Evening Update Friday 19 June 2020

Part of the Moulins district of Nice has been cordoned off after gunshots were heard this morning. Police have been searching the area for possible victims and identity checks have been carried out.

Large scale searches are underway in Dijon after recent violence in the city. About 140 CRS officers searched premises in the Gresilles district this morning. The Prefect of the Côte-d'Or said that the operations were aimed at searching for weapons, ammunition and narcotics. Four of the six people from the Chechen community who were arrested yesterday have had their custody extended, according to the local prosecutor.

Eighty Eight coronavirus clusters have been detected in the Ile-de-France since the beginning of deconfinement. The director of the regional health service said that half of those clusters are now regarded as "closed" but the other half are still active. He said that the sources of contamination have mostly been in collective accomodation, such as hostels occupied by workers, and religious communities.

The body of a man missing in the Var has been found. The 31 year old had been descending the Jabron river, which is a tributary of the Verdon river, near Trigance on June 6 when he went missing. The High Mountain Gendarmerie Platoon located his body in the river.

Three minors have appeared before a juvenile judge after a fight in Grasse. An altercation took place in the early hours of June 6 at a bus stop at Les Fleurs de Grasse in which two people were injured, one of them suffering serious head injuries after being hit by a bottle. Two people were remanded in custody by the court, with the third being released under judicial supervison.

One person has been seriously injured after a road accident in Flayosc in the Var this morning. A utility vehicle was involved in a collision with a refuse collection truck on the RD557 in which the driver of the refuse truck was thrown from his vehicle. Although suffering serious injuries, his life is not thought to be in danger. Elsewhere in the Var, a 60 year old motorcyclist was seriously injured this morning in Saint-Maxime. Ten firefighters and four emergency vehicles attended the accident and the injured motorcyclist was taken to Grasse Hospital.

A resident of an apartment block in Sanary in the Var was forced to jump from their first floor apartment when fire broke out last night. Firefighters extinguished the fire after about an hour. Two people are being rehoused by the local municipality. The person who jumped didn't suffer any injuries.

One of the great ceremonial occasions of Monaco has resumed today. The changing of the guard ceremony at the palace in Monaco took place this morning for the first time since March when it was suspended because of confinement measures. The ceremony, featuring les Carabiniers du Prince, has taken place daily since the 19th century except for the recent confinement period and a period during the First World War.

 

BUSINESS

The UK's public debt has gone over 100% of GDP as a result of record government borrowing in the month of May. It's the first time since 1963 that public debt has been greater than the size of the whole UK economy. The largest figure recorded in modern times in the UK was 248% of GDP in the 1946-47 year, just after the second world war. Meanwhile, figures released today by the French statistics agency INSEE show that French public debt reached 101.2% of GDP at the end of March, a rise of 3.1% from the end of December 2019.

UK retail sales increased by 12% in May compared to April. Sales at household goods stores, such as hardware, furniture and paint shops, increased by 42% as lockdown measures were eased. However, sales still remain well below the figures before lockdown began. Meanwhile, in Australia, retail sales had their biggest month on month increase in 38 years in May. According to preliminary seasonally adjusted figures, sales rose by 16.3% in the month.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has said that the country is suffering an ongoing cyber attack. He said the cyber attacks were state sponsored and cover "all levels of government" as well as essential services and businesses. He said no major personal data breaches had been made.He didn't name the state involved in the attacks and said that "malicious" activity was being seen globally and was not unique to Australia.

 

SPORT

Football... There’s a full programme in the English Premier League this weekend with two games tonight. Norwich play Southampton and Spurs host Manchester United. On Saturday Watford play Leicster.Brighton host Arsenal.West Ham play Wolves and Bournemouth host Crystal Palace. On Sunday Newcastle play Sheffield United.Aston Villa play Chelsea and Everton are at home to Liverpool. Manchester City play Burnley on Monday.

The English Football League have today confirmed the schedule for the Championship play-offs. The first legs will be on Sunday 26 and Monday 27 July, with the second legs on Wednesday 29 and Thursday 30 July. The final is scheduled to take place at Wembley on Tuesday 4 August.

In Spain, La Liga have released viewing figures for the first matches to be staged behind closed doors. International figures were up by 48% for the first round compared to the average over the prior 27 rounds. South Africa in particluar saw a big rise, with a 210% increase in viewers.

Athletics... Organisers of the London Marathon say they haven't "given up hope" of holding the race in October. Race director Hugh Brasher said that he "hopes that the world will have found a way through coronavirus" by that time. The event has already been pushed back to October from its original date in April. Organisers are scheduled to give a further update on 28 July.

 

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