Evening Update Tuesday 5 April 2022

France has opened three investigations into alleged war crimes in Ukraine. The Justice Department said that the national anti-terrorist prosecutors office had opened the investigations into acts committed against French nationals in Ukraine in recent weeks.

A motorway worker has died this morning after being hit by a heavy goods vehicle. Local reports say that a Vinci Autoroutes van was hit by a large truck at about 9am on the A9 motorway in the Vaucleuse department, close to the junction with the A7.

The municipality of Cannes will be testing it's loudspeaker system intended to alert people in the event of a natural or technological disaster. The loudspeaker system delivers messages in French and English. It's intended that the tests will take place on the first Wednesday of every month, between 10am and midday, before the usual population alert siren tests at 12.15pm.

The Monaco Tourist and Convention Authority has just presented the results of tourist activity for the past year. Last year's results were better than those of 2020 thanks to the increased presence of customers from France, Italy, Germany, Switzerland and the Middle East. Despite the low presence of British, Russian and American customers, who were prevented from traveling due to health constraints, the Principality's hotels recorded a 39% occupancy rate compared to 27% in 2020, which is still well below the 64% of 2019. However , the average price per room was 402 euros, which is up 25% compared to 2020.

The municipality of Cannes is embarking on an innovative digital project. Cannes is set to become the first European city to digitize emblematic local sites in the form of Non Fungible Tokens. Several places and buildings that make Cannes unique will be integrated into the blockchain, then sold, in the form of unique intangible assets, at an auction during the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity in June. Sites which will be featured include Sainte-Marguerite Island, the Boulevard de la Croisette and the Palais des Festivals.

 

BUSINESS

UK new car registrations fell by 14.3% to just over 243,000 units in March, according to the latest figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders. Despite manufacturers reporting robust order books during the first quarter, ongoing supply chain shortages continued to squeeze supply. The figures are the weakest since March 1998. However, battery electric vehicles continued to enjoy tremendous growth, with 39,315 new zero emission cars leaving dealerships – an increase of 78.7% on last year. It's the highest volume of BEV registrations ever recorded in a single month.

Amazon has announced that it has secured agreements to launch low earth orbit satellites. The agreements are with Arianespace, Blue Origin, and United Launch Alliance to provide heavy-lift launch services for Project Kuiper, Amazon's initiative to increase global broadband access using a constellation of satellites in low Earth orbit. The contracts total up to 83 launches over a five-year period, providing capacity for Amazon to deploy the majority of its constellation of 3,236-satellites.

 

SPORT

Golf... Tiger Woods has said that he's planning to play in this week's Masters. It's just 14 months since he suffered serious injuries in a car crash. Woods is set to play nine holes on Wednesday before confirming the decision. 

Rugby Union….Ireland's Dan Leavy has been forced to retire at the age of 27 because of a long-standing knee problem. He won 11 caps for Ireland and made 79 appearances for Leinster.

It's been announced that Sidney Cricket Ground will host the third Test of England's Australia tour in July. It's the first time since 1986 that a rugby union international has taken place at the ground.

Tennis… The ATP has said that officials will hand out stricter punishments for on-court misconduct. The ATP also reportedly told players that it's reviewing its penalties for serious violations and repeat offenders.

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