French and Riviera News. Wednesday July 22nd 2020

IKEA Nice -IKEA is to open a concept store in central Nice ahead of the opening of its new giant outlet at the Plaine du Var next year.

The new store ,where customers will be able to order anything from the firm’s catalogue and have it delivered including kitchens and other home furnishings will open on the rue Paul Deroulede near the Avenue Jean Medecin on the 1st of September.

The new store will be staffed with 10 experts who’ll be able to help customers design a kitchen or bedroom layout.

The new IKEA giant store at Nice Saint-Isidore which will cover 24,000 square meters is due to open in November 2021.

 

Shot man named-Police have named the man shot dead in a car in Toulon in the early hours of Tuesday as Djamel Lekhetari.

Lekhetari ,who was 35 had just been released from prison and was considered to be a key player in the Marseilles narcotics business.

He was shot as the car he was in ,which was being driven by his partner entered a car park in the Sainte-Musse area of the town.His two children and a nephew were in the back of the car but not hurt.

Reports say that the dead man ,who’d recently served 8 years for cocaine and cannabis trafficking had continued to run his illicit drugs business from inside his prison cell.

The murder has all the hallmarks of a gangland vendetta. Investigations continue.

 

Train death- A woman has been killed after being hit by a train at Saint Cyr sur Mer.

The incident happened near a tunnel around a kilometer from the train station.The driver has told police that the woman threw herself in front of the train deliberately.

Rail traffic was seriously disputed in and out of Toulon following the incident as authorities worked to remove the woman’s remains and also to identify her.

 

Mask aid-The Finance and Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire says that he is not opposed to granting financial aid to help those on modest incomes buy face masks.

The government has fixed the price of masks at 0.95 euro cents which is not expensive  in itself but the cost will mount up as they have to be changed regularly.

The wearing of face masks in closed public spaces has been mandatory since Monday with fines of 135 euros for non compliance.

Mr Le Maire said that he would discuss the issue of mask subsidies with colleagues but pointed out that businesses and government employers are already required to provide their staff with masks.

Later on Tuesday ,President Macron said that tax payers can’t be expected to subsidise masks for the entire nation but promised that help would be provided for those on the most modest incomes.

 

Covid-19 Monaco-Two more people have tested positive for coronavirus in Monaco.

The government issued a statement on Tuesday evening but no more details have been released.

So far ,a total of 111 people have tested positive for the virus since the start of the pandemic but nobody is currently being treated in hospital.

6 patients are receiving home care for the infection.

 

Cownose Ray-Bathers at Villeneuve Loubet have had to come out of the sea after a Cownose Ray was spotted in the water.

The fish ,which can inflict a painful sting from its barb if provoked ,is thought to have been injured and was way off course and is normally found in tropical and subtropical areas of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Vets say that the animal could have been injured or come close to the shore to have its litter.

By Tuesday morning there was no sign of the Ray in the area and bathers were allowed back into the sea.

 

In National News.

 

Macron-President Macron has said that the government’s priority in the coming weeks is to produce enough face masks and PPE for health workers.

In a televised interview on TF1 last night ,Mr Macron said that efforts to provide more ventilators and pharmaceutical products would also be stepped up to cover the nation in the event of a second wave of coronavirus.

He also promised that when a vaccine was available ,France would obtain enough stocks for a widespread treatment programme.

 

Test,test test-France is stepping up coronavirus testing capacity in Brittany and calling on the public to maintain social distancing following a spike in cases of Covid-19.

Medical staff are concentrating on the Finestere department including the city of Brest which is a popular tourist destination.

The Brittany region has seen the reproductive rate ‘R’ jump to 2.6 in recent days compared with a national average of 1.2.

However ,numbers overall remain small and there is no suggestion of a second wave of the virus sweeping across the country.

 

Huawei-The French Finance and Economy Minister has said that there will be no blanket ban on Huawei investing in the country’s telecoms infrastructure.

The development comes a week after Britain banned Huawei from involvement in its 5G network by 2027.

Bruno Le Maire says that sensitive locations will be protected but that the Chinese firm will be allowed to invest in France.

Mr Le Maire condemned China’s alleged abuses against its minority Muslim population as “revolting and unacceptable”.

UN experts estimate that at least a million ethnic Uighurs and other Muslim minorities are being held in Chinese detention centres.

 

Recycle-  A new service offering to recycle old mobile phones has started in France as environmental concerns grow over the amount of electronic junk being accumulated in households.

The Ecosystem organisation is inviting people with old phones they want to get rid of to order a pre-paid envelope from its website or download a pre-paid label and send them in where the data will be erased and the phones either refurnished and sold in Emmaus charity shops or broken down for parts.

Anyone with security and data privacy concerns should remember to restore factory settings before sending an old phone off in the post.

There are an estimated 50 to 110 million old phones lying houses across the country with recycling options not always easy.

 You can get more information about the new service at  www.jedonnemontelephone.fr

 

Business.

 

The soft drinks giant Coca Cola says that demand for its products is increasing after reporting a 28 percent slump in second quarter profit due to the closure of restaurants ,theatres and sports venues.

Coca Cola generates a sizable portion of its profits by selling its soft drinks and concentrates to retail outlets such as McDonald’s and AMC Entertainment Holdings with most of them forced to close their operations because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The Atlanta based firm said that unit case volume trends , a key demand indicator has improved from a decline of some 25 percent in April to a fall of around 10 percent in June as lockdowns eased.

Trends for July are down to mid-single figures globally.

Coca Cola reported adjusted revenue of 7.18 billion dollars for the second quarter-largely in line with estimates. The firm’s shares rose by 2 percent on the news.

 

The video sharing app TikTok says that its planning to create around 10,000 jobs in the United States over the next three years.

The firm ,which is owned by China’s ByteDance is also reported to be considering London among other locations for setting up its headquarters.

TikTok currently employs around 1,400 people in America and has been seeking to distance itself from Beijing following a US National Security Panel probe into the safety of personal data in its possession.

At the start of the year ,the firm only employed 500 people in the United States but is now planning aggressive expansion.

 

And - Ryanair is to shut its hub at Frankfurt’s Hahn Airport after German pilots voted to reject pay cuts.

The firm says that its bases at Berlin Tegel and Düsseldorf airports are also at risk of closure by the end of the summer.

The airline says that it must move on with alternative measures to deliver savings which regrettably means base closures and redundancies.

Recently ,Ryanair UK pilots and cabin crew voted to accept pay cuts to reduce job losses.

In May ,the airline announced that it would be forced to make 3,000 job cuts across Europe.

 

Sport.

 

Football-Thousands of people have lined the streets of Ashington in Northumberland to pay their respects at the funeral of the former England and Leeds United star Jack Charlton.

Charlton who also managed the Republic of Ireland ,died on the 10th of July at the age of 85.

He was a World Cup winner with England  and made 773 appearances for Leeds United winning the 1969 League Title and the FA Cup in 1972.

His brother ,Sir Bobby Charlton did not attend the funeral owning to illness.

 

There were 2 games in the English Premier League last night. Aston Villa climbed out of the relegation zone thanks to a 1-0 win over Arsenal while Watford are still in deep trouble after losing 4-0 at home to Manchester City.

 

There are 2 games tonight.Manchester United play West Ham and the champions Liverpool host Chelsea.

 

It’s the final round of games in the English Championship tonight ahead of the playoffs.

Leeds United have already been promoted with the second automatic place being contested between West Brom and Brentford.

West Brom are at home to QPR and Brentford host Barnsley.

Fulham are through to the playoffs with the remaining places being contested between Nottingham Forest ,Cardiff and Swansea.

 

Tennis-The United States Tennis Association has said that the cancellation of the Washington Open will in “no way” impact the staging of the US Open at the end of next month.

The Washington Open has been cancelled because of too many unresolved issues caused by the coronavirus pandemic but the Cincinnati and US Opens are still scheduled to take place back to back next month.

 

Cricket-Ben Stokes has passed Jason Holder of West Indies to become the number one ranked all-rounder in the world.

Stokes scored 254 runs and took 3 wickets in the second Test for England and has also climbed to a career best third in the international batting rankings.

The 29 year old picked up a groin strain in the match and may be doubtful for the third and decisive Test against West Indies at Old Trafford which starts on Friday.

 

Weather.

Fine in coastal areas-some thundery showers inland this afternoon.

Moderate westerly winds across the Var and highs of 27-31 degrees.

Overnight lows of 22 degrees on the coast and 19 degrees inland with clear skies.

Thursday and Friday-Partially cloudy in coastal areas with some showers inland.Highs of 27-32 degrees.

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