Several member states of the European Union are sending reinforcements to help France fight the wildfires which are affecting several parts of the country. President Macron said that Germany, Greece, Poland, Romania and Austria are coming to the aid of France. He added that "as in July, Italy remains in solidarity with France", sending several Canadairs. He said that throughout France, more than 10,000 firefighters and civil security personnel are mobilized against the fires. The European Commission said today that the EU stands "in full solidarity" when a country is confronted with "an emergency situation".
French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne and Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin have been at the scene of the major fire which has resumed in the Gironde department in south-west France. The fire has consumed 7,400 hectares of forest so far and has grown bigger in recent hours according to an update this evening by the Prefet Delegue for Defence and Security for Nouvelle Aquitaine. He said that 1,100 French firefighters are currently involved in fighting the blaze and they will soon be reinforced by 361 firefighters from elsewhere in Europe. The original fire consumed 13,000 hectares last month.
A forest fire which broke out in the Haut-Alpes has quickly been extinguished by firefighters. The Prefecture said that the blaze broke out in the town of La Faurie. 64 firefighters and 24 machines were deployed to control the fire and prevent it from spreading.
The Monaco government has acquired a stock of Monkeypox vaccine. Vaccination is now open to resident adults who have had risky contact with a patient and as a preventive measure, on a voluntary basis, to adults belonging to the most exposed groups, the disease occurring, in more than 90% of cases, within the framework of notifiable sexually transmitted infections. To date, the Principality has had 3 cases of monkeypox, including 1 resident, who the government said have all benefited from the appropriate follow-up and have been cured without any complications to report. Residents who are eligible and would like to benefit from preventive vaccination are invited to contact the Monegasque Screening Centre located at the Princess Grace Hospital.
The Maritime Prefecture has been carrying out control operations around the Île de Porquerolles in the Var. The Prefecture said that 21 fines had been handed out, including 11 for excessive speed, 6 for navigation or anchorage in prohibited areas and four for safety, material defect or mandatory document offences.
BUSINESS
Oil demand is set to rise for the remainder of the year according to a report from the International Energy Agency. The organization said that record prices for gas in Europe were acting as an incentive to switch from gas to oil, leading to increased demand for oil.
Over 6 million people travelled through Heathrow airport in July and an estimated 16 million are expected between July and September. Heathrow said that it had seen the largest rise in passenger numbers of any European airport in the last year. Heathrow CEO John Holland-Kaye said that passengers are seeing better, more reliable journeys since the introduction of the demand cap. Last month the airport controversially capped the number of passengers flowing through the airport to 100,000 per day.
US factory gate prices rose by 9.8% on an annual basis in July, down from 11.3% in June. The US Labor Department said that prices fell by 0.5% in July compared to June.
SPORT
Football... England women’s team defender Millie Bright has signed a new contract with Chelsea. Under the deal she’ll stay at the club for a further three years.
Drinks breaks will be implemented during Premier League fixtures this weekend because of the hot weather across the UK. Temperatures are forecast to reach as high as 37C.
Rugby League...Australia rugby league coach and former player Paul Green has died at the age of 49. He played for five different clubs during his career and was currently head coach of Queensland in the State of Origin Series.
Winter Olympics.... Eve Muirhead has announced her retirement from curling. The 32-year-old led the Great Britain side which won gold at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.
The porn sites YouPorn, Pornhub, and RedTube have been reactivated in France by their owner, Aylo, after a French court suspended a law requiring age ...
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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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