Animal welfare campaigners are demanding answers after a killer whale died this week at Marineland. Inouk, a 25-year-old orca, is the second whale to die at the water park in five months, after 12-year-old Moana, who died of septicemia. Marineland said in a statement that the park's caretakers and keepers were in shock. An autopsy will be carried out in the coming days to determine the exact cause of death. The One Voice animal welfare association says it's been sounding the alarm about the health of the park's killer whales for several years. It's planning a demonstration outside Marineland tomorrow. Marineland was due to resume its killer whale shows this weekend, but that has now been put on hold.
Friends and colleagues have launched a fundraising campaign for the family of a construction worker who was killed in a building site accident in Nice last week. The 50-year-old died when he was hit in the head by a gas cylinder that had fallen from the seventh floor of the building. The online fundraiser has so far collected more than 500 euros in donations.
There's been a major personal data breach at Fréjus town hall - after the pay slips of more than a thousand workers were accidentally made available to all staff. An IT hiccup meant that, instead of every municipal employee receiving their individual payslip privately, they were emailed a link that contained the payslips of everyone employed by the town council - all 1,298 pages. From the chief of the municipal police to teachers and street cleaners, the salaries of everyone working for the local authorities in Fréjus were visible for all staff to see, including details of any bonuses, entertainment expenses and how much tax was being withheld at source. Fréjus confirmed the breach, adding that the payslips were only visible on an internal secure platform, accessible only by municipal staff - and not to the wider public. It said it quickly fixed the error as soon as it became aware. An internal investigation is under way.
United Airlines has announced it's resuming its direct daily flights from Nice to New York a month earlier than first planned. The first United flight to Newark airport will take off from Nice at about midday this Sunday. The daily link will run until the end of October. Delta Airlines is also resuming its daily connection to New York JFK from tomorrow.
And you might have noticed that several of Nice's iconic blue searont chairs have gone missing. Nice city hall says the chairs on the Quai des Etats Unis have been temporarily removed as a safety precaution, to allow room for three major events on the seafront this spring. The area will host the No Finish Line running event next week, the Legends of Nice car parade in mid-April and a half-marathon on 21st April. Nice says there's no need to worry - the blue chairs will be back to enjoy from the end of April.
BUSINESS
The collapse of a bridge in the US city of Baltimore will result in the largest single marine insurance loss ever. Six people were presumed dead after a ship crashed into the bridge, and divers have recovered two bodies. Experts say the damages could cost as much as $3bn.
The chief executive of Thames Water has refused to rule out bill increases of up to 40% for customers as the troubled company tries to secure its future. It comes as the business, which serves nearly a quarter of the UK's population, struggles with more than £15bn of debt and the huge interest payments required to service it. Yesterday, its situation got worse when it was revealed that a £500m funding injection from shareholders expected by the end of this month would not be forthcoming.
SPORT
Tennis - Carlos Alcaraz was beaten by Grigor Dimitrov in the quarter-finals of the Miami Open. Dimitrov won 6-2 6-4 to set up a last-four meeting with Germany's fourth seed Alexander Zverev. Alcaraz had been aiming to become the first man to win the 'Sunshine Double' - back-to-back titles at Indian Wells and Miami - since Roger Federer in 2017.
Meanwhile, Andy Murray will miss the Monte Carlo Masters and the BMW Open in Munich following a consultation with medical experts. There is no clear timescale for Andy Murray's return after Britain's former world number one ruptured ankle ligaments earlier in March. The three-time Grand Slam champion has previously said he does not plan to "play much past this summer".
Football - In the Premier League at the weekend tomorrow Newcastle are at home to West Ham, Bournemouth play Everton , Chelsea face Burnley, Nottingham Forest play Crystal Palace, Sheffield United are at home to Fulham, Tottenham play Luton, Aston Villa face Wolves and Brentford are at home to Manchester United.
On Sunday Liverpool are at home to Brighton and Manchester City will play Premier League leaders Arsenal.
In local football, AS Monaco are away at Metz tomorrow with a 5pm kick-off. OGC Nice host Nantes on Sunday at 3pm.
TGV services across much of France are gradually improving after several arson attacks affected the network in the early hours of this morning....
Read More
Paris is getting ready to shut down it’s city centre and its airspace as well as mobilise 45,000 police and several army units in what has been billed...
Read More
Lucie Castets, the left-wing candidate for Prime Minister, reiterated her desire to lead the government during a media appearance on July 25. A poll s...
Read More
French President Emmanuel Macron is preparing to welcome world leaders to the Olympic games opening ceremony tomorrow night and has been visiting key ...
Read More
France will host the 2030 Winter Olympics in the Alpes, conditional on state and regional financial guarantees. President Macron confirmed his full su...
Read More
