Meteo France have issued a Yellow warning for high temperatures in the Alpes Maritimes until at least 4pm tomorrow. A yellow alert is the second level of alert out of the four levels used by Meteo France. Temperatures of up to 31 degrees are expected on the coast of the Alpes Maritimes tomorrow and 33 degrees in some inland areas. Inland areas may reach 35 on Friday. Similarly hot conditions are also expected in the Var over the next couple of days, with temperatures reaching 35 in inland areas tomorrow and 38 on Friday. Meanwhile, six departments to the north of our region are under an Orange alert, which is the third alert level, for hot conditions. Those departments are the Ardeche, Drome, Isere, Rhone, Savoie and Haute-Savoie.
Three people are in custody after the seizure of a large amount of herbal cannabis in Trans-en-Provence in the Var. The national police said that 260 cannabis plants and twelve 5 litre containers of cannabis buds had been seized. The initial investigation had been made by the urban security brigade in Draugignan.
Meanwhile, a truck driver is in custody after his vehicle was stopped at a service area on the A8 and found to contain 44.6kg of cannabis resin. The truck, which was registered in Belgium, was stopped at the service area near Frejus whilst en route from Spain to Italy.
According to provisional figures, ten people have lost their lives on the roads of the Var so far this month. That's equal to the previous record number for the month, set in July 2010. The Prefecture has said that all eight speed radars on board police vehicles in the department are fully operational and has called for everyone to "show responsibility".
Passengers arriving at Nice Cote d’Azur Airport from coronavirus hotspots will be tested for Covid-19 from Saturday. 16 countries are on the list including the United States, South Africa and Turkey. Ten testing posts are being set up at Terminal 2 to handle passengers as they arrive. There are direct flights to Nice from four of the countries on the list-Algeria, Israel, Turkey and Serbia.
An accident blocked the RD43 in the Var earlier today. The collision between two vehicles in Forcalqueiret happened this lunchtime. The reasons for the collsion are still being established.
The French national union of lifeguards has called for the greatest vigilance after several fatal drowning incidents in recent days. In the Indre-et-Loire department two brothers, aged 3 and 6, drowned in a swimming pool and another 6 year old drowned in a lake. Two brothers aged 12 and 16 also lost their lives in a lake in the Aude department earlier this week. Drowning is the leading cause of death in France for people aged under 25, with almost 1,000 deaths each year.
Locally, lifeguards on public beaches in Antibes Juan les Pins have also raised the alarm about increasing numbers of accidents in the water. Lifeguards are urging bathers to be sensible and not to take risks. There are 14 manned lifeguard positions along the coast between Antibes and Juan les Pins and elderly swimmers are posing the biggest problems with the majority of accidents reported to be among people aged between 60 and 87.
The Belgian government has placed two French regions in its "Orange Zone", meaning that quarantine and testing are recommended upon return from those areas. The two regions are the Ile-de-France and Pays de Loire. The Belgian government has introduced manadatory testing on return from certain areas of Spain and Portugal.
Barclays has announced a three-year, five million pound partnership to work with Blue Marine Foundation to advance conservation of the world’s oceans. The partnership will help the foundation to deliver their goal of ensuring that at least 30% of the global ocean is effectively protected and the other 70% sustainably managed by 2030. The Blue Marine Foundation is one of the institutional partners of the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation. For more information see the Blue Marine Foundation website https://www.bluemarinefoundation.com/
BUSINESS
The UK government has signed a fourth coronavirus vaccine deal. The agreement with pharmaceutical companies GSK and Sanofi will secure up to 60 million doses of an experimental treatment. The UK government has already secured up to 100 million doses of the vacceine under develpoment by Oxford University and AstraZeneca as well as 90 million doses of two other vaccines. However, it's still uncertain which, if any, of the vaccines may work.
Carmaker Aston Martin Lagonda has reported a loss of 227 million pounds in the first half of this year. It said that sales of its cars were down 41% compared to last year, meaning that it sold 1,770 cars in the first half of the year.
UK high street fashion retailer Next has said that it expects to remain profitable this year despite the coronavirus lockdown. It increased its profit forecast to 195 million pounds and said that even if there is a second lockdown it still expects to make a 15 million pound profit.
SPORT
Rugby Union... The Dubai and Cape Town rounds of the 2021 Rugby World Sevens have been cancelled. The men's and women's events had been scheduled to take place between 26-28 November and 4-6 December this year. World Rugby has set up a working group to evaluate the rest of the season.
Cricket.... England have named an unchanged squad for the first of their three Tests against Pakistan, which begins next Thursday at Old Trafford. The squad consists of the side which played against West Indies with the addition of Zak Crawley, Sam Curran and Mark Wood.
Ireland coach Graham Ford says he thinks the side can beat England in the three-match series starting on Thursday. He cited the teams good performance in the Test and ODI last year at Lords and Malahide.
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