A large brush fire has broken out this afternoon near Saint-Mandrier in the Var. Smoke from the fire is visible across a wide area. About 160 firefighters are on site and nearby homes have been evacuated. Early this afternoon the area consumed by the fire was estimated at 30 hectares. Today the risk of fire is considered severe in six mountain massifs of the Var, including in the Corniche des Maures, where the fire broke out today.
Investigations are continuing into a shooting in which 3 people died in the Var last night. The attack took place at a petrol station in Ollioules, west of Toulon. Reports say that one victim was local to the area and a second victim was from La Seyne-sur-Mer. Authorities are reportedly working on the theory that the shootings were a settling of accounts. The third victim, a 57 year old female tourist who was riding a scooter with her husband, was apparently caught up in the attack. Her husband is in hospital in a serious condition.
A fire has broken out in Tarascon in a scrapyard containing a thousand cars. The blaze broke out just before lunchtime and pompiers have been attempting to stop it from spreading to nearby buildings. Reports say that eighty firefighters with 40 emergency vehicles have been on the scene.
A 12 year old is in hospital in Nice after a serious diving accident in Corsica over the weekend. The boy was on holiday when he dived into shallow water and hit his head on the sea bed. He was rushed to the hospital in Bastia where he was treated in neurosurgery and then airlifted to hospital in Nice. The accident is the latest in a series of similar diving accidents in the south of France over the last few weeks.
A passanger on a motorbike has died after a serious accident on the A57 motorway earlier today. The crash happened between Cuers and La Farlède at around midday.
Traffic has been disrupted in the west of Nice this afternoon after a truck became wedged under a railway bridge at St. Augustine. Train services were also disrupted.
A vehicle caught fire on the A8 motorway near Trets, between Bignoles and Aix-en-Provence during this morning’s rush hour. Traffic was reduced to two lanes while firefighters extinguished the blaze.
A man has appeared in court accused of starting several recent fires. He was arrested in Six Fours and held at the police station in Sanary before appearing in court yesterday.
BUSINESS
Just Eat has agreed a deal in principle to combine with Dutch rival Takeaway.com to form one of the world's largest food delivery firms. The joint group reportedly would be valued at about £8.2bn, and bring together businesses that process 360 million annual orders worth €7.3bn
Ryanair has reported a 21% fall in profits after tax for the three months to the end of June. It blamed a 6% fall in the average ticket price. The company said that there was particular price pressure in Germany . Sales in the period rose 11%.
DBS, one of the biggest banks in Asia, has released its latest financial results showing a sharp rise in second quarter earnings. Net profit increased 17% from a year ago to 1.6bn Singapore dollars, that about 1.2bn US dolllars.
SPORT
Football...Former Manchester United and France defender Patrice Evra has announced his retirement. The 38-year-old intends to move into coaching. Evra made almost 700 appearances for eight different clubs, including Monaco.
Manchester United striker Romelu Lukaku has been left out of the 26-man squad travelling for tomorrow’s friendly against Kristiansund. He was part of the pre-season tour of Australia and the Far East, but didn’t play because of injury.
Athletics...Olympic champion Dalilah Muhammad has set a new 400m hurdles world record on the final day of the US National Championships in Iowa. The 29-year-old took more than a tenth of a second off the previous record that had stood for 16 years.
A Polish man in his forties has been hospitalized in Valence after enduring a harrowing journey between two TGV carriages from Paris. ...
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Cloudy with sunny intervals. Light rain is forecast for the Var region with moderate to strong winds. Highs of 17 degrees in Monaco and Saint-Tropez, ...
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White smoe Is billowing from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel meaning A new pope has just been chosen! 133 cardinals have gathered in the Sistine cha...
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No new pope has been elected yet, as black smoke signalled another inconclusive vote during the conclave in the morning of Thursday the 8th of May. ...
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Unions at the SNCF have announced new strike action for June 4th, 5th, and 11th, following ongoing disruptions to train services in France during the ...
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