About this Episode
Foreign minister Xavier Bettel said new passports issued since May of this year “have no technical defects” but some are failing to scan at e‑gates abroad. The government attributes the problems to foreign airports’ older readers and the global transition to a newer passport-reading protocol, PACE, which Luxembourg adopted immediately. Travellers with the new passports may need manual passport checks when scanners aren’t updated, though the documents remain fully valid. Luxembourg is urging faster rollout and configuration of updated border-entry technology worldwide so biometric passports using PACE are accepted at all automated controls.
BMS Engineering said a cyberattack temporarily disrupted cloud services used by 40 medical practices in Luxembourg but did not compromise its web applications. The firm engaged external cybersecurity experts, notified police and the data protection authority (CNPD), and restored services after security checks. An independent backup—not affected by the incident—allowed data to be recovered; BMS reports no evidence of data leakage or permanent loss. The company also strengthened security measures. Earlier reports overstated the scale: BMS says 40 practices were affected, not 80. All clients have since resumed operations.
The SEW-OGBL teachers’ union urged urgent staffing increases, less bureaucracy and clearer rules for handling behavioural incidents as two major education reforms roll out. The union called for every violence incident to be recorded and a second adult in every cycle 1 classroom, criticizing the planned 2028 pilot as insufficient. It warned the Alpha project—letting pupils start literacy in French or German—was expanding without proof it improves outcomes and demanded greater transparency on pilot results. Citing poor PISA reading scores, the union blamed heavy smartphone use and unstrategic tablet adoption, and proposed national phone rules and a mandatory extracurricular hour to boost wellbeing and reduce screen dependence.
