In Monaco, the terrible mobile phone service experienced by people from France will soon be thing of the past. From next Tuesday March 5th, Monaco Telecom will implement a roaming agreement with French networks, so its users can roam in the principality as they do in other European countries.
SNCF are reporting trains are slowly returning between Ventimiglia and Nice, after a blockage on the track at Eze affected services up to mid-afternoon. Passengers for TER and TGV trains are advised to check schedules on their app before departing.
In Nice, a 54-year-old woman is recovering after being attacked with a knife on the Avenue de la Californie this morning. Authorities say the attacker, who is known to the woman, calmly walked home afterwards, where she was arrested by police.
Two homeless people have appeared at the Nice Court charged with an assault on a teenage migrant who they attacked with a box knife. The prosecutor is seeking a two-year prison sentence, for the assault and robbery of the victims phone, jacket and €70 in cash.
In Antibes, a number of people in the old town were forced to remain in their homes after a gas leak during works on the towns old ramparts at the Figuier De Saint Esprit. GR DF say they have now repaired the pipes and the area is returning to normal.
The Villa Ephrussi-de-Rothschild in St-Jean-Cap-Ferrat has announced Oriane Beaufils as its new curator. With a rich background in art conservation at Sotheby’s, Christies, and the Château de Fontainebleau, Beaufils aims to rejuvenate the villa into a cultural sanctuary. Her plans include reorganizing collections and refreshing exhibition spaces.
Camera cars from Apple have been roaming the Principality today in a move to update its mapping application. When implemented, the update will give better navigation to iPhone users and offer 360 degree ‘street view’ functionality.
A newspaper which is only published every four years on the 29th of February has sold out! La Bougie du Sapeur started as a joke among some French friends who wanted to do something ‘anti-politically correct’. The satirical paper, which has been on sale each leap year since 1980, published its 12th edition today.
BUSINESS NEWS
Air France-KLM have reported a 28% increase in net profit to almost one billion euros last year. However, the Paris Stock Exchange reacted badly as the financial results also show a net loss of 256 million in the last quarter, due to a shortage of spare parts, labour problems and war in Israel.
In the UK, the Body Shop will close almost half its stores as part of a restructuring process. Combined with other cuts, it means up to 800 people will be made redundant. The Body Shops UK operations were put into administration earlier this month.
The majority of economists in a Reuters survey expect the European Central Bank to begin cutting it’s interest rates in June. Inflation, which the ECB targets at 2.0%, moderated to 2.8% in January from a peak of 10.6% in October 2022 and is expected to drop further.
Shares in WeightWatchers are down almost a quarter after Oprah Winfrey announced she will exit the company’s board later this year. Oprah is gifting her shares, worth over $6m to the United State’s National Museum of African American History & Culture.
Markets
€1 will buy you; STG £ 0.85
US $ 1.08
£1 will buy you; EUR € 1.16
Bitcoin has topped € 58,000 a coin
Forex Gold Index is at $ 2,032 oz
Brent Crude Oil on market $ 81.82 barrel
SPORT
Football: French midfielder Paul Pogba has been banned from the game until 2027 following a doping offense, where he was found with elevated levels of testosterone last September. The Juventus player says he is "sad, shocked and heartbroken" and will appeal the decision.
The President of OGC Nice Jean-Pierre Rivère has been sanctioned by the French League after post-match comments he made against referees at the Nice v Paris St Germain game. Rivere has been given a two match ban from the sidelines, locker room and all official functions. The LFP say the decision reflects their commitment to maintaining professionalism and respect within football.
Formula 1: Daniel Ricciardo set the fastest time in first practice for this weekend’s Bahrain Grand Prix, a full 0.6 seconds ahead of the next fastest drivers. Red Bull's operations were overseen by Christian Horner, who was cleared yesterday of inappropriate behaviour towards a female colleague.
Tennis: Monaco’s Valentin Vacherot and climbed into the world Top 150 after achieving 20 victories in 21 matches so far this season. Sitting at 147 in the ATP rankings, Vacherot won his latest Challenger title in India, adding to his two titles in Thailand and two Davis Cup victories for Monaco.
WEATHER
A pleasant night ahead with overnight lows of 10 to 12 degrees. Then tomorrow, it will be a little cloudier than today, but mild with afternoon highs of 15d. The outlook for the weekend is different … it could be another washout like last weekend with rain and thundershower sforecast across Saturday and Sunday.
TGV services across much of France are gradually improving after several arson attacks affected the network in the early hours of this morning....
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French President Emmanuel Macron is preparing to welcome world leaders to the Olympic games opening ceremony tomorrow night and has been visiting key ...
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France will host the 2030 Winter Olympics in the Alpes, conditional on state and regional financial guarantees. President Macron confirmed his full su...
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