Evening Update Wednesday 15 May

Operators of VTC private tourist vehicles have been blocking access to Nice airport this afternoon. The action follows the blockade by taxi drivers yesterday.  Reports say that the action is now over and traffic is expected to slowly return to normal. 

It’s been announced that Yellow Vest protestor Geneviève Legay has left hospital. The NGO Attac, of which she is an activist, made the announcement today, saying that she can walk but she’s not totally independent.  She suffered several broken ribs and a fractured skull after being pushed by a police officer at a demonstration in Nice and has spent two months in hospital.

A 50 year old man has died during a diving excursion in La Ciotat in the Var. The man reportedly suffered a heart attack while with a group of divers on Sunday morning. 

An elderly person was evacuated from an apartment by a fire service crane elevator in Antibes this lunchtime. The lady had fallen ill on the 5th floor of the building on Boulevard Wilson and couldn’t be taken down the stairs. Traffic was disrupted in central Antibes as a result of the rescue.

A thirty year old man has been left in a critical condition in hospital after being stabbed in Nice. Police are still actively looking for the aggressor who fled on foot following the attack which took place on Tuesday afternoon shortly after 3pm near the main train station in Nice. Police believe that the attack was a robbery that went wrong and have called for any witnesses to come forward. 

An escaped prisoner has been recaptured after being found at his home in Manosque.  The man was a prisoner at  Aix-Luynes prison but had been taken to hospital with suspected tuberculosis. Reports say that he escaped from the second floor of the hospital despite being in handcuffs and being guarded by two police officers. He was expected to appear in at the Aix-en-Provence Criminal Court today. 

The French government has announced that it’s releasing additional funds to help local merchants who have been adversely affected by the Yellow Vest protests. The fund, which is being distributed to 34 local municipalities including Toulon, has been increased from 3 million to 5.5 million euros. 


BUSINESS

The German economy returned to growth in the first quarter, up 0.4% quarter on quarter, helped by higher household spending and a booming construction industry.

Travel company TUI has reported a first-half net loss of €287.2m. The company also said that the grounding of Boeing 737 Max aircraft is still likely to cost it at least €200m in lost earnings, and that’s assuming the jets can fly again from mid-July. It also warned again that it may have to take another €100m hit if Boeing doesn't come up with a plan by the end of the month. TUI operates 15 of the planes, which is about 10% of its fleet.

British Land, which is one of the UK's largest landlords for offices, commercial premises and shops, has said that the value of its properties fell 4.8% to £12.3bn in the year to the end of March. Meanwhile, Landsec, the UK’s largest listed property company by assets, said the value of its portfolio fell £557m to £13.8bn.

 

SPORT

Cricket….England captain Eoin Morgan has been suspended for the next one-day international and fined 40% of his match fee for a slow over-rate during the match against Pakistan yesterday. It is Morgan's second such offence within 12 months. He will miss Friday's fourth ODI against Pakistan at Trent Bridge.

Cycling… Former champion Tom Dumoulin has withdrawn from the Giro d'Italia shortly after the start of stage five after failing to recover from a crash. The Dutch rider injured his knee in a heavy fall on yesterday's fourth stage and was four minutes 30 seconds behind the leaders.

Football..Aston Villa are through to the English Championship playoff final after beating West Brom on penalties. The scores were tied at 2-2 on aggregate at the end of extra time and Villa won the penalty shootout 4-3. They’ll meet the winner of tonight’s second semi final between Leeds United and Derby. Leeds lead 1-0 from the first leg.

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