Drug bust-Police in Marseilles say that they’ve seized a record haul of drugs with a street value of 2.5 million euros.
During raids in the northern part of the city ,police say that they seized 200 kilos of cannabis resin ,6 kilos of herbal cannabis ,9 kilos of cocaine ,3 kilos of heroin ,several luxury watches and 40,000 euros in cash.
200 officers from a combined team of National Police and the Gendarmerie took part in the operation which was the result of a 6 month investigation.
12 people have been arrested.
Authorities say that they estimate the gang was supplying around 2,000 customers a day with a daily turnover of 50,000 to 75,000 euros.
Salis Beach-Police in Antibes have evacuated Salis Beach after a suspect device was disvovered in the water.
A swimmer alerted authorities at 9pm last night after spotting the device which could contain explosives 50 meters off the beach at a depth of 2 meters.
Police have sealed the area off and it will remain closed while authorities investigate.
Acid attack-A man who is suspected of vandalising 23 shops on the avenue de la Republique in Nice last weekend has been arrested.
Reports say that the suspect was apprehended on Wednesday after police had examined CCTV footage from the crime scene.
The shops were daubed with an acidic graffiti which caused thousands of euros of damage.
The Mayor of Nice Christian Estrosi dubbed the incident as “unacceptable” and thanked the police for their efforts in tracking down the presumed perpetrator.
Forests-Despite the heavy rain on Tuesday, several areas in the Provence Alpes Cote d’Azur remain on high alert for forest fires today.
The Bouches du Rhone is on the highest alert with the public banned completely from 7 areas of forest land.
Parts of the Var are also still on high alert although the risk has diminished since the start of the week.
JLP-Shopkeepers and restauranteurs in Juan les Pins are calling on police to crack down on the numbers of motorbikes and scooters parking on the pavement.
Reports say that the situation is getting worse and that some riders are behaving aggressively towards pedestrians while parking their machines on the pavement.
There have also been a growing number of complaints against cyclists and riders of electric scooters some of whom are described as behaving in a “cavalier fashion”.
Pyromaniac-A 17 year old youth has appeared before a juvenile court in Nice after confessing to several acts of arson in Roquebilliere in the Vesubie Valley at the end of June.
Police arrested the youth in neigbouring Saint-Martin Vesubie in the Alpes-Maritimes following a two week investigation after two cars and a bike shed were torched within 24 hours at the end of June.
Reports say that the arrest came following forensic examination of the crime scenes and video surveillance evidence.
Fireworks -The City Hall of Nice has confirmed that the annual Bastille Day fireworks display will be held this coming Saturday night the 13th of July.
Rumours had been swirling on the internet that the display had been shifted to Monday the 15th but the Mairie has reiterated that the celebrations will be held on Saturday night.
The display is not being held on July the 14th as the day has been set aside for commemorations marking the 3rd anniversary of the Nice terror attacks.
There will be high security in Nice over the Bastille Day weekend.
5G-Monaco has become the first country in the world to be entirely covered in the new 5G mobile network.
Last September ,Prince Albert the 2nd announced that he intended for the Principality to have its 5G network up and running by the end of this year and the early delivery of the new technology is a world first.
Several other countries are well advanced down the path on 5G but Monaco has beaten everyone else to it.
In National News.
Iran-France has sent an envoy to Iran in a bid to defuse growing tensions in the region.
Emmanuel Bonne will attempt to persuade the country to come back into compliance with the 2015 nuclear deal which Tehran said that it had abandoned last weekend.
The French President Emmanuel Macron is leading efforts to diffuse growing tensions between Iran and the United States in particular.
Meanwhile the International Atomic Energy Agency has been meeting in Vienna to discuss the situation.
Officials from the IAEA have described Iran’s decision to start enriching uranium above the cap set under the 2015 deal as “alarming”.
There have been suggestions that President Macron himself might visit Iran in the near future in bid to appeal directly to the country’s leaders.
Speed cameras-The French Interior Minister Christophe Castaner has said that the introduction of 80 km/h speed limits on the national road network last July has saved “at least 206 lives”.
Mr Castaner also said that some 1,000 speed cameras had been destroyed or damaged during “yellow vest” protests since the start of the year but that most cameras on main arteries had been replaced or repaired.
Meanwhile ,the director general of the French Road Safety Association has said that she thinks the 80 km/h speed limit should be maintained.
In an interview with France Info Radio on Wednesday ,Anne Lavaud said that there was no doubt that the cut from 90 to 80 km/h had helped to improve road safety and appealed to regional authorities to “study the facts” before reverting to the old limit.
Earlier this year ,the government said that it would allow regional authorities to lift the 80 km/h limit on a case by case basis.
Business.
US markets closed at record highs on Wednesday after the Chairman of the Federal Reserve suggested that an interest rate cut was on the way.
Jerome Powell also said that he would not step down if President Trump asks him to.During testimony to Congress ,Mr Powell said that “the law gives me a four year term and I fully intend to serve it”.
At the close ,the S&P 500 was up by half a percent to 29 93 with the Dow Jones Industrials up 0.3 percent at 26,860 and the Nasdaq up 0.75 percent at 82 02.
The founder of Superdry says that he’s trying to “steady the ship” after the clothing retailer reported annual losses of 85 million pounds.
Julian Dunkerton,who returned to the firm in April following a campaign against previous management warned that sales could also fall in the current financial year.
Last year ,Superdry reported a profit of 65.3 million pounds.
Retail analysts say that in some cases ,it’s hard for fashion brands to reinvent themselves on the back of a slump in sales.
Mr Dunkerton says that he’s confident he can turn things around.
The UK economy returned to growth in May following a negative performance in April but the news has failed to ease concerns that a recession may be on the way.
The economy grew by 0.3 percent in May following a 0.4 percent contraction in April according to the Office for National Statistics.
However ,economists say that growth for June will have to be robust to avoid overall contraction in the second quarter.
Recent signals from manufacturing and retail suggest that the economy is barely growing as uncertainty over Brexit continues.
And-Researchers have found a way to purify water and generate electricity from a single solar powered device.
A team of scientists has adapted a solar panel that not only generates power but also used some of the heat energy to distill and purify sea water.
The development could make a major impact in hot countries with limited water supplies.
The team says that a commercial device could be on the market within 5 years and the project has already attracted interest from a number of firms.
Sport.
Tennis-The big three in the men’s event at Wimbledon are all through to the last 4 without any major hitches.
World number one Novak Djokovic dispatched David Goffin in straight sets 6-4 6-0 6-2 to set up a semi final meeting with Roberto Bautisto Agut who beat Guido Pella in four sets.
Roger Federer came through against Kei Nishikori in four sets and he’ll now play Rafael Nadal who beat Sam Querry 7-5 6-2 6-2.
It will be the 40th meeting between Nadal and Federer.They have 10 Wimbledon titles and 38 Grand Slams between them.
It’s women’s semi-finals day today.Unseeded Barbora Strycova plays Serena Williams and Simona Halep faces Elina Svitolina.
Cricket-New Zealand have reached the World Cup Final after causing an upset to beat India in the semi-final at Old Trafford.
The match continued into a second day after rain on Tuesday with New Zealand adding to their overnight score to end on 239-8 from their 50 overs.
India really should have been able to reach the target given their prowess with the bat but the New Zealand attack had other ideas and they were bowled out for 221 in 49.3 overs.
New Zealand will meet the winners of today’s second semi final between England and Australia at Edgebaston.
Cycling-Peter Sagan has won stage 5 of the Tour de France as he sprinted to victory at the finish in Colmar.
It was Sagan’s 12th tour stage victory but the leader’s yellow jersey remains with Frenchman Julian Alaphilippe who holds a 14 second advantage over Wout van Aert in the general classification.
Defending champion Geraint Thomas is down in overall 7th still 45 seconds off the pace.
Today’s 6th stage sees the riders tackle the mountains for the first time and is 160.5 kilometers between Mulhouse and La Planche des Belles Filles.
The stage should help to sort out the general classification and its likely that Alaphilippe will be unable to hang on to the lead.
Football-The new Chelsea manager Frank Lampard was denied a win in his first game in charge as his side were held to a draw at Bohemians in Ireland.
Lampard fielded a different XI in each half but was denied a win when the Irish side scored a late equaliser and the game ended 1-1.
Formula 1-The future of the British Grand Prix has been secured after Silverstone signed a new 5 year contract with the sport’s owners.
This weekend’s race had been due to be the last at the circuit after the contract was ended because it was too expensive.
A new deal was signed following 2 years of negotiations with the chairman of Formula 1 Chase Carey describing the race at Silverstone as “an integral part “ of the future of the sport.
Athletics-The Herculis Diamond League meeting will be held at the Stade Louis Deux in Monaco tomorrow night and there’s an appetizer to the event on Port Hercule this evening.
Organisers will stage the women’s triple jump event on the Port tonight this evening at 7pm.
Tickets for the full meeting tomorrow evening are available from the Stade Louis Deux box office or online at www.monaco-diamond-league.com
Weather.
Partially cloudy with light variable winds.
Top temperatures 27-30 degrees Celsius.
Overnight lows of 22 degrees on the coast and 19 degrees inland with clear skies.
Friday and the start of the weekend-Mainly fine with highs of 27-33 degrees.
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