Local
Man drowns off Roquebrune Cap Martin - A man in his fifties has drowned off the coast of Roquebrune Cap Martin. The alert was raised at noon on Sunday as divers recovered the victim in the sea off Cap Martin. An investigation has been launched to determine the exact circumstances.
Ski accident – Meanwhile a 20-year-old woman has been seriously injured in a ski accident in Isola 2000. The accident happened on Sunday morning and the victim was evacuated from the resort by helicopter and taken to hospital in Nice. The general manager of the ski area at Isola said “that the cause of the accident was unclear as there was good visibility and the blue piste on which it happened wasn’t particularly busy at the time either. An Investigation has been opened.
Estrosi’s campaign meeting - During his first local election campaign meeting on Sunday the mayor of Nice, Christian Estrosi, has expressed his wish to extend the Paillon Promenade to the North and therefore demolish the “Acropolis” area and the “National Theatre”. A week after announcing that he was running for a third term Estrosi unveiled part of his programme which aims to “continue the transformation of Nice into a green city”.
Train traffic - Regional train traffic will be disrupted again today but TGV traffic will be returning to normal. As the strike movement against the pension reform is weakening the SNCF has announced that nine out of ten regional trains are operating today.
An 0800 number is available for details on trains running 08 00 11 40 23 available every day from 7 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.
National
Choose France - Ahead of the 3rd “Choose France” summit intended to show how France is still attractive for businesses, despite social movement, the Elysee has announced that nearly 4 billion euros from large foreign groups will be invested in France. In an announcement made on Sunday it was revealed that the Italian-Swiss shipowner MSC, has placed an order for 2 billion euros at the Chantiers de l'Atlantique in Saint-Nazaire for two new liners, to be made available in 2025 and 2027 and powered by LNG (liquefied natural gas).
Several trade union organizations have already announced that they would take the opportunity to demonstrate on the 47th day of strike against the pension reform, in order to demand the withdrawal of the project.
As in 2018, France remains the second destination for foreign investors in Europe behind Germany and ahead of the United Kingdom. Between 2017 and 2019, its attractiveness increased from 22nd to 15th in the ranking published by the WEF, according to the Elysée.
According to Matignon, foreign direct investment in French companies grew by more than 5 billion euros in 2018 (an increase of 20%) "and the year 2019 promises to break new records".
The construction in Saint-Nazaire of two new liners with 6,700 passengers each will generate "14 million hours of work, 2,400 jobs for three and a half years,"
The agreement also provides for the development of a new class of LNG liners as well as that of a new prototype of boats propelled partly under sail, effectively integrating the "best environmental innovations", the cruise sector. being regularly accused of polluting enormously.
Investigation into fire - The police have opened an investigation after a fire started in the early hours of Saturday morning in a famous Parisian brasserie prized by President Emmanuel Macron. At around 5am, an alarm went off in the brasserie "La Rotonde", in the Montparnasse district of Paris in the south of the city. An investigation was opened to determine the causes of the fire. "The inquiries are focused on a deliberate act," according to police
Riot police officer filmed punching a protester - French prosecutors have opened an inquiry after a riot police officer was filmed punching a detained protester at a demonstration in Paris. The move comes after several alleged incidents of police brutality against pension reform protesters and Yellow Vest anti-government demonstrators.
In the incident filmed during a Yellow Vest protest on 18 January, a man bleeding from the head is seen being held down on his back by an officer, who then strikes him hard in the face.
The Paris prosecutors' office said it ordered the police oversight body to launch an investigation into "intentional violence by a person in a position of public authority".
Business
Asian shares are at near 20 year highs this morning following Friday’s positive session on Wall Street which has been spurred on by reams of solid economic data.
Eyes are on US corporate earnings this week with a number of heavyweight firms including Netflix ,Intel and Texas Instruments set to report.
There are also central bank policy meetings in the European Union ,Canada and Japan.
Wall Street has seen a relentless run of record highs since the New Year and with 2020 only three weeks old ,the S&P 500 has already gained over 3 percent with the Nasdaq up almost 5 percent.
The string of mainly solid US data has also underpinned the dollar ,particularly against the yen while the euro has been stagnant and sterling has been idling after poor UK economic news heightened speculation about a cut in interest rates.
The price of palladium has been soaring on global markets over the past few weeks.
The price of the precious metal has jumped by more than 25 percent in the past two weeks alone and almost doubled in value over the past year.
An ounce of palladium is currently selling for around 2,500 dollars-far more expensive than gold and there’s no sign of the price pressure easing.
The majority of the world’s palladium supply comes from Russia and South Africa.It’s mostly extracted as a byproduct in the mining of other metals -usually platinum and nickel.
The metal’s key commercial use is in catalytic converters where it’s an essential component in the process that turns toxic gases such as carbon monoxide and nitrogen dioxide into less harmful nitrogen ,carbon dioxide and water vapour.
The price is rising because demand is outstripping supply.
As the price soars ,the number of thefts of vehicle catalytic converters is also rising with police in London saying that in the first six months of 2019 ,thefts were 70 percent higher than in the whole of the previous year.
And-UK businesses have warned that food prices may rise and jobs may be affected after the Chancellor of the Exchequer vowed to end alignment with EU rules after Brexit.
Sajid Javid says that the UK will not be a rule taker after Brexit and has urged businesses to adjust.
The UK Food and Drink Federation said that the proposals were likely to see food prices rise at the end of this year while the Confederation of British Industry said that for many firms ,keeping EU rules would support jobs.
Mr Javid said that some businesses would benefit from Brexit and some would not.
Sport
Cricket-England are closing in on victory heading into the final day of the third Test against South Africa in Port Elizabeth.
The home side were forced to follow on on day 4 after being bowled out for 209 in their first innings and at stumps they’d been reduced to 102-6 in their second innings still needing 188 to avoid an innings defeat.
The England captain Joe Root took 4-31.
India have beaten Australia by 7 wickets in the third one day international in Bengaluru to take the series 2-1.
Tennis-The Australian Open is underway in Melbourne with officials describing air quality as good now that heavy rain and storms have cleared smoke from bush fires that had been hanging over the city.
So far today there have been first round wins for Naomi Osaka and Serena Williams in the women’s event while Roger Federer and Sam Querry have progressed in the men’s competition.
Football-Liverpool have moved 16 points clear at the top of the English Premier League following a 2-0 win over arch rivals Manchester United at Anfield on Sunday.
The day’s other game ended Burnley 2 Leicester 1.
In the English Championship on Sunday Nottingham Forest beat Luton 3-1 and in the 4th round of the Scottish Cup Dundee United and Hibs drew 2-2.
In the FA Women’s Super League on Sunday Birmingham lost 2-0 at home to Manchester City.Manchester United beat Spurs 3-0.Arsenal were beaten 4-1 at home by Chelsea.Everton beat Reading 3-1.Liverpool were 1-0 winners at Reading and West Ham beat Brighton 2-1.
Rugby Union-There were 4 games in the pool stage of the European Champions Cup on Sunday.
Muster beat Ospreys 33-6 and Saracens were 27-24 winners over Racing 92 in Pool 4 while Montpellier beat Connacht 35-29 and Toulouse beat Gloucester 35-14 in Pool 5.
Saracens take their place in the last 8 of the competition despite being relegated from the Gallagher Premiership in England at the end of this season for breaching salary cap rules.
Weather
Quite cloudy with some bright spells and moderate to strong north easterly winds.
Top temperature 12 degrees.
Overnight lows of 10 degrees on the coast and 6 degrees inland with clear skies and remaining windy.
Tuesday and Wednesday-Mainly fine with highs of 15 and remaining windy in the Var.
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