French and Riviera News Monday 29th April 2024

La-Colle-sur-Loup residents warned not to drink tap water - 8,000 residents in La-Colle-sur-Loup have been told not to drink their tap water after a parasite was discovered in the mains supply. The town hall handed out free bottled water this weekend. The Regional Health Agency alerted the mayor of La-Colle-sur-Loup on Saturday afternoon after a parasite was found in the town's water pipes which can cause an infection of the digestive tract, vomiting and diarrhoea. Authorities say tap water should not be used for brushing teeth, cooking, washing food, drinking or making ice cubes - but it's still safe to use for showering, laundry and washing dishes and surfaces. A similar problem occurred in five towns around Grasse last June and took almost a month to fix. 

Residents can return home after balcony collapse - Residents of an apartment block in Antibes where seven balconies simultaneously collapsed earlier this month have finally been allowed to return to their homes. The "Le Begonia" residence has been off-limits while safety checks were carried out following the incident on the evening of 14th April. Initial investigations suggest the collapse of a seventh-floor balcony brought all the balconies below it crumbling down. Residents had been put up in temporary accommodation. They can now return home, but those who still have a balcony attached to their apartment mustn't use it. The gas and electricity supply to the building, which was cut off as a precaution following the collapse, was restored this weekend.

Two airlifted to hospital in car crash - Six people have been injured, two seriously, after two cars collided on the N7 in Brignoles in the Var. A 40-year-old woman and a 14-year-old girl were airlifted to hospital in Toulon and Marseille respectively. Five ambulances were called to the scene of the crash, which occurred on Saturday around 3pm.

Three injured in diving incident - A diving incident in Saint-Raphaël on Saturday saw two women and a man treated at Pasteur 2 hospital for decompression sickness. The three people, in their 50s and 60s, were visiting the Riviera from Grenoble and were following a diving training course when they fell into difficulty and had to be taken back to shore.

Prisoners learn to work in catering - Draguignan prison has begun offering training courses in cooking, serving and bartending. The three-month traineeships aim to help inmates reintegrate into the world of work after their sentence, and respond to a difficulty finding enough workers in the catering industry during peak season. The prison is also planning to offer other courses including in construction and gardening, to match prisoners to work sectors that are struggling to find talent.

Mini-Monaco inaugurated in Germany - Prince Albert II, Princess Charlene, Prince Jacques and Princess Gabriella have inaugurated a miniature version of Monaco at a theme park in Germany. Miniatur-Wunderland in Hamburg now features a 70-square-metre replica of the principality, showing Monaco on Grand Prix day, with grandstands filled with spectators and cars racing round the street circuit. More than 300 buildings in Monaco have been carefully recreated in miniature scale with impressive attention to detail, in a project that has taken 11 years of work and cost €5 million. The replica includes the Condamine market, Port Hercule, Monte-Carlo casino, the Princely Palace and the Oceanographic Museum, plus a couple getting married outside the cathedral.

BUSINESS

A former Boeing employee, who was found dead in March, had accused the company of "countless" violations of US law in testimony given just before his death. John Barnett claimed the firm tried to "eliminate" quality inspections at a plant that makes 787 planes. The former quality control manager had been giving a formal legal deposition against the plane manufacturer. The 62-year-old's death after two days of testimony was from a "self-inflicted gunshot wound", officials said. Boeing says it was "saddened" by Mr Barnett's death, but said the issues he raised had been reviewed and addressed. The aerospace giant's safety standards are currently under the spotlight, in part due to an incident in January when a disused door fell off a brand new 737 Max shortly after take-off.

The US auto regulator is investigating whether Tesla's biggest ever recall successfully addressed safety concerns relating to its driver assistance system. In December, Tesla issued a software update to two million of its vehicles in the US to fix problems with its Autopilot feature. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says it will now probe the "adequacy" of that fix. The agency has just concluded a nearly three-year-long investigation into crashes involving cars fitted with Autopilot. It said there had been at least 13 Tesla crashes, involving at least one death, and many more involving serious injuries, in which "foreseeable driver misuse of the system played an apparent role." The new investigation comes shortly after Tesla recalled thousands of its new Cybertrucks over an accelerator crash risk.

SPORT

Tennis - Rafael Nadal reached the third round at the Madrid Open with an impressive straight-set win over Australian Alex de Minaur. The Spaniard won 7-6 6-3 to take revenge on the opponent who knocked him out of the Barcelona Open 10 days previously. Five-time champion Nadal is playing on the Madrid clay for the final time, in what he expects to be the last season of his career.

Rugby Union - In the Women's Six Nations, England sealed a third consecutive Six Nations Grand Slam and sixth straight title with a 42-21 victory over 14-player France in Bordeaux. The Red Roses extended their championship winning record to 29 games.

Football - Burnley have condemned the chanting that took place during their 1-1 draw against Manchester United at Old Trafford. The Clarets, who are second-bottom in the Premier League, scored a late equaliser on Saturday to grab a vital point. But following the match the club issued a statement after "offensive footage" was posted online showing offensive "gesturing and chanting" in the away end.

Meanwhile, Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino said video technology is "damaging" English football after Axel Disasi had a stoppage-time winner disallowed in their 2-2 draw at Aston Villa.

In other European football, England striker Harry Kane scored twice in Bayern Munich's 2-1 win over Eintracht Frankfurt to set a new personal record for his most goals in a season. The 30-year-old has scored 42 goals in all competitions in his debut campaign for Bayern, beating his previous best haul of 41 for Tottenham in 2017-18. The double means Kane has now scored 400 goals for club and country.

In La Liga, Athletic Bilbao's Nico Williams scored against Atletico Madrid after accusing a section of home fans of racially abusing him. The winger tried to get referee Juan Martinez to stop play after alerting the officials to the alleged chanting.

And Paris St-Germain staged a late comeback to draw 3-3 with Le Havre but missed the chance to secure the Ligue 1 title. PSG needed to win to be crowned champions. They are 12 points clear of second-placed AS Monaco but must wait until 12 May at the earliest to enjoy a third consecutive title with their fans.

WEATHER

Sunny spells this morning, clouding over this afternoon with some strong winds after lunch, gusting up to 55 kilometres per hour. Warmer than recent days with temperatures this afternoon reaching 23 degrees celsius. There'll be clear skies tonight and the winds should die down. Staying warm with overnight temperatures around 18 degrees celsius. The outlook for Tuesday: mostly cloudy, strong winds again in the Var, and thundery showers forecast tomorrow afternoon in the Var and western parts of the Alpes-Maritimes. Temperatures tomorrow reaching 22 degrees celsius.

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