Evening Update Tuesday 27 August

A man is being cared for by medical staff after threatening to commit suicide from the first floor of an apartment block in St Laurent du Var this morning. The mayor of Saint-Laurent-du-Var, Joseph Ségura, intervened after the individual asked to speak directly to him. The mayor climbed a ladder put in place leading to the terrace of the apartment and persuaded the man to speak to authorities and end his action.

Toulon railway station was evacuated after a security alert this afternoon. Passengers from two trains and those in the station were evacuated, totalling about 300 people. A security cordon was established while bomb disposal personnel examined a suspicious backpack on a train, which proved to be harmless.

A hiker is in a critical condition after a fall of 20 metres near Vence today.  The 25 year old man was taken by helicopter to the Pasteur 2 hospital in Nice. 

A 22 year old man has died after being shot in Avignon last night. He was reportedly attacked by assailants on a motorbike in the Monclar district.

The risk of forest fires in the Var continues, with 6 forest massifs in the department on a “severe” fire risk today. The prefecture publishes a fire risk map every day in the summer and restrictions depend on the risk level.

A hypermarket in the Var has offered unsold goods worth 100,000 euros to an association helping people in difficulty. The Hyper U in Saint-Maximin is also making space available for the association to sell the goods to fund their charitable work.

The Ocean Viking migrant rescue ship, has docked in its home port of Marseille this afternoon after rescuing 356 people off Libyan waters. The ship is chartered by SOS Méditerranée  and Médecins Sans Frontières. Reports say that the Ocean Viking will probably only be docked in Marseille for a few days before leaving on another mission.

Bob Ratcliffe, the brother of Sir Jim Ratcliffe, has held a press conference today after the completion of the purchase of OGC Nice by Ineos last night. Amongst other remarks, Bob Ratcliffe confirmed that Ineos is now 100 per cent owner of the club but he didn’t wish to disclose the purchase price. He said that he wanted Nice to be able to compete with PSG, Lyon and other big clubs in France and that their ambition was to compete for the first four places in League 1.

 

BUSINESS

Scandinavian airline SAS has reported a drop in earnings, which it blamed on a pilots strike, high fuel prices and cut-price competition. The strike between 26 April and 2 May led to some 4,000 flights being cancelled, affecting 370,000 passengers.

UK banks approved the highest number of July mortgages in a decade last month, up 2.9% on July 2018, according to industry body UK Finance. Credit card spending climbed 8.2% to £12bn, its highest level on record but repayments also hit a record high.

KFC is to trial meatless "chicken" nuggets made from plants as it tries to further take advantage of the growing popularity of meat substitutes. The company has teamed up with vegan food maker Beyond Meat for the trial at an Atlanta restaurant today.


SPORT

Rugby Union...South Africa international Eben Etzebeth has been named in the Springboks World Cup squad. Etzebeth was part of the South Africa squad who reached the semi-finals of the 2015 World Cup. South Africa begin their campaign against defending champions New Zealand on 21 September.

Football… Aaron Ramsey has withdrawn from the Wales squad for the Euro 2020 qualifying match against Azerbaijan next month. Ramsey has not played a full match since injuring a hamstring playing for Arsenal in April. He’s made only one appearance off the bench since his transfer to Juventus. Wales are fourth in Group E after away defeats against Croatia and Hungary in June.

Former Manchester United forward Eric Cantona will be awarded the Uefa President's Award for his commitment to helping improve the lives of others. The 53-year-old, who won 45 caps for France, will be presented with the award here in Monaco on Thursday.

North-west England club Bury are facing expulsion from the English Football League after the company attempting to buy the club, said it was unable to proceed with its takeover. Bury had been given until 5pm UK time tomorrow to complete the deal. Bury would become the first team to drop out of the EFL since Maidstone's liquidation in 1992.

Tennis…. British number one Kyle Edmund is set to play Spaniard Pablo Andujar in the first round of the US Open today. Fellow British players Johanna Konta and Dan Evans are already through to the next round.

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