Inquiries are continuing into the firing of gunshots by a gang of about a dozen people in the Moulins area of Nice yesterday morning. Shots were fired near to the Casino supermarket. The three people arrested so far are not believed to have participated directly in the shootings. Reports say that prosecutors will be studying any links between yesterday's shooting and two shooting incidents last month, particularly in the context of battles for control of the drugs market in that area of Nice.
A woman has died after being hit by a train at Saint-Cyr-sur-Mer in the Var this morning. The incident happened in a tunnel about 1km from the railway station. It's believed that the woman took her own life and enquiries are continuing to establish her identity.
A 65 year old man has died at the Chateau beach in Mandelieu. He's believed to have suffered a cardiac arrest whilst in the water. He was rescued by a lifeguard but couldn't be revived.
A 35 year old man has been shot dead in a car in the Sainte-Musse area of Toulon. Police say that the shooting happened in the early hours of this morning and the victim was a passenger in a car being driven by his partner. His three children were in the back of the car. The dead man had been serving a jail sentence for drugs trafficking before his release. His partner was injured in the thigh during the incident but the three children were unhurt.
French Health Minister Olivier Veran has announced a list of measures which he says will "accelerate the transformation of the health system". A total of 33 measures were revealed as part of the closure of the Segur de la Sante consultation process on the French health system. They include an increase in the use of telemedicine and the creation of 4,000 additional hospital beds "on demand" to be allocated as needed. The minister also announced the strengthening of regional health agencies at the departmental level and an increase in the number of places for the training of nurses and nursing assistants.
French Minister of Higher Education, Frederique Vidal, has announced the financing of 10,000 additional university places. He said that many of the places would be on short courses and in the health, social and paramedical areas. The new places are being created after a record 95.7% pass rate in the baccalaureate this year.
A beach in Villeneuve-Loubet was evacuated after a poisonous stingray was spotted in the water yesterday afternoon. The one metre wide fish was seen by bathers a few metres from the Fighiere beach. Firefighters closed the beach for two hours while the ray moved away from the coast.
BUSINESS
Business networking platform LinkedIn is to cut about 960 jobs. The cuts will affect about 6% of the company's workforce. LinkedIn is owned by Microsoft and currently employs 16,000 in more than 30 cities around the world.
Apple has announced its intention to be carbon neutral across its entire business and manufacturing supply chain by 2030. Speaking to the BBC, Apple said that any company hoping to become a supplier would have to commit to be "100% renewable for their Apple production" within 10 years.
EU leaders have struck a deal on a post-coronavirus recovery package after four days of at times heated debate. The talks saw a split between those countries hardest hit by the virus such as Italy and Spain and so-called "frugal" members, such as the Netherlands and Sweden, seeking to limit the size of the fund and impose stricter controls on its use. Under the deal, there will be a €390bn programme of grants to member states hardest hit by the pandemic. A further €360bn in low-interest loans will be available to EU members. The deal still needs to be ratified by the European Parliament.
Airline IndiGo has announced job cuts. The Indian airline says that it will reduce its staff numbers by 10%. It currently employs about 24,000 people.
The UK government borrowed a record amount during the first quarter of its financial year. It borrowed £127.9bn between April and June as measures to fight the pandemic were put in place. The figure is more than double the amount borrowed during the whole of the previous financial year.
SPORT
Rugby... Fixtures for next year's Rugby League World Cup have been announced. Sixteen teams are taking part. The first matches will be England against Samoa and Australia against Fiji. New Zealand will be playing Jamaica. Other highlights include England against France, Scotland against Australia and Wales against Tonga. The tournament is taking place at various stadiums across England in October and November next year.
Cricket... Jofra Archer is rejoining the England team after testing negative for the coronavirus for the second time. He'll now be available for selection for the final Test against West Indies which starts on Friday. Archer went into five day isolation after breaching bio-secure protocols while travelling between venues.
Ben Stokes has become the number one ranked all-rounder in the world. He scored 254 runs and took three wickets in the Test against the West Indies at Old Trafford. Stokes is also now at third equal in the world batting rankings, behind Australia's Steve Smith and India's Virat Kohli.
Football... There are 2 games in the English Premier League tonight with Watford against Manchester City and Aston Villa playing Arsenal.
France is pushing for a European agreement to require social media platforms to verify users' ages, aiming to ban access before age 15 and smartphone ...
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French President Emmanuel Macron has confirmed that France is in talks with allies about possibly supporting Ukraine with troops, amid its ongoing war...
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Thundery showers are forecast in Nice and the Alpes Maritimes. Some sunny intervals as the day progresses. Highs of 20 degrees. ...
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American Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost has been elected Pope Leo XIV, becoming the first U.S.-born pope and signalling continuity with Pope Francis’...
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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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