Evening Update Friday 25 November 2022

At least two people have died after a helicopter crashed near Eze this afternoon. The helicopter, belonging to Monacair, had taken off from Lausanne in Switzerland. Local reports say that the aircraft crashed on the plateau at the col d'Eze near the Grand Corniche. Two bodies have been found, believed to be those of the pilot and a passenger. They are in the process of being identified. Authorities are investigating if more than two people may have been on board.

A driver is in a critical condition after his vehicle fell about 40 metres into a ravine this morning. The accident happened on the Chemin des Pesquiers in Carros. He was airlifted to the Pasteur 2 hospital in Nice.

A man in his thirties has been stabbed to death in Avignon. According to reports, emergency services were able to resusciatate him but he didn't survive.

President Macron has been in Dijon today on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. He's been meeting associations, judges, victims and the police. The President said that more than ninety per cent of the measures decided at the end of the Grenelle against domestic violence have been completely implemented. The Grenelle against domestic violence brought together associations, families of victims, adminstrators and others and resulted in an action plan to reduce domestic violence.

Free buses in Monaco have been extended until January 2. The government said that state services want to give themselves the time to collect data and analyze the impact of free buses on the use of local buses and road traffic in Monaco correlated with the use of public car parks and changes in the level of car pollution. The objective of the free bus trial, which started on 3 October, is to encourage the use of public transport to make traffic more fluid, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and increase the quality of life.

Former French Interior Minister Christophe Castaner has been elected as chairman of the supervisory board of the port of Marseille. Unions are not happy at the appointment. The CGT union has said that the port "is not the receptacle of ministers or elected officials stripped of their mandates, eager for recognition or in search of a political springboard".

A reminder that no trains will be running between Nice and Ventimiglia for part of this weekend. All trains have been cancelled from 8pm Friday evening until 9am on Sunday in both directions because of engineering works at Beaulieu-sur-Mer.

 

BUSINESS

Protests have been held by workers at Amazon to coincide with Black Friday today. They are demanding  salary increases and improvements to working conditions. Demonstrations have taken place at Amazon facilities in many countries including the UK where workers gathered outside a company warehouse in Coventry this morning.

The German economy grew by 1.2% in the third quarter compared to the same period a year previously, according to federal statistics office Destatis. GDP grew by 0.4% on the previous quarter.

The French and Irish governments have signed an agreement to construct an undersea power cable between the two countries. The agreement for the 1.6 billion euro project was signed at the Irish embassy in Paris this morning.

Jaguar Land Rover is reportedly reducing output at its factories in Solihull and Halewood until the spring. The reduction is apparently due to ongoing problems obtaining enough computer chips for new vehicles, a problem experienced by many car manufacturers recently. It said that as new agreements with semiconductor partners take effect, it will enable the company to build and deliver more vehicles to its clients.

 

SPORT

Winter Sports... Great Britain's Marcus Wyatt has won  his first skeleton World Cup gold medal in the season opener in Whistler, Canada. His GB team-mate Matt Weston was third, with South Korea's Jung Seung-gi taking silver. In the women's race, Brogan Crowley claimed her first World Cup medal after finishing joint second with American Hallie Clarke.

Rugby Union...Jack Willis is joining Toulouse. The England and former Wasps flanker was released by England for Saturday's final autumn international. He's been without a club since Wasps went into administration last month.

 

WORLD CUP REPORT

Wales have been defeated 2-0 by Iran. Wales now need to win their final group match on Tuesday against England. Iran's players sang their national anthem before today's game after not doing so before their opener against England. Some of the Iran fans booed the anthem.

Home team Qatar have lost 3-1 to Senegal this afternoon.

The Netherlands drew 1-1 against Ecuador.

It's England against the USA at 8pm.

 

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