The week ahead: December 2-9
A look at what’s coming up on the East Coast and around the world.
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- Xavier Bettel, 40, currently mayor of the city of Luxembourg, said on November 29 he had agreed coalition terms with the Socialist and Green parties to lead a new government, replacing 19-year veteran Jean-Claude Juncker as prime minister. Bettel is expected to take the oath of office on December 4, with the list of ministers to follow. ANTHONY DEHEZ/AFP/Getty
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- A new version of the classic musical “The Sound of Music,” is set for U.S. television next week and American country singer Carrie Underwood will star as the aspiring nun who brings song into the home of a strict Austrian widower. Reuters file photo by Eric Henderson
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- Kevin Radtke from Cologne , Germany poses for pictures for a friend on a Red Snail Sculpture at the Rumsey Playfield in Central Park in New York on November 21. Galleria Ca d’Oro and Villa Firenze Foundation as presenting “Eight Giant Red Snails” as part of the REgeneration Art Project. The red snails inhabit Central Park from November 9 through December 3 before moving to Columbus Circle from December 5 to January 6, 2014. TIMOTHY CLARY/AFP/Getty Images ORG
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- A member of staff pushes a trolley as she collects orders at the Amazon fulfilment centre in Peterborough, central England November 28, 2013. The centre is preparing for Cyber Monday, which is considered the busiest day for online shopping in Britain and will fall on Monday, December 2 this year. Reuters photo by Phil Noble
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- Texas Gov. Rick Perry has planned a campaign-style tour in South Carolina next week, according to CNN. Like Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley, Perry faces an uphill climb for national attention: A recent “Crossfire” appearance featuring both governors received lower ratings than a later appearance by Maryland Congressman Andy Harris. Getty Images file photo by Win McNamee
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- A photo taken on November 29, 2013 in Paris shows a Kachina Angwushahai-i mask, circa 1860-1870, which will be auctioned December 9. Activists vowed last week to block the proposed sale of sacred objects originating from Arizona’s Hopi tribe at the Paris auction, just months after a similar controversy stoked outrage. Tribal people’s advocacy group Survival International said it would go to court in the French capital on December 2, 2013 in an attempt to halt the sale of around 25 objects, known as katsinam, revered by the Hopi tribe. The sale involved dozens of striking, brightly colored mask-like kachina visages and headdresses that the 18,000-strong Hopi say are blessed with divine spirits. AFP PHOTO / ARNAUD GUILLAUME
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- A worker applies a sticker of the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) logo onto a van’s window during preparations for the UMNO annual assembly in Kuala Lumpur. The assembly will take place from December 3-7. Reuters photo by Samsul Said.
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- A woman polishes rims at the Essen Motor Show on November 29, 2013 at the fair grounds in Essen, western Germany. The motor show presents motorcycles, cars and tuning parts from around 600 exhibiting companies from different countries. Essen Motor Show takes place from November 30 until December 8, 2013. PATRIK STOLLARZ/AFP/Getty Images ORG XMIT: 84
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- South Korean children wearing Santa Claus outfits hold bells during a ceremony to prepare charity pots for a year-end fund-raising campaign at Seoul Plaza in Seoul on November 27. The Salvation Army will launch its year-end charity campaign for poor people from December 2. AFP/Getty Images
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- Dijon’s mayor and senator Francois Rebsamen stands in front of Miss France 2014 contestants on November 23, 2013 at the city hall in Dijon. The beauty contest will take place on December 7, 2013. JEFF PACHOUD/AFP/Getty Images
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- In this photograph taken November 12, Indian ‘Aam Aadmi Party’ leader Arvind Kejriwal takes part in a campaign rally in New Delhi. On December 4, the city of 16 million will elect a new state assembly, with Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi (“Common Man”) Party threatening a political earthquake only a year after it was formed. MANAN VATSYAYANA/AFP/Getty Images
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- Workers secure the U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree into the ground on the west side of the Capitol building November 25. The second tallest tree ever used at the Capitol, the 88-foot Engelmann spruce is from the Colville National Forest in Washington state. The tree will be decorated with approximately 5,000 ornaments, handcrafted by Washingtonians to reflect this year’s theme, “Sharing Washington’s Good Nature,” and be lit from dusk until 11 p.m. starting December 3. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images)
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- Assistant Lucy Bishop displays the matching headband for Princess Diana’s Emanuel ball gown from the 1986 ‘Diaghilev’ collection (R) at Kerry Taylor Auctions in London November 27. The dress is expected to earn 50-80,000 pounds (US$ 80-130,000) when it goes on auction December 3. Reuters photo by Suzanne Plunkett
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Luxembourg City’s mayor Xavier Bettel is slated to become the country’s next prime minister, following the end of coalition talks on Friday that usher in a Liberal government for the first time in decades.
Bettel’s swearing-in on December 4 will be part of a week that includes a meeting of a national Malay organization, a campaign-style visit to South Carolina by Texas Governor Rick Perry and the lighting of the Capitol Christmas tree in Washington.
Stories related to this gallery:
Liberals to lead Luxembourg as coalition talks succeed
Underwood getting ‘hate tweets’ over ‘Sound of Music’ role
When life spirals out of control, Salvation Army helps provide stability
In the Gandhi political bastion, India’s rural poor eye Modi’s promise
The agreement between Bettel’s Democratic Party, the Socialists and the Greens brings an end to the 19 years in office of Jean-Claude Juncker, the European Union’s longest-serving head of government.
“After 175 hours, we’re done with the coalition talks,” Bettel said on his Twitter account.
Juncker, who also headed the Eurogroup of euro zone finance ministers until early 2013, will continue to lead his centre-right Christian Social People’s Party (CSV) in opposition.
The CSV has ruled the country since 1979 and has only been out of power for five years since the end of World War Two.
The coalition agreement will be presented to the respective party congresses next week, after which the ministers will be announced and the new government can be sworn in.
(Reporting by Robert-Jan Bartunek; editing by David Evans; additional editing by Baltimore Sun staff)
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