Evening Update Monday 27 May

In a major drugs seizure, French customs and Navy personnel have seized over 7 tonnes of cannabis resin. The drugs were seized from a boat in the Mediterranean and the haul was unloaded over the weekend at the naval base in Toulon. Three alleged trafficers of Turkish nationality were detained in the operation.

A man has died in Sainte-Maxime today in a work accident. Several workers were unloading glass windows from a vehicle when one of them fell onto one of the workers. The man was reported to have gone into cardiac arrest and died despite the efforts of emergency services to revive him. Several of his colleagues were treated for shock.

Customs officers in Marseilles have seized 55,000 packets of contraband cigarettes.  According to reports, three men of Armenian origin have been placed in custody and several weapons were also seized in the operation.  The cigarettes were seized from a warehouse storage company.

Several arrests have been made in connection with the parcel bomb which injured 13 people in Lyon on Friday. A 24 year old man, who is suspected of being the perpetrator of the attack was arrested this morning.  His mother and an alleged accomplice were also taken into custody.  According to reports, the suspected perpetrator is a computer science student of Algerian nationality.

A fourth French national has been sentenced to death by a court in Iraq for belonging to the so-called Islamic State terrorist group. Three French nationals were also sentenced to death yesterday and reportedly have 30 days in which to appeal their sentence.


BUSINESS

Fiat Chrysler has proposed a merger with French carmaker Renault.  According to reports, if the plan went ahead the combined business would be 50% owned by Fiat shareholders and 50% by Renault shareholders. Fiat Chrysler said the merger would create a global automotive leader, with 8.7 million in vehicle sales. The proposal will now be considered by the Renault board.

The Swedish government is embarking on a tour of the UK to reassure Swedish expatriates and businesses about the impact of Brexit.  A specially equipped bus, referred to as a pop-up embassy on wheels, will tour the country, including visits to Brighton, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Manchester and Cardiff.

 

SPORT

Cricket…England bowler Mark Wood will be fit to face South Africa in the opening game of the World Cup on Thursday. He went off in the warm-up game against Australia on Saturday with a foot problem.
England have beaten Afghanistan by 9 wickets at the Oval today in an official World Cup warm-up game.  Afghanistan were all out for 160. England were 161 for 1 in reply.

Football.. The Champions League playoff between Aston Villa and Derby is taking place at Wembley today.  Final score Villa 2 Derby 1.

Tennis…Caroline Wozniacki is out of the French Open after a first round defeat to world number 68 Veronika Kudermetova. The Danish 13th seed lost 0-6 6-3 6-3. Meanwhile, two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova has withdrawn from the French Open with an arm injury. Local player Alizé Cornet, who is from Nice, is also out of the French open after being defeated in two sets by 21 year old Slovakian player Viktoria Kuzmova.

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