AkzoNobel has begun work on a €22m redevelopment and modernisation programme for its Aerospace Coatings production site at Pamiers The first foundation stone was laid at a formal ceremony in the presence of local officials The investment comprises an upgrade of the existing facilities to optimise the sustainable performance of the site over the long term AkzoNobel said this will be “achieved in tandem with significantly reducing its environmental footprint while maintaining the highest safety and environmental standards” It also includes the construction of two new buildings which will add a further 3,000m² of warehousing and storage space as well as a new waste management facility The development programme for the facility The project is expected to be complete by the end of 2026 and will result in a 50% increase in overall capacity Product innovation will be supported by investment into two dedicated research and development laboratories for aircraft structure coatings and cabin interior coatings where work will continue to develop more Chromate Free products for the future “Pamiers was the first European site to introduce waterborne aerospace coatings and this dedication to creating and producing new generation technologies will continue to be a priority,” said Xavier Rijmenans sales director of AkzoNobel Aerospace Coatings EMEA “This significant investment and resulting development of Pamiers is wholly aligned with AkzoNobel’s strategy of growth and industrial excellence It highlights our ambition to create sustainable efficient and environmentally friendly industrial centres that can respond to local and regional market needs.” AkzoNobel’s Pamiers site serves customer globally with 60% of the aerospace coatings of its production volume going to customers in France and Europe and the rest being distributed to the global market Three people questioned on suspicion of involuntary manslaughter after collision in Pamiers A woman and her teenage daughter have died in southern France after a car hit a roadblock where they were standing The blockade had been set up by farmers taking part in growing anti-government protests The 35-year-old woman and her 14-year-old daughter were killed at 5.45am when a car went through a warning barrage and collided at speed with bales of straw piled up to stop traffic in Pamiers were being questioned on suspicion of involuntary manslaughter The woman who was killed was a member of the powerful FNSEA farmers union which has been leading nationwide protests Her daughter was taken to hospital but later died said early results of the investigation suggested the car the car ran into a wall of straw bales at the roadblock hit the three people and only came to a halt when it crashed into a tractor’s trailer The farming protests – calling on the government to cut regulations and taxes and ensure better prices for produce – have presented Emmanuel Macron’s newly appointed prime minister, Gabriel Attal as convoys of tractors continued to block key roads across France on Tuesday and farmers held demonstrations in towns Attal wrote on social media that “the nation is devastated” by the farmer’s death at the roadblock. Macron said he had asked his government “to offer concrete solutions” to the farmers’ problems. “My thoughts go out to the victims and their loved ones who are mourning them,” he said, calling Tuesday’s collision “a drama that has devastated us all”. Attal met farming unions on Monday night but did not assuage their anger. From Tuesday morning, farmers blocked roads across the country, including the areas around Toulouse in the south-west, Isère in the south-east, and Beauvais in the north. “We’re prepared for anything, we’ve got nothing to lose,” said Josep Perez, a protester interviewed by BFM TV at a roadblock in the south-western fruit-growing region around Agen, where traffic on the A62 motorway had been disrupted. Farmers on Tuesday drove to the prefect’s office in Agen and dumped piles of tripe from a local abattoir, threw kiwifruit, and splattered the front of the building in red paint. They hung a banner saying: “We won’t die in silence.” Arnaud Rousseau, the head of the FNSEA union, told RMC radio that the protests could last “a day, a week” or “as long as it takes” for the government to respond. “Every minute, we’re learning of a new roadblock,” he said. Every single département in France would be involved at some point during this week, he said. Arnaud Gaillot, the head of the Young Farmers union, said: “We won’t lift the roadblocks until the prime minister makes very clear announcements … the time for talking is over, action is needed.” The government recently put its long-awaited agriculture bill on hold again, saying it wants to hear from farming representatives before including additional measures to support the sector. When Attal met farming representatives on Monday, he promised a number of measures would be announced by the end of the week, according to the agriculture minister, Marc Fesneau. Free newsletterA digest of the morning's main headlines from the Europe edition emailed direct to you every week day Read moreFarmers said anger was growing for several reasons Many feel abandoned in the face of the climate crisis with droughts and severe weather conditions but there is also fury at what they see as impossibly low prices for their products in the food sector complex environmental norms and green policies There is also anger about taxes on off-road diesel The farmers’ protests in France come amid other tractor demonstrations in European countries, such as Germany and Romania before European parliament elections in June has thousands of independent producers of meat who have a record of staging disruptive protests The government fears the protests could spread to other people angry about the cost of living and energy prices said there should be a “convergence of anger” calling on others to put pressure on the government over the tax on off-road diesel as well as the rise in electricity prices and a rise in medicine costs In the lead-up to the European parliament elections Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally party has appealed to farmers and rural voters Her party colleague Jean-Philippe Tanguy said: “Farmers are at last getting the attention of public powers.” He said he was surprised it was taking Attal so long “to understand the way French farming works” Application Areas Coatings Technologies Legislation Markets & Companies People & Careers Production & Lab Raw materials Sponsored Content Home » News » Markets & Companies » Akzo Nobel announces EUR 20 million investment A total of EUR 15 million will be spent on the company’s aerospace coatings facility in Pamiers which was taken over following the Mapaero acquisition in 2019 production capacity will being boosted by 50% while the funds will also be used to reduce environmental impact and improve safety processes and working conditions The other EUR 5 million will be spent on improving production flexibility at the decorative paints site in Montataire which is one of the company’s most important manufacturing locations for wall paints in Europe The plans for Pamiers include the construction of two extensions one for storage and one for cleaning and waste treatment The project will also enable the company to relocate the production of exterior polyurethane paints for aircraft widely used in Europe from its Waukegan plant in the US Building work is expected to start by the end of 2023 with the new installations at both locations due to be operational in early 2025 Akzo Nobel employs nearly 1,500 people in France and operates four production facilities Limoges (adhesive markings) and Pamiers (aerospace coatings) Demand for sustainable products continues to grow — but decorative coatings must also be durable Striking the right balance is one of the greatest challenges facing the.. has introduced three regional entities in Germany The aim is to decentralise the company’s structure have inaugurated a new laboratory in Shanghai The centre aims to strengthen innovation capabilities in the region US chemicals group Dow is considering the shutdown of two energy-intensive plants in Schkopau and Böhlen The decision follows market overcapacities rising costs and increasing regulatory pressures... Duncan Taylor will take over as interim CEO of Allnex on May 1 who will retire from the company on June 30 Taylor will continue to serve as Chief Financial Officer.. Marcus Jordan has assumed the role of Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of IMCD N.V Find the answers to the most frequently asked questions in our FAQ collection Keensight Capital-backed firm gets two more data centers with IT firm French IT services firm the Inherent Group has acquired local services company Equadex The Keensight Capital-owned company this week the acquisition Equadex will be rolled into Keensight/Inherent Group company Adista will become director of the new Occitania region of Adista Equadex provides local small and medium-sized businesses with IT services including auditing and consulting Equadex's two data centers will be integrated into the Inherent network "Customer proximity and satisfaction are two priorities shared by Inherent and Equadex This partnership was therefore a natural choice for both companies whose common goal is to eliminate technological complexity by capitalizing on human relations," said Patrice Bélie the Inherent Group's network includes 12 data centers across Nancy Inherent also owns telecoms company Unyc and cybersecurity firm CyberProtect In late 2021, Adista partnered with Datafarm Energy for a new data center at an undisclosed location in France that would be powered by bio-gas "The Equadex team will join the Group’s direct sales activity under the Adista brand Our employees will benefit from new synergies and our customers will gain an expanded service offering We share a common vision on the importance of close relationships with our customers The Equadex team will take on the role to lead the Adista activity in the Occitania region We will continue to support our clients such that they can leverage the technological potential and that it becomes a real operational development tool," stated Franck Marty "Keensight Capital is delighted to have supported Inherent with this new acquisition which is in line with its continued growth ambitions: to support its clients with their IT challenges through its three operational activities This acquisition will allow the inherent Group to consolidate its activity as a cloud services operator and to strengthen its regional coverage," added Stanislas de Tinguy Keensight is a European private equity firm It also owns pharmaceutical & drug discovery companies and software firms as well as battery and semiconductor companies Data Centre Dynamics Ltd (DCD), 32-38 Saffron Hill, London, EC1N 8FH Email. [email protected]DCD is a subsidiary of InfraXmedia A total of €15 million will be spent on the aerospace coatings facility in Pamiers, which became part of AkzoNobel following its acquisition of manufacturer Mapaero in November 2019. Capacity at the plant will rise by 50%, and the investment will also reduce the facility’s environmental impact and improve safety processes and working conditions. Plans for Pamiers include the construction of two extensions, one for storage and one for cleaning and waste treatment. The project will also enable the company to relocate the production of exterior polyurethane paints for aircraft widely used in Europe from its Waukegan plant in Illinois, USA. The remaining €5 million will go toward improving flexibility of production at the decorative paints site in Montataire, which AkzoNobel said is one of its most important manufacturing locations in Europe for wall paints. “These investments underline our growth ambitions and confirm our commitment to supporting economic development in France,” said CEO Thierry Vanlancker. “The Pamiers project in particular demonstrates how we’re contributing to a more sustainable aerospace industry by increasing the supply of high-performance products that are more respectful of the environment.” Building work is expected to start by the end of 2023, with the new installations at both locations due to be operational in early 2025. Last month, the company announced plans to expand capacity for water-based texture paints in China. AkzoNobel employs nearly 1,500 people in France and operates four production plants – Montataire (decorative paints), Dourdan (powder coatings), Limoges (adhesive markings) and Pamiers (aerospace coatings). Author: Elaine Burridge, Freelance Journalist Valerie Diele-Braun, CEO of IMCD, shares her vision for sustainability, global expansions, and strategic direction in an exclusive CHEManager International interview. CHEManager Innovation Pitch supports innovation in the chemistry and life sciences start-up scene. The platform allows founders, young entrepreneurs, and start-ups to present their companies to the industry. Meet Lina Patiño. By prioritizing customers and colleagues in her project roadmap, she helped ensure the successful rebrand of our Pamiers, France site. “I’ve always accepted new challenges and worked creatively to get results,” says Lina Patiño. “Leading a rebranding project after acquisition, I can say that it’s incredibly important to prioritize and work smart. With a project of this scale, you can’t do everything at once.” After the finalization of AkzoNobel’s acquisition of aerospace coatings manufacturer Mapaero, we turned our attention to rebranding the site in Pamiers, France. As communication lead for Aerospace, Automotive and Specialty Coatings at the site, Lina developed a roadmap for completing the project on time and in full – keeping both customers and colleagues top of mind throughout. “The acquisition has given us a chance to connect with colleagues all over the world,” says Lina Patiño. “I’ve been able to expand my knowledge of other markets and new technologies beyond liquid paint. We always specialized in sustainable water-based and advanced eco-friendly products – now as AkzoNobel, sustainability remains fully integrated in everything we do. That’s also so important to me.” “We first prioritized our customer communications: packaging and labeling, color books, technical data sheets, material safety data sheets, quotations and invoices,” says Lina. “We naturally required a new label template for products being manufactured. But first we had to rebrand the current stock of paints – which turned out to be one of our biggest challenges. “We had around 20,000 paint cans that needed to be relabeled and only days to accomplish it. For the label itself, which is unique to every single can, we opted for a perfect fit “sticker” of the AkzoNobel logo. That interim solution wouldn’t have an impact on manufacturing dates, part numbers, batch ids and expiration dates. Then, pulling together with colleagues in production and administration, we got the AkzoNobel logo sticker on all our stock.” The hustle was all worth it – Lina says: “The day we shipped the first completely AkzoNobel-branded product pallet was a great team accomplishment.” As soon as customer-facing materials were taken care of, the focus switched to the 140 people on site and their work environment. “Phase two was about taking care of signage, stationery and work clothing for R&D and production team,” explains Lina. “There was a lot of excitement when they received their new T-shirts, sweaters and lab coats. The Pamiers team really felt in that moment that they had become part of AkzoNobel.” On her side, Lina is proud to have joined a company with a vision for painting the future. She says: “I love how people are part of the core values of the company. That ensures the safety and growth of employees and people in surrounding communities.” AkzoNobel supplies high performance products and technologies for aircraft worldwide.  Meet Lorena Couch, Quality Control Supervisor Meet Luke Wong, Sales Manager for Retail in Sarawak, Malaysia Meet Alp Onal, HR Manager Human Resources Meet Alp Onal, HR Manager Human Resources Your current browser is not supported. For better results, please view in Microsoft Edge, Chrome, Firefox or your smartphone browser. Rosario was ten years old when she last saw her father, Pedro Pérez Vengut, a commander of the Republican Army.  Pérez fled from Manresa to live in exile in France, where he passed away in 1954. Rosario is now 88 years old and her dream to one day retrieve her father’s ashes has finally come true. Manresa’s Historical Memory Association, an organization dedicated to recovering Catalan history, found documents claiming Pérez died in Pamiers, the south of France. Upon hearing the news, Rosario’s daughter, Dolors, went there to look for the grave of her grandfather. “I found his grave hidden behind weeds,” she explained to the Catalan News Agency (ACN). They’ve dug up the remains of Pérez and cremated them, the ashes are now with Rosario, who told AC that she can “die in peace now, I have everything I want.”  Rosario’s daughter, Dolors, discovered many graves related to the Civil War in Palmiers. “While looking around the cemetery we saw many Catalan and Spanish names, there must be many people who are in the same situation as us,” she said.  The Civil War and subsequent Franco dictatorship cost more than 750 deaths in Manresa. Joaquim Aloy from Manresa’s Historical Memory Association says that uncovering this part of history is very important.  “It’s a very high number but behind every number is a person and a family,” Aloy said. “It is very important for us to identify people, to put names to the numbers. Because sometimes the numbers do not fully convey the human dimension involved.”  Get the day's biggest stories right to your phone Gabriel Fauré (1845–1924) was one of the most influential of French composers linking the end of Romanticism with the beginnings of the modern era His Requiem and Pavane remain among the best-loved classical pieces Fauré's musical talent became apparent when he was a boy "But the only thing I remember really clearly is the harmonium in that little chapel Every time I could get away I ran there...I played atrociously...but I do remember that I was happy; and if that is what it means to have a vocation young Gabriel was sent to Paris to study to become a church organist and choirmaster Saint-Saëns (pictured) took charge of piano studies and introduced contemporary music into the college Saint-Saëns took a great interest in Fauré's progress and a lifelong friendship was born Fauré earned a modest living as an organist and piano teacher he was appointed choirmaster at the Église Saint-Sulpice the two improvised simultaneously on the church's two organs trying to catch each other out with sudden changes of key Fauré became a founding member of the Société Nationale de Musique formed in February 1871 to promote new French music Many of Fauré's works were first presented at the Society's concerts he made trips abroad to see the operas of Wagner (pictured) He saw the complete Ring Cycle in Munich and in London and Die Meistersinger and Parsifal at Bayreuth Fauré admired Wagner and had a detailed knowledge of his music but he was one of the few composers of his generation not to be influenced musically by Wagner Holding an important post as organist as well as being director of the Paris Conservatoire meant that Fauré had to retreat to the countryside in the summer to concentrate on composing "Everything I managed to entertain by way of religious illusion I put into my Requiem which moreover is dominated from beginning to end by a very human feeling of faith in eternal rest." Fauré saw death as a "happy deliverance rather than as a painful experience." the married Fauré fell in love with Emma Bardac The affair inspired a burst of creativity and a new originality in his music Fauré wrote the Dolly Suite for piano duet between 1894 and 1897 and dedicated it to Bardac's daughter Hélène Some people suspected that Fauré was Dolly's father Fauré's popular Pavane was written for piano and choir in the late 1880s but not otherwise important," intending it to be played more briskly than it has generally come to be performed The choral lyrics were based on verses about the romantic helplessness of man Fauré's works of the last years of the 19th century included incidental music for the English premiere of Maurice Maeterlinck's Pelléas et Mélisande The work was very popular and also inspired an opera by Debussy and incidental music by Arnold Schoenberg and Jean Sibelius Fauré regularly wrote music criticism for the newspaper Le Figaro It's thought that Fauré's natural kindness and broad-mindedness meant he tended to emphasise the positive aspects of a work and not be critical enough He visited often and even played at Buckingham Palace in 1908 He attended the London premiere of Elgar's First Symphony that year and had dinner with Elgar afterwards "I admired him greatly," said Elgar who tried to get Fauré's Requiem put on at the Three Choirs Festival Fauré was recognised in France as the leading French composer of his day he received the Grand-Croix of the Légion d'Honneur Fauré suffered from poor health in his later years he remained available to teach and dispense advice to young composers He died in Paris from pneumonia on 4 November 1924 at the age of 79 See more Fauré News Discover Music See more Fauré Music See more Fauré Album Reviews See more Fauré Guides The following is an informal translation of the text of the agreement between the leaders of Russia Armenia and Azerbaijan as published on the website of the president of Russia (in Russian) on 10 November 2020 the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan I the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia N Pashinyan and the President of the Russian Federation V A complete ceasefire and all hostilities in the zone of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict are announced from 00:00 Moscow time on November 10 The Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Armenia The Aghdam region is returned to the Republic of Azerbaijan until November 20 Along the line of contact in Nagorno-Karabakh and along the Lachin corridor a peacekeeping contingent of the Russian Federation is deployed in the amount of 1,960 servicemen with small arms 380 units of automobile and special equipment The peacekeeping contingent of the Russian Federation is being deployed in parallel with the withdrawal of the Armenian armed forces The duration of the stay of the peacekeeping contingent of the Russian Federation is 5 years with automatic extension for the next 5-year periods if none of the Parties declares 6 months before the expiration of the period of intention to terminate the application of this provision In order to increase the effectiveness of control over the implementation of the agreements by the Parties to the conflict a peacekeeping center is being deployed to control the ceasefire The Republic of Armenia will return the Kelbajar region to the Republic of Azerbaijan by November 15 which will ensure the connection of Nagorno-Karabakh with Armenia and at the same time will not affect the city of Shusha remains under the control of the peacekeeping contingent of the Russian Federation a plan for the construction of a new route along the Lachin corridor will be determined in the next three years providing communication between Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia with the subsequent redeployment of the Russian peacekeeping contingent to protect this route The Republic of Azerbaijan guarantees the safety of traffic along the Lachin corridor of citizens Internally displaced persons and refugees are returning to the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh and adjacent areas under the control of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees hostages and other detained persons and bodies of the dead All economic and transport links in the region are unblocked The Republic of Armenia guarantees the safety of transport links between the western regions of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic in order to organize the unimpeded movement of citizens Control over transport communication is carried out by the bodies of the Border Guard Service of the FSB of Russia the construction of new transport communications linking the Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic with the western regions of Azerbaijan will be provided You can see the version in Russian on the website of the president of Russia here Trigano lived through the city’s Nazi occupation His Algerian Jewish parents were tipped off that their names were on a Gestapo arrest warrant and fled to the mountains of Ariège in the south of the country forging documents to help downed Allied airmen escape to Spain After the war he founded a successful tent-renting business later owning dozens of campsites and amassing enough wealth to indulge his love of classic cars and this week revealed grand plans to renovate the centre of Pamiers if elected Despite rivals using his advanced years against him in the campaign he was adamant that he could continue his service saying: “When you build a 10-storey building you don’t change architects after the fifth floor.” The odds are with him – having run in 19 different elections in half a century Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain Jewish News holds our community 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a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline removing any financial barriers to connecting people The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large We hope you agree all this is worth preserving SubscriptionOffers Give a Gift Subscribe High-minded allegations of prurience should not stop historians from examining the intimate lives of people in the past I recently introduced my undergraduates to Montaillou the classic 1975 study by Emmanuel Le Roy Ladurie which provides insight into the lives of 14th-century peasants in the tiny Pyrenean village of that name Studying depositions collected during inquisitorial investigations into the Cathar heresy by Jacques Fournier Bishop of Pamiers (and future Pope Benedict XII meaning the records were preserved in the Vatican Library) Ladurie was able to reconstruct the villagers' beliefs about God It is an outstanding example of microhistory exposing the most intimate secrets and daily experiences of these remote medieval people.  responding to its appearance in English translation critiqued its methodology and prurient focus censured it on the grounds of 'sloppy and manipulative' mistranslations (although I find fault with some of Herlihy's Latin) and for including what he thought were lengthy explicit and atypical examples of sexual behaviour and treatment Herlihy suggests that 'one chief reason for the commercial success of the book was its frank extended treatment of sex' and asks: 'Is it the historian's chief duty to titillate?' Clearly an ethical approach to the past is one that does not reduce people to their sexual activity or proclivities any more than it is one that employs a sort of moral parochialism in judging its subjects Thompson's injunction against the 'enormous condescension of posterity' is apt The philosopher Michael Oakeshott thought that history was 'obscene necromancy': the raising of the dead An historian who writes to titillate runs the risk of obscene necrophilia as well.  The reasons why sex might sell history books and why the consideration of sexual attitudes and behaviour might be thought mere titillation are one and the same: it is easy to assume that sex is a kind of activity outside history We imagine that we experience and think about bodily pleasures in similar ways no matter whether a 21st-century professional or a 14th-century peasant.  since Keith Thomas' article on 'the double standard' in 1959 sexual behaviour and attitudes to sexuality have been topics that scholars have historicised how sexual desire has been understood and how sexual behaviour has been governed have been deemed fit subjects for historical inquiry.  Such studies not only tell us much about changing social mores coined the term 'biopower' to describe the emergent nation state's attempt to regulate its early modern subjects by subjugating their bodies examines the culture of sexual policing in 16th- and 17th-century Europe and America that predated what he describes as the 'first sexual revolution': the intellectual shift in attitudes to the regulation and prosecution of the body he relates the voluntary confession of Massachusetts settler James Britton in 1644 to having tried to have sexual intercourse with an 18-year-old bride The couple were convicted of adultery and hanged such severity towards sexual rebels was not just an imposition by church and state; people internalised ideals of chastity believing that passion was dangerous and shameful and illicit sexuality criminal a group of women demanded to be let into Vidal Raymond's house crying out that they knew he kept a woman inside they forced an entry and found a woman trying to hide herself under the straw; the women called her a whore and chased her out of town Historians do not want to be the equivalent of those women: chasing down our subjects demanding they give up their secrets and passing judgement on them Nor should we write merely for prurient amusement But neither should we assume that sex and the panoply of ideas surrounding it have always been the same Suzannah Lipscomb is Senior Lecturer in Early Modern History and Head of the Faculty of History at the New College of the Humanities Next month’s scheduled international series between France and Lebanon appears to be in doubt with the first of the two games between the pair now cancelled due to NRL clubs not releasing their Lebanese players Les Blues had been scheduled to take on the Cedars twice on October 13 in Pamiers and on October 19 in Albi in preparation for the European Qualifiers for the World Series later in the month But that first clash in Pamiers has now appears to have been removed from the calendar the latter game in Albi is now in danger of following suit because clubs Down Under have refused to allow their Lebanese players permission to play on October 13 which comes exactly a week after the NRL Grand Final A representative of the club in Pamiers whose ground was set to host the first clash between France and Lebanon expressed their discontent at the cancellation speaking to news outlet La Depeche Christophe Tonnelle said: “We had reversed our championship (league) matches to play as the opener to the international game so this is a cancellation that falls badly “After two years of enormous work and great financial efforts we had hoped to make the arrival of the French national team a major event only for it to be postponed.” LRL RECOMMENDS: Where Are They Now? The Wigan Warriors side who were defeated in Catalans Dragons’ first-ever Super League game Love Rugby League understands France are still set to host the European Qualifiers next month but may well go into those on the back of no warm-up games which the two-match ‘series’ against Lebanon would have provided The schedule for those qualifiers is as follows: Whichever of the four nations involves wins the competition will progress into next year’s ‘World Series’ which will determine who takes the last two spots at the 2026 Rugby League World Cup the Cook Islands and South Africa have already confirmed their spots in the World Series with the winner of next month’s European qualifying tournament taking the last spot it is set to be played out in a round-robin group format with the winners and runners-up taking those last two spots at the World Cup in 2026 Love Rugby League have contacted the IRL for comment LRL RECOMMENDS: Gold Coast Titans bid farewell to international prop ahead of reported Super League move © Planet Sport Limited 2025 • All Rights Reserved In its first acquisition so far this year, AkzoNobel has agreed to buy French aerospace coatings manufacturer Mapaero for an undisclosed sum Mapaero specializes in water-based and advanced eco-friendly products It operates one production plant in France and employs around 140 people The Dutch paints and coatings group said the intended acquisition will strengthen its global position in aerospace coatings and contribute directly toward delivering its 2020 guidance The company regards itself as the global leader in aerospace coatings “The transaction will enable us to provide our customers with a much wider portfolio of innovative and sustainable products,” commented Vanlancker “It also demonstrates our commitment to continue investing in strategic growth opportunities as we progress further with our Winning together: 15 by 20 strategy and will be accretive towards our 15% return on sales target.” AkzoNobel’s offer is subject to customary information and consultation procedures with employee representatives as well as regulatory approval The deal is expected to close in the second half of 2019 The most recent acquisition prior to Mapaero was in December last year when AkzoNobel bought Swire Industrial’s minority interest in AkzoNobel Swire Paints gaining full ownership of the joint venture CHEManager Spotlight is an exclusive event tailored for practitioners and decision-makers in the chemical industry This part of our event series delves into the latest trends and innovations in logistics to streamline your operations and drive efficiency Are you ready to elevate your pharmaceutical operations Download our exclusive whitepaper and discover how compliance with Good Distribution Practice (GDP) is essential for the safety and integrity of pharmaceuticals I don’t monitor the French domestic championships closely Not because I’m not interested in what is the vital core of French Rugby League all the stakeholders counter the urban legend spread about our sport which some critics claim is purely motivated by money but they accept that their actions will get very little recognition in France I’m not a “remote-control Treiziste” either: following only the most hyped competitions like NRL or Super League but as they are not accompanied by a strong international promotion they don’t have much reach If you want to pull the leg of a Northern Brit or even a Sydneysider give them a mission to find a café or pub in a big city in France where one can watch a rugby league game I prefer to follow the trends of the domestic game if Carcassonne Canaries win the Men’s championship this season again it will be well deserved but unfortunately won’t change the so-called regional profile of our code Unless of course if Carcassonne eventually enters the British championship I’m trying to be more aware about things that occur which could give some indication of the growth of French rugby league including its return to areas that have played in the past There’s an urban legend which fits our pessimistic Gallic mentality well: where rugby League is in trouble there are encouraging signs coming from two clubs which oddly have the same monikers A very appropriate name as this animal was reintroduced in France but which seems today no more in danger of extinction Both come from cities of the same size (less than 20,000 inhabitants) Both have a prestigious rugby league past And more important; both are doing very well in their new leagues an area Sky commentators refer to as ‘South of France’ but far from the seaside and close to the mountains separated by 200km (125 miles) don’t know each other except by reputation there’s an unwritten rule saying that promoted teams struggle to survive Villefrance-de-Rouergue got a privilege from the Federation: during their first three seasons Villefranche is up to fourth in the Super XIII table so how did the “Villefranchois” manage to become so competitive Jean-Claude Boulagnon and Alain Borderie) agreed to answer my questions made it plain that the club would make it to the Super XIII only if they won the Elite 2 championship he’s built the success of this season on the backbone of last season’s team with the addition of a few more talented players,” explained Jean-Claude Boulagnon Villefranchois keep the heads cool for the next part of the season “The second part of the season may be more complicated; targets haven’t been raised even if the results are happily surprising,” he continued we said we were full of hope to qualify for the play-offs but if we don’t qualify that won’t be such a big deal for a first season in Super XIII.” I was also curious to know if promotion has changed the life of the club new volunteers have come and have entered various commissions the sport staff is more demanding with the players mistakes that could have been made at the lower level are no longer acceptable we now offer the option to follow the score of matches live on the internet and on the social networks we have attracted more and more followers.” But even if things are going pretty well for the Aveyron Treizistes they do appreciate the three-year relegation exemption granted by the Federation “It’s reassuring and we can work in a long-term perspective from grassroots to the top.” let’s meet again (see RLW 495) some other Wolves Pamiers has almost a similar explanation for a similar success in Elite 2: by the time of publishing the “Ariégeois” were in fourth place in the league table accompanied this time by a volunteer media officer explained to me the reason of the club’s good results: “This promotion has nothing to do with chance we have been working for it for three seasons but we have many ideas and we’re backed by committed managers and volunteers,” Laguerre told Rugby League World and their targets haven’t been raised either “We’re making our way by remaining clear-headed the club has recruited an assistant and is fortunate to be backed by a retired journalist and a novelist writes weekly about the Wolves in two local newspapers and the Golden age when Pamiers would provide the Chanticleers with gifted players (in the 1940s but also in the 1980s) isn’t forgotten the creation of a reserve grade team and also the creation of a women’s section we hope to establish Pamiers on the French rugby league map following the domestic championship from afar has some advantages but trends stand out: rugby league can come back or the overly stilted headquarters of France Television a code you may have defined as dead (just like the wolf) But reality is that the funeral of French rugby league which has been announced for decades by French union-oriented media and we have to be very careful not to lose our most western clubs Treizistes stakeholders are building some solid foundations which will make rugby league resist adverse and artificial winds First published in Rugby League World magazine Javascript Menu by Deluxe-Menu.com FRA) - Former Toulouse enforcer Finau Maka the probable captain of Tonga in this year's Rugby World Cup has signed for French fifth division club Pamiers "It'll be a new challenge for me to see rugby at Federale 3 level," acknowledged the 34-year-old who signed from Pro D2 outfit Aix-en-Provence "I signed for one year and will hope to get to Federale 2 next season." who played for Toulouse from 2001-10 winning European Cup titles in 2003 2005 and 2010 and the French league in 2008 the level will certainly be a step down from the heights of the World Cup The club said that the "travel will risk being a little longer" the furthest away trip being a 374km hike to Biscarosse on the Atlantic coast The season opener comes at home against Libourne but the Saverdun derby falls on November 6 with the World Cup running from September 9 until October 9 brother of Tonga coach and ex-All Black Isotolo Maka only making his international debut at the age of 30 at the 2007 World Cup in France He had qualified for Les Bleus through residency in time for the 2007 tournament but was spurned by then-coach Bernard Laporte from where he had moved to New Zealand as a child and spent fours seasons in the Super 14 Maka scored the opening try in his team's first game against the USA establishing himself and his fellow combative Tongan backrowers as one of the stand-out units of the tournament the number 8 enjoyed some repute during that tournament not only for his impact on the pitch but his large afro hairstyle Maka's life in Toulouse was disrupted last year after his involvement in a well-publicised courtcase during which he spent 24 hours in police custody He was eventually found not guilty by a Toulouse court on charges of exploiting a Tunisian immigrant who lived in a shed in his garden and worked for him illegally Maka was accused of lodging the illegal resident in unacceptable conditions employing a foreigner with no legal papers and forcing him to work on the black But the Tongan international had denied the charges saying he had acted out of charity in offering the destitute Tunisian work and board Andorra la Vella has relatively few earthquakes Based on data from the past 55 years and our earthquake archive back to 1900 there are about 192 quakes on average per year in or near Andorra la Vella Andorra la Vella has had at least 8 quakes above magnitude 4 since 1970 which suggests that larger earthquakes of this size occur infrequently probably on average approximately every 5 to 10 years Andorra la Vella has about 20.2 quakes of magnitude 2 or higher per year The quake had a very shallow depth of 5 km (3.1 mi) and was too small to be felt by people Andorra la Vella has had 4 quakes of magnitude 2.0 or above There have been also 29 quakes below magnitude 2.0 which people don't normally feel 2025 at 8.22 pm local time (Europe/Madrid GMT +2) The depth of the quake is unknown.The quake was reported felt by some people near the epicenter A light magnitude 2.3 earthquake hit 11.9 km (7 mi) away from Andorra la Vella, Andorra la Vella,  Andorra The quake had a very shallow depth of 4.5 km (2.8 mi) and was felt widely in the area.