A teenager is to appear in court in Nice accused of involvement in a fatal fire in Nice. The 17 year old was arrested at toll booths earlier this week as he tried to cross from Spain to France on a bus. Seven people lost their lives in the blaze in a building in the Moulins district two weeks ago. Three other people are already in custody but authorities are still searching for one other person in connection with the fire.
French customs authorities have seized thousands of fake Olympic goods from warehouses in the Paris region. In a major operation, customs agents seized 145,000 items, including shirts, sports shoes and small items featuring the Olympic logo. The goods have an estimated value of about ten million euros. The government said that a counterfeit manufacturing facility had also been dismantled.
Two police officers have received suspended prison sentences for violence during in an arrest the Val d’Oise department north of Paris. The officers were alleged to have punched and fired an electric shock gun many times at the man during the arrest.
Temperatures have been falling in some parts of France, but the heatwave is continuing for the moment in our region. Meteo France have said that temperatures reached just over 41 degrees at Les Arcs in the Var yesterday afternoon. Similar temperatures were recorded in Corsica and in the Vaucluse and Herault departments. In contrast, temperatures have been falling in the north-east and those areas have seen storms, hail and strong winds in the past 24 hours. Meteo France are saying that we will be moving “towards” the end of the heatwave this weekend, but temperatures still look high for us on Saturday and Sunday. Meteo France say that today the very high temperatures, above 35°C, will continue around the Mediterranean, with 34 to 38°C widespread from the beaches of Roussillon to Provence, as well as in Corsica. Peaks of over 39°C are possible in the Var hinterland. In the rest of the country, temperatures will become more bearable, generally varying between 25 and 30°C. On the English Channel coast, the maximums will be between 20 and 25°C.
In our region, it’s been announced that the city of Marseille is giving access to its swimming pools free of charge as part of its heatwave plan. It will also be opening parks until 9pm and increasing its assistance to vulnerable people.
French government roads monitor Bison Fute is warning of a busy weekend on the nation’s roads. Today is a red level in the direction of returns all around the Mediterranean coast of France, including our region. The rest of the country is a yellow level for returns and departures. Tomorrow is a top-level black warning for the whole country in the direction of departures, which means that traffic conditions will be “extremely difficult”. In the direction of returns, it’s a red level around the Mediterranean coast and Paris tomorrow, with yellow for the rest of the country. Conditions are improved in many, but not all, areas on Sunday. More details on www.bison-fute.gouv.fr
The Economic Development Department in Monaco is continuing its modernization by providing the Monaco Business Office with a specific visual logo. The Monaco Business Office gives dedicated support to new entrepreneurs and businesses already established in the Principality. It brings together three Divisions: Business Creation, Promotion of Trade and Industry and Financing and Development of the Economy.
BUSINESS
CrowdStrike is being sued by its shareholders after a faulty software update by the cybersecurity firm crashed more than eight million computers around the world. The lawsuit alleges that the company made "false and misleading" statements about its software testing. CrowdStrike denies the allegations and says it will defend itself.
Interest rates have been cut by the Bank of England for the first time in more than four years, but the Bank of England has warned people not to expect a sharp fall in borrowing costs in the coming months. In a close decision by the monetary policy committee, rates were lowered to 5% from 5.25% yesterday. Its the first reduction in rates by the Bank of England since the start of the pandemic in March 2020.
Energy company Shell has announced profits 6.3 billion dollars in the quarter to the end of June, taking its profits to14 billion dollars for the first half of 2024. The company recently revealed plans to step back from some of its North Sea operations to pursue global opportunities and has sold its share in several North Sea gas fields to an independent energy company.
SPORT
Olympics... Jack Laugher and Anthony Harding won bronze for Great Britain in the men's synchronised 3m springboard diving this afternoon.
Last night Andy Murry ended his career with a defeat in the men's doubles. Murray and Dan Evans lost 6-2 6-4 to American third seeds Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul.
Iga Swiatek has been beaten by China's Zheng Qinwen in the Olympics tennis semi-finals 6-2 7-5. The defeat ended her 25 match running streak at Rolland Garros. Meanwhile, Carlos Alcaraz reached the semi-finals with a 6-3 7-6 win over American Tommy Paul.
TeamGB won three medals yesterday to take their total to 20 so far.
Helen Glover, Esme Booth, Sam Redgrave and Rebecca Shorten won silver in the women’s fours rowing. Mathilda Hodgkins-Byrne and Becky Wilde took bronze in the women's doubles sculls, while Oli Wilkes, David Ambler, Matt Aldridge and Freddie Davidson won bronze in the men's four.
The TeamGB men’s hockey team are through to the quarter-finals after beating France 2-1.
Football... Crystal Palace have signed winger Ismaila Sarr from Marseille. He’s joined on a five year contract.
Motorsports... Jonathan Wheatley is to leave his role as Red Bull sporting director to become Audi's Formula 1 team principal. He’s been at Red Bull for 18 years and will stay until the end of this season. In a statement, Audi said he would join "by July 2025 at the latest".
The Alpes-Maritimes department is tackling "ghost fishing nets," abandoned plastic nets that harm marine ecosystems. ...
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The French government has claimed that Benjamin Netanyahu has immunity from arrest warrants which have been issued by the international criminal court...
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A criminal network that cloned payment cards to steal "hundreds of thousands of euros" from trucking companies across France, including the Côte d’Azu...
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The CGT has released a map detailing nearly 200,000 jobs threatened across France due to layoffs and industrial restructuring since September 2023, wi...
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The A8 motorway was temporarily closed at the La Barque toll plaza toward Nice due to a vehicle driving the wrong way near Aix-en-Provence....
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