Covid-19 - 23 additional deaths from Covid-19 have been reported in France in the last 24 hours. The General Health Director announced a favourable situation with regards to the epidemic. Since the beginning of the pandemic Covid-19 has claimed 29,319 deaths in France with nearly 103,000 people being hospitalized including 18,141 in intensive care and 71,832 people have returned home.
Testing coronavirus – Meanwhile testing for coronavirus has begun in Nice with residents being offered free serological tests.
To benefit the testing the inhabitants of Nice must obtain an appointment via a form on the website www.despitagecovid19.nice.fr or by phone at 04.97.13.56.00, available Monday to Friday from 9h to 19h. You will also need to specify if you have ever had any symptoms and, if so, on what date.
Once your registration has been completed, you will receive confirmation by email or text within 24 hours indicating the day, the time slot, and the screening centre in which the blood test will take place. The wearing of a mask is compulsory, and you are required to come with your confirmation of appointment, ID and proof of address.
The tests are open to everybody over the age of 3 whose residence is located in Nice. The tests are completely anonymous, and the local council will not have access to the applicants' personal information.
800,000 jobs are expected to be lost in France - Bruno Le Maire, the French Minister of the Economy and Finance, has said that 800,000 jobs are expected to be lost in France in the coming months, which is about 2.8% of total French employment. The Minister was presenting the latest crisis budget to the Finance Committee of the National Assembly on Wednesday afternoon. The new measures increase emergency funding to 460 billion euros from the previous 400 billion announced in previous budgets. 45 billion euros is being allocated to support the most vulnerable. It's the third amending finance bill since the pandemic began.
Meanwhile French President Emmanuel Macron will address the nation at 8pm on Sunday. The reason for the address isn't known but it's thought that he may comment on the progress of deconfinement and on race issues.
Child left abandoned - Police in Toulon are actively looking for the mother of a 5-year-old boy who has been left abandoned. The boy was discovered by police at the shopping centre in La Valette-du-Var at the weekend. Anyone with any information concerning the whereabouts of the mother is invited to contact the police.
Police protest in Nice - Police have protested at Place Masséna in Nice. Officers say that they’re fed-up with the current accusations against police. Several police patrols gathered on Wednesday evening.
The protests come as accusations of police violence are increasing in France. A study however, published on Wednesday showed that a large majority of French people seem to maintain support for the police with 69% of respondents saying they trust the police.
65% of those polled said that they believed that police violence was linked to "the aggressive behavior of certain individuals", while 50% of them highlight "the increase in social tensions and protests in France”.
Banksy work found - Italian police have retrieved a Banksy work commemorating the victims of the November 2015 Paris terror attacks that was stolen from the Bataclan concert hall.
The work was found in an abandoned farmhouse in the Abruzzo region. The theft of Banksy's white stenciled, mourning girl sparked shock in France when it was cut out and taken in 2019.
Monaco Open Air Cinema – Monaco’s Open-Air Cinema is to reopen on Friday June 12th. All necessary health measures have been put in place to welcome cinema goers, with special rates on offer.
This Friday, spectators will be able to appreciate The Invisible Man, released last March.
Business
The Chair of the US Federal Reserve has said that the central bank will continue to support the economy for “as long as it takes”.
Jerome Powell said that the Fed would keep interest rates at near zero for the forseeable future but warned that the United States faces “a long road” to recovery.
In its quarterly economic outlook report published on Wednesday ,the Fed said that it expects the US economy to shrink by 6.5 percent this year and unemployment to be at 9.3 percent before dropping to 6.5 percent in 2021.
The US central bank slashed interest rates to near zero at the start of the pandemic and has pumped trillions of dollars into the financial system.
It’s also stepped in with programmes to lend to small and medium-sized businesses as well as buying corporate and municipal debt.
Analysts credit the Fed’s intervention with helping to drive the recent rally in financial markets which have rebounded strongly from the lows seen at the start of the coronavirus crisis.
The outgoing head of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) has said that firms do not have the resilience to cope with a no-deal Brexit as well as the coronavirus crisis.
Carolyn Fairburn likened a no-deal scenario to “setting the shed on fire ,while the house was in flames”.
Brexit negotiations between the UK and EU have hit an impasse with several sticking points and the chance of a no-deal at the end of the year looming.
Dame Carolyn said that British business is not ready to withstand the additional disruption of leaving the EU without a trade deal.She said that every penny that has been saved up and all the stockpiles prepared have been run down.
A spokesman for the government said that it aimed to strike a trade deal with the EU by the end of the year.
And-Shares in Tesla have surged past 1,000 dollars after the firm’s chief executive Elon Musk said that it was time to bring the Semi commercial truck to “volume production”.
The Class 8 electric truck had been due to go into production in 2019 but was delayed until 2021.
Mr Musk also hinted that Tesla is scouting US states for a site to build a new factory with Texas top of the list but with other states campaigning for the investment.
Investors are also anticipating that Tesla is about to unveil new “million mile” battery technology that could deliver longer life ,lower costs and better range for future Tesla vehicles.
Boxing-Promotor Eddie Hearn says that Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua have agreed “in principal” to a two fight deal to unify the world heavyweight division.
Joshua holds the WBA ,IBF and WBO belts while Fury is the WBC champion.
Hearn said that there was still a way to go before the fights happen as both men have mandatory challengers which need to be taken care of.
However , negotiations will continue to persuade the challengers to move aside and if that’s not possible then as long as both men come through those fights then the fight that everyone wants to see will be on.
Sport
Football-Liverpool and Everton will be allowed to play the Merseyside derby at Goodison Park on the 21st of June.
The match could be the first chance for Liverpool to claim the Premier League title but there are concerns that fans will gather outside the ground despite social distancing regulations.
The city’s ground safety advisory committee has now decided that both Liverpool and Everton can play their home games at Anfield and Goodison Park respectively and that neutral venues will not be required.
Formula 1-Mercedes have conducted a two day test at Silverstone with Valtteri Bottas and Lewis Hamilton driving a two year old car to shake out the cobwebs.
The test was allowed under F1 regulations and both men also practiced social-distancing protocols organised by the sport to ensure that races can be held safely.
The Formula 1 season will start in Austria next month with two races at the Red Bull Ring followed by the Hungarian Grand Prix and then back-to-back races at Silverstone.
Rugby Union-England’s rugby players are heading towards a significant legal dispute with clubs over salary cuts.
On Monday ,Premiership clubs voted unanimously to cut the salary cap by 1.4 million pounds from the 2021 season.
The Rugby Players’ Association says that its members will take legal action unless urgent talks are held on the matter.
The majority of players have already taken a 25 percent pay cut because of the financial impact of coronavirus.
Weather
Partially cloudy in coastal areas-thundery showers inland this afternoon and light ,variable winds.
Top temperatures 22-23 degrees.
Overnight lows of 17 degrees on the coast and 14 degrees inland with partially cloudy skies.
Friday and the start of the weekend-Mainly fine tomorrow with highs of 22-24.Turning showery again on Saturday with a high of 22.
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