News
AstraZeneca - The European Medicines Agency (EMA) is to issue its conclusions on the AstraZeneca vaccine in a press conference this afternoon at 4pm French time. The online press conference will focus on "the conclusion of the examination of the alarm signal" launched about the vaccine in relation to "cases of thrombosis".
Meanwhile the University of Oxford has announced that it is suspending trials on children of the Covid-19 vaccine which were developed with the Anglo-Swedish laboratory AstraZeneca, pending the opinion of the British regulator.
And – In France, the family of a 63-year-old man, who died in March of "multiple thromboses" after receiving a first injection of the AstraZeneca vaccine, has filed a complaint against X for "manslaughter".
Italy - In Italy, primary school students have returned to class today including those in the red zone. The college students also return to class, but only in the orange zone. Unlike France, schools in Italy have been closed for 30 weeks, completely or partially.
Amnesty International - Amnesty International has accused China and other countries of exploiting the pandemic to undermine human rights. In its annual report, the organization said that the health crisis had exposed "broken" policies and that cooperation was the only way forward. Amnesty strongly criticised the decision by former US president Donald Trump to withdraw Washington from the World Health Organisation (WHO) in the midst of the pandemic, a step now reversed by Trump's successor Joe Biden.
Since the coronavirus emerged in China in late 2019, the pandemic has claimed more than 2.8 million lives globally and infected at least 130 million people. Despite regular calls for global solidarity from international organisations, figures show widening inequality in access to vaccines.
In other news
Man dies in quad accident - A 44-year-old man has died in a quad accident in Lucéram in the Paillons valley. The accident occurred on Tuesday the victim was alone on his property at the time. Police have launched an investigation to determine the cause of the accident.
Vehicle catches fire in tunnel on the RD2204b - A vehicle has caught fire in the Condamine tunnel on the RD2204b. Firefighters intervened at 9am and the dual carriageway was closed to motorists between Pointe de Contes and Nice. Traffic was diverted to the RD 2204 via Drap, Pont-de-Peille and La Pointe-de-Contes.
Snowfall - There has been snowfall in the hinterland of the Côte d'Azur this morning with many Internet users and Riviera Radio listeners taking snaps to capture the moment. The sun has since returned with Meteo France forecasting sunshine and warmer temperatures from now, until Friday.
Speed restrictions are in place on all major roads in the Alpes-Maritimes today because of a smog alert....
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A Marseille magistrate has been sentenced on the 17th of June in Nîmes for repeatedly avoiding motorway tolls using fake license plates. ...
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A major police stop-and-search operation along France's borders is being carried out today, involving 4,000 police officers, gendarmes and customs off...
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SFR has announced automatic compensation of 100GB of free mobile data for affected customers following a major network outage on the 16th of June....
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French President Emmanuel Macron will chair a high-level Security and Defence Council meeting at the Élysée Palace today Wednesday, June 18th at 4pm, ...
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