A pupil has died at a school in Nice this morning. The nine year old girl is believed to have suffered a heart attack in the playground of the Ecole Saint-Philippe and couldn't be revived by firefighters. Nice mayor Christian Estrosi has visited the school to offer his support. An investigation has been opened into the tragic incident.
Rallies are expected to take place in many French cities this weekend in support of Ukraine. A gathering is being organised by the FSU union at the Cannes Town Hall at 6pm tomorrow, Saturday 5 March. Rallies are also planned in cities including Lyon, Toulouse and in Paris, where two marches are planned.
Union members have blocked the docking of a Corsica Ferries ship in Ajaccio this morning. The unionists accused authorities of using the ship to transport police reinforcements to the island, which authorities deny. An assault on Coriscan independence activist Yvan Colonna in prison in Arles earlier this week has reignited the debate over whether Corsican prisoners should serve their time in Corsican jails.
The Nice City Council has given it's support to the city's application for the European Capital of Culture in 2028. The European Capital of Culture programme aims to celebrate the cultural features Europeans share and to highlight the richness and diversity of cultures in Europe. This year three cities, in Luxembourg, Lithuania and Serbia, hold the title.
Traffic disruption is expected in Cannes this Sunday. The Semi de Cannes races will take place on a circuit by the sea along the Midi and BoccaCabana beaches, which will be completely closed to traffic.
Train services will be disrupted in south-west France until Tuesday morning because of industrial action by rail workers in Nouvelle Aquitaine. Trains in the region are expected to return to normal from midday on Tuesday.
VINCI Autoroutes will be carrying out maintenance work on its equipment on the A8 motorway in the Alpes-Maritimes and the Monaco tunnel on the A500 motorway next week. The works will require traffic modifications at the Nice Saint-Isidore interchanges (n°52), the Monaco tunnel and at Menton tunnel (n°59). To limit traffic disruption, traffic will be modified at night only, from Monday March 7 to Friday March 11, between 8 p.m. and 6 a.m.
BUSINESS
Honda and Sony have announced that they are discussing a joint venture to produce electric vehicles. The two companies have signed a memorandum of understanding which outlines their intent to establish a joint venture. They plan the development and sale of high value-added battery electric vehicles and the provision of mobility services.
The British Chambers of Commerce has downgraded its expectations for UK GDP growth in 2022 to 3.6%, which would be less than half the growth of 7.5% recorded last year. The downgrade largely reflects a deteriorating outlook for consumer spending and a weaker than expected rebound in business investment. It said the impact of the invasion of Ukraine and rising raw material costs are also projected to keep UK inflation higher for longer. It now expects inflation to fall back to the Bank of England’s 2% target in the final quarter of 2024, which is over a year later than its previous forecast.
SPORT
Cricket... Legendary Australian cricketer Shane Warne has died of a suspected heart attack at the age of 52. His management company said that he had been found unresponsive in his villa in Thailand. Warne took 708 Test wickets, the second highest number of all time, in 145 matches in a 15-year international career.
Olympics.. The Russian Paralympic Committee has said that it will not appeal against the decision to ban its athletes from competing in the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing. Russia's athletes are expected to leave Beijing on Sunday.
Rugby League... Australia's National Rugby League have imposed a fine on ex-England captain Sam Burgess and suspended him for 12 weeks from any official club duty. The NRL said he had "breached its code of conduct by taking illicit drugs in 2018, threatening another rugby league player in 2018 and breaching New South Wales law in February 2021 by driving a motor vehicle with traces of an illicit drug in his system". Burgess said on Instagram that "the punishment is grossly unfair".
Football..In the English Premier League this weekend, on Saturday Leicester play Leeds. Aston Villa play Southampton. Burnley host Chelsea. Newcastle face Brighton. Norwich play Brentford. Wolves host Crystal Palace and Liverpool play West Ham. On Sunday Watford play Arsenal and Manchester City play Manchester United. Spurs play Everton on Monday.
Rugby Union...There’s one game in the Gallagher English Premiership tonight. Harlequins play Newcastle while in the United Rugby Championship Edinburgh play Connacht and Ulster play Cardiff.
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