The French Ministry of the Interior has announced that over 147,000 law enforcement and security personnel will be mobilized this evening throughout France. The personnel are being put in place to attempt to ensure the security of New Year’s Eve revellers. Locally, residents and visitors are reminded that the possession and use of fireworks is strictly prohibited throughout the Alpes Maritimes until the 2nd of January. The Prefecture says it introduced the temporary ban to prevent any disturbance to public order and any serious injury to people during the holiday season.
The weekend saw a lower turnout amongst the Yellow Vest movement with fewer protests in Paris and elsewhere in France, according to reports. Certain members of the movement say the decline is only due to the holiday season and predict a high turnout in January. Despite measures by President Macron to calm the movement new protests are expected on the Champs-Elysees this evening, amid a lights display that typically attracts large crowds of spectators. Protests are also expected in Nice this evening at Place Massena.
Police are searching for a 74 year old man who went missing from a retirement home in Falicon. Jean-Pierre Plas apparently left the Villa Falicon at around midday yesterday and hasn’t been seen since. He is described as being of medium build, 1.8 metres tall with white hair and a beard. He was wearing a blue T-shirt and jeans when he disappeared.
As from tomorrow, plastic drinking straws and stirrers will be banned in Monaco. The new measures are part of Monaco’s continuing policy of reducing pollution caused by plastics. Many restaurants and bars in the Principality are already offering customers products made of biodegradable materials.
BUSINESS
The US ambassador to the UK, Woody Johnson, has warned that Donald Trump's offer of a "quick, massive, bilateral trade deal" will not be possible if Theresa May's EU withdrawal agreement is approved. President Trump had previously said her Brexit proposal sounded like a "great deal for the EU".
Many stock markets have suffered their worst year since the financial crisis. The FTSE 100 closed earlier today at 6,728, meaning that it’s down about 12 per cent since January 1st this year. The Dow Jones in the US is down about 7.1 per cent since the beginning of the year and the Nikkei 225 in Japan is down about 14.8 per cent.
SPORT
Tennis….Roger Federer and Serena Williams are meeting on court for the first time at the Hopman Cup today when Switzerland face the USA in Perth. They are playing on opposite sides in the mixed doubles. Federer and Williams, who are both 37 years old, have won a combined 43 Grand Slam titles.
Football…The Premier League says its proposed new chief executive, Susanna Dinnage, has told them that she will not be taking up the position. She was named as Richard Scudamore's replacement in November and was due to take up the role early in 2019. Dinnage will stay at media organisation Discovery, where she was the global president of the Animal Planet channel.
Arsenal manager Unai Emery has been fined £8,000 by the Football Association for kicking a bottle which hit a Brighton fan during last week's Premier League match. The FA charged Emery with improper conduct following the incident on 26 December. Emery apologised shortly after the incident.
Former Liverpool and England player Peter Thompson has died at the age of 76. Thompson was signed by legendary Liverpool manager Bill Shankley for the sum of 37,000 pounds in 1963. He went on to play in 416 matches for the club, including the match in which Liverpool won the FA Cup for the first time in 1965.
Speed restrictions are in place on all major roads in the Alpes-Maritimes today because of a smog alert....
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A Marseille magistrate has been sentenced on the 17th of June in Nîmes for repeatedly avoiding motorway tolls using fake license plates. ...
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A major police stop-and-search operation along France's borders is being carried out today, involving 4,000 police officers, gendarmes and customs off...
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SFR has announced automatic compensation of 100GB of free mobile data for affected customers following a major network outage on the 16th of June....
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French President Emmanuel Macron will chair a high-level Security and Defence Council meeting at the Élysée Palace today Wednesday, June 18th at 4pm, ...
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