Evening Update Wednesday 6 November

A man is in a serious condition after being stabbed on a busy street in the centre of Cannes this afternoon. The man was stabbed in the throat on rue d'Antibes. A suspect was arrested nearby and the victim was taken to the Pasteur hospital in Nice.

Two people have been seriously injured in Montauroux in the Var this afternoon after an earth moving machine overturned. Reports say that the two were trapped between the machine and a wall. They were airlifted to hospital using two separate helicopters, one of which was a special unit used for transporting those suffering from spinal injuries.

A 32 year old man has been sentenced this afternoon in connection with the death of a company manager from Monaco. The accused had hit 58 year old Jean-Marie Lapi after a car collision on the Penetrante du Paillon in May 2017. He was sentenced to five years in prison, three of which were suspended, for willful violence causing death without the intention to kill.

A police commander from Marseille has been sentenced for diverting confiscated drugs intended for destruction. In February 2016 the officer was transporting drugs to an incinerator but retained part of the haul being carried in his vehicle and kept it in his garage. He was arrested after preparing to give 17kg of drugs to a police informant. Before his dismissal in 2017, he had been one of the leading police officers fighting drugs trafficking in Marseille. He was sentenced to four years in prison, including two suspended.

The 71 year old man who was missing from the Roya valley has been found alive but in a weak condition. Police had used a helicopter to try to find Jean-Luc Felicks but it was the gendarmerie's tracker dog who located the man earlier today. He was found near the water treatment plant in La Brigue.

A police officer in Marseille has been injured after being dragged one hundred metres by a car. The officer was attempting to handcuff a suspect when the man restarted his car and drove away. The police officer eventually managed to stop the car and complete the arrest but is off work for 10 days because of injuries sustained in the incident.

It’s “all change” for the bus service in Nice as new timetables have been published. The Pessicart district will soon have a second bus line, while timetables and routes of three other lines will change in Nice from Monday, November 18th. For full details do to lignedazur.com

BUSINESS

Marks and Spencer has reported a fall of 17.1% in pre-tax profits in the first half of its financial year following a reduction in demand for its clothes and home goods. Profits rose by 51.1% when one-off items were included. The company said that while its food business was "outperforming the market", there had been issues in clothing and home. Total sales were down by 2.1%.

Virgin Media has agreed a five-year mobile deal with Vodafone UK. It replaces the company's current agreement with BT which expires in late 2021 and means Virgin Mobile services, including 5G, will be hosted on the Vodafone network.

The boss of Japanese technology company Softbank has admitted poor judgement in relation to its investment in WeWork after reporting its first quarterly loss in 14 years. Softbank wrote down the value of its investments in WeWork as well as its investment in Uber.

BMW's profits have risen by 23% in the third quarter to €2.2bn. The company set a new record for third quarter deliveries with over 613,000 BMW, Mini and Rolls-Royce premium brand vehicles delivered during the three-month period.

An indicator of growth in the Eurozone has suggested that growth in the bloc was weak in October. The index from IHS/Markit was at 50.6 in October, up slightly from 50.1 in September. A figure above 50 indicates growth, below 50 is contraction. Manufacturing firms recorded a ninth successive month of declining production, while service sector companies experienced further growth.

SPORT

Football.... Liverpool boss Jürgen Klopp has voiced his concerns about the scheduling of matches. Liverpool are scheduled to play Aston Villa in the Carabao Cup on 17 December before playing the Club World Cup semi-final in Qatar the next day. Klopp said that "the problems are obvious" and solutions have to be found. From 23 November to 2 January, Liverpool will play 12 games in 37 days in four competitions

There are 8 games tonight in the European Champions League including Atalanta against Manchester City in Group C and Red Star Belgrade against Spurs in Group B. PSG play Club Bruges in Group A.

Cricket.... England fast bowler Pat Brown will join Australian Big Bash League side Melbourne Stars in January. Brown was the leading wicket-taker in last year’s T20 Blast with 31 wickets.

Tennis... Former British number two Katie Boulter has been beaten by world number 646 Joanna Garland on her return from injury. Boulter was competing on the ITF Tour in Thailand, having not played since April because of a serious back injury. The final score was 7-6  6-1.