Evening Update Wednesday 10 April

A thirty year old man has been sentenced for threatening the owner of a pizza restaurant and his mother in Bormes-les-Mimosas. The defendant appeared before the criminal court in Toulon after he had left threatening messages, brandished a knife and urinated near the restaurant.  The court heard that he was suffering from psychiatric disorders. He was given a ten month prison sentence, seven of which were suspended.  He was also banned from going into Bormes-les-Mimosas or having contact with the owner and his mother for two years.

Customs officers at the port of Marseille have been carrying out a work to rule today.  As part of ongoing industrial action, officers carried out extremely detailed inspections of vehicles passing through Gate 2 at the port, for a period of two hours this morning. It was part of industrial action which has been going on for seven weeks.  The officers say that they are understaffed and their working conditions are deteriorating.

A 16 year old boy has been seriously injured in an accident between the scooter he was riding and a car in Cagnes-sur-Mer. Police say the accident happened on the Chemin des Travails on Tuesday afternoon. The boy has been taken to hospital in Nice where his condition is described as serious. An enquiry has been opened into the exact cause of the accident.

The manager of a restaurant has been sentenced after falsely claiming to be a victim of the Paris attacks of 13 November 2015. He was the manager of the Casa Nostra, which was one of the restaurants attacked by terrorists, but was not present at the time of the attack. He claimed to be a victim in order to claim compensation and was sentenced to two years in prison, one of which was suspended.

An historic ship is arriving in Nice this weekend. The three masted Belem is one of the oldest ships in the world still in operation and is the last great French trading vessel of the 19th century. In the past it’s been owned by beer baron Sir Arthur Guinness and also by the 2nd Duke of Westminster.  The Belem is scheduled to arrive in Nice at 4pm on Friday and stay until the 14th. You might be able to go on board if you’re quick enough to reserve your place. You can get details at the website www.fondationbelem.com


BUSINESS

Online fashion retailer Asos has seen its profits plunge, after a difficult year caused by heavy discounting and website traffic issues. The company’s pre-tax profits fell 87% to £4m for the six months to 28 February against the same period in 2018. However sales rose 14% to £1.3bn for the period.

The UK economy grew by 0.3% in the three months to February helped by stockpiling by manufacturers ahead of Brexit. The 0.3% rise was the same as the three months to January, after previous estimate was revised higher.

Tesco has announced a 28% increase in annual pre-tax profits. The company has also almost doubled its dividend. Full-year pre-tax profits were £1.7bn, with Tesco's same store sales up 1.7%.

 

 SPORT

Football...Tottenham striker Harry Kane could miss the rest of the season with an ankle injury.  Kane is having an MRI scan today after hobbling off the pitch during last night’s match against Manchester City. Kane was seen leaving the stadium on crutches, with a protective boot on his left ankle.

Cricket... India captain Virat Kohli has been named the leading cricketer in the world by Wisden. Afghanistan's Rashid Khan was named the world's leading Twenty20 cricketer for the second year running. Sam Curran became the youngest Englishman in a century to be named as one of Wisden's five Cricketers of the Year. 

Tennis…The French tennis team have set up a training camp in Sophia Antipolis. Many of the top players, including new French captain Sébastien Grosjean, arrived yesterday and will train until Saturday.

 

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