|
News New Covid-19 measures - The French Prime Minister Jean Castex has announced a series of new measures aimed at reducing the spread of coronavirus in high risk areas of the country. The entire Nord Pas de Calais region is going into a weekend lockdown along with the Alpes Maritimes but the Var has escaped the tighter restrictions. Mr Castex said that 61 percent of all new cases of the virus in France were the British variant but added that infections had not spread as fast as feared. The Var is still on a list of departments with worryingly high infection rates and some further restrictions will be imposed such as the shutting of stores with a surface area greater than 10,000 square meters and mask wearing will be compulsory in all areas. People are also being asked to limit social contacts and not to travel to a different department or region. Pharmacies - The Health Minister Olivier Veran has announced that pharmacies across France will start to administer vaccines from the 15th March. Speaking alongside Prime Minister Jean Castex at last night’s press conference, Mr Veran said that the rollout will initially be of the AstraZeneca vaccine for people aged 50-74 with underlying health conditions. Deliveries of vaccine doses to France will be increasing over the coming weeks and the government estimates that 10 million people will have been vaccinated by mid-April. 765,000 more AstraZeneca shots should be available for distribution starting on Monday with 33,000 GPs signing up to the government’s vaccination programme. Doctors have been allowed to administer the vaccine in their surgeries since the 25th February as long as they’ve registered and ordered their supplies from an approved pharmacy. Lockdown - As the second weekend lockdown in the Alpes Maritimes approaches, there’s still no convincing evidence that the measure, coupled with the 6pm to 6am curfew has had any great impact on coronavirus infection rates across the department. The latest data published by Sante Publique France shows that infection rates in the Alpes Maritimes were still running at 563 per 100,000 people in the week ending the 28th February with a positive test level of 10.11 percent. The figures are a slight improvement on the previous week but the infection rate in the department is still 2.5 times the national average. The ‘R’ rate is still hovering around 1 meaning that while there’s not been an explosion in new cases, the virus is still actively circulating in the general population. More than 1,500 people have died from the virus in the Alpes Maritimes since the start of the pandemic. On a positive note, 83.3 percent of care home residents in the department had received their first vaccination shot by the 3rd March. Second vaccination centre - Antibes is opening a second vaccination centre, doubling the town’s capacity for the distribution of Covid-19 protective jabs. The Saint Claude gymnasium will be opening as a fresh batch of 1,000 AstraZeneca and Pfizer bioNTech vaccines arrives in the town. The Maison des Associations on the Chemin Sainte Claude is already in operation. People aged between 50 and 74 living in Antibes or Villeneuve Loubet can now register for the jab with priority given to the 65-74 age group. Those aged 50-65 with underlying health problems are also invited to register by contacting their GP or calling 0805 020 445. Residency card delays - The prefecture of the Alpes Maritimes says that residency services for foreign nationals are “saturated” as a result of the coronavirus pandemic and Brexit. The prefecture is treating 5,000 demands for post-Brexit residency cards from British nationals and while the rollout has been going fairly smoothly, there are warnings of possible delays for some people. Administrative services have had to be reorganised to take into account the need for social distancing while some employees have been off sick with the virus. The prefect of the department Bernard Gonzalez has conceded that the situation is “problematic” but praised staff, many of whom he said have been working on Saturdays to try and clear up the backlog. Non British and EU nationals who need to renew their carte de sejour may be issued with temporary six month receipts for the time being while proper cards are processed. The delays are causing problems for thousands of workers whose employers are refusing to renew their contracts unless they’re in possession of a valid permit. Radioactivity - The French Institute for Nuclear Safety IRSN has said that there has been a slight increase in the atmospheric content of the radioactive isotope Cesium-137 as a result of Saharan sand that’s been carried over France by winds. The contamination is the result of French nuclear tests carried out in the Sahara in the 1960s but the IRSN says that it is not a cause for alarm. France carried out 4 atmospheric nuclear tests over the Sahara Desert in the 1960s as did other nuclear powers. The amount of Cesium-137 currently in the air over France is far less than was released following the Chernobyl disaster in 1986 and the Fukushima catastrophe in 2011. Amour de Armour - French police are investigating how a Bordeaux family came to inherit two long-lost pieces of Italian Renaissance armour that were stolen from the Louvre Museum in Paris nearly 40 years ago. The ornate helmet and breastplate which were made in Milan between 1560 and 1580 were recognised by a military expert who’d been asked to appraise the family’s collection. The pieces were donated to the Louvre by the Rothschild family in the 1920s and have now been returned to the museum. The armour was stolen in May 1983 but the thieves were never caught. The Louvre has attracted a number of light-fingered “art lovers” over the years most notably in 1911 when the Mona Lisa was stolen by an employee who hid in a cupboard overnight before making off with the masterpiece. It was recovered in 1913 when the thief, Vincenzo Peruggia tried to sell it to an antiques dealer in Florence. Business The Chairman of the US Federal Reserve Jerome Powell has sought to calm fears over rising treasury yields and the implication for long-term borrowing costs. Speaking at a Wall Street Journal conference on Thursday, Mr Powell said that the Fed was not close to changing its ultra-loose monetary policy stance any time soon but he warned that as the economy opens and picks up, inflation will move up. US inflation is currently below the Fed’s long term target of around 2 percent and Mr Powell said that the United States and the world economy has been in low inflation mode for “several decades”. He said that while an uptick in prices during the economic recovery is likely, its just as likely that the effects will be short lived. Mr Powell concluded that various conditions would need to be in place for the Fed to increase interest rates including the job market close to maximum employment and long-term inflation running sustainably at around 2 percent. The United States has agreed to suspend tariffs on UK goods including single malt whisky that were imposed in retaliation to EU subsidies to aircraft maker Airbus. Tariffs will be lifted on other goods including cheese, cashmere and machinery with duties suspended for four months while the two countries look for a long-term settlement. At the start of the year, the UK dropped its own tariffs on some US goods put in place over a related dispute about subsidies to the American aerospace giant Boeing. The UK is still part of the dispute as a former EU member. Airbus makes wings and other parts in Britain but assembles commercial aircraft in mainland Europe. The UK has been lobbying Washington hard to drop duties since it left the EU as it seeks a wide ranging trade deal with the US. The veteran rock star David Crosby has become the latest big name to sell the recorded music and publishing rights to his entire music catalogue. The 79-year-old has cited the coronavirus pandemic and his inability to tour as the reason for the sale to Iconic Artists Group as well as what he described as streaming “stealing my money”. The catalogue includes the works of The Byrds, Crosby and Nash, Crosby Stills and Nash and Crosby Stills Nash and Young plus his solo output. Crosby is the latest in a string of high profile music artists to sell their music and publishing rights to a new generation of investment groups that are snapping up the catalogues of some of the world’s most established and revered stars. Recently Bob Dylan sold the rights to his music as did Neil Young and Lindsay Buckingham. Iconic Artists Group already owns a controlling stake in The Beach Boys music catalogue as well as the output of many more top stars. |
|
Sport Cricket - Its day 2 of the 4th Test between India and England in Ahmedabad. The tourists who are looking to square the series were bowled out for 205 in the first innings with Ben Stokes top scoring on 55 and spinner Axal Patel taking 4-68. India resumed play this morning on 24-1 in reply. The West Indies Captain Kieron Pollard has emulated Sir Garfield Sobers by smashing six sixes in one over off Akila Dananjaya as his side beat Sri Lanka in the first one day international in Antigua. Pollard is only the third player to achieve the feat in an international following in the footsteps of South Africa’s Herschelle Gibbs and India’s Yuvraj Singh. Gary Sobers was the first man to ever hit six sixes in an over while playing for Nottinghamshire against Glamorgan in 1968. Football - There were three games in the English Premier League last night. Fulham lost 1-0 at home to Spurs. West Brom lost 1-0 at home to Everton and Liverpool lost 1-0 at home to Chelsea who go back into the top 4 of the table. In the English Premier League this weekend, on Saturday Burnley play Arsenal. Sheffield United play Southampton. Aston Villa face Wolves and Brighton play Leicester. On Sunday West Brom host Newcastle. Liverpool play Fulham. Manchester City play Manchester United and Spurs host Crystal Palace. Chelsea play Everton and West Ham play Leeds on Monday. Rugby Union - The Wales scrum half Kieran Hardy will miss the rest of the 6 Nations with a damaged hamstring. Hardy scored a try for Wales in their 40-24 win over England last weekend before limping off in the second half. There’s better news about Tomas Williams and Dan Biggar who could be fit in time for the Italy game on March the 13th. There are two games in the Gallagher Premiership tonight. Leicester play London Irish and Sale play Newcastle. In the Guinness Pro 14 Munster play Connacht. Formula 1 - Reports say that Porsche are considering an entry to Formula 1 with parent company Volkswagen. Any move into the sport would depend on the next engine regulations which are due to be introduced in 2025. Porsche has said that it would welcome the chance to take part if aspects of sustainability such as the implementation of e-fuels play a role in the near future. Sources say that the VW subsidiary has already been involved in discussions about new engine rules. Golf - Rory McIlroy shares the lead with Corey Conners of Canada following the first round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill Florida. McIlroy fired a first round 66 including 7 birdies to reach 6 under par. Conners had an eagle at the par-5 16th but a bogey at the last hole denied him the overall lead. The US Open champion Bryson DeChambeau is one shot back on 5 under. Weather Partially cloudy with light variable or south easterly winds. Top temperature 15-16 degrees. Overnight lows of 10 degrees with partially cloudy skies. The weekend - Sunshine and showers tomorrow. Cloudy on Sunday. Highs of 12-15 degrees. |
Nice Mayor Christian Estrosi has accompanied municipal police officers on a tour of the city as part of the enforcement of the curfew order for minors...
Read More
Police have intervened this Friday morning to evacuate pro-Palestinian demonstrators at Sciences Po in Paris. ...
Read More
A 14-year-old boy has been injured during a pellet shooting at a drug dealing point in Aix-en-Provence. The incident occurred at around 7:30pm on Thur...
Read More
- The mayor of Nice Christian Estrosi has taken to the city’s streets following the introduction of a curfew for minors. The mayor invited the press t...
Read More
Marine Le Pen the leader of the National Rally, France’s far right political party, has urged for a “crushing defeat” of French President Emmanuel Mac...
Read More
