The French government has delayed it's announcement on pension reforms until next month. President Macron said this morning that the announcement, which was due to take place this coming Thursday, will now be made on 10 January. He said that the extended period would enable political and union leaders who have recently assumed office to join the discussion about reforms.
The trial of those alleged to have been involved in the Nice attack of July 2016 has ended in Paris. All but one of the seven defendants present gave a final statement to the court this morning. The special assize court has withdrawn to deliberate on the verdicts, which are expected to be delivered towards the end of the day tomorrow.
According to reports in French media, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin has been in touch with local prefects regarding security around places of worship over the holiday season. He has asked prefects to place police officers in front of Christian and Jewish places of worship. He called for strong vigilance because of what he said is still a very high level of terrosist threat.
Meteo France have yellow warnings in force for snowy and icy conditions in the Alpes-Maritimes from late this evening to late tomorrow morning, with snow possible above 500 metres.
The snowfall will be good news for many of the regions ski resorts, including Valberg which is at about 1,700 metres and opens for the season this coming Saturday, 17 December.
A man is in a serious condition in hospital after falling on Mont Ventoux in the Vaucluse department. The man in his twenties reportedly slid three hundred metres down a slope before falling vertically for seven metres in icy conditions. A helicopter was deployed as part of the rescue operation and the man was taken to hospital in Marseille.
An apartment block in Nice was evacuated because of a fire early this morning. Nobody was injured in the blaze which broke out at a building in the Cap Fleurie district but several garages were destroyed.
The M2205 road in the Tinee valley is set to reopen this evening after being cut by a landslide on Friday. An alternating traffic system will be put in place.
In Monaco, the new Cap Fleuri Residence has been inaugurated by HSH Prince Albert II. The residence is part of the gerontological project developed to face the challenge of the aging of the population.The objectives are to offer appropriate medical and nursing care, to provide high-level medical and nursing expertise and to delay the loss of autonomy as much as possible or to support it. 78 residents will be accomodated and 95 professionals will work in the building.
BUSINESS
New figures have revealed that the UK economy shrank by 0.3% between August and October. Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said that the figures confirm that it "is a very challenging economic situation" in the UK and across the world "and it will get worse before it gets better." Economic activity in the UK slowed across all the main sectors including production, construction and services.
Microsoft has announced a ten year strategic partnership with the London Stock Exchange. As part of the deal, Microsoft will buy a 4% stake in the Exchanage as well as providing data analytics and cloud technology.
Two coal fired electricity plants in the UK are being readied to be brought into use. National Grid said that it has asked the owner of two plants near Selby in North Yorkshire to begin warming them up in case electricity supplies to the UK are disrupted because of the cold weather.
SPORT
Cricket... England have beaten Pakistan in the second Test by 26 runs to take the series. Mark Wood took three crucial wickets on the fourth day.
Olympics.. Kenya's Olympic 800m champion David Rudisha has been involved in a plane crash but is unharmed. The plane which was also carrying five other people crash landed in south-east Kenya. Rushida had been attending the Annual Masai Olympics event at the Kimana Wildlife Sanctuary.
WORLD CUP REPORT
It's getting to the closing stages of the competition in Quatar. The first semi-final is tomorrow evening between Argentina and Croatia. Then on Wednesday its France against Morocco. Kick off for both of those matches is 8pm our time. The winner of each match will meet in the final on Sunday afternoon but there'll be a play off match for third place on Saturday.
The Côte d'Azur is on alert for a surge in imported cases of dengue fever. Since the beginning of 2024, a record 1,679 imported cases have been record...
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The post-mortem will take place next Monday for a 33-year-old man whose body was recently found in the Var after being missing for more than a month....
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French scientists have been developing technological tools for the past four years to help athletes optimize their training for the Paris 2024 Olympic...
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Nice airport says as many as 60% of flights will be cancelled tomorrow due to a nationwide strike by air traffic controllers....
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After eight months of work and several sea trials, the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle has begun a six-week operation in the Mediterranean, ...
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