French and Riviera News Tuesday 22nd January 2019

Local

Five year old dies - A five year old boy has died after suffering a sudden seizure on Monday morning. The incident occurred at the nursery school of Bon-Voyage in Nice shortly after 10am. The Academy of Nice and the Mayor of Nice have expressed their deepest condolences to his family offering their support to the school director and staff.

Body found on beach in Antibes - The body found on a beach in Antibes on Monday morning has been identified as that of a 51 year old woman from Antibes. Three fishermen alerted emergency services after making the discovery shortly before 11 am. An autopsy is underway and the police are conducting an investigation to determine the cause of death.

Power cuts - Due to the cold spell consumers in the Alpes Maritimes have been advised to moderate their electricity consumption from 6pm to 8pm every evening until Sunday. The move comes in an attempt to avoid possible power cuts. In 2008, a huge blackout plunged some 1.5 million people into the darkness in the region.

Investigation - An investigation has been opened into the discovery of 1,903 bird traps at the home of a poacher in the Var. Dozens of dead and live birds, some protected, were discovered by agents who also discovered 17 hunting weapons. The poacher is already known to the authorities and continued his activities despite having previously had his hunting license suspended. The case continues.

Michelin star chef in Menton - The restaurant Mirazur in Menton has been awarded a 3rd Michelin star. Its chef Mauro Colagreco spoke of the “unbelievable news” which distinguishes him as one of the greatest chefs in the world.

Meanwhile French chef Sebastien Bras who shocked the culinary world in 2017 by handing back his Michelin stars says he's most surprised to find himself back in the guide's new edition. Bras had handed back the recognition due to the "huge pressure" which came with it.

National

Horsemeat Scandal - Four people have gone on trial in Paris over the 2013 horsemeat scandal in Europe. Two former managers of French meat-processing firm are accused, along with two Dutch meat traders. They are accused of using cheap horsemeat in beef products that were sold across Europe. Millions of meals were withdrawn from supermarket shelves after they were found to contain horse instead of beef.

Italian deputy prime minister accuses France - France has summoned Italy's ambassador after the Italian deputy prime minister accused the French of exploiting Africa and fuelling migration. Luigi di Maio called on the European Union to impose sanctions on France for its policies in Africa.

Italy and France have previously clashed on issues linked to migration. Last year, France criticised Italy for not allowing rescue boats carrying migrants in the Mediterranean to dock. Italian officials responded by accusing France itself of refusing to accept migrants.

Google fined - CNIL the French data protection watchdog has fined Google a record €50m for failing to provide users with transparent and understandable information on its data use policies. For the first time, the company was fined using new terms laid out in the pan-European general data protection regulation. The maximum fine for large companies under the new law is 4% of annual turnover, meaning the theoretical maximum fine for Google is almost €4bn.

Choose France summit – French President Emmanuel Macron has pitched a dynamic new France to dozens of businesses at the Versailles palace on Monday as part of the second edition of his Choose France summit, aimed at showing off reforms and drawing more foreign investment.

Executives from Microsoft, Uber and Snapchat were all in attendence.

Snowfall - Twenty-four departments in Northern France has been placed on a weather alert due to heavy snow forecast. Authorities have warned of treacherous road conditions advising people to limit their travel and have suspended school transport services in the area.

King of France - The Count of Paris Henri d'Orleans and descendant of the last king in France, Louis-Philippe I, who ruled from 1830 to 1848 has died at the age of 85. His death was announced by his son and new pretender to the throne, Jean, Duke of Vendome.

Handball - France’s handball team have qualified for the semi finals of the World Handball Championship, without playing. The players can say thank you to Germany, who beat Croatia qualifying the blues for the semi final. The semi-final takes place on Wednesday at 6pm.

Business

The International Monetary Fund has warned that escalating trade tensions could undermine global economic growth.

In a new World Economic Outlook report,the IMF also warns of the risks of a no-deal Brexit and says that its estimate of 1.5 percent growth for the UK this year is substantially uncertain while the outcome of Parliamentary wrangling over the future relationship with the European Union remains unresolved.

The IMF has predicted growth of 3.5 percent for the global economy this year-down from the 3.7 percent that it forecast last October.

The organisation also says that it expects the economic slowdown in China to continue  with a growth forecast for this year and next of 6.2 percent.

 

A Tokyo court has denied a bail request from the former Nissan chairman Carlos Ghosn despite his willingness to surrender his passport and wear an electronic tag while he faces investigation for alleged financial crimes.

Mr Ghosn has been held in custody for 2 months and raises the likelihood that he will remain in detention until his trial.

The court’s decision also puts pressure on Renault to find a successor  as chairman and CEO.

The board of the French carmaker is expected to meet within the next few days to decide who will succeed Mr Ghosn.

He’s been officially charged in Japan for under-reporting his salary for 8 years and temporarily transferring personal financial losses to Nissan’s books.He denies all the charges.

 

And-Facebook is to create 1,000 jobs in Ireland this year at its sites in Dublin,County Meath and County Cork.

The firm’s chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg  made the announcement during a speech at a conference in Dublin on Monday.The staff increase will take Facebook’s workforce in the country to 5,000.

In November,the social media giant announced that it had taken out a new long-term lease at the Bank Centre campus in South Dublin.All of the firm’s 2,000 Dublin staff will move there by 2022 and the building has space for 7,000 people.

Sport

Tennis-Australia’s Ashleigh Barty will attempt to become the first home player to reach the semi-finals of the Australian Open in Melbourne when she faces Petra Kivitova in the last 8 later.

Barty was beaten by her opponent in the final of the Sydney International earlier this month and reached the quarter finals after dispatching Maria Sharapova in the 4th round.

In the men’s event the Greek sensation Stefanos Tsitsipas has reached the semi-finals this morning following a 4 set victory over Roberto Bautista Agut.He came through 7-5 4-6 6-4 7-6.

Football-The English Premier League’s bottom club Huddersfield have appointed Jan Siewert to replace David Wagner who was sacked last week.

The 36 year old leaves his position as coach of Borussia Dortmund’s second team to move to England.He’s signed a two year deal and will take charge of his first match at home to Everton on the 29th of January.

Rugby Union-Ulster’s Iain Henderson is set to miss the first 6 Nations game for Ireland because of a finger injury.

Henderson picked up the injury during Ulster’s European Champions Cup win over Leicester  on Saturday and could be out for several weeks.

Fly half Johnny Sexton should be fit though despite a knee injury that’s kept him out of action for a month.

Ireland play England in Dublin on the 2nd of February.

Weather

Clear skies with light variable or south westerly winds.

Top temperature 12 degrees.

Overnight lows of 4 degrees on the coast and -1 degrees inland with cloudy  skies.

Wednesday and Thursday-Cloudy tomorrow with some rain on the coast and wintry showers above 200 meters.Partially cloudy on Thursday.Highs of 7-11 degrees.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 

 

 

Last local news

Evening Update Thursday 28th March 2024

Seven people have been questioned by police in a fraud investigation relating to the loss of almost half a million euros by Nice university hospital.... Evening Update Thursday 28th March 2024 Read More

28/03/2024

French and Riviera News Thursday 28th March 2024

France's prime minister Gabriel Attal has announced that a teenage girl who falsely accused her headteacher of striking her in a heated exchange over... French and Riviera News Thursday 28th March 2024 Read More

28/03/2024

Evening Update Wednesday 27th March 2024

The mayor of Nice, Christian Estrosi, has asked for national police reinforcements to help bring the Les Moulins housing estate under control.... Evening Update Wednesday 27th March 2024 Read More

27/03/2024

French and Riviera News Wednesday 27th March 2024

The headmaster of a high school in Paris has resigned after receiving death threats on social media following an altercation with a student, which dat... French and Riviera News Wednesday 27th March 2024 Read More

27/03/2024

Evening Update Tuesday 26th March 2024

More than 20 secondary schools on the Riviera have been targeted by bomb alerts today, forcing some of them to stay closed all day.... Evening Update Tuesday 26th March 2024 Read More

26/03/2024