Evening Update Monday 16 August 2021

President Macron is to speak at 8pm this evening about the regime change in Afghanistan. He said France is doing all it can to repatriate French citizens and army personnel still left in country. There are chaotic scenes at Kabul airport this afternoon with people clinging to the outside of aircraft trying to take off.   We’ll have a live update from Kabul with the BBC in twenty minutes.

The Covid Health Pass is now required for large shopping centres along the Cote d’Azur, including Cap 3000, the Carrefour at Lingostière, Nice-TNL & Antibes, Auchan-La Trinité and Géant Mandelieu. However, due to the outdoor nature of the complex, it’s not required for Polygone Riviera. The new rule, affecting 126 shopping centres across the country, with an area of ​​more than 20,000 square metres and where the incidence rate is greater than 200 per 100,000 inhabitants, will remain in place until at least November.

The latest national Covid numbers show all of the departments running alongside the Mediterranean, from the Pyrenees-Oriental to the Alpes Maritimes, are the worst areas in France. The most affected are the tourist hotspots at Montpellier, Marseilles and the Cote d'Azur, where the incidence rate today is 591 per 100,000 inhabitants. However, that incidence rate has been dropping since July and the numbers in hospital, or deceased, are significantly lower than last March.

Monaco has announced the majority of Covid-19 tests will no longer be free in the Principality. It’s a policy being adopted by a number of countries to encourage people to be vaccinated. As of today, Covid PCR tests, carried out in a lab but without a prescription, will no longer be reimbursed in Monaco.

Police have launched an investigation into a shooting on a car which failed to stop at a control on the outskirts of Paris last night. Police say the driver collided with one policeman before dragging another several metres as he attempted to drive away. However, a video is circulating widely on social media of the incident, with many people pointing out that there was nothing to identify the police officers on the scene, who were not wearing any identifying armbands or numbers.

BUSINESS

Bitcoin continues its rollercoster ride. After a dramatic drop early in the summer with values plummeting to €25,000 a coin, the market has picked up again in the last few days hitting highs this afternoon of just under €40,000 a coin. This rise has lifted the value of the entire crypto-currency market above $2 trillion for the first time since mid-May.

Official figures show the Japanese economy rebounded faster than expected from its pandemic-driven slump in the run-up to the Tokyo Olympics. The world's third-largest economy grew at twice the rate forecast in April to June but analysts have warned growth will be modest this quarter, after a state of emergency was re-imposed to ease a spike in Covid-19 infections.

SPORT

Formula E - Monaco based Rokit Venturi Racing have ended the electric season with a dramatic win in Berlin.  Driver Norman Nato said he had been hungry for silverware for a very long time, after losing podiums in Rome and Valencia, so it was very emotional day for him and the team. Overall, in the Formula E World Championship Rokit Venturi finished seventh with 146 points.

Football - Monaco AC continue to have a rocky start to the season with an outright loss to Lorient on Friday night. This is after a draw against Nantes the week before. Today the team are travelling to Ukraine for their next Champions League qualifying game against Shakh-tar Donetsk. The game kicks off at 9pm. In the UK Harry Kane, who was left out of Tottenham's squad which faced Manchester City yesterday, has been included in the squad for Spurs Europa Conference League play-off in Portugal on  Thursday. The England Captain is expected to train with the team tomorrow.

Olympics - Organisers say the Paralympic Games will be held behind closed doors. The decision was made as the Japanese government has proposed expanding and extending the country's state of emergency, with the Paralympics beginning on 24 August.

President Macron is to speak at 8pm this evening about the regime change in Afghanistan. He said France is doing all it can to repatriate French citizens and army personnel still left in country. There are chaotic scenes at Kabul airport this afternoon with people clinging to the outside of aircraft trying to take off.   We’ll have a live update from Kabul with the BBC in twenty minutes.

The Covid Health Pass is now required for large shopping centres along the Cote d’Azur, including Cap 3000, the Carrefour at Lingostière, Nice-TNL & Antibes, Auchan-La Trinité and Géant Mandelieu. However, due to the outdoor nature of the complex, it’s not required for Polygone Riviera. The new rule, affecting 126 shopping centres across the country, with an area of ​​more than 20,000 square metres and where the incidence rate is greater than 200 per 100,000 inhabitants, will remain in place until at least November.

The latest national Covid numbers show all of the departments running alongside the Mediterranean, from the Pyrenees-Oriental to the Alpes Maritimes, are the worst areas in France. The most affected are the tourist hotspots at Montpellier, Marseilles and the Cote d'Azur, where the incidence rate today is 591 per 100,000 inhabitants. However, that incidence rate has been dropping since July and the numbers in hospital, or deceased, are significantly lower than last March.

Monaco has announced the majority of Covid-19 tests will no longer be free in the Principality. It’s a policy being adopted by a number of countries to encourage people to be vaccinated. As of today, Covid PCR tests, carried out in a lab but without a prescription, will no longer be reimbursed in Monaco.

Police have launched an investigation into a shooting on a car which failed to stop at a control on the outskirts of Paris last night. Police say the driver collided with one policeman before dragging another several metres as he attempted to drive away. However, a video is circulating widely on social media of the incident, with many people pointing out that there was nothing to identify the police officers on the scene, who were not wearing any identifying armbands or numbers.

BUSINESS

Bitcoin continues its rollercoster ride. After a dramatic drop early in the summer with values plummeting to €25,000 a coin, the market has picked up again in the last few days hitting highs this afternoon of just under €40,000 a coin. This rise has lifted the value of the entire crypto-currency market above $2 trillion for the first time since mid-May.

Official figures show the Japanese economy rebounded faster than expected from its pandemic-driven slump in the run-up to the Tokyo Olympics. The world's third-largest economy grew at twice the rate forecast in April to June but analysts have warned growth will be modest this quarter, after a state of emergency was re-imposed to ease a spike in Covid-19 infections.

SPORT

Formula E - Monaco based Rokit Venturi Racing have ended the electric season with a dramatic win in Berlin.  Driver Norman Nato said he had been hungry for silverware for a very long time, after losing podiums in Rome and Valencia, so it was very emotional day for him and the team. Overall, in the Formula E World Championship Rokit Venturi finished seventh with 146 points.

Football - Monaco AC continue to have a rocky start to the season with an outright loss to Lorient on Friday night. This is after a draw against Nantes the week before. Today the team are travelling to Ukraine for their next Champions League qualifying game against Shakh-tar Donetsk. The game kicks off at 9pm. In the UK Harry Kane, who was left out of Tottenham's squad which faced Manchester City yesterday, has been included in the squad for Spurs Europa Conference League play-off in Portugal on  Thursday. The England Captain is expected to train with the team tomorrow.

Olympics - Organisers say the Paralympic Games will be held behind closed doors. The decision was made as the Japanese government has proposed expanding and extending the country's state of emergency, with the Paralympics beginning on 24 August.