Local
Road accident - An 18-year-old has been killed in a road accident in the Var. The accident happened shortly after midnight on Wednesday and the victim is believed to have lost control of his vehicle. Police have opened an investigation. The road death adds to the number of recent fatal accidents on the region’s roads. This week the Prefect of the Var called for motorists to “drive safely” following several deadly accidents at the weekend.
Dengue fever - The first domestic case of dengue fever in the PACA Region this year has been reported. The Agence Regionale de Sante said that a woman had been diagnosed with the condition in Vallauris but has now recovered after medical treatment. The area around the woman’s residence was subjected to a mosquito control operation to prevent the spread of the disease.
New safety measure in hospitals - Nice city council has announced plans to connect CCTV cameras in the town’s hospitals to local police stations in an attempt to improve safety for staff and patients. The device would only be activated in the case of an emergency. The proposal comes after several unions called for action to be taken following a series of attacks in recent months.
Nice city council to sell two of the town’s car parks - Local left wing MP Patrick Allemand has critised the decision by Nice city council to sell the car parks of Place Massena and the Cours Saleya in Nice. The deputy mayor of Nice, Philippe Pradal has justified the decision saying “the move will allow the service to be developed” by the private sector. Allemand however, argues that the sale is to finance the underground works of line two of the tramway and avoid the city council taking a loan to fund the works. The city of Nice currently offers a total of 19,000 parking spaces.
Strike action - Agents of the electricity company EDF have been on strike today. They are protesting at a restructuring of the company’s operations which will see the separation of commercial and production activities.
Prostate cancer - To coincide with the European day for Prostate cancer this Friday 20th September health professionals will be available on Place Massena in Nice from 9am to 5pm to answer visitor’s questions both in terms of prevention and care. Every year in France, 50,000 new cases are diagnosed and there are more than 8,000 deaths among men aged 65 and over.
Prince’s Trust Enterpise fellowship - Sir Stelios chair of the Princes Trust Enterprise fellowship in the UK has held a meeting about the programme here in the Principality. The aim is to offer loans, training and mentoring to help 18-30 year-old's start their own businesses.
Nice Opera - In celebration of the 18th edition of the festival of operettas and comedy musicals taking place this weekend. The Opera of Nice is presenting the “les Cages Folles”. A cult film of French cinema of the 70s for which 70s for which Michel Serrault won the César for best actor in 1979.
National
Domestic violence – The murder of a French woman by her partner in front of their three children,has prompted hundreds of protesters to gather nearby calling for an end to domestic violence. The man, 37, stabbed the 27-year-old woman 14 times during a dispute in the northern port city of Le Havre on Monday. The couple were in the process of separation. Their children, aged six, four and two, looked on as their mother was attacked. The mother died instantly, and the man was quickly arrested. A prosecutor said the stabbing happened in front of a supermarket.
Migrants - France and Italy are calling for a new system to automatically redistribute migrants across the EU as the number of people entering Europe surges. Speaking to French media French President Emmanuel Macron said that "The European Union hasn't shown enough solidarity with countries handling first arrivals,". The current system, he added, was particularly unfair on Italy. Hundreds of migrants arrived in Italy and Greece this week, many travelling by boat from Libya and Turkey.
Global climate marches - Youth activists are expected to take part in global climate marches today, with strikes planned in Paris. Environmentalists will then team up with Yellow Vest protesters and anti-pension reform groups on Saturday, which could spell trouble for this year's Journées du Patrimoine weekend. At least three demonstrations are planned in the French capital under the banner of Fridays for Future. Organisers in France reckon that Friday's event could draw in even bigger crowds than the 1.6 million students who demonstrated on March 15th.
French palace ransacked - The owners of a 17th-century French palace said to be the model for Versailles were tied up as their home was ransacked on Thursday by robbers who fled with a haul worth two million euros. The Chateau set amid gardens about 50 kilometres southeast of Paris, has been owned by the same family since 1875.
Business
The home rentals app Airbnb has said that it’s planning to float on stock markets next year in what’s expected to be one of the highest profile share sales of 2020.
Earlier this week Airbnb said that second quarter revenue reached a billion dollars but did not say if it had made a profit.
Airbnb was founded in San Francisco in 2008 and advertises that it offers 7 million unique places to stay in 191 countries.Recently the firm added the ability for users to book activities at a travel destination alongside accommodation.
The firm has been criticised for hollowing out communities at popular destinations and many city authorities are placing restrictions on the service owing to a range of problems from noise to unauthorised waste disposal.
The chief executive of Amazon has said that he will make the firm carbon neutral and has pledged to meet the goals of the Paris climate agreement by 2040.
Jeff Bezos said that Amazon had ordered 100,000 electric vehicles for delivery to reduce its fuel consumption.The firm is also to invest 100 million dollars to restore forests and wetlands.
More than 1,500 Amazon employees in Seattle are planning a walkout today in protest over the firm’s environmental record.
Organisers of the protest have welcomed the statement by Mr Bezos but say that it doesn’t go far enough.
As well as online shopping and delivery ,Amazon also operates vast data centres and cloud computing services.
The International Energy Agency estimates that data centres were responsible for around 1 percent of global energy use in 2018.
And-The Bank of England has forecast that prolonged Brexit uncertainty will keep UK interest rates lower for longer.
The Bank said that the UK would avoid falling into recession this year but warned that Brexit and trade concerns are weighing on the economy.
Interest rates were left on hold at three quarters of one percent on Thursday with policymakers warning that a no-deal Brexit would lead to weaker growth ,higher inflation and a further dip in the value of the pound.
The UK economy contracted by 0.2 percent in the second quarter but the Bank expects a 0.2 percent expansion in the third quarter.
Sport
MA NOLANS RUGBY WORLD CUP REPORT.
Rugby Union-The opening ceremony for the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan takes place this morning followed by the hosts against Russia at 12.45 lunchtime.
New Zealand remain the favourites for the Webb-Ellis Trophy and they play improving South Africa in Yokohama at 11.45 tomorrow.
Of the Northern Hemisphere sides ,Ireland ,Wales and England are set to mount the strongest challenges.
Ireland start their campaign against Scotland on Sunday in Pool A while England play Tonga in Sapporo on Sunday in Pool C while Wales play Georgia in Pool D on Monday.
England have named their side for the Tonga game with George Ford starting at fly half and Owen Farrell at inside-centre.
Coach Eddie Jones has gone for the youthful combination of Tom Curry at blind-side and Sam Underhill at open-side.
Ben Youngs wins his 90th cap at scrum half and Manu Tuilagi will start at outside-centre.
Jones says that Tonga will be “ferocious” and that England will need to be at their best on Sunday.
Football-There were a stack of games in the Europa League on Thursday with Manchester United beating FC Astana 1-0.Wolves lost 1-0 at home to Braga while Arsenal were 3-0 winners at Eintracht Frankfurt.
Celtic of Scotland drew 1-1 at Rennes and Rangers beat Feyenoord 1-0.
In the English Premier League this weekend.Southampton play Bournemouth tonight.
On Saturday Leicester play Spurs.Burnley host Norwich.Everton face Sheffield United.Manchester City play Watford and Newcastle play Brighton.
On Sunday Crystal Palace play Wolves.West Ham face Manchester United.Arsenal play Aston Villa and Chelsea play Liverpool.
Formula 1-First practice for Sunday’s Singapore Grand Prix takes place at 10.30 French time this morning with Lewis Hamilton leading Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas by 63 points heading into the weekend.
Charles Leclerc will be attempting to make it three wins in a row but says that the Singapore circuit doesn’t favour the Ferrari.
Meanwhile ,Robert Kubica is to part company with Williams at the end of the season.
The Pole returned to Formula 1 this season following an 8 year absence after he sustained life-changing injuries in a rally crash in 2011.
Kubica said that this year had been “very demanding” and added that he had decided not to continue with Williams.
Second practice is at 2.30 this afternoon with qualifying at 3pm tomorrow and the race at 10 past 2 on Sunday afternoon.
Golf-Matt Wallace of England leads heading into the second round of the PGA at Wentworth.
Wallace carded a first round 7 under par 65 which included 5 birdies to lead by one shot from Henrik Stenson and Jon Rahm.
Rory McIlroy had a first round nightmare after shooting a 4 over par 76 which leaves him 11 shots off the pace.
Weather
Mainly fine with moderate easterly winds.
Top temperature 26 degrees.
Overnight lows of 21 degrees on the coast and 17 degrees inland with clear skies.
The weekend-Fine to start tomorrow but clouding over with rain towards nightfall.
Rain across the region on Sunday.Highs of 22-25 degrees.
Finally
A study has found that thousands of people are logging into TV streaming services like Netflix using their former partner’s details after relationships end.
Five per cent of users of Netflix, Amazon and Now TV are watching films, box sets and other shows this way while 42 per cent overall access services through someone else’s account.
The findings by PR and marketing firm Edelman were revealed at the Royal Television Society’s Cambridge convention on Thursday.
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