Local
State of natural disaster recognised in the Alpes Maritimes - A state of natural disaster has been recognised for four communes in the Alpes Maritimes. Menton, Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, Cap d’Ail and Eze have officially been recognized following floods in October 2018. The mayors of Menton and Roquebrune have called it “a great victory”. Following the decision from the French State, victims now have 10 days from May 4th to file an estimate of their losses to their insurance companies, in order to receive compensation.
Twelve people have been rescued from two yachts in St Tropez. The two yachts ran aground and collided with each other during bad weather on Sunday. Ten people were taken off one yacht, which was 30 metres in length. Two people were taken off the other 23 metre yacht. No injuries were reported and no pollution has been caused.
Cold weather - The wave of cold weather at the weekend has seen many records broken for May according to Meteo France. From Oise to Corsica a mass of polar air coming from the Artic saw temperatures hit below zero in many regions breaking some records for the month of May in more than 50 years. While records are frequently broken in May, it is normally due to high temperatures rather than cooler ones according to Meteo France.
La Voile d’Or in Saint Jean Cap Ferrat sold - The prestigious hotel “La Voile d’Or”, which opened in the late nineteenth century in Saint Jean Cap Ferrat and was awarded its 5th star in 2017 has just been sold to a foreign-owned company for a reported € 70 million. The hotel is expected to be closed for renovation work for three years.
It was in 1925 that English captain William Powell, champion of golf, billiard and yachting enthusiast, bought the place and christened it "The Golden Veil". His son, the film director Michael Powell took over the family home which saw visits from some major British actors such as David Niven, Gregory Peck and Jack Hawkins.
Canon in Nice - Residents in Nice have long been familiar with the midday canon fried from the chateau, even if it still surprises them and tourists alike, and now you can assist the firing of the canon on July 13th in a ceremony to be held in period dress, as a tribute to Sir Coventry a Scottish aristocrat.
On a holiday in Nice, this British lord, whose habits and customs had been regulated like a clock, had, to his misfortune, a wife with a tongue too well hung, with a tendency to chatting so much to build up a thirst and forget about lunch! The hungry husband found the solution to bring the talkative woman back to the table by asking his artillery to fire the canon at noon.
School teachers message in a bottle - Two school teachers have hoped to find love through a message in a bottle. On April 9th Magali Touitou, a school teacher in Peillon, and Mélodie Laurens, also a school teacher, were sunbathing on a beach in Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat when they wrote the message and popped in into a bottle; "If you are under 40, and you are not already on a dating site and you believe in chance, contact us." Three weeks later, the bottle was discovered on a beach of Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer in the Bouches-du-Rhone. By chance, students from Marseille accompanied by their teacher found the bottle and replied that while he did not meet their criteria the bottle will be put back in the sea in June during the next school outing.
Barbie - As Barbie celebrates her 60th birthday this year to mark the occasion the Louis Nucéra library in Nice has dedicated an exhibition to the doll displaying 200 models in an exhibition entitled “the deam life of Mademoiselle B”. The exhibition is on until May 25th and entry is free.
Barbie has been successful from the start of her career selling 300,000 dolls in the first year and today between two and three Barbie’s are reportedly sold every second worldwide.
National
Life on Earth under threat - An international report published on Monday in Paris has warned that life on Earth is under unprecedented threat, with more than a million species facing extinction and global ecosystems eroding faster than ever before. Experts from around the world have spent the past week at Unesco's headquarters, teaming up with governments from 130 countries to hammer out what's billed as the most comprehensive biodiversity assessment in history – and to hatch a plan to save nature.
Pancake thief - A thief who stole a van full of French pancakes had a mouthful of crepe as he refused to pull over as police were chasing him. According to local media the vehicle was stolen on Friday while it was making a delivery to a bakery in Brest, Brittany. The police were alerted and began a chase. The man was then seen with a crepe in his mouth as he refused to stop for officers. He was eventually stopped at Morlaix and placed in custody.
Business
The United States trade representative Robert Lighthizer has accused China of “backtracking” on commitments in trade talks but has insisted that a deal on tariffs is still possible.
Mr Lighthizer said that President Trump’s threat to impose new tariffs was made after Beijing reneged on promises made during trade negotiations over the past few weeks.
He said that a Chinese delegation was still expected in Washington on Thursday for fresh talks.
On Wall Street ,stocks recovered some ground following Mr Lighthizer’s remarks after early sharp falls.
The US trade representative said that there had been an “erosion of commitments “ by China over the past few weeks and that was unacceptable to Washington.
The US aerospace giant Boeing has admitted that it knew about a problem with its 737 Max jets a year before the aircraft was involved in two fatal accidents.
Boeing said that it had inadvertently made an alarm feature optional instead of standard but insisted that it did not jeopardise flight safety.
All 737 Max jets were grounded in March after an Ethiopian Airlines flight crashed ,killing 157 people.
Five months earlier ,189 people died in a Lion Air crash.
Boeing said that it had intended to make the safety feature standard but did not realise until deliveries had begun that it was only available if airlines purchased an optional indicator.
And-PepsiCo has said that it will invest 4 billion dollars in Mexico between now and 2020 with its partner Grupo Gepp and create around 3,000 new jobs.
Pepsi said that part of the investment would go towards a new 109 million dollar plant which should be fully operating by 2025.
The firm could risk the ire of President Trump who has repeatedly said that he wants US firms to invest in America and not overseas.
Sport
Football-Manchester City are back on top of the English Premier League with one game to go after a Vincent Kompany netted from 25 yards to give them a 1-0 win over Leicester last night.
The victory puts City one point clear of Liverpool at the top of the table.
In the final games of the season City will away at Brighton while Liverpool will be at home to Wolves.
Liverpool are in action tonight against Barcelona in the semi-final second leg of the European Champions League.
Jurgen Klopp’s side trail 3-0 from the first leg and look unlikely to make the final which will be against either Ajax or Spurs.
Cricket-David Warner and Steve Smith have returned to Australian colours after serving 12 month bans for their roles in the ball tampering incident of March 2018.
Warner scored 39 off 43 balls and Smith took a one-handed diving catch in an Australia XI World Cup warm-up game against New Zealand.
Australia will play England in a World Cup warm-up match in Southampton on May the 25th before the tournament starts on the 30th of May.
Golf-Tiger Woods has received America’s highest civilian honour from President Trump in a ceremony in Washington.
The 43 year old ,who won the US Masters in April was given the Presidential Medal of Freedom at the White House.
He’s the fourth golfer to receive the accolade after Jack Nicklaus ,Arnold Palmer and Charlie Sifford.
Boxing-Anthony Joshua has warned both Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury that they risk fighting a “better version” of him if long-winded fight negotiations drag on.
Joshua will fight Andy Ruiz Jr in New York on the 1st of June and says that the contest will showcase the evolving methods that he started to use after beating Wladimir Klitschko.
He says that he now “trains smart” both inside and outside the ring and that the longer that Wilder and Fury leave it ,the tougher it will be for them.
Weather
Clear skies with light to moderate westerly or variable winds.
Top temperature 20 degrees Celsius.
Overnight lows of 12 degrees on the coast and 10 degrees inland with partially cloudy skies.
Wednesday and Thursday-Clouding over tomorrow with rain for much of the day.Fine again on Thursday.Highs of 16-21 degrees.
Finally
The local government in Mussomeli in southern Sicily is selling 100 abandoned properties online and it is expected to have another 400 added soon.
The government posted signs on the doors of the homes up for grabs in the town of 11,000 residents. Besides all of the traditional culinary delights the region possesses, the town is also home to a medieval castle and ancient churches.
However, buyers must agree to renovate their new homes within a year of purchase or they will lose their £4,270 security deposit.
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