Top five stories you may have missed
There are some legends about Luxembourg every newcomer gets told. Bus drivers who are paid the same salary as professors abroad. A government job for life for each citizen. A tight government grip on business. Fact or fiction?
The Luxembourg Times set out to investigate. And found that, yes - while such one-liners are exaggerated – what passport you hold and what country you live in are fairly accurate indicators of your job and how much money you make.
Luxembourg falling behind in digital public services
Luxembourg has made some long-awaited steps in improving online access to government services, but critics say the country could have done much better, pointing at its unimpressive ranking compared to its European peers.
Alleviating the administrative burden for everyone who has ever visited a doctor, the country said last week that people will no longer have to send their medical bills by post to be reimbursed as of 2023.
Former spy embroiled in US crypto scam vetted EIB clients
The European Investment Bank (EIB) tried to spot dodgy clients for years through a company run by a former Luxembourg spy who is facing extradition to the US, where he is named as a co-conspirator in a multi-billion-dollar cryptocurrency scam.
Frank Schneider, who is on trial in Luxembourg for illegal wiretapping when he worked for the country’s SREL intelligence agency, was arrested near the town of Nancy last month, according to French media.
Covid receding as country opens up further
Covid-19 cases in Luxembourg are continuing to recede, as the number of people infected with the virus fell by half over the last two weeks, the Health Ministry said on Wednesday.
The drop in coronavirus cases comes as the country continues to open up, with the easing of restrictions that were first introduced in March last year to stem the spread of the virus.
Luxembourg to launch Covid passport ahead of EU
Luxembourg plans to issue a Covid passport ahead of a Europe-wide rollout, a government source said, to accelerate the reopening of the economy.
“We are pretty much ready with the solution and the launch could conveniently coincide with when the current pandemic restrictions expire on 12 June,” the source said. “The last element we are working on now is to equip ... authorities with an application that would read data stored in the certificates.”
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