Local
Fire - Firemen have been deployed in Vallauris after thick black smoke was seen by residents in the area. Firefighters intervened on Wednesday evening and were able to control the blaze which affected 7,000 square metres of land. Police have opened an investigation into the cause of the fire.
Road accident - Three people have been injured in a road accident on the Route de Turin in Nice. The accident occurred on Wednesday evening at the entrance to the A8 motorway involving a car and a motorcycle. Two of the people involved in the accident are said to be in a critical condition in hospital. Meanwhile the cause of the accident remains unclear.
High temperatures - Meteo France has warned that a heatwave is on its way with record temperatures in the Alpes Maritimes and the Var as of Monday. The reason, a mass of hot air from the Sahara which is expected to sweep over south eastern France next week. So far, the hottest night recorded in Nice was on June 18th with a high of 25 degrees.
Emmanuel Macron in Marseille - Emmanuel Macron will be in Marseille on Monday, June 24th to close the summit which is being held between Mediterranean countries. The event is aimed at boosting projects between Mediterranean countries and to relaunch the cooperation dynamics in the Western Mediterranean through the implementation of projects for human, economic and sustainable development. Countries concerned include Spain, Portugal, Italy, Malta, Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia.
National service – Meanwhile teenagers from French President Emmanuel Macron’s first group of national service recruits have suffered from heat exhaustion during an outdoor ceremony near Paris. Military service in France was scrapped in 1996 and Macron is the first French President not to have been drafted. Macron promised to make all young people spend a month getting 'a direct experience of military life with its know-how and demands' during his 2017 presidential campaign.
Velos en Ville - The police prefecture of Marseille has encouraged cyclists to mark their bikes in the fight against theft. In the Bouches-du-Rhône last year, 3,400 bicycles were stolen and less than 3% were found. The operation called “Velos en ville” encourages cyclists to engrave their bikes with a fourteen-digit number for easier identification in the case of theft. In France, 400,000 bicycles are stolen each year.
Striptease - As part of the Firefighters ball in Nice organisers have announced that the firemen of Nice will be performing a striptease during this year’s event. This year marks the 5th edition of the ball held at the Theatre de Verdure in Nice on July 12th. Entrance is ten euros and all funds raised from the evening will be donated to the firefighter’s association which helps the children of deceased firefighters.
Summer starts here! - The town hall of Monaco has announced the start of several summer activities organized here on the port of the Principality. The Mayor of Monaco Georges Marsan announced his wish to “maintain and promote quality events” most of which are free to the public. With sporting activities such as paddle, basketball and electric karting on the port as well as small rides for younger children. And not forgetting the four firework displays with four countries entering the competition this year: Lithuania on the 20th July, Spain on the 27th July, England on the 3rd August and Ukraine on the 10th.
National
Nicolas Sarkozy to face trial - Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy has lost his final bid to avoid an influence peddling and corruption trial, after a ruling was handed down that a trial was justified. Sarkozy is accused of trying to bribe a magistrate by offering a prestigious job in Monaco in return for information about a criminal inquiry into his political party. France's highest court rejected Mr Sarkozy's appeal, ruling that he must stand trial in the coming months.
French nuclear watchdogs - French nuclear watchdogs have warned that they have registered abnormally high radioactivity levels in part of the central River Loire downstream from five atomic reactors. The unusually high levels released from nuclear reactors, were found in January 2019 in the waters at Saumur, a city of about 27,000 inhabitants on the Loire between Angers and Nantes.
Scam - An individual or individuals impersonating France's defense minister, Jean-Yves Le Drian, have reportedly scammed an estimated €80m from wealthy victims including the Aga Khan and the owner of Château Margaux wines. The scam started in late 2015 and lasted two years it required targets to believe they were being contacted by Mr Le Drian, who then requested financial help to pay ransoms for journalists being held hostage by Islamists in the Middle East.
Van Gogh revolver - The rusty revolver, allegedly used by Van Gogh to commit suicide, has been sold at auction for 162,500 euros. The weapon discovered in 1960 attracted a crowd of collectors and "addicts" to the Dutch painter. The lethal weapon has more than double the top of its estimate range (between 40,000 and 60,000 euros).
Business
The US Federal Reserve has decided to leave interest rates on hold but says that uncertainties over the economic outlook could result in a change in policy later this year.
The Fed left rates at between two and a quarter and two and a half percent following its two day policy meeting in Washington but said in a statement afterwards that “uncertainties about the outlook have increased”.
Fed chair Jerome Powell has been on a collision course with President Trump over interest rate policy in recent months.
Mr Trump wants lower rates to further stimulate the economy while Mr Powell has been advocating a stance of “patience” with an eye to seeing that the economy doesn’t overheat and that inflation remains in check.
In its statement the Fed left out the word “patient”when assessing economic data and said that it would “act appropriately” to sustain the expansion with a strong labor market an inflation near its symmetric 2 percent objective.
Chinese state media has said that upcoming trade talks between Presidents Trump and Xi Jinping are “unlikely” to remove immediate disagreements between the two sides but could start a new phase in negotiations.
Earlier this week ,China and the US said that they were reviving talks ahead of a meeting of leaders at the G20 Summit in Japan.
Talks broke down last month after US officials accused China of backing away from previously agreed commitments.
In its editorial today ,the China Daily said that both parties are in the mood for “serious dialogue” as a fully blown trade war was a “lose-lose” but that one single meeting is unlikely to wrap everything up.
And-The UK Finance Minister is set to warn that a no-deal Brexit would harm the British economy and swallow up a 26.6 billion pound Brexit war-chest.
Philip Hammond is expected to warn Conservative Party candidates vying to become the next Prime Minister that they must come up with Brexit plan “B”.
The Chancellor of the Exchequer is to make his annual Mansion House dinner speech tonight and is also expected to pour cold water on tax and spending pledges made by the candidates still in the race to succeed Theresa May.
He’ll say that a no-deal Brexit would leave the UK economy permanently smaller and that it would not be possible for money to be spent on tax cuts and improving public services.
Sport
AEROPORT DE NICE –QATAR AIRWAYS FIFA WOMEN’S WORLD CUP REPORT.
England have beaten Japan 2-0 to finish with a 100 percent record in Group D as they move into the knockout phase of the competition.
Ellen White scored a goal in each half to give England victory at the Stade Allianz Riviera in Nice.
Phil Neville’s team will now play one of the best third placed sides in the last 16 which could be one of China ,New Zealand ,Cameroon ,Chile or Canada.
Heartbreak for Scotland though.Shelley Kerr’s side were leading 3-0 against Argentina at the Parc des Princes in Paris which would have given them a shot of making the last 16 but the match ended in a 3 all draw and Scotland are knocked out.
There are four games today.In Group E Cameroon play New Zealand and the Netherlands play Canada.Both games kick off at 6pm while at 9pm in Group F Sweden play the USA and Thailand play Chile.
Football-The Spain manager Luis Enrique has quit after less than a year in charge.
Enrique announced that he’s stepping down for personal reasons and will be replaced by his assistant Robert Moreno.
The former Barcelona boss signed a two year contract as Spain manager in July last year.
The Spanish Football Federation said that he’d been absent from his post since March because of an “urgent family matter”.
Cricket-New Zealand have beaten South Africa by 4 wickets in the World Cup at Edgebaston.
In a low scoring match ,South Africa batted first and made 241-6 from 49 overs.
The match was reduced to 49 overs each because of a wet outfield.
In reply ,New Zealand got to the total in a score of 245-6 from 48.3 overs with skipper Kane Williamson leading from the front with 106 not out.
The defeat means that South Africa are effectively out of the World Cup with no chance of making the semi-finals.
There’s one match today.Australia play Bangladesh at Trent Bridge.Play starts at 11.30.
Formula 1-Honda is bringing engine upgrades to Red Bull and Toro Rosso for the French Grand Prix this weekend.
Honda says that the engine will be more powerful but not yet at the levels achieved by Mercedes and Ferrari adding that it was a “step in the right direction”.
Meanwhile Ferrari have said that they expect to struggle against Mercedes at the race.
Ferrari team boss Mattia Binotto says that the Paul Ricard Circuit isn’t particularly favourable to the package although Sebastian Vettel says that he thinks the car will do “quite well”.
Rugby Union-England’s Dylan Hartley is set to miss out on the World Cup after struggling with a persistent knee injury.
The former captain has been left out of England’s training squad for the tournament which will be announced by coach Eddie Jones today.
There are also no places for another former skipper Chris Robshaw or scrum-half Danny Care.
Racing-Frankie Dettori won the feature race at Royal Ascot on Wednesday and also had another success at the meeting.
Dettori rode Raffle Prize to victory in the Queen Mary Stakes before partnering Crystal Ocean to win the Prince of Wales’s Stakes later in the day.
It’s Gold Cup day today with the big race off at 5.20 this afternoon.Stradivarius is the 11-10 favourite with Cross Counter at 4-1 and Dee Ex Bee at 5-1.
Weather
Mainly fine with light to moderate easterly winds.
Top temperatures 25-30 degrees.
Overnight lows of 29 degrees on the coast and 17 degrees inland with clear skies. Friday and the start of the weekend-Clear skies in coastal areas,possible thunderstorms inland.Highs of 24-39 degrees.
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