Cohesion policy takes a place-based approach meaning that projects are founded on the principle of shared management with local stakeholders involved in design and implementation This ensures that projects consider local priorities They are thus better able to support growth create opportunities and improve well-being in the long term FOSTER Région Occitanie provides financial instruments for farmers very small enterprises (VSEs) and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) particularly those working to bring about environmental As small businesses constitute a large part of Occitania’s economic fabric it is vital to help them innovate and grow said: ‘With FOSTER Région Occitanie the region renews its commitments and confirms its place among the European leaders in terms of support tools for financing VSEs and SMEs and agricultural and forestry operations equipped with substantial financial resources is the result of openness and successful cooperation between the region and Europe the European Investment Fund and Occitania’s financial partners We are making an essential contribution to meeting the challenge of strengthening the economic players in our territory.’ The system offers two products: a free guarantee allowing companies to obtain secure financing from selected banks; and zero-interest seed loans for leaders of innovative business projects Guarantee beneficiaries include La Prairie des Glaces and Ferme de Cabrinat two farms producing ice cream and goat’s cheese respectively; telecommunications service provider MCGR; and Face Verticale a firm specialising in mechanical work at heights Wastewater treatment company Nereus has also benefited CEO Emmanuel Trouvé said the company’s rapid growth since 2018 had required financing for working capital and new equipment ‘We learnt about FOSTER thanks to advice from the region and the bank to arrange a loan of € 160 000 so we are very happy to be able to expand and modernise our site,’ he said Among the loan and capital beneficiaries are composter producer Transfarmers; e-health service provider Move in Med; software developer Geotrend; and online learning company SchoolMouv Resilient Innovation makes rehabilitation devices for people with neurological mobility problems The company’s founder Jordan Miron said FOSTER had helped them turn their project into a product ‘The advantage of the loan is that it’s 0 % interest with a 1-year deferment after signature It also allowed us to recruit three people and we will continue to grow and recruit.’ FOSTER will mobilise € 103 million to boost entrepreneurship in Occitania This should leverage at least € 750 million in private financing for some 6 000 firms As guarantees are closed and loans are repaid the fund will be replenished to help other companies the EU has placed increasing emphasis on financial mechanisms to mobilise European funds Since the establishment of the JEREMIE initiative in 2007 Occitania has capitalised on EU support to develop business financing and has become a pioneer in the field The FOSTER tools build on previous EU-backed financing in Occitania forming part of a range of mechanisms that help businesses at all stages of development get funding Other examples include the regional sovereign investment fund which has some € 400 million at its disposal to boost equity capital Added Carole Delga: ‘FOSTER Région Occitanie illustrates my conviction that European and regional resources must be used to strengthen the economy and territorial cohesion My desire is that the region and Europe continue with this approach and act as close to citizens as possible.’ Occitania has committed € 140 million to financing tools since 2022 and can now place € 1.6 billion at the service of business Mobigo’s new open payment system allows passengers to pay for and validate coach tickets with their bank card or a contactless payment application on a  smartphone or watch phone or watch to the validator when boarding the coaches serving any of Mobigo’s 90 routes in Burgundy-Franche-Comté – the first region in France to deploy this system A validation message is displayed on the validator screen and the card is billed for the cost of a single ticket the passenger shows the inspector the bank card used to pay for the journey The solution complements existing means of payment which includes buying tickets from drivers or through the network of sales points purchase using a smartphone and recharging of a contactless Mobigo ticket It has cost nearly € 6.2 million to implement of which some € 3.7 million was provided by the European Regional Development Fund more than 7 750 bank card validations were recorded Mobigo’s coaches carried more than 2 million passengers in Burgundy-Franche-Comté in 2023 Just over half of the fleet runs on biofuel while some of the vehicles are fully electric With an eye on the Olympic Games starting on July 26 renovated the Fernand Ganne Gymnasium and its facilities The town has a strong sporting tradition and boasts about 30 sports clubs The gymnasium was built in the 1970s and rebuilt in 1995 to make it larger and safer it was entirely renovated between 2022 and May this year high-tech sporting facility that can serve as a centre of preparation for Olympic athletes and host national and international competitions and the roof was reinforced and covered with 800 solar panels A battery park was installed to store power creating a zero-energy-consumption building weight training facility and a catering area/multi-purpose room were also added representing about 1 500 people of all ages and levels who use the space for activities ranging from basketball REACT EU falls under the Next Generation EU funding instrument and aims to ensure the resilience of the regional health system revitalise the economy and contribute to the energy transition and digitalisation of society The ERDF financed € 5.5 million of the total project cost of € 11.1 million Cohesion Policy 2021-2027 www.laregion.fr/foster www.viamobigo.fr Jeremie initiative REACT EU Podcast – Cohesion: Shaken, not stirred. A policy mix against inequality proudly representing his country - and his twin brother ISTANBUL (Türkiye) - Sinan Huan has taken the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup 2024 by storm, leading China to one of biggest surprises in the event's history - a 73-70 shocking win over France. Huan talked about how proud he is of his country, and that he is also playing for his absent twin brother. Huan collected 12 points, 10 rebounds and 2 blocks against the French, who have enough star power to be considered one of the top challengers to USA for the title in Istanbul. "It was a tough game and at first we didn't think we were going to win but we just fought. I am just super proud of my team," Huan said after the win. China did not play at the 2022 edition of the tournament as they did not play in the U16 Asia Cup 2021. Which was a shame because Huan knows how important it is for China to be present on the global stage. "We want to show who we are and prove it on the basketball court," said Huan, who collected 25 points, 8 rebounds and 7 blocks in the team's opening loss to Guinea. The win over France came just eight days after they lost to the same national team 90-48 in a preparation game in Saint-Julien-les-Villas, France. Huan showed at that mini preparation tournament just what he is capable of with 12 points, 8 rebounds and 12 blocks against a U18 Great Britain team. The 2.15M (7'1") center, who leads the U17 World Cup with 4.5 blocks per game, is really enjoying his experience in Istanbul. "I'm super excited to be here and so proud of the China team. I am trying to play as good as I can to show what I can do. It’s pretty fun," said Huan, whose mother is Chengqing Ma, a member of the Chinese national team at the 1996 Olympics and FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup 1998. Huan started playing basketball when they were 6 years old - as did his twin brother, Sifeng. "It's pretty fun (having a twin brother). I really appreciated everything he did for me. I have so many good memories," Sinan said. Sifeng Huan, who stands 2.10M (6'11") was not chosen to play on this team but he is playing internationally for China at the moment, competing instead at the International School-Sport Federation World School Basketball Championship 2024 in Macao, China from June 23-July 3. "I wish he could be here but I think he needs to prove it for himself," Sinan said. "l am playing for him too." Both brothers are developing their game at high schools in the USA. Sifeng has been attending the Bishop O'Connell in Arlington, Virginia and Sinan is at Windermere Prep in Windermere, Florida - both having just completed their second season abroad. "My mom and I had a lot of conversations and we thought another country would be a good way to learn more stuff and a different culture and a new style of basketball. It's kind of different but it's pretty cool," Sinan said. But the twins are quite away apart from one another. There are some 1390 kilometers between Sifeng near Washington DC and Sinan near Orlando. "It was super hard not being together with him. Sometimes I even dreamt about him. But I got used to it," Sinan admitted. Despite being very far from his twin brother again, Sinan Huan has Sifeng in mind in Istanbul. Lithuania hand Germany third loss3 min to readGame ReportYannis AllardFrance Spain and Lithuania all finished the four-nation friendly tournament in Spain with 2-1 records HUESCA (Spain) - France sent a strong message less than two weeks before the start of the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup 2024 as they downed Spain 71-62 on the final day of a friendly tournament in Spain where Lithuania defeated Germany 87-60 Spain and Lithuania all finished the four-nation event in Huesca Spain with 2-1 records while Germany lost all three games as they teams prepare for the FIBA U17 World Cup France, who claimed second place at the 2018 U17 World Cup and the third spot on the podium in 2022, showed why they are considered major challengers for the podium in Istanbul with the 71-62 victory over Spain Yannis Allard scored 20 points and Jonas Boulefaa collected 10 points and 10 rebounds The French committed only 11 turnovers while shooting 45 percent on three-pointers Spain were held to just 41 percent shooting for the game and just four offensive rebounds Miguel Gonzalez and Nicolas Gomez both had 11 points for Joaquin Prado's team France jumped out to a 12-0 lead over Spain and Lamine Kebe's team were ahead 22-16 after 10 minutes Spain grabbed their first lead at 23-22 but France punched back with the next nine points and went to half-time ahead 35-29 The advantage grew back to 10 points - 42-32 - but Spain answered with eight straight points France however delivered another blow with a 13-2 surge to go up by 13 points and led 55-45 after 30 minutes Spain conceded the first six points of the final frame and France's defense held strong not allowing the home side get closer than eight points the rest of the way This was a strong step forward for France after they took a 13-point lead against Lithuania in the first game and ended up losing 82-74 In the first game of the day, Lithuania started pulling away in the second quarter and dominated the second half in an 87-60 win over Germany, giving up just 23 points in the final 20 minutes. Ernas Valauskas knocked down three of Lithuania's nine three-pointers for a team-high 13 points while Arturas Butajevas, Majus Bulanovas and Ignas Urbonas all scored 10 points and Dovydas Buika collected 8 points, 8 rebounds and 8 assists in 20 minutes. Tom Brüggemann had a team-high 13 points for Germany while star Declan Duru tallied 7 points, 10 rebounds and 3 assists. The four countries will now take the lessons they learned from the tournament and take the next step in their preparations for FIBA U17 World Cup. Spain and Lithuania will be playing in Group A, France are drawn into Group B and Germany will compete in Group D. France have three more preparation games scheduled before the U17 World Cup, taking on Great Britain on June 21, China on June 22 and Germany again on June 23 - all three games in Saint-Julien-les-Villas. remain undefeated all-time vs France at FIBA U17 World Cup2 min to readGame ReportChina improved to 3-0 all time against France in the competition ISTANBUL (Türkiye) - China pulled off the surprise of the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup 2024 by defeating title contenders France 73-70 in Group B to actually remain undefeated against the Europeans in this competition Boyuan Zhang led China with 18 points and 8 rebounds Yuezhou Li had 14 points and Sinan Huan chipped in 12 points China rallied from 15 points down midway through the second quarter and took the lead in the third quarter The game went back and forth and France were up 58-56 after 30 minutes France held a 67-61 cushion midway through the final period but Sinan sparked a 9-0 spurt to pull ahead 70-67 with under 2 minutes left Maxence Lemoine converted two free throws for France but Zhang hit a floater in the lane for a 73-70 advantage with 9.2 seconds to play to secure the win China and France have previously faced off twice in the history of the competition and the Asians won both games They beat France 59-53 in the group stage in 2012 and then captured an 87-79 victory in the Classification 7-8 game in 2014 China's win comes just eight days after they lost to France 90-48 in a preparation game in Saint-Julien-les-Villas China are now 1-1 in Group B and France fell to 0-2 “She was my only child and now I will never heard her say, ‘Daddy, I’m getting married’, or ‘Daddy, I’m going to have a baby’,” said Mr Lionnet, 56, a municipal gardener from Saint-Julien-les-Villas, near Troyes in eastern France. He was robbed of that joy by Ouissem Medouni and Sabrina Kouider, who intimidated, brutalised and eventually killed Sophie Lionnet, their nanny, before trying to burn her body in the back garden of their flat in Wimbledon. “Those people are not human,” said Mr Lionnet. “They are barbaric, and they committed barbaric acts,