Road accident - A young woman in her twenties has been taken to hospital in a serious condition after being hit by a car while on her scooter. The accident occurred around 5pm in Nice near the Park Phoenix on the Promenade des Anglais.
Police have appealed for any witnesses to come forward.
Bioethanol lamp explodes - A 37-year-old mother and her 8-year-old son have suffered serious burns to their faces after a bioethanol lamp exploded on a market stall on the Quai de Gaulle in Bandol.
The incident occurred shortly after 8.30pm on Thursday while the family were visiting the market. The 31-year-old father and 5-year-old daughter were also slightly injured.
Professor warns of a new wave of coronavirus - Professor Didier Raoult has warned of the risk of a new wave of coronavirus in France next winter.
The director general of Marseille hospital, who was widely solicited following his views on the controversial treatment of hydroxychloroquine for Covid-19 says that being “unable to predict the future there is a possibility of a second wave” and “France needs to watch very closely, this eventuality”.
Five players test positive at AS Saint-Etienne - Meanwhile France’s premier League football team AS Saint-Etienne announced on Thursday that five footballers have tested positive for Covid-19.
Testing was carried out before returning to the pitch on Wednesday. Thirty-three players and 21 management staff were tested and according to the ASSE, this screening campaign "demonstrates that the people who tested positive had contracted the virus during the lockdown period when they were not in contact with each other".
The players are now confined to their homes and are subject to support by the club's medical staff. They will undergo additional examinations within 24 hours.
In England, where the championship resumed on Wednesday, only one positive case was detected during the last series of tests on players and members of management of the clubs of the Premier League, on 1.213 people tested.
Swimming ban - A swimming area in La Seyne-sur-Mer has been temporarily closed due to "micropollution of biological origin", according to the municipality. The closure affects an area of Mar-Vivo beach. Tests are being carried out, the results of which should be known by Saturday.
Fete de la Musique - The prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes has announced that spontaneous street concerts will be prohibited on the Côte d'Azur on Sunday.
As France prepares to celebrate this year’s Fête de la Musique. The usual gathering of crowds in the streets and outside of cafés and restaurants, will be somewhat different due to the coronavirus epidemic and the ban on public gatherings of more than ten people.
Exceptions have been made with special requests being authorized following prior demand to the Prefect from bars and restaurants.
Fine for discarding masks in public - Monegasque authorities have decided to crack down on the irresponsible disposal of face masks in the Principality. From now on, abandoning a disposable mask on the pavement or in a gutter will be met with a 300 euro fine.
Alter Collection on show at the Riva Tunnel – Young designer Pauline Ducruet, daughter of Princess Stephanie of Monaco and niece to His Serene Highness Prince Albert II is presenting her latest collection of “Alter” her unisex fashion brand created in 2018.
The pop-up store is open until Sunday 21st June, here on the port at the Riva Tunnel right next to Riviera Radio.
“Louis XV – Alain Ducasse” welcomes customers - Two and a half weeks since the reopening of bars and restaurants in the Principality this evening, it will be the emblematic three-star “Louis XV – Alain Ducasse” restaurant that will welcome its first customers.
Business
President Trump has renewed threats to cut ties with China just a day after top level diplomats with officials in Beijing and his trade representative said that he did not consider decoupling the Chinese and US economies as a viable option.
Diplomats have described Sino-US relations as “tense” after their first high level talks in months as Beijing refused to commit to the first part of a trade deal reached at the start of the year.
President Trump has made rebalancing the huge US trade deficit with China a major priority but relations between the two countries have been steadily worsening since the outbreak of the coronavirus.
The US trade representative Robert Lighthizer told Congress on Wednesday that decoupling the two economies would not be desirable or viable but Mr Trump insisted on Thursday that he’s ready to cut ties completely if necessary.
More than 1.5 million Americans filed for unemployment last week according to the US Labor Department ,a higher than expected number that suggests that the coronavirus is still causing economic damage to the world’s largest economy.
It was the 13th week in a row that unemployment claims have topped one million with a total of some 29 million Americans continuing to collect jobless benefits.
Most analysts expect unemployment to be above 9 percent at the end of the year -close to the high set in the aftermath of the financial crisis of 2008.
Earlier this week ,the Chair of the US Federal Reserve warned of “significant uncertainty “ regarding the recovery and told Congress that he thought that more economic relief would be necessary.
And-The Bank of England is to pump an extra 100 billion pounds into the UK economy to help fight what officials called the “unprecedented” coronavirus-induced downturn.
Bank policymakers voted 8-1 in favour of increasing the size of its bond-buying programme.
Interest rates were kept at a record low of 0.1 percent but the Bank said that there were some signs that the hit to the economy would be “less severe” than initially feared.
The UK economy shrank by 20.4 percent in April while official employment data showed that the number of workers on payrolls declined by 600,000 between March and May.
Football -There’s a full programme in the English Premier League this weekend with two games tonight.
Norwich play Southampton and Spurs host Manchester United.
On Saturday Watford play Leicster.Brighton host Arsenal.West Ham play Wolves and Bournemouth host Crystal Palace.
On Sunday Newcastle play Sheffield United.Aston Villa play Chelsea and Everton are at home to Liverpool.
Manchester City play Burnley on Monday.
Rugby Union-The English Rugby Football Union is reviewing fan’s use of Swing Low Sweet Chariot after saying that many people don’t know about its links with slavery.
A spokesperson said that the Union needed to do more to “grow awareness”.
The RFU said that it was reviewing the historical context of the song and its role in educating fans to make informed decisions.
Swing Low Sweet Chariot is thought to have been written in the mid 19th century by Wallace Willis who was a black slave.
It’s first known use at Twickenham was in 1987 when Martin “Chariots” Offiah played in the Middlesex Sevens Tournament.
Golf-Ian Poulter shares the lead following the first round of the RCB Heritage at Hilton Head Island.
Poulter shot a 7 under par 64 to share the lead with Mark Hubbard of the United States.Webb Simpson is one of a cluster of players on 6 under.
Racing-Stradivarius with Frankie Dettori on board pulled off a third successive Gold Cup victory at Royal Ascot on Thursday.
The 4-5 on favourite made his move with two furlongs to go and won by 10 lengths with Nayef Road second and Cross Counter in third.
Stradivarius joins Sagaro and Yeats in winning the highlight of Royal Ascot three times.
Today’s feature race is the Commonwealth Cup which is off at 4.35 French time.
The Wesley Ward trained Kimari is the favourite for the race for three year old sprinters which is over 6 furlongs.
Weather
Mainly fine with a moderate to strong westerly wind across the Var.
Top temperatures 25-28 degrees.
Overnight lows of 18 degrees on the coast and 13 degrees inland with clear skies.
The weekend-Fine in coastal areas ,some showers inland tomorrow.Highs of 24-27 degrees.
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