Evening Update Thursday 21 November

Meteo France are forecasting bad weather for the Cote d’Azur over the next couple of days. There’s a Yellow warning for storms, heavy rain and flooding for both the Var and the Alpes Maritimes. The warnings are in force until 4am tomorrow morning in the Var and 6am in the Alpes Maritimes. Warnings are also in place for many departments in south central France and much of the Atlantic coast.

Customs officers in Menton have seized cigarettes worth 16,000 euros from luggage on a bus. The 117 packets were discovered in the baggage of a Ukranian national who was on board a bus from Bulgaria when it was stopped on the A8 motorway.

SNCF is warning train users in the Var to expect serious disruption this afternoon and this evening. A railway machine broke down in Saint-Cyr station this morning. Delays and cancellations are being experienced and replacement bus services are running between some local stations to ease congestion. SNCF say that services will be disrupted until at least 8.00pm this evening, but that trains should be back to normal by tomorrow morning.

Medical electro-radiology staff from many hospitals in western areas of the Alpes Maritimes have been staging industrial action today. A protest was held in front of the hospital in Antibes this morning. The staff, who perform medical imaging such as scans and MRIs, are protesting over issues such as housing and staffing levels.

A motorcyclist has died after an accident on the DN8 at Castellet in the Var. The man in his thirties was in collision with a van on the Camp Castellet roundabout at 12.45 today. He was taken to the Sainte-Anne hospital in Toulon by helicopter but didn’t survive.

According to a new survey carried out by a consumer association, almost half of all doctors in France are refusing to see new patients. UFC-Que Choisir surveyed several thousand doctors in 78 department. 44 per cent of respondents refused to accept new patients while 9 per cent said that they wanted to see the patient before making a decision. Asked for a reason, 71 per cent said they already had too many patients. The association has called on the Minister of Health Agnès Buzyn to take measures to address the situation.

 

BUSINESS

Dozens of British Airways flights into the UK have been delayed or cancelled after what the airline has described as a "technical issue". A spokesperson for Gatwick Airport, where a number of BA flights have arrived late, is quoted by UK media as saying the delays are because of an issue with the airline's system for handling flight plans.

A free trade pact between Singapore and the European Union comes into effect today. Under the deal, the EU will cut tariffs by 84% on Singaporean exports, while Singapore will remove tariffs on EU imports entirely. Trade between Singapore and the EU amounted to more than $58bn last year.

US jobless claims numbers have been published. There were 227,000 applications for unemployment benefits last week. Although that number is unchanged on the previous week, it was higher than the 219,000 predicted.

UK government borrowing in October rose to its highest level in five years, according to new data from the Office for National Statistics. Borrowing last month hit £11.2bn, which is £2.3bn more than last year and more than analysts had expected. Total borrowing this financial year, which runs from April, is over 10% higher than the same time last year.

A profits warning has been issued by the US department store chain Macy's. Store sales fell 3.5% in the three months to 2 November.

 

SPORT

Tennis…. Great Britain have secured their place in the knockout stage of the Davis Cup finals as Jamie Murray and Neal Skupski won their pivotal doubles match to beat Kazakhstan’s Mikhail Kukushkin and Alexander Bublik. Britain will face Germany in the quarter-finals at 5.30pm our time on Friday.

Golf… Rory McIlroy has finished day one of the World Tour Championship in Dubai in second place behind leader Mike Lorenzo-Vera. He carded an eight-under 64, one stroke behind the Frenchman who shot the lowest ever opening round in the championship. Tommy Fleetwood, who is second in the Race to Dubai standings, is tied with compatriot Tom Lewis in fourth, on five under.

Football… Real Madrid winger Lucas Vazquez has broken a toe after reportedly "dropping a weight" on to it while doing extra work in the gym. Vazquez has already spent six weeks out with a calf injury, but is now sidelined for another month.

 

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