati national in the name of a slew of different companies were used to divert money away from the fund. The investigation, which opened in the Grand Duchy in 2016, "established that through complex international financial flows, funds from 1MDB were ultimately credited to the bank accounts of several of these entities". Before arriving in the accounts, the cash moved through a number of different financial jurisdictions, including Caribbean tax havens, the court said. The bank stressed in a statement that the events had taken place "15 years ago" and had led to the "implementation of a comprehensive remediation plan ... completed in 2019". "The employees involved are no longer part of the organisation," the statement read. Najib, 71, who served as prime minister until 2018, was found guilty two years later of abuse of power and misappropriation of funds - a case that essentially cost him the 2018 elections. He was initially sentenced to 12 years' imprisonment in 2020 but the sentence was halved by a pardons board in February last year. The former prime minister is currently seeking to have his jail term converted to house arrest. Thursday's judgment closes the case regarding criminal liability of the bank.
The Guardian
07-05-2025
- The Guardian
I travelled the length and breadth of Luxembourg by bus – and it didn't cost me a penny
I am not sure what surprises me most when I get off the train at Luxembourg's main station – the sheer friendliness of locals who seem to greet everyone as they pass by with a cheery Moien (hello), or the fact that from this point I will not be paying a penny to travel the length and breadth of the Grand Duchy. Five years ago, Luxembourg became the first country in the world to actively tackle its carbon footprint by making all public transport free for everyone, including tourists. So I have come to see how it works in practice, aiming to travel to the country's little known vineyards hugging the slopes along the Moselle River and then trek through the mysterious canyons and forests of the Mullerthal region. Map for Luxembourg piece Bus 412 departs from right outside the station. No one asks for a ticket, and we soon leave the city, and the corporate offices of the likes of Google and Amazon, behind. It takes just an hour to arrive at Remich, one of several rustic winemaking villages whose picturesque vineyards line a 26-mile (42km) stretch of the Moselle. Luxembourg has been producing wines in this minuscule region since Roman times, and today visitors can take their pick of 50 independent wineries, offering tastings of elegant rieslings, aromatic pinot gris, little-known local white grapes such as rivaner and elbling, as well as a dazzling selection of bubbly crémant. Vineyards along the Moselle river. Photograph:There are plenty of reasonably priced hotels and camping sites all along Luxembourg's wine route. I check in at Remich's smart Casa49 (doubles from €100), whose rooms offer fab views over the Moselle as giant barges chug past. The first stop is almost next door, at the historic Caves St Martin, whose excellent guided tours (from €9.50) are the perfect introduction to local wines. The tour takes us through a maze of underground galleries cut into the cliff side a century ago, where tens of thousands of bottles of crémant are aged, following the same complex methods as champagne. Luxembourg has been producing wines since Roman times, and today visitors can take their pick of 50 independent wineries It is tempting to hop on the scenic one-hour cruise of the Moselle that leaves from the quayside at Remich, but I have booked a tasting at Domaine Kox, one of Luxembourg's most innovative wineries. It is difficult to imagine a young winemaker more committed to eco-responsibility than fourth-generation Corinne Kox. She tells me the winery favours hybrid grapes because they are more resistant, so need far less treatment and therefore less use of the tractor, resulting in a lower carbon footprint. 'For the same reason, we limit exports to 20%, while for the grape harvest we use local families rather than bringing in transient foreign labour. And whenever we can, horses are used to work the land rather than petrol-guzzling tractors,' she says. The small 12-hectare (30 acre) vineyard produces a staggering 30 different wines, which visitors can sample in a blind tasting (five glasses for €20). A road through the Mullerthal, part of the network of Unesco global geoparks. Photograph: Irina Naoumova/Alamy Later that day, I take a sunset stroll along the waterside to the traditional An der Tourelle restaurant in the next village. The specialities here are wäinzoossiss , grilled sausages marinated in riesling, served with Luxembourg frites, and homemade kniddelen , dumplings served in a creamy sauce with crunchy bacon; this is totally delicious comfort food served in huge portions. skip past newsletter promotion Sign up to The Traveller Get travel inspiration, featured trips and local tips for your next break, as well as the latest deals from Guardian Holidays Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. after newsletter promotion The trail takes in sloping vineyards bordered by steep limestone cliffs, lush forests and wild orchid meadows The next day, the bus drives up to the ancient village of Ahn, where one of Luxembourg's numerous hiking routes begins. The Traumschleife Palmberg wine and nature trail is a 5.6 mile trek that takes in sloping vineyards bordered by steep limestone cliffs, lush forests and a nature reserve of ancient boxwood and wild orchid meadows. The path ends up following the valley of the Donwerbaach River, which you have to crisscross half a dozen times on slippery stepping-stone bridges. Three hours later and we are back in Ahn, just in time for a tasting at Schmit-Fohl, an independent winery now in its seventh generation of family ownership. A sandstone outcrop at Berdorf in the Mullerthal region. Photograph: Arterra/Universal Images Group It takes two hours, including a change of bus, to arrive in Berdorf, at the centre of the Mullerthal region, which locals proudly call Luxembourg's Little Switzerland. With 70 miles of nature trails, Mullerthal is a paradise for outdoor sports enthusiasts, many of whom use the brilliant Trail-Inn as their base. 'If you just take one trek it has to be B2 trail,' says our guide, Gian Marco Bartolini. The 2.5-mile hike, which starts on the edge of Berdorf, makes for an unforgettable adventure – we weave our way through a labyrinth of forests and gorges, and canyons and soaring cliffs, which splinter into high stone towers separated by narrow clefts that you can barely squeeze through. And to end on a perfect note, the super-efficient public transport planner gives the times for bus 211 from Berdorf, which has us back to Luxembourg station in under an hour, with plenty of time to make our connection on the high-speed TGV train back to Paris. The trip was organised by Visit Luxembourg
