The body of a fisherman has been recovered after he went missing on the Etang-de-Berre in the Bouches-du-Rhone earlier today. According to local reports, two people were on a boat when it overturned. The second person was rescued. Helicopter searches had been taking place this afternoon to try to locate the missing man. His body was discovered near the entrance to the port of Martigues.
A minister in the French government has resigned today. Caroline Cayeux said that The High Authority for the Transparency of Public Life had told her that it considered her declaration of assets to be undervalued. She was Minister Delegate for local communities. The post is being taken over by rural affairs minister Dominique Faure who will continue with her current duties.
The Var is under a Meteo France yellow warning for storms and also for heavy rain and flooding until 10pm this evening.
The Monaco government is renewing the operation of Carlo gift vouchers after the end of the year. The government said that since its launch in December 2020, the system of gift vouchers spent through the Carlo application has met with great success with 450 partner merchants now signed up to the scheme. The application processed more than 18 million euros in transactions between April 2021 and November 2022, with an average of 1,040 transactions per day. These purchases generated 1.2 million euros in “cashback” rewards for consumers, which were re-injected into the local economy.
BUSINESS
UK retail sales declined by 19% in the year to November according to a survey by the CBI. Businesses expect a similar rate of decline next month. The CBI said that retailers remain pessimistic about their business prospects for the next three months, which is reflected in declining employment numbers and deteriorating investment intentions.
Business leaders in the north of England are warning rail services could "collapse into utter chaos" by January unless the government takes action. Members of the Northern Powerhouse Partnership have written to ask the transport secretary to address a crisis they say is "wreaking havoc". Rail travel in northern England has been severely disrupted in recent months by strikes and cancellations.
SPORT
Cricket... Rutu-raj Gaik-wad has become the first cricketer to hit seven sixes in one over in a limited-overs match. He broke the record playing for Maha-rash-tra against Uttar Pradesh. The fifth of the sixes came off a no-ball, earning him an extra delivery.
WORLD CUP REPORT
There's been an upset this afternoon as South Korea were defeated by Ghana 3-2. Ghana are the lowest-ranked team at this year's World Cup.
Cameroon have drawn 3-3 against Serbia and have kept their hopes of reaching the World Cup last 16 alive. Also in Group G, Brazil take on Switzerland at 5pm our time. Later this evening Portugal take on Uraguay at 8pm our time.
Speed restrictions are in place on all major roads in the Alpes-Maritimes today because of a smog alert....
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A Marseille magistrate has been sentenced on the 17th of June in Nîmes for repeatedly avoiding motorway tolls using fake license plates. ...
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A major police stop-and-search operation along France's borders is being carried out today, involving 4,000 police officers, gendarmes and customs off...
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SFR has announced automatic compensation of 100GB of free mobile data for affected customers following a major network outage on the 16th of June....
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French President Emmanuel Macron will chair a high-level Security and Defence Council meeting at the Élysée Palace today Wednesday, June 18th at 4pm, ...
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