Evening Update Tuesday 1 October

A 47 year old drug user has been convicted of manslaughter by a court in Nice. In May 2016 he had injected a friend, who was also a drug user, with a pain reliever made from morphine. The friend subsequently died. The court heard that the defendant was in receipt of disabled person’s allowance and had almost never worked. He was sentenced to two years in prison – a sentence which could be changed – and three years of probation.

A 75 year old hiker has been rescued by helicopter near La Crau in the Var this afternoon. The woman had fallen in a difficult to access area and was eventually taken to hospital by the Dragon 83 helicopter. Pompiers from the Var and a specialized rescue team were also involved.

A new agreement has been signed to keep the Tax Free World Exhibition in Cannes for the next seven years. The Exhibition, which is organized by TFWA, the global duty free and travel retail association, is currently being held at the Palais des Festivals until the 4th of October.

Traffic was disrupted around the Gulf of St Tropez this morning after a road closure. One of the La Foux crossroads in Cogolin was closed to allow tree felling but the closure had a knock-on effect on many local roads between Saint-Tropez and Sainte-Maxime.

The Marseilles Administrative Court of Appeal has reminded local government of its obligation to provide facilities for the travelling community.  The court said that the Aix-Marseille metropolis has to provide Travelers with a major transit area in Marseille within two years, amongst other obligations to provide areas for the travelling community. The court said that the local authority had not yet complied with its obligations to open reception areas which have been planned for five years.

Alpes-Maritimes deputy Eric Ciotti has been re-elected as one of the three Quaestors of the French National Assembly. Quaestors are in charge of the financial affairs of the National Assembly.

A new analysis of statistics by INSEE has shown that in 2018 more than 70 per cent of people who died in the Var had been born elsewhere. For France as a whole, 47 per cent of all people died in the department of their birth. The high figure for the Var, and similar numbers in the Alpes Maritimes, are thought to be the result of retirees moving to the south.

Following the recent factory fire in Rouen, another chemical plant has been closed in the area. The Prefecture of the Seine-Maritime said that there had been no fire but production had been halted at 7.45 this morning at a fertilizer factory which is classified under EU legislation as a “high threshold” industrial establishment where dangerous chemicals are used or stored. The statement from the prefecture said that the plant had been shut down for safety reasons following a loss of power.

Following media speculation in recent days, the former right-wing MEP Marion Maréchal has declared that she will not run for President of France in 2022. She is the niece of Marine Le Pen, president of the Rassemblement National.

 

BUSINESS

The John Lewis Partnership is cutting 75 senior roles as part of a management reorganization. The firm said that it’s scrapping separate boards for its department store chain and the Waitrose supermarket. Both will now be managed by one executive team.

Australia's central bank has cut interest rates by 25 basis points to 0.75%. The Governor of the  Reserve Bank of Australia, Philip Lowe, said that the outlook for the global economy was "reasonable" but the risks were "tilted to the downside."

The chief executive of Argos, the retailer owned by Sainsbury's, has left to join advertising agency WPP as its chief financial officer. John Rogers is leaving on 31 October after three years as Argos chief executive and more than 14 years at Sainsbury's.

Activity in the UK's manufacturing sector shrank in September - the fifth consecutive month of contraction. However, the pace of contraction was less than in August.

Australian surfboard maker Rip Curl has been sold in a deal that marks the last of Australia's big surf brands to fall into overseas hands. The company has been bought by New Zealand's Kathmandu for 350m Australian Dollars.

Like-for-like sales at Greggs the UK bakery retailer grew by 7.4% for the three months to 28 September. The company also said that total sales grew by 12.5% in its third quarter.

Belfast's Harland and Wolff shipyard has been sold, saving it from closure. The yard has been bought for a total of £6m by InfraStrata, a London-based energy firm.

 

SPORT

Cricket… England's World Cup-winning captain Eoin Morgan, West Indies batsman Chris Gayle and Australia's Steve Smith have made themselves available for The Hundred player draft on 20 October. The inaugural 100-ball competition, which is comprised of eight city-based teams, takes place from the 17 July to the 16 August next year.

Football.. Dundee United's Lawrence Shankland has been called-up for Scotland's Euro 2020 qualifiers against Russia and San Marino. He becomes the first second-tier player to be called up since John McGinn in 2017. Sheffield United's John Fleck has also been named in the squad.

Athletics… American coach Alberto Salazar has been banned for four years for doping violations. Salazar runs the Nike Oregon Project, which was home to four-time Olympic champion Mo Farah. The decision follows a four year investigation by the US Anti-Doping Agency and a two-year court battle. Salazar said he was "shocked" by the decision and would appeal.

 

MA NOLAN’S RUGBY WORLD CUP REPORT

There are no games today but tomorrow New Zealand play Canada in Pool B and France play the USA in Pool C.

Ireland have made 11 changes for the game against Russia on Thursday.  Johnny Sexton will captain the side and Rob Kearney, Garry Ringrose, Keith Earls and Peter O'Mahony are the only players to be retained from the shock defeat by Japan. The full starting line up will be Kearney, Conway, Ringrose, Aki, Earls, Sexton, McGrath; Kilcoyne, Scannell, Ryan, Kleyn, Beirne, Ruddock, O'Mahony and Murphy.

New Zealand flanker Ardie Savea will wear protective goggles in Wednesday's match against Canada following fears he could lose his sight. Savea, who is 25 years old, revealed that the sight in his left eye has been deteriorating and he will now wear specially designed glasses to protect his right eye.

 

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