Members of police unions have staged demonstrations in towns and cities across France today. They were protesting at charges being brought against a police officer who fatally shot two people in Paris on the 24th of April. The two were in a vehicle which evaded a checkpoint on the Pont Neuf. Several people reportedly received fines in Paris today for being involved in an unauthorized counter demonstration.
The French Ministry of Agriculture has said that a record 16 million poultry birds have been slaughtered because of avian flu since November. However, the ministry added that the number of cases is now declining.
One person has died in an explosion in the early hours of this morning at a house in the Bouches-du-Rhone. A man in his 50s died and three others were injured. A fire also broke out on the premises in the village of Allauch to the east of Marseille. An investigation is currently underway to establish the cause of the explosion and fire.
A private villa in a flood zone in Cannes is being demolished to create a water retention basin and a public green space. The building is located in a floodplain in the Impasse Nouvelle sector where water reached a height of one metre in the floods of October 2015. The Cannes Lerins Agglomeration acquired the property and the works, which started today, will help to prevent the risk of future flooding as well as providing a public green space.
A heavy goods vehicle overturned and shed its load this morning on a road near Vidauban. A contraflow was put in place on the RD48 while the lorry was moved.
Business
The European Commission has accused Apple of “abusing its dominant position in markets for mobile wallets on IOS devices. The Comission said that by limiting access to a standard technology used for contactless payments with mobile devices in stores apple restricts competition in the mobile wallets markets on IoS”. Margrethe Vestager, executive vice president of the European Commission for a Europe fit for the digital age said that “now Apple can answer it’s concerns”.
Australian airline Qantas has announced that is planning to start non-stop flights from Sydney to London and also to New York. The flights, using a new fleet of Airbus A350-1000 planes start at the end of 2025. The journey between London and Sydney is expected to take about 20 hours
Sport
Athletics... Olympic champion Mo Farah, who hasn’t raced since June last year, has finished second in a race in London today. He was competing in the Vitality London 10,000. The race the winner was Ellis Cross who won by 4 seconds.
Cycling.. British rider Mark Cavendish has been selected for the Giro d'Italia by his team Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl. Cavendish has won 15 giro stages so far in his career.
A motorcyclist is being treated for serious injuries in hospital after a road accident in Nice last night....
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