Traffic was disrupted on the A8 motorway around Nice earlier today after an OGC Nice player threatened to jump from the Magnan viaduct. Firefighters and psychologists attended the incident, which lasted for several hours. Alexis Beka Beka was eventually taken care of by emergency services early this afternoon. In a statement issued by the club this evening, club president Jean-Pierre Rivère said "Above all, we are relieved that everything ended well today for Alexis. He was taken care of. We will continue to respect medical confidentiality and we ask everyone to do the same and respect their privacy. We are in his support as well as that of the entire club".
Meteo France have said that this month was the hottest September ever recorded in mainland France. It estimates that the average temperature will be 21.5 degrees, which is about 3.5 degrees above the average recorded over approximately the past thirty years. It said that the hot conditions are likely to run into the beginning of October and the heatwave is expected to reach its peak between Sunday and Monday.
Meanwhile, the drought continues in the Var. The prefect has changed the alert status of several zones. Siagne upstream is now at crisis level, Siagne downstream is on reinforced alert and Verdon on alert. To date 96 municipalities in the Var are on red crisis alert, 43 municipalities are on orange reinforced alert, 11 municipalities are on the yellow alert level and 3 municipalities are on vigilance. More information can be found on the prefecture's website www.var.gouv.fr
The presentation hearing has taken place of the new Nice Prosecutor Damien Martinelli, who replaces Xavier Bonhomme in the role. Elected officials including Nice mayor Christian Estrosi were present at the ceremony.
A large-scale operation is underway to locate a teenager missing in the Bas-Rhin department. 15 year old Lina went missing last Saturday. A helicopter, drones and search dogs have all been used and eighty gendarmes have been deployed in the search but without result so far.
The SNCF have said that train tickets for Christmas journeys will go on sale next Wednesday, 4 October. Tickets will be available for services over the Christmas and New Year period starting with journeys from 10 December.
A mass in honour of Brigitte Bardot has been celebrated in Nice. A service was held yesterday evening at the Saint-Pierre d'Arene church to celebrate the actress's 89th birthday. It was organised by long-time friend Henri-Jean Servat.
BUSINESS
Unions have called for UK government ministers to hold an emergency summit about the highly controversial HS2 rail project. Rising costs have led to speculation that the Birmingham to Manchester leg of the high-speed line may be axed. The planned eastern leg between Birmingham and Leeds has already been cancelled.
Inflation in the Eurozone has hit a two year low. According to an initial estimate from EU statistics agency Eurostat, Eurozone annual inflation is expected to be 4.3% in September, down from 5.2% in August. Food, alcohol and tobacco rose by 8.8%. Energy fell by 4.7%.
Revised figures show that the UK economy grew slightly more than expected earlier this year. The Office for National Statistics said today that UK GDP is now estimated to have increased by 0.3% in the January to March period, revised up from a previous estimate of 0.1%. The estimate for the April to June quarter was unchanged at 0.2%.
SPORT
Cricket... Kane Williamson will miss New Zealand's 50-over World Cup match against England on 5 October. He's still recovering from a knee injury sustained whilst playing in the Indian Premier League in April.
Tennis... Cameron Norrie and Dan Evans are out of the China Open in the first round. Norrie was beaten by fifth seed Andrey Rublev and Evans by sixth seed Jannik Sinner.
Football... Tomorrow in the Premier League Aston Villa are at home to Brighton, Bournemouth play Arsenal, Everton are at home to Luton, Manchester United play Crystal Palace, Newcastle play Burnley, West Ham are against Sheffield United, Wolves play Manchester City and Tottenham play Liverpool.
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