Free Republic

A policeman survived a knife attack in the French Riviera city of Cannes on Monday, according to the country's interior minister. The incident took place early Monday morning as four police officers outside Cannes police station were preparing to go on patrol, Gerald Darmanin told reporters. The assailant approached the officers asking for information before opening the door of the vehicle they were in and stabbing one of the officers in the chest with a knife, the minister said. The attacker then attempted to stab a second officer before he was neutralized. Darmanin said the officer emerged from the incident...

If the ghosts of Frank Sinatra and Liberace were still hanging around the Riviera Hotel and Casino on Monday morning, they wouldn't have found a seat at the bar. Crowds squeezed onto barstools and milled about the casino floor saying goodbye to "The Riv," a classic that spent 60 years on the Las Vegas Strip and closed at noon.

If the ghosts of Frank Sinatra and Liberace were still hanging around the Riviera Hotel and Casino on Monday morning, they wouldn't have found a seat at the bar. Crowds squeezed onto barstools and milled about the casino floor saying goodbye to "The Riv," a classic that spent 60 years on the Las Vegas Strip and closed at noon. It's an age reached by few properties along the four-mile stretch of hulking casino resorts mimicking other worldly landmarks or beckoning passers-by with all their wants in one place that have replaced Sin City's recent past.

A LAVISH new yacht recreating the billionaire's playground of Monaco is set to become the world's most expensive. The staggering 155-metre Streets of Monaco yacht is expected to cost over $1.1 billion to build and is modelled on a section of Monte Carlo. Currently in the design stage, the super-ship will feature smaller versions of the state’s famous landmarks such as the Monte Carlo Casino and racetrack, as well as swimming pools, tennis courts, a cinema, a go kart track and a Hotel de Paris. Instead of traditional decks the one-of-a-kind ship will have buildings, and instead of a swimming...

The Texas Department of Transportation is asking Nueces County residents to attend a public meeting in Driscoll to comment and provide input on proposed upgrades of US 77 to a controlled access facility that meets interstate standards. The purpose of the meetings is to review proposed options for upgrading US 77 and to present recommendations, TxDOT officials said. The first round public meetings were held in early March. This second round of public meetings is being held as part of TxDOT's continued effort to gain public input on issues related to proposed improvements and to provide an opportunity for public...

French Riviera gang terrorises passengers in two-hour train rampage By Colin Randall (Filed: 05/01/2006) Hundreds of passengers were terrorised by a mob of youths rampaging through a train on the French Riviera. One young woman was sexually assaulted, travellers were robbed of phones and cash, and carriages were wrecked in the two-hour assault, it emerged yesterday. Up to 40 youths involved in the attacks had taken advantage of a special fare of about 80p to travel from Marseilles and Avignon to celebrate the New Year in Nice. They were part of a larger group of 100, many drunk from their...

NICE, France (Reuters) - Two bombs have exploded at the tax and customs office in the French Riviera city of Nice, injuring 16 people and causing substantial damage, emergency services say. Police said on Sunday no group had claimed the attack on the building, which was the target of a thwarted bombing by a Corsican separatist group six months ago. Local sub-prefect Abdel Aisssou said the victims suffered from shock and glass wounds after windows were shattered for hundreds of metres for the blast site. They were taken to hospital but their wounds were described as slight. The first bomb...