A court in Paris is expected to deliver its verdict today in the trial of Salah Abdeslam and other defendants in connection with their alleged involvement in the Paris attacks of November 2015. 130 people lost their lives in the attacks and over 400 were injured. The trial has been taking place for the past ten months in a specially constructed courtroom at the Palais de Justice in Paris. A verdict is expected to be delivered this evening.
The French government is planning to distribute a food cheque to millions of households. Government spokesperson Olivia Gregoire said that food cheques will be sent to the 9 million poorest French households. The amount will be 100 euros per household plus 50 euros per child.
French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin is in the Pyrénées-Orientales today to speak with firefighters who have been battling a major fire outbreak. Over 1,000 hectares of undergrowth have been destroyed in the blaze. Several hundred firefighters have been fighting the fire since yesterday. No casualties have been reported.
Mayor of Nice Christian Estrosi has laid the first stone in a major new development in Nice. The Joïa Méridia project, located near to the Palais Nikaia will provide 780 housing units, a student residence, 4,000 m² of green spaces, shops and services, 2,500 m² dedicated to leisure activities, connected offices, a nursing home, a 3 star hotel and over 1,000 parking spaces. There will also be a 13,000 m² intergenerational centre supported by the Ville de Nice and the CCAS which the mayor said will be the only one of its kind in France and will bring together different generations to promote social ties.
Several beaches in our region have been temporarily closed because of yesterday's storms. The municipality of Antibes-Juan les Pins is putting in place a bathing ban on nine local beaches until midday tomorrow to allow bacteriological checks to be carried out. All the beaches in Menton are closed pending the results of water analysis. Beaches at St Laurent du Var are also closed to swimming today as are a large number of beaches along the coast of the Var.
BUSINESS
The UK government has announced that tariffs on steel imports will be retained for a further two years, saying that the decision was because of "global disruptions" to energy markets and supply chains. UK Prime Minster Boris Johnson has said the move will protect British steel makers. International Trade Secretary Anne Marie Trevelyan said the decision departs from the UK's "international legal obligations" of a World Trade Organization agreement "but from time to time, issues may arise where the national interest requires action to be taken".
Airbnb has banned parties and events at homes on its platform. A temporary ban was put in place during the pandemic which has now been made permanent. The company said that the prohibition has proved popular with hosts since it was introduced in August 2020.
SPORT
Tennis... At Wimbledon today Novak Djokovic defeated Australian player Thanasi Kokkinakis. French player Ugo Humbert beat Casper Ruud by 3 sets to 1. Karolína Plíšková defeated Tereza Martincová. British player Ryan Penistone is out of the tournament after being beaten by American Steve Johnson. Jule Niemeier beat Estonia's Anett Kontaveit by two sets to love. Greet Minnen beat Garbiñe Muguruza by two sets to one
Cricket... South Africa's white-ball captain Temba Bavuma has been ruled out of the multi-format tour of England because of injury. Spinner Keshav Maharaj will lead the ODI side and David Miller will be captain for the T20.
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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