Evening Update Friday 6 November 2020

French Prime Minister Jean Castex is expected in Nice tomorrow for the national tribute to the victims of the attack in Nice on 29 October. A ceremony will take place on the Colline du Chateau. The Prime Minister will meet the families of the victims and present decorations to police officers who attended the scene of the attack at the Notre Dame Basilica. Reports this afternoon, confirmed by Alpes Maritimes Deputy Eric Ciotti, say that the 21 year old man accused of the attack has been transferred from the Pasteur hospital in Nice. It's believed that he has been moved to a hospital in Paris.

Three further people have reportedly been arrested in connection with the murder of teacher Samuel Paty. Reports say that the three are believed to have exchanged social media messages with the alleged attacker. Seven other people have already been charged with offences in connection with the attack.

A man has received a prison sentence after threatening a teacher on social media. He had threatened to behead a history and geography teacher from the Isere department. Reports say that the 30 year old appeared before the Versailles criminal court today after being arrested on Tuesday following the remarks made on social media on Monday.

French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin has praised police after the arrest of a man carrying a knife outside a school in a suburb of Paris this morning. The minister said that security forces had acted with composure and dynamism and intervened quickly to arrest the "dangerous individual" who had said "threatening words". The man didn't resist arrest and inquiries are continuing.

Alpes Maritimes Deputy Loic Dombreval has called for mink farms in France to be closed. Health authorities in Denmark have reported widespread outbreaks of coronavirus in mink farms, with a variant strain of the virus spreading to some local communities in the country. There are only a small number of mink farms in France and none have reported a coronavirus outbreak. Speaking in an interview with French television, M. Dombreval, who is also a vet, said that he had written to President Macron calling for veterinarians to be included in the Scientific Council.

The Princess Grace Hospital in Monaco has announced organizational changes to strengthen it's capacity to treat  Covid-19 patients. Two units dedicated to the care of Covid patients have been created. Other Covid patients continue to be hospitalized in various speciality services. Visits are now suspended in all Medicine - Surgery - Obstetrics departments, unless authorized by the department head but remain authorized in strict compliance with barrier gestures in the psychiatric units as well as within the gerontological unit.

The French Minister for the Armed Forces Florence Parly has been in Toulon today. The minister was presiding at a reception ceremony for the nuclear submarine Suffren at the Toulon naval base. The new submarine was first unveiled to the public last year in Cherbourg and has since been undergoing sea trials.

The Mayor of Cannes, David Lisnard, has been reminding residents of the "Help Commerces" scheme launched during the first confinement and which is still in operation. Under the scheme, individuals make a donation which the town hall then uses to buy goods from local merchants. Those goods are then distributed to those in need. You can get more information on the website www.cannes.com

Flights to and from Nice Cote d'Azur Airport are being impacted by confinement measures in France and in destination countries. The airport is expected to have a significantly reduced number of arrivals and departures in the coming days and weeks as airlines reschedule and cancel flights in the light of coronavirus restrictions. If you have a flight booked you're advised to contact your airline to check that your flight is still operating.

Alpes Maritimes Deputy Eric Ciotti has said that donations amounting to €1,150,000 have been collected so far to help those affected by Storm Alex. Donations can still be made through the Alpes Martitime Department's website   https://www.departement06.fr/

A Canadian wolf which escaped from Parc Alpha during the floods has been found by agents of the French government biodiversity office. Medically supported by a vet from the Alpes Maritimes firefighters, the wolf will now be taken to Deux Sèvres where a second Canadian wolf has already been relocated.

 

BUSINESS

EasyJet has said that it expects to fly no more than about 20% of planned capacity for the October to December quarter this year. The company also announced the sale and leaseback of a further eleven aircraft. It said that the transactions generate total cash proceeds of $169.5 million. easyJet now retains 141 fully owned and unencumbered aircraft, representing approximately 41% of its fleet.

The Nikkei stock index in Japan has closed at its highest level since 1991. The index closed on Friday at 24,325.

The UK government has removed Denmark from the government’s travel corridor list. Passengers arriving into the UK from Denmark now need to self-isolate for 14 days before following domestic restrictions. The announcement of the measure was made in the early hours of this morning, only two and a half hours before coming into effect at 4.00am UK time today.


SPORT

Cricket... Kagiso Rabada has returned to the South Africa squad for the matches against England. The first of the three T20s is scheduled for 27 November and the three ODIs start on 4 December.

Rugby Union... Leicester Tigers have temporarily closed their training ground because of a coronavirus outbreak. The club returned several positive tests for COVID-19 earlier this week following the latest round of Premiership Rugby’s COVID-19 screening programme, including members of the playing group and support staff. Additional testing is taking place today for all players and staff ahead of weekly testing on Monday.

Football... In the English Premier League this weekend Brighton play Burnley and Southampton face Newcastle tonight. On Saturday Everton host Manchester United, Crystal Palace play Leeds, Chelsea play Sheffield United and West Ham play Fulham. On Sunday West Brom play Spurs, Leicester face Wolves, Manchester City play Liverpool and Arsenal host Aston Villa.

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