A French government spokesperson has called for vigilance during the heatwave which is expected to hit much of France this week. Speaking after the Council of Ministers meeting today, Olivia Gregoire said that the heatwave promises to be "strong, early, unprecedented during this period" and that the government has instructed state services to ensure that shelter and support services are operational, starting tomorrow. She said that the forthcoming days are "going to be difficult for all of us, especially for the most fragile".
She added that urban areas are particularly affected by increases in temperatures and announced that 500 million euros would be made available to help in the creation of so-called "cool islands" in cities, such as areas with vegetation and specially treated surfaces to reduce heat.
Meteo France have said that on Friday it will be greater than 30 degrees everywhere in France and locally more than 40 in the southwest quarter. A heat wave level 1 yellow warning has been initiated by Meteo France this evening for the south of the country.
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for a firefighters union has said that France is on "a real powder keg". Speaking to French media, the representative of the National Federation of Firefighters called for attention to be paid to global warming and said that fires are starting earlier and earlier in the year, with more than 600 forest fires having already started since the beginning of this year in the Sud-Mediterranee region.
The European Union has signed a contract for delivery of a monkeypox vaccine. The EU Commission signed the contract with a Danish company for 109,000 doses. Deliveries are scheduled to begin at the end of this month.
The incidence rate of Covid-19 in Monaco has continued to increase according to the latest weekly update from the government. The government said yesterday evening that over the previous 7 days the incidence rate was 467 per 100,000 people, up from 347 in the previous week. In the week from 6 to 12 June, 183 new positive cases of Covid-19 were reported in the Principality. As at yesterday evening, 16 people, including 12 residents, were hospitalized at the Princess Grace Hospital. There were no patients being treated in intensive care. 103 people were being monitored by the Home Monitoring Centre.
Today is the international day of blood donation and the French Health Ministry has issued a reminder for people to donate blood as supplies are running low. The government said that a one hour doation can save the lives of three people. Collection points can be found on the website www.sante.fr
BUSINESS
In the UK, new data from the Office for National Statistics has shown that regular pay is falling at the fastest rate in more than a decade when taking the rising cost of living into account. Between February and April, pay excluding bonuses was down 2.2% from a year earlier when adjusted for inflation. The number of job vacancies rose to a new record of 1.3 million. The unemployment rate stood at 3.8% in the February to April period, up slightly from last month.
Amazon has announced that it's planning to launch deliveries by drone to a town in California. The service, called Prime Air will be rolled out to residents of Lockeford in California who will be able to receive deliveries of thousands of "everyday items" by drone. Amazon said that it is working with the Federal Aviation Administration and local officials to obtain permission to conduct the deliveries. It said that Lockeford residents "will play an important role in defining the future" and their feedback will help Amazon "create a service that will safely scale to meet the needs of customers everywhere".
SPORT
Cricket.... It's the final day of the England against New Zealand test match. New Zealand were all out for 284 in their second innings.
Tennis.... Serena Williams will play Wimbledon after being given a singles wildcard. The tournament will be her first since injuring her leg during Wimbledon last year.
Football.... Former Manchester City captain Vincent Kompany has been appointed as manager of Burnley. He's most recently been at Anderlecht where he managed the side for two years and left the club last month.
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