French and Riviera News Monday 8th October 2018

Local

Weather warning - Météo France has placed the Var region on an orange weather alert with heavy rain and risk of flooding in some areas. The warning was issued on Sunday and remains in place until 4pm this afternoon.

Woman dies after being struck by a bull - A woman from Cannes has died after being struck by a bull during a local festival in the southern French city of Aigues-Mortes near Montpellier. The woman, was watching a bull race with her husband on Saturday. As the bulls left the area after the race, one jumped over the fence separating them from the public. The bull caught the woman in its horns and threw her several metres into the air before she fell on her head. She was evacuated by helicopter, but later died in hospital.

The Aquarius - Hundreds of people, have demonstrated in Paris and Marseille backing the private humanitarian ship The Aquarius which rescues migrants who are making the dangerous trip to Europe across the Mediterranean Sea. The Aquarius' operator, SOS Mediterranee, is urging European governments to find a new flag for the ship after Panama's maritime authority removed its registration. The aid group says without a flag, the ship will have to stay in port. The International Organisation for Migration says that 1,741 migrants have drowned at sea this year trying to cross the Mediterranean.

Hiker rescued after three days hiking in the Gorges du Verdon – A 63 year old hiker has been rescued after going missing in the Gorges du Verdon. The man had been missing for three days after venturing out alone. He was found by a group of kayakers who alerted the emergency services on Sunday morning.

A8 motorway - Heavy rainfall caused several accidents on the region’s motorway on Sunday with long tail backs at the Antibes peage westbound after one motorist drove into the security barrier. No injuries were reported but as a result one lane was closed while emergency services intervened.

Organised gang in Monaco - Police in the Principality have warned of an organised gang who have been stealing the identity of high profile personalities in Monaco through email, SMS and WhatsApp. In what is described as a very elaborate operation those contacted are given a pretext to solving urgent financial problems by transferring sums of money abroad. Anyone who thinks they may have been contacted by the gang is invited to contact the Judicial Police Division in Monaco on 93.15.30.15

National

Border control - According to French media reports France will renew for another six months the border controls it re-established with its neighbours following the 2015 Paris attacks. The border controls had been due to end on October 30th but according to authorities France still fears an active "terrorist threat" that it believes is reduced by identity checks.

Macron urges people to moan less - France's President Emmanuel Macron has urged his compatriots to moan less. During a visit to the northeastern village of Colombey-les-Deux-Eglises, known as the home and burial place of the former president Charles de Gaulle – Macron made his comments after speaking to a pensioner who complained he only had a small pension. Marcon's comments came a week after the government unveiled billions of euros in tax relief for businesses and households, alongside more budget cuts.

Business

Japan has said that the UK would be welcome to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership after it leaves the EU.

In an interview with the Financial Times,the Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said that while the UK would lose its role as a gateway to Europe after Brexit,it would retain its “global strength”.

He also urged the UK and the EU to use “wisdom” to avoid a no-deal scenario.

The TPP is a trade agreement between 11 countries including Japan,Canada,Australia and Malaysia.

Mr Abe’s comments are likely to be welcomed by Brexit supporters who argue that the UK would be able to strike trade deals more easily outside the EU.

 

Britain is seeking additional reassurances from the US cable giant Comcast over the editorial independence of the Sky News channel following its takeover of the satellite broadcaster.

In an interview on the channel on Sunday,the UK Culture Secretary Jeremy Wright said that he’d left Comcast in “no doubt” about the importance of editorial independence for Sky News  both in the immediate takeover period and in the long term.

Mr Wright said that he wanted to make sure that reassurances previously offered by Comcast were “firmed up” and that he would take further steps if required.

Comcast emerged as the winner in a bidding war for Sky TV last month following a battle with Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox.

 

And-Daimler’s chief financial officer is to leave the firm when his contract expires in December 2019.

Bodo Uebber had been tipped for the top job at Daimler but last month the firm announced that its research chief Ola Kaellenius would be succeeding Dieter Zetsche as its next Chief executive officer.

No reason has been given for Mr Uebber’s departure

 

Sport

Football-There were three games in the English Premier League on Sunday and Manchester City have gone top of the table on goal difference following a 0-0 draw at Liverpool.

Chelsea are in second place thanks to a 3-0 win at Southampton and Arsenal are up to 4th following a 5-1 win at Fulham.

In Scotland on Sunday,Rangers beat the leaders Hearts 3-1 and St Johnstone suffered a 6-0 home thrashing at the hands of Celtic.

Formula 1-Lewis Hamilton could claim his 5th world championship with victory in the US Grand Prix in two weeks time after winning the Japanese Grand Prix with ease on Sunday.

Hamilton dominated as nearest rival Sebastian Vettel struggled after starting 8th on the grid.

Valtteri Bottas finished in second with Max Verstappen third.

The result means that Vettel is 67 points behind Hamilton and that the British star will win the drivers’ championship if he takes the chequered flag in Austin and Vettel is lower than second-or if Hamilton scores 8 more points than him.

Cricket-Pakistan dominated day 1 of the first Test against Australia in Dubai.

At stumps,Pakistan had reached 255-3 in their first innings.

Hafeez made 126 and Iman 76.

Rugby Union-There was 1 game in the Gallagher Premiership in England on Sunday.Worcester thrashed Bristol 52-7.

Athletics-Mo Farah has claimed his maiden marathon win with victory in Chicago in only his third race.

The 35 year old set a new European record time of 2 hours,five minutes and 11 seconds as he burst clear of Ethiopia’s Mosinet Geremew in the final half-mile in damp conditions in Illinois.

He’s the first British man to win the Chicago marathon since Paul Evans in 1986.

Weather

Sunshine and thundery showers at times and the Var is on an ORANGE WEATHER ALERT until 4pm this afternoon.

Moderate to strong easterly winds and a high of 23 degrees Celsius.

Overnight lows of 16 degrees on the coast and 14 degrees inland with partially cloudy skies.

Tuesday and Wednesday-Partially cloudy tomorrow with a high of 23.More rain arriving from the west on Wednesday.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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