A case of dengue fever has been detected in Fayence in the Var. Regional Health Agency employees have been going door to door to warn residents in the vicinity of the outbreak and identify areas of stagnant water. The agency will carry out mosquito control on a perimeter of 200m around the contaminated house on Thursday or Friday. Detailed instructions for local residents can be found on the Fayence Town Hall's Facebook page.
Several municipalities in the Var have had their drought alert levels raised. Currently 87 municipalities are at crisis level, 23 municipalities are on heightened alert, 42 municipalities are on alert and one is on vigilance. Restrictions on water consumption and prohibited activities can be found on the prefecture's website www.var.gouv.fr
700 hectares of forest have been destroyed by fire in the Aveyron department in south central France. Several hundred firefighters backed up by Canadair water carrying aircraft have been battling the blaze since yesterday afternoon. Three thousand people have been evacuated from premises in the area but no injuries have been reported.
Over thirteen tonnes of contraband cigarettes have been seized by authorities in northern France in one week. Two trucks and one container which were about to leave France bound for the UK and Ireland were intercepted at Dunkerque and the Channel Tunnel. The market value is estimated at about 7 million euros.
BUSINESS
The EU's gas emergency plan came into effect today. Under the plan the EU is requesting that member states reduce gas consumption by 15%. The plan is currently voluntary but could become mandatory for most countries if the supply situation deteriorates.
Footfall in UK retailers dropped by 14.2% in July compared to the same month in 2019 according to figures from the British Retail Consortium. It was also down 3.7 per cent compared to June. It said that record temperatures and the rising cost of living deterred people from visiting local shops.
Energy bills for a typical household in the UK could hit £4,266 next year according to a forecast from a consultancy. Cornwall Insight said that the decision by regulator Ofgem to change the price cap every three months instead of every six months and higher wholesale prices accounted for its high forecast. However, Ofgem said no forecast for next year could be "robust" at this stage and had "limited value".
SPORT
Football... Everton have signed Amadou Onana from Lille for £33m. The midfielder plays for Belgium at national level.
Tennis... Serena Williams has said that she is "evolving away" from tennis after this month's US Open. Writing in the magazine Vogue, Williams said that she is moving towards "other things that are important to me", adding she doesn't like the word "retirement". She said that she will be relishing the next few weeks. Williams made her return to playing singles at this year's Wimbledon after a lengthy absence due to injury.
Cricket... England women's cricket head coach Lisa Keightley will reportedly leave her role at the end of the summer. The Australian has been in the job since January 2020 and is the team's first full-time female head coach.
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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French President Emmanuel Macron will chair a high-level Security and Defence Council meeting at the Élysée Palace today Wednesday, June 18th at 4pm, ...
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