A minute's silence has been observed at police headquarters in Paris today in memory of the four staff members who died in a knife attack yesterday. Reports say that the wife of the attacker said he had a psychotic episode, was incoherent and heard voices the night before the attack and that he had a disagreement with his bosses. According to Interior Minister Christophe Castaner, the employee was a 45-year-old IT specialist who had worked for the Paris police force for 16 years. Officials said he had been working in the force's intelligence division. M. Castaner said there had been no warning signs about the attacker and that he appeared to be a model employee.
Nine people have been injured after a serious motor accident on the Quai des Etats-Unis in Nice in the early hours of this morning. The accident involved a frontal collision between two mini-busses. The injured, including two people who were seriously hurt, were taken to the Pasteur Hospital and an investigation has been opened to establish the circumstances of the collision. Meanwhile, three people have been injured, one seriously, in an accident on the D6 near Pourrières this morning when a car collided with a lorry.
Alpes Maritimes deputy Eric Ciotti has criticized the recent reorganization of the Lignes d'Azur bus network in Nice. He has asked the mayor of Nice, Christian Estrosi, to reinstate the previous network, saying that Line 2 of the tramway is not operational for its entire journey and suffers from “almost daily technical problems”. He said it wasn’t appropriate to reorganize the bus network before the delivery of Lines 2 and 3 of the tramway.
A tribute to the victims of the Nice attacks of July 2016 has been inaugurated by the mayor of Nice, Christian Estrosi this morning. The plaque was unveiled at the football fields of the Nicolai stadium on the Boulevard de la Madeleine.
An 81 year old hiker has been rescued in the Bevera Valley, just north of Sospel. The hiker, who had been gathering mushrooms, had fallen into a ravine and had also suffered bee stings. The man who had back injuries and many wounds, was taken to La Palmosa Hospital in Menton. His life isn’t thought to be in danger.
BUSINESS
BP's chief executive Bob Dudley is stepping down next year and will be replaced by Bernard Looney in February. Mr Dudley took over at one of the most difficult periods in the company’s history after the Deepwater Horizon drilling accident which killed 11 workers and caused an environmental catastrophe. It cost the oil company more than $60bn.
UK car sales rose by just 1.3% from a year earlier, well below hoped-for figures. Mike Hawes, Chief Executive of The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders said the rise was "fairly paltry" compared with what he described as a "pretty awful" September 2018, when sales slumped 20%.
The widely-watched US Non-Farm Payroll numbers have been released for September showing that the US added 136,000 jobs in September, against an expectation of 145,000. However, the unemployment rate fell to 3.5%, which is a 50-year-low.
German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas has said that the EU is likely to retaliate against new US tariffs on European goods. He also said that, after obtaining WTO approval, the EU would “probably impose punitive tariffs as well". The WTO has ruled that some subsidies EU states paid to plane-maker Airbus were illegal, giving the US the right to react with tariffs on goods imported from the EU. Washington announced plans for new tariffs on Wednesday, including a 25% tariff on Scotch whisky.
Computer maker HP has announced plans to cut up to 9,000 jobs worldwide. The company said the job reductions would help the firm save about $1bn by the end of its fiscal 2022 year. HP currently has about 55,000 employees.
SPORT
Tennis… World number one Novak Djokovic is throught to the Japan Open semi-final. He defeated French player Lucas Pouille 6-1 6-2 in just 50 minutes. Meanwhile Andy Murray was beaten by top-seed Dominic Thiem in the quarter-finals of the China Open. Final score 6-2 7-6 (7-3).
Football… In the English Premier League this weekend on Saturday Brighton play Spurs. Burnley host Everton. Liverpool play Leicester. Norwich face Aston Villa. Watford play Sheffield United and West Ham play Crystal Palace. On Sunday Arsenal play Bournemouth. Manchester City host Wolves. Southampton play Chelsea and Newcastle face Manchester United.
MA NOLAN’S RUGBY WORLD CUP REPORT
South Africa have kept their World Cup hopes alive with a bonus-point win over Italy. The final score was 49-3. Italian prop Andrea Lovotti was sent off during the match for a tip-tackle.
Tomorrow there are three games with hosts Japan playing Samoa in Pool A. A win for Japan would guarantee them a place in the quarter finals. Likewise, England who face Argentina in Pool C with victory seeing them safely into the last 8. Australia are playing Uruguay in Pool D and should register the win that would keep them on track for the knockout phase. Second place in that Pool is not expected to be decided until the final round of games.
A group of experts have come up with more than 150 recommendations for how Nice can deal with the increasing effects of climate change....
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Some communes in the Alpes-Maritimes will be plunged into darkness this Monday evening. For the third year running to mark Earth Day, mayors in the Al...
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Gendarmes in the Var have appealed for information after a 34-year-old man went missing in Cavalaire-sur-Mer....
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A man from Nice used a stolen bank card to make purchases in Monaco, spending over €1,700 in various shops, mostly on airpods that he planned to resel...
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Electric bike-sharing firm Pony says all of its vehicles will be back out on the streets of Nice no later than June, after they were withdrawn last mo...
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