PACA President quizzed - The head of the PACA region was yesterday grilled by a judge investigating corruption claims. Socialist Michel Vauzelle, the President of the PACA, spent three hours being interviewed by the judge. The 66-year-old had been summoned as a witness into the affair involving the misappropriation of 740-thousand euros. Mr Vauzelle has been accused by Socialist deputy Sylvie Andrieux of laundering the funds through fake companies and then using it to finance his election campaign. Mr Vauzelle denies the allegations, saying it was he who first alerted authorities.

Road deaths drop - There is encouraging news with a reduction in the number of accidents and deaths on the region’s roads. Until the end of August, 35 people have been killed in traffic accidents; 10 less than for the same period last year. There has also been a 10% reduction in the number of accidents. Motorcycle and motor-scooter riders and their passengers account for the majority of those killed; with a total of 22 deaths in eight months.

Nice “rescue” biscuits - A brand-new, locally-produced, high-protein biscuit has been selected by Chilean authorities to feed the 33 miners trapped some 700-metres underground. The Protibis Galette has been developed by researchers from Nice University to complement the diet of under-nourished and elderly patients.  It contains 20 per cent protein and, most importantly, is the right size to fit down the narrow tube being used to supply the trapped miners with food. 

UMP HQ raid - French financial police have searched the main offices of President Nicolas Sarkozy's party over the inquiry into the L'Oreal scandal. The probe is looking into claims L'Oreal heiress Liliane Bettencourt made illegal donations to Mr Sarkozy's 2007 presidential campaign. It is the first time the UMP party has been openly investigated over the allegations.

Euro MPs protest - Euro MPs have called on France to suspend immediately its controversial deportations of Roma. A toughly-worded resolution passed by 337 MEPs also demanded strong action by the European Commission and EU governments to integrate Roma, many of whom live in poverty. Since August, France has deported about 1,000 Roma to Romania and Bulgaria.

Report slams papers - A French government-commissioned report published yesterday reveals that the nation’s press is in a state of “permanent artificial respiration” by the annual billion euros in state aid it receives. French newspapers, like much of the world’s written press, have been struggling due to falling advertising revenues, dwindling circulation, competition from new media and the economic downturn.

Business

China reported a surprise surge in imports during August, leading to a fall in its trade surplus to $20bn. Imports rose 35.2% from a year ago, faster than the 26.1% markets expected. This means that imports grew slightly faster than exports, which rose by only 34.4%, as expected. The news, which follows a surprising contraction in the US trade deficit in July, will weaken critics of China's trade practices in the US.

Sport

TENNIS – Rafael Nadal reached the US Open semi-finals for the third time with victory over fellow Spaniard Fernando Verdasco on another windy night in New York. The world number one, chasing the only Grand Slam title to have so far eluded him, won 7-5 6-3 6-4. Nadal will play Mikhail Youzhny in the last four after the Russian beat Stanislas Wawrinka in five sets. That match will be played on 'Super Saturday' as well as the other semi-final between second seed Federer and third seed Novak Djokovic, with a first ever meeting in New York between Nadal and Federer a possibility for Sunday's final.

Today is women’s semi-finals day, with Caroline Wozniacki against Vera Zvonoreva; Venus Williams is up against defending champion Kim Clijsters.

FOOTBALL – Portugal coach Carlos Queiroz has been sacked with immediate effect. The move comes a week after the 57-year-old was suspended for six months for disrupting an anti-doping test. The former Manchester United assistant boss was also criticised for Portugal's poor performance at the 2010 World Cup finals and in Euro 2012 qualifiers.

Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp says the England job would be "hard to turn down" should he be approached to replace manager Fabio Capello. Capello confirmed he will quit after Euro 2012 and Redknapp is favourite to succeed the Italian, with Blackburn's Sam Allardyce another likely candidate.

FORMULA ONE – First practice for the Italian grand prix takes place at 10am this morning.

Meanwhile, Fernando Alonso has tried to put the team orders controversy behind Ferrari after the FIA decided against further punishment for the Italian team. Ferrari were fined £65,100 in July for using banned team orders when Felipe Massa allowed team-mate Alonso through at the German Grand Prix.

CRICKET – Pakistan fast bowler Wahab Riaz will be questioned by police on Tuesday in relation to allegations of corruption. The 25-year-old made his debut in The Oval Test against England and also played in the match at Lord's. Pakistan trio Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir have already given police statements. They have been accused of spot fixing during the Test series but have not been charged by the police and are expected to return to Pakistan.

Weather

Fine and sunny across Monaco, the Alpes-Maritimes and Var. Light south/westerly winds. Overnight: 18 – 20°, clear.

And Finally

A firm handshake and brisk walk could be indicators of a longer life expectancy, it has been claimed. Scientists at the Medical Research Council analysed the results of 33 studies into the link between ability to carry out simple physical tasks and age of death. They found people who performed better at tasks including gripping, walking, rising from a chair and balancing on one leg tended to live to a riper age. Tens of thousands of men and women across the globe took part in the studies, some of which followed participants for 43 years. Of the 14 studies dealing with grip strength, it was found that those with the strongest hand grasps tended to live longer than those with feeble ones.