British man charged over Disneyland 'wedding' with nine-year-old - A British man has been questioned by police and charged after privatising part of Disneyland Paris to stage a fake wedding with a nine-year-old girl. Prosecutors in the Paris suburb of Meaux have charged the man with offences including money laundering and identity theft - and he remains under investigation for claims of corruption of a minor. It's reported that he paid as much as €130,000 to hire part of the theme park in the early hours of Saturday morning, several hours before it opened to the public, and to hire people to pose as visitors to the mock wedding. Staff at Disneyland said the event was immediately cancelled and they alerted police when the man arrived at the theme park, playing the role of the groom, alongside his purported bride, a nine-year-old Ukrainian girl. A 24-year-old Latvian woman who played the role of the girl's sister has also been questioned as an assisted witness. About 100 extras had been hired for the staged event.
18-month-old boy dies in Marseille fall - A toddler has died after falling from the 18th floor of an apartment block in the 15th arrondissement of Marseille. Firefighters tried to resuscitate the 18-month-old boy, who was suffering from multiple trauma and cardiac arrest, but he was pronounced dead at the scene. The circumstances surrounding the fall remain unclear and an investigation has been opened.
Heatwave continues for much of France - Large parts of France continue to suffer from a heatwave - and in some areas today is expected to be the hottest so far. According to Météo France, a further rise in temperatures today is forecast in parts of the Aquitaine and the Mediterranean coast. The hot weather is crossing France from west to east. Parts of Provence could reach 38°C today and the Bouches-du-Rhône and Vaucluse prefectures have extended their yellow heatwave alerts until this evening. The two departments are also on an orange alert for potential forest fires. On average, temperatures across the south of France are six degrees above the normal temperatures recorded in June.
Toulon restaurant shut down for poor hygiene - In local news, food safety inspectors have shut down a restaurant in Toulon after finding appalling hygiene conditions. Zappi Pasta, in the Super-Toulon neighbourhood above the city, cannot reopen until all the issues in the report are fixed and a further inspection is carried out. Inspectors found poor hygiene conditions in the kitchen, dirty floors and fridges, non-compliant labelling and packaging, and food products being defrosted at room temperature. Kitchen staff were found to be lacking in hygiene training and there were no hand-washing facilities for staff.
Tende tunnel to finally reopen on Friday - A crucial road link between France and Italy is set to reopen later this week after being closed for almost five years. The 3km-long Col de Tende tunnel was severely damaged by Storm Alex in October 2020 and has undergone substantial repair works since. A full-scale safety simulation was carried out in the tunnel on Tuesday to ensure the infrastructure is ready to reopen to the public. In the disaster exercise yesterday, emergency services from both France and Italy practised their response to an emergency. In the simulation, a truck suffered a puncture and careered into the tunnel wall. A school bus carrying 35 children then collided into the back of the truck, causing a fire, filling the tunnel with smoke. The fictional exercise went to plan and the inauguration will go ahead this Friday.
Animal-friendly town awards - Nice and Villeneuve-Loubet have been awarded the label of "animal-friendly town" for a second time. The Ville des Animaux award recognises towns and cities around the Sud region for their animal welfare policies and animal-friendly infrastructure, such as dog play areas and poop bag dispensers. Both towns were first given the label in 2023 and this has now been renewed for a further two years. In Villeneuve-Loubet, youth workers organise sessions where children with learning difficulties and other behavioural issues spend time playing with dogs. In Nice, employees in the city hall are allowed to bring their dogs to work. Both towns have dedicated beaches where dogs can run around without a lead.
BUSINESS
Airlines have cancelled or rerouted flights to and from the Middle East, as the conflict between Israel and Iran continues. Qatar's Doha airport, a critical hub in the region, halted operations on Monday, after Iran fired missiles at a US military base in the country, in what it said was retaliation for American strikes against its nuclear sites over the weekend. Flights were temporarily paused at Dubai airport in the United Arab Emirates, the world's busiest air terminal, as passengers were told to expect further delays and cancellations. More than a dozen airlines have cancelled flights to parts of the region after tension mounted in recent days.
Oil prices dropped sharply yesterday after news of a potential ceasefire between Israel and Iran emerged. Brent crude, the global benchmark, fell for a second day, down by 5.4%, after tumbling by 7% on Monday, returning to levels last seen on 11 June, the day before Israel launched a series of strikes against Iran’s nuclear and military sites.
Google could be forced to make a series of changes to its search business in the UK, including giving internet users an option to choose alternative services. It comes after the UK competition watchdog proposed to tighten regulation of the company. The Competition and Market Authority (CMA) is preparing to unveil extra powers to regulate technology companies deemed to have a considerable market position. Google accounts for more than 90% of search queries in Britain. The CMA said it was minded to introduce measures including giving users “choice screens” to help them switch between search services, ensuring fair ranking of search results, and more control for publishers over how their content is used.
Staff at the British supermarket Co-op have accused the company of putting their safety and security at risk by having too few people on duty. Despite a surge in shoplifting, many report being left alone to pack online orders and manage self-checkouts and tills. Co-op, which has campaigned extensively on the problem of shoplifting, is rolling out a plan to introduce lone working with only one person on duty in quieter stores. The scheme, which was trialled in five locations last year, is being expanded to a total of 60 branches.
SPORT
Tennis - Britain's Emma Raducanu has praised Wimbledon for doing "an amazing job" to prevent a man who had been stalking her from buying tickets for this month's championships. The All England Club's security measures spotted the man had been red-flagged, and he was blocked from attempting to enter the public ballot. The man followed Raducanu to four successive tournaments in February and the 22-year-old was left in tears when she caught sight of him in the stands at the Dubai Tennis Championships. He was later given a restraining order by Dubai police, and his name was circulated among the tennis authorities.
Motorsport - Formula 1 head to Red Bull's home track for the Austrian Grand Prix this weekend after a dramatic conclusion to the last event in Canada. Lando Norris accepted blame immediately for colliding with Oscar Piastri during the latter stages of the Canadian Grand Prix which got rid of any potential tension between the McLaren pair. Norris is 22 points behind Piastri in the Drivers' Championship and is still yet to string together consecutive wins in the same season. Meanwhile, Max Verstappen says he's had enough of answering questions over the looming threat of a race ban. Verstappen has 11 penalty points on his licence and if a driver reaches 12 points, they will be suspended for the next race weekend. He needs to race cleanly in Austria before two penalty points drop off, as the points cover a rolling 12-month period.
Football - Lionel Messi will face former club Paris St-Germain at the Fifa Club World Cup as Inter Miami drew 2-2 with Palmeiras to reach the knockout stages. The Brazilian club went through as winners of Group A on goal difference. Inter Milan finishing second means they've set up a meeting with PSG, where Messi played from 2021 to 2023.
And in transfer news, Leeds United have made their second signing of the summer as they continue to strengthen before their Premier League return. Slovenia centre-back Jaka Bijol joins from Udinese for an undisclosed fee, with the 26-year-old signing a five-year deal. Earlier in the window Leeds signed forward Felix Nmecha on a free transfer from Wolfsburg.
WEATHER
Fine and sunny across most of the Riviera today, with the risk of thunderstorms this afternoon inland in the Alpes-Maritimes and the Var. Temperatures reaching 29 degrees Celsius on the coast and up to 32 inland. It'll be another warm night, with temperatures staying around 24 degrees on the coast and 20 inland. The outlook for Thursday: fine and sunny, strong winds in the Var and the possibility of some light rain inland in the Alpes-Maritimes in the afternoon. Temperatures tomorrow reaching 28 on the Alpes-Maritimes coast, 33 on the Var coast and 34 inland in the Var.
A British man has been questioned by police and charged after privatising part of Disneyland Paris to stage a fake wedding with a nine-year-old girl....
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A child has died after falling from the 18th floor of a building in Marseille. The tragic incident occurred last night in the 15th arondissement ...
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French air traffic controllers have filed a strike notice for the start of the summer holidays, in a dispute over working conditions....
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The French National Assembly is set to debate the current conflict in the Middle East on Wednesday
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French president Emmanuel Macron has held an urgent meeting of his national defence and security council on Sunday evening after the US waded into the...
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