Evening Update Monday 24 April 2023

The price of medical consultations in France is set to rise. Consultations will rise by 1 euro 50 cents by the end of the year after an arbitration decision was reached this morning. It follows the failure of earlier negotations between L'Assurance Maladie and liberal doctors. The increase will be covered by L'Assurance Maladie.

Nice Mayor Christian Estrosi and Alpes Maritimes deputy Eric Ciotti have attended a ceremony this morning to mark Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day. The day is held annually to commemorate the victims of the Armenian genocide of 1915. The secretary general of the Var prefecture attended a ceremony in the department.

The French government has announced that its embassy in Sudan has closed. There has been violence between Sudan's army and paramilitaries for over a week. France joins a growing list of countries which have evacuated diplomats and citizens from Sudan's capital Khartoum as fighting continues into a second week. More than 1,000 EU nationals have been evacuated from the country. The US has airlifted embassy staff out of Sudan by helicopter, but says it will not evacuate US citizens living in the country. The UK evacuated diplomats and their families yesterday, but an estimated 4,000 British citizens remain in the country.

The "northern lights" were visible in the Haut-Alpes last night for the first time since 2003. The shades of red and purple in the sky were caused by geomagnetic storms as a result of solar flares of electrically charged particles hitting earth. It's very unusual for the northern lights to be seen at such southerly latitudes.

 

BUSINESS

Retailer Bed Bath & Beyond has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the United States. The company says it will implement an orderly wind down of its business and close all 475 of its remaining stores by the end of June. It said that it was seeking buyers for some or all of its assets.

UK restaurant chain Prezzo will close a third of its restaurants after being hit by rising costs. The business said that it's closing 46 loss-making sites where footfall is still at pre-pandemic levels, a move which will put 810 staff at risk of redundancy.

 

SPORT

Cricket... Ireland have had a good first day in the second test against Sri Lanka. Andrew Balbirnie scored 95 to help the side post 319-4.

Rugby Union… Sides from the Championship will join Premiership sides in a revamped Premiership Rugby Cup next season. It's been announced that the 24 teams will be split into four pools of six with five group matches, followed by semi-finals featuring each pool winner next February with the final in March.

 

 

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