French minister for ecological transition Barbara Pompili has said that there is no need for people to rush to petrol stations in the event of an embargo on Russian oil. Speaking to French Media today she said there were no supply problems in France at the moment and there are reserves of oil in place. However, as regards deisel there are “a few small questions of rerouting storage which can take a little time”. She said that such an embargo would have consequences as regards the price of fuel but those consequences will be mitigated by the government.
President Macron has announced that France will provide an additional 300 million euros in aid to Ukraine. It brings France's total contribution to two billion euros. The announcement was made at an international donor's conference in Poland which, according to Poland's Prime Minister raised over 6 billion euros for Ukraine.
45 new cases of covid-19 were recorded in Monaco yesterday bringing the total number of infected people over the course of the pandemic to 11,869. As at yesterday 15 people were hospitalized at the Princess Grace Hospital but there were no patients in intensive care. 126 people were being monitored by the home monitoring center which gives medical support to patients with few symptoms who are invited to confine themselves to their homes.
The French minister of State for disabled people will be in the Var tomorrow. Sophie Cluzel is attending the opening of new residential units for people suffering from autism in Pierrefeu.
A plan was presented to yesterday's Council of Ministers meeting aimed at improving delivery times for French passports and national identity cards as well as the deployment of the new national identity card. Since the end of 2021, requests for new documents or their renewal have experienced an unprecedented increase. This has led to a large number of request from the municipalities who are responsible for registering the requests and to a deterioration in the times for making appointments, which stood at 65 days on average at the end of April 2022. compared to 27 days in January 2022 and 11.5 days in April 2021. In some departments, waiting times can exceed 100 days.
4 people have died in a head-on collision on the A1 motorway in the Pas-de-Calais. According to initial reports a woman in her 60s from Belgium had turned round at toll booths on the A1 and collided with an oncoming car. The woman was killed in the collision. The driver and the two passengers in the oncoming vehicle, who were aged between 15 and 21, all lost their lives.
BUSINESS
The Bank of England has increased interest rates to 1% from 0.75%. it's the fourth consecutive increase in interest rates in the UK since December and takes rates to their highest since 2009. The Bank also said that is expects inflation to rise to “slightly over” 10% in the final quarter of this year.
Energy company Shell has announced a profit of 9.13 billion dollars for the first three months of the year, which is almost triple the profit in the same period last year. However it said that pulling out of its Russian oil and gas operations cost the company $3.9 billion.
Consumer price inflation in Turkey has hit an annual rate of 70%. Official figures showed that food and non-alcoholic drinks rose by 89.1% and furnishings and household equipment rose by 77.64%. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has prioritized exports over currency stability and has been reluctant to raise interest rates.
SPORT
Tennis...Andy Murray has withdrawn from his third round match at the Madrid open because of illness. He was scheduled to play Novak Djokovic today. Organizer said that he was unable to attend the stadium due to illness and wished him a speedy recovery. Meanwhile British number two Dan Evans is out of the tournament after being beaten 7-6 7-5 by Andrey Rublev.
Rugby Union... Bristol Bears chief executive Mark Tainton is to step down at end of the season. He's been at the club as a player, head coach, chief operating officer and CEO in a career spanning four decades.
Harlequins have signed second row Irne Herbst from Benetton for next season. The 29-year-old South African has spent the last five years with the Italian side.
Tax authorities in France have been given the authorisation to use social media platforms as well as AI, to detect fraud or any undeclared income. ...
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A British skier has died after a collision with another UK tourist in Les Arcs, a popular ski resort in the French Alps. The accident occurred at arou...
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Due to ongoing freezing temperatures, the Vaucluse prefecture has activated its "Grand Froid" plan.
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French Prime Minister François Bayrou has delivered his policy speech on the 14th of January, focusing on contentious issues like pension reform and b...
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Despite alarming yellow alerts issued today for strong winds in the Alpes Maritimes, it seems the alert has been lifted in the PACA region. ...
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