Prime Minister Jean Castex has said that the French government will move forward on several Covid-19 issues later this week. He said that after the Health Defence Council meeting scheduled for Wednesday, the government will release more details on subjects including the vaccination campaign over the summer, the vaccination of children and adolescents over 12 years old, and whether people who have already contracted Covid-19 need a second vaccine dose. Jean Castex and Health Minister Olivier Veran were visiting a vaccination centre in the Val-de-Marne department to mark vaccinations being opened to all adults from today.
Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire has said that France's public defecit is expected to reach 9.4% of GDP this year. The new figure represents another increase in the public defecit for 2021, which was previously estimated to reach 8.5% before being revised upwards to 9%. The Economy Minister said the upward revision is because of expenses incurred in fighting the pandemic.
The armed man on the run in the Dordogne has been captured by police. The former soldier, named as Terry Dupin, was wanted for allegedly shooting the new partner of his ex-girlfriend over the weekend and then shooting at police. The local prefect said that the suspect had been injured during his arrest this lunchtime but no police officers had suffered injuries.
Meteo France have a Yellow warning for storms in the Alpes-Maritimes until 8pm this evening and in the Var until 6pm. Most of those storms are expected to be inland, with clear skies expected on the coast this evening.
A Monegasque Language Competition began this morning at the Monaco town hall. Over the next three days, 59 students in total will be taking part in the test for all levels from CM2 to 3.
BUSINESS
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development has raised its forecast for global growth in 2021 to 5.8%, up from the 4.2% it predicted in December. The UK economy's recovery from the pandemic is set to be stronger than previously thought, with the OECD predicting growth of 7.2% in 2021, up from the estimate of 5.1% it made in March.
Hong Kong's Securities and Futures Commission has announced exemptions from coronavirus quarantine measures for senior bankers. Senior executives who are fully vaccinated can apply to be exempted from mandatory 21-day quarantine. Hong Kong has some of the world's strictest quarantine restrictions but authorities have said that slow vaccination uptake could hurt the city's position as a global financial centre.
An adviser to the UK government has said that the UK could be in the early stages of a third wave of Covid-19 infections. Speaking to the BBC, Cambridge University professor Ravi Gupta said that there has been exponential growth in the number of new cases and at least three-quarters of them are the new Indian variant. However, he said the number of people who have been vaccinated in the UK meant this wave would probably take longer to emerge than previous ones.
SPORT
Tennis.... Alizé Cornet is out of the French Open after being defeated by fellow French player Harmony Tan. The final score was 6-4 6-4. In the men's singles, American John Isner beat compatriot Sam Querrey 7-6 6-3 6-4. Number two seed Daniil Medvedev beat Andreas Bubik. Britain's Cameron Norrie is through to the next round after beating Bjorn Fratangelo but Heather Watson is out of the tournament after being beaten by Zarina Diyas. Johanna Konta lost to Romania's Sorana Cirstea.
Football... Several qualifying matches for the 2022 World Cup have been moved because of coronavirus outbreaks. The Chinese Football Federation said that after coronavirus outbreaks in the teams from Syria and the Maldives, several matches had been relocated from China to Dubai.
Zinedine Zidane has said that he quit as Real Madrid manager because he felt that the club 'no longer had faith' in him. In an open letter to fans published by Spanish media outlet AS he said his 20 years at the club were "the most beautiful thing that's happened" in his life and that he would "always be grateful" to Real Madrid president Florentino Perez.
A powerful Mistral storm has swept through Provence, with wind gusts exceeding 150 km/h in some areas. ...
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France’s recently appointed Prime Minister François Bayrou has promised a new government "before Christmas" and reserves the possibility of using 49....
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A four-day strike at DHL has caused delays in package processing, raising concerns about on-time deliveries for Christmas....
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French judges in Avignon will today Thursday 19th December, deliver their verdicts in a mass rape case against 51 men that has appalled France and the...
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Monaco Info and TV Monaco are set to make way for a new television channel on September 1st of 2025. During the debates on the 2025 preliminary budget...
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