News
France under a “Light lockdown” - A “light lockdown” has been announced by French President Emmanuel Macron in the fight against Covid-19 in France.
There have been conflicting reports on when the new lockdown will come into effect with some French media outlets saying it is from this evening at midnight and other saying it’s from Friday 30th October at midnight. The Head of State did specify in his speech last night that the new measures would come into force from midnight tonight. This is expected to be clarified by the Prime Minister later today.
The President indicated in his speech on Wednesday evening that it was necessary to "go further" than the curfew of October 17th in order to bring the number of Covid-19 cases down.
Nurseries, schools, colleges and high schools are to remain open. In addition, teleworking is to be favoured "wherever possible".
Unlike the first lockdown, visits to nursing homes and retirement homes will be authorized, in compliance with barrier gestures and health measures.
For exceptional travelers or French people living abroad, anyone who arrives on French territory will be tested.
The “light lockdown” involves staying at home as much as possible. You will need a certificate for any outing and will have a have a valid reason: going to work, shopping, going to the doctor, helping a loved one, or taking a short walk not exceeding an hour from home.
Public gatherings are banned, and all businesses defined as "non-essential" will have to close including bars and restaurants. For those employees and employers who cannot work will continue to benefit from partial unemployment.
Travelling between regions is banned, as is travel abroad, with some exceptions.
Further details concerning the new “light lockdown” are to be given by the Prime Minister, Jean Castex, today at 6.30pm during a press conference.
Monaco - Meanwhile it is not yet known what, if any measures, will be introduced in Monaco with Monegasque authorities expected to make an announcement today.
Figures - More than 3,000 patients with Covid-19 are now in intensive care in France, occupying more than half of the beds available. French hospitals now accommodate more than 20,000 people affected by the coronavirus.
In other news….
Three new cases of dengue - The regional health agency has confirmed that three cases of dengue have been declared in Saint-Laurent-du-Var and Juan-les-Pins.
The virus is transmitted by tiger mosquitos. The new cases come after five cases were detected in Nice at the end of the summer.
Gas leak on the Croisette - 200 people have been evacuated following a gas leak on the Croisette in Cannes. The incident occurred on Wednesday afternoon shortly after 2.30pm and is believed to have been caused by a construction site near the Carlton Hotel.
Customers of nearby beach restaurants and shops were evacuated as the area was cordoned off by emergency services.
National
Turkey has said it will take "legal, diplomatic actions" over a cartoon of its President was published in the French magazine Charlie Hebdo.
The cartoon depicts Turkey's president lifting the dress of a veiled woman.
State media say Turkish prosecutors have launched an official investigation. Tensions between France and Turkey are high at the moment after President Emmanuel Macron pledged a tougher stance against radical Islam.
Gérard Depardieu - A rape investigation against French actor Gérard Depardieu is to be reopened after his accuser refiled her complaint when prosecutors dropped a previous inquiry.
The accuser, an actress in her 20s made claims against the actor for rape and assault at his Parisian home in August 2018. Prosecutors dropped the case in June 2019, citing a lack of evidence. The actress has since refiled her claims, which is likely to lead to the case being examined by an investigating magistrate.
Business
Global stock markets have tumbled for a second day amid heightened concerns that fresh coronavirus outbreaks will hit tentative economic recoveries.
The major US indexes all suffered big falls of around 3.5 percent while European stocks also fell heavily.
Declines have been widespread with investors selling off shares in favour of safe haven assets such as the dollar and Japanese yen.
Travel and energy firms have been hard hit again and tech companies also fell as the heads of Google Facebook and Twitter were grilled in Washington by senators looking at ways to make them moderate speech on their platforms.
The declines mark a second day of big falls this week as many countries report record numbers of coronavirus infections and fresh restrictions coming into force in France and Germany.
The chief executives of Google ,Facebook and Twitter have faced more than 3 hours of questioning from US senators in Washington.
As the law stands ,social media firms cannot be sued over what their users post online or the decisions they make over what to leave up and what to delete.
Leading politicians have raised concerns that the current sweeping immunity from prosecution is leading to increasingly bad behaviour and that ‘Section 230’ legislation needs to be re-examined.
The current laws allow digital platforms to let users post comments but then not be responsible for the consequences.
Both Republicans and Democrats want to make social media firms more accountable.
And-Boeing is to cut another 7,000 jobs as the coronavirus pandemic takes its toll on the aerospace industry.
The US planemaker says that its staff will be down to a total of 130,000 by the end of 2021 which will be 20 percent down on the 160,000 people that it employed before the crisis.
The firm posted a loss of 466 million dollars in the third quarter -it’s fourth straight quarterly decline.
Boeing has been slashing production and cutting costs with revenues down by 30 percent in the first 9 months of the year.
Sport
Football-In the European Champions League last night Chelsea were 4 –0 winners at Krasnodar in Group E while Rennes of France lost 1-0 at Sevilla.
The man of the moment Marcus Rashford scored a hat-trick as Manchester United beat RB Leipzig 5-0 in Group H and Paris St Germain were 2-0 winners at Istanbul.
There are more games in the Europa League tonight with Spurs away at Royal Antwerp in Group J .Arsenal host Dundalk in Group B. Nice are at home to Hapoel Be’er Sheva in Group C. Leicester travel to AEK Athens in Group G .Rangers play Lech Posnan in Group D and Celtic are away at Lille in Group H.
In the English Championship last night Millwall were 2-0 winners at Preston. Birmingham beat Huddersfield 2-1. Bournemouth were 1-0 winners over Bristol City.Derby and Cardiff drew 1-1. Luton and Nottingham Forest drew 1-1 and Rotherham beat rock bottom Sheffield Wednesday 3-0.
Formula 1-Fans have been banned from attending this weekend’s Emilia Romagna Grand Prix at Imola because of the resurgence of coronavirus.
The race organisers had hoped to allow 13,000 spectators to attend the track on Saturday and Sunday but the Italian government says the risk of infection is now too great and the event will have to be held behind closed doors.
Cycling-Primoz Roglic has won stage 8 of the Vuelta e Espana to close the gap on overall leader Richard Carapaz.
The Slovenian cut the lead on Carapaz to 13 seconds as he won the mountainous stage with Hugh Carthy of Great Britain finishing 5th but dropping to overall 4th in the standings.
Stage 9 today is one for the sprinters between Castrillo del Val to Aguilar de Campoo over 157 kilometers.
Weather
Mainly fine with moderate to strong westerly winds across the Var.
Top temperatures 19-21 degrees.
Overnight lows of 13 degrees on the coast and 11 degrees inland with partially cloudy skies.
Friday and the start of the weekend-Mainly fine with highs of 19-20 degrees.
And Finally
A team of scientists have identified the world’s toughest species of shrimp.
The so-called “prawn killers” have clubs for claws and smash their way into rivals’, striking at speeds faster than a bullet.
The show that the shrimps known as “smashers” stake out opponents’ homes in coral rubble before sending shell-shocked victims on their way.
They even create a flash of light by vapourising water with their fierce blows — and can cause painful gashes to humans.
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