Firefighters have been tackling a new forest fire which broke out near Roquebrune-sur-Argens in the Var this afternoon. 80 firefighters and four water bombing aircraft were reportedly involved in attempting to extinguish the blaze in La Bouverie district. The fire has now been put out but pompiers were still on the scene late this afternoon to guard against any return of the fire.
Meanwhile, five forest massifs in the Var are at “Severe” level of risk of fire today. The Prefecture of the Var publishes a map every day showing the fire risk levels. The map can be found at the Prefecture’s website http://www.var.gouv.fr/acces-aux-massifs-forestiers-du-var-a2898.html
Three men have been placed in police custody after a fight broke out between two groups of people in the early hours of Saturday morning in Juan les Pins. Three officers were injured in the brawl which soon became widespread involving 150 people. The police, who believe it involved mainly people coming out of clubs and bars, are viewing video surveillance footage. Two of the three men placed in custody are appearing before a court today.
The Mirandole beach in Vallauris-Golfe-Juan has remained closed this afternoon pending the results of tests on the bathing water. The beach was closed yesterday by the authorities because of suspected pollution. New test samples were taken this morning and the results are expected shortly.
An 88 year old man has died in the sea near Saint-Raphael this morning. His body was recovered off the Arène Grosse beach in Boulouris. Rescuers were unable to revive the man, who is believed to have been from Italy.
A fisherman from Nice got a surprise when he landed an old ammunition shell in his nets this afternoon. It’s thought that the shell may date from the Second World War. He alerted authorities who dispatched a bomb disposal team.
Restoration work on Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris has got underway again today after being halted for almost a month. The suspension in works was due to the risk of lead contamination. Special procedures, such as disposable garments and showers, have now been put in place to protect workers at the site and the labour inspectorate have given permission for work to resume.
France says it's ready to take 40 migrants from the 107 remaining on a rescue ship stranded off the coast of Italy, where the interior minister Matteo Salvini has refused to allow it to dock. The 40 migrants selected by France are “in need of protection”, according to the French foreign ministry. On Sunday, some of the remaining migrants jumped into the sea in a desperate effort to reach the Italian shore, some two weeks after they were denied safe harbour by Salvini.
BUSINESS
The US government has confirmed that a ban on Chinese technology company Huawei will not come into force for another 90 days. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said the delay was to help existing customers. However, he also said additional Huawei subsidiaries would be added to the entity list, which is Washington's economic blacklist that restricts trade with US companies.
Inflation in the Eurozone fell to 1% in July, according to the Eurostat agency, falling below the European Central Bank's 2% target. Inflation was 2.2% in July last year.
Uber has appointed a new General Manager for the UK and Ireland. Melinda Roylett is the former head of Europe at digital payment company Square. Transport for London rejected Uber’s licence renewal in 2017 but it was granted a probation period of 15 months which expires on 25 September.
New data has shown that Japanese exports fell for an eighth month in July. Exports to China, which is Japan's top trading partner, shrank by 9.3% year-on-year in July.
SPORT
Football...Bayern Munich have signed Philippe Coutinho from Barcelona on a season-long loan deal which includes an option to buy. Bayern Munich will pay 8.5m euros to take the player on loan while the option to buy is reportedly 120m euros. They will also pay his salary during the loan period.
Cricket… England have named an unchanged squad for the third Ashes Test against Australia. The third test starts this coming Thursday at Headingley.
Tennis… Andy Murray is playing his opening match in the Winston-Salem Open today. Murray says he is hoping “to get through a few matches” in the tournament, after deciding not to compete in the US Open this year. His first match is against American player Tennys Sandgren.
Rugby Union...Ulster forward Marcell Coetzee has been ruled out of South Africa's squad for the Rugby World Cup with an ankle injury. He hurt his ankle and suffered a blow to the head during the Springboks' warm-up win over Argentina in Pretoria. He's expected to be out for 12 weeks.
Cycling...Britain's Rachel Atherton will not defend her downhill mountain-bike World Championship title in Canada after suffering an Achilles injury. Atherton ruptured her Achilles tendon in training last month.
Taxi drivers across France remain mobilized for a fourth consecutive day, as tensions rise ahead of a high-stakes meeting scheduled for Saturday at th...
Read More
A new law passed by the French Parliament on the 21st of May, will ban telemarketing calls without prior consumer consent, aiming to protect people fr...
Read More
French President Emmanuel Macron's political party, Renaissance, has proposed banning those under the age of 15 in France from wearing the Muslim head...
Read More
The Alpes-Maritimes department has once again been placed on a yellow thunderstorm alert. While the morning will see some clear spells, conditions are...
Read More
After deadly storms have killed three people in the Var, local mayors are calling for solidarity and urgent action on climate change. ...
Read More
