Local
Women’s Football World Cup - Security has been stepped up in Nice ahead of this weekend’s Women's Football World Cup tournament, with the match between England and Scotland being held on Sunday at Allianz Riviera. Other measures include a ban on the consumption of alcoholic beverages on public roads, outside terraces and restaurants in designated areas, such as Old Nice, Rue de France and Place Massena between 12.30 and 5pm on match days.
World Ocean Day - The WWF World Wildlife Fund has published a new report ahead of World Ocean Day on Saturday 8th June. The report draws an alarming report on plastic pollution in the Mediterranean and analyzes the responsibility of the 22 Mediterranean countries. The report reveals that the 22 countries in the region generate 24 million tonnes of plastic waste, of which 42% is landfilled, 14% is incinerated and only 16% is recycled. The remaining 28% is inefficiently managed and is likely to pollute nature and the Mediterranean. The WWF warns about the consequences of plastic pollution on natural areas and biodiversity. For the WWF, France is the largest producer of plastic waste in the region, with 4.5 million tons of plastic waste produced in 2016.
Gunshots - Residents in the centre of Brignoles in the Var were woken by the sound of gunshots in the early hours of Thursday. Emergency services confirmed that they had been called out in the night. The mayor, Didier Brémond, said that the police believe it was a lone shooter and that nobody had been injured.
Railway station evacuated - The railway station in Cagnes-sur-Mer has been evacuated due to a suspicious bag. Firefighters and police cordoned off an area on the forecourt of the station on Thursday lunchtime but the bag turned out to be harmless.
Cyclist - A cyclist has been attacked by a motorist with an iron bar. The incident happened to a cyclist who was part of a cycling team who were on a road near Forcalquier in the Alpes de Haute Provence. The motorist stopped his car and hit the cyclist with an iron bar about 50 centimentres long. The cyclists noted the motorist’s number plate before he drove off and the prosecutor's office of Digne-les-Bains has opened an investigation.
National
D-Day - The French and US presidents have paid tribute to D-Day veterans, with different emphasis, in key speeches in Normandy on the 75th anniversary of the Allied landings. Macron saluted the "unbelievable courage and generosity" of the soldiers evoking the hardships the US soldiers had endured and the dangers they had faced. Macron saluted the international engagement of the United States after the war and suggested that countries sharing the values of democracy and liberty need to rekindle their partnership. In his address, Trump said the bond between the allies was unbreakable. He devoted much of his speech to the individual stories of bravery and selflessness of the US soldiers, hailing them as extraordinary American sons and daughters.
Carlos Ghosn - Renault says an internal audit with partner Nissan found 11 million euros in questionable expenses at their Dutch-based holding allegedly linked to ousted chief Carlos Ghosn. In a statement, the French carmaker recommended joint Renault-Nissan legal action in the Netherlands, where the alliance is based. It suggested ordering Ghosn himself to reimburse the company for some of the expenses.
Business
Officials from the United States and Mexico have held a second day of trade talks with markets optimistic that a deal could be close.
President Trump has said that the United States will impose 5 percent tariffs on all Mexican goods from Monday unless Washington gets guarantees that Mexico will clamp down on illegal immigrants crossing the border.
Bilateral talks in a bid to find a solution started on Wednesday and continued into yesterday.
Mr Trump’s stance has rattled many US business groups as well as some leading Republicans in the Senate and Congress.
On Thursday ,the US Vice-President Mike Pence said that Mexico had offered “more concessions” but that it would be up to Mr Trump ,who returns from a European trip today to decide.
The UK’s National Audit Office has said that Brexit preparations have cost the government 97 million pounds to date.
The money has been spent on hiring external consultants as government departments lack the staff and skills needed.
The NAO criticised the government for a “lack of transparency” and said that details of contracts had not been published in a “timely fashion”.
It also said that the bill was higher than disclosed by the Cabinet Office.
The figures show that 6 consultancy firms had received 96 percent of Brexit-related work with Deloitte taking 22 percent of the contracts by value.
And-Shares in the plant-based burger and sausage maker Beyond Meat have soared by 21 percent after the firm said that it expects to more than double its revenue and break even this year.
The California based company said that it expected record revenue of 210 million dollars this year.
Beyond Meat has attracted widespread interest for its products which are made from ingredients such as pea protein ,coconut and canola oil.
The burgers are proving to be a particular hit with consumers who want to switch to a “flexitarian” diet or go completely vegetarian.
Sport
AEROPORT DE NICE –QATAR AIRWAYS FIFA WOMEN’S WORLD CUP REPORT.
Football-The women’s World Cup starts this evening with the hosts France against South Korea in Group A at the Parc des Princes in Paris.
Great things are expected from the tournament with the women’s game increasing in popularity and bigger crowds watching games.
There are 6 groups of 4 teams with the United States the defending champions and among the favourites to win the tournament.
France are also highly fancied and the chances of England ,the Netherlands ,Germany and Japan who won the World Cup in 2011 are all rated as good.
England’s first game in Group D is at the Stade de Nice against Scotland at 6pm on Sunday.
England finished in third spot at the last World Cup and are currently third in the Fifa rankings.
Scotland are making their World Cup debut and may find it hard to get out of the group although they’re unbeaten in five games and are in good form.
In men’s football-England have been knocked out of the Uefa Nations League by The Netherlands.
The semi-final in Guimaraes ended 1-1 at the end of normal time but a Walker own goal following a defensive mix-up and a third from Promes in extra-time gave the Netherlands a 3-1 win and they’ll go on to meet Portugal in the final.
Cricket-Australia have made it two wins out of two in the World Cup with a 15 run victory over West Indies at Trent Bridge.
Australia batted first and were in a lot of trouble on 79- 5 before a scintillating 92 from number 8 Nathan Coulter-Nile and a steady 73 from Steve Smith saved their bacon and they ended with a total of 288 all out from 49 overs.
West Indies were on course to reach the total but some class bowling from Mitchell Starc who took 5-46 saw them fall short in a total of 273-9 from 50 overs.
There’s one game today.Pakistan play Sri Lanka in Bristol.Play starts at 11.30.
Tennis-The 17 year old American teenage sensation Amanda Anisimova has reached the semi finals of the French Open after dumping the defending champion Simona Halep out in the quarter finals.
Anisimova beat her 27 year old opponent 6-2 6-4 and will now play Ashleigh Barty of Australia.
The other women’s semi final is between Johanna Konta of Great Britain and Marketa Vondrousova.
The men’s semi finals will feature Novak Djokovic and Dominic Thiem and Roger Federer against Rafael Nadal.
All four semi finals will be played today following bad weather at Roland Garros and the rain could interrupt play again today.
Formula 1-First practice for Sunday’s Canadian Grand Prix takes place at 4pm this afternoon with Lewis Hamilton looking to repeat his success at the Monaco Grand Prix two weeks ago.
Hamilton leads the drivers’ championship by 17 points from Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas.
All eyes will be on Ferrari to see if they can improve after what was a very disappointing performance in Monaco.
Qualifying is at 8pm tomorrow night with the race at 8.10pm on Sunday.
Weather
Clear skies with a moderate to strong easterly wind gusting at up to 65 km/h in coastal areas of the Var.
Top temperatures 22-26 degrees.
Overnight lows of 18 degrees on the coast and 15 degrees inland with clear skies.
The weekend – Fine in coastal areas tomorrow, sunshine and showers on Sunday .Highs of 22-26 degrees.
Finally
Why it's perfectly normal to want to kill your boss: If after a bad day at work you've daydreamed idly about pushing your boss down the stairs, don't worry – you're not alone. According to a criminal psychologist fantasising about murder is a 'common phenomenon'
In fact, it's perfectly normal to imagine killing someone – and more than half of us have done it.
Briefly wanting to murder someone may be a good thing, because it could stop us actually doing so, according to an expert on the dark side of humanity.
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