Murder enquiry-A man who shot his neighbour at an apartment block in Cagnes-sur-Mer has been interviewed by an investigating judge.
It’s been confirmed that the shooting occurred following row over noise at lunchtime on Monday.The gunman fled following the incident but later turned himself into police.
He’s being held in custody at Grasse jail pending further enquiries.
Brush fire-30 people have had to be evacuated from their homes after a brush fire broke out in the hills between Valebona and Seborga on the Italian side of the frontier.
The fire,which was fanned by a strong easterly wind spread rapidly on Thursday afternoon and resulted in power cuts in some areas.
Italian fire fighters and local residents aided by a Canadair water bombing plane from France managed to bring the blaze under control by late afternoon but the area remains under high surveillance.
Radars-The French government has estimated that the amount of money brought in by speeding fines will hit 1.9 billion euros next year,three times more than in 2016.
The increase has been calculated on the basis of growing numbers of fixed speed cameras on roads around the country as well as the reduction in the speed limit from 90 to 80 km/h on National roads which has been catching many motorists out.
Scooter accident-Two people have been seriously hurt after a motor scooter collided with a wall on the boulevard du Mercantour in west Nice.
The circumstances of the accident are not yet clear.14 members of the emergency services attended the scene on Thursday morning.
Both the pilot of the scooter and his passenger were seriously injured and taken to hospital.
An enquiry is underway.
Law court security-New barriers are being erected around the steps of the Palais du Justice in Nice in a bid to stop loiterers hanging around in the area.
The work is being carried out by the town hall following numerous complaints from local residents and court workers that the steps are often crowded with people,who are often drunk sitting in the sunshine.
The new railings will completely enclose the steps of the law courts and it’s hoped will stop people sitting around for no reason.
Flood advice-21 people died on the 3rd of October 2015 in severe floods around the region and with the autumn season promising more heavy rain at some point,authorities are keen to warn people about the dangers and how to be safe.
In the event of being caught in a flood,motorists should stay calm and turn hazard warning lights on to attract the attention of emergency services.You should also remove your seat belt and make sure the car doors are unlocked.Bulky clothing should be removed before lowering the car windows slowly and escaping out.
If the windows won’t open then you would have to use the door but experts stress this should not be done until water is actually entering the car because of pressure equalisation.
Although it’s a terrifying prospect,the only way that the car doors will open is when the water pressure is equalised between the outside and the inside of the car.This means to around neck level.
Once free you should swim to safety and call emergency services on 17 for police or 18 for the fire department.
It takes only 15 centimeters of water to reach the bottom of most standard cars resulting in a loss of control and judging the depth of the water is hard,especially at night.
In National News.
Job in Paris-President Macron is still searching for a new Interior Minister following the resignation of Gerard Collomb.
Mr Collomb,who’s 71 was a key ally of Mr Macron and his resignation to pursue his candidature for the city hall of Lyon is a major blow.
For the time being, the French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe is carrying out the Interior Minister’s functions but Mr Macron will be keen to make an appointment as soon as possible amid plummeting approval ratings and the scandal surrounding his former security aid Alexandre Benalla who was filmed beating up protestors during an anti-government protest on May Day.
Popularity contest-Meanwhile,on the 60th anniversary of the 5th French Republic,Emmanuel Macron has finished second to last in a survey to find the most popular French President.
The late socialist President Francois Mitterand came top of the poll with 31 percent followed by his RPR successor Jacques Chirac on 26 percent.Nicolas Sarkozy came in on 14 percent,one point ahead of Valerie Giscard-d’Estaing with Macron on 10 percent and Francois Hollande bringing up the rear on a lowly 4 percent.
The late Charles de Gaulle was excluded from the survey as according to the Odoxa-Dentsu pollsters “he always finishes top”.
The survey also found that 68 percent of French people consider the National Assembly plays a vital role in state affairs but 53 percent think that the upper house of Parliament,the Senate is irrelevant.
Alcohol tax-The French equivalent of the UK’s Office for Budget Responsibility has praised the government’s efforts to bring the social security budget deficit under control but has suggested a new tax on alcohol to speed the process up.
In a report published on Thursday,the Cour des Comptes praises the latest figures which have seen the social security annual budget deficit reduced to 1 billion euros with forecasts of a further reduction to 700 million euros in 2019.
If the projection is correct then the deficit will be at its lowest level for 18 years in 2019 but the Cour des Comptes warns that while receipts from GP’s are rising,hospital spending is down which has resulted in a doubling of the deficit for the hospital sector.
The Cour des Comptes recommends an increase in the tax on alcohol products as a way of making up the shortfall.
Business.
The chief executive of the electric carmaker Tesla has mocked the US Securities and Exchange Commission only hours after a Federal judge ordered both parties to justify their securities fraud settlement.
In a tweet on Monday night,Elon Musk said that he “just wanted to say that the Shortseller Enrichement Commission is doing incredible work”.
The comment,a direct jibe at the SEC came five days after Mr Musk settled charges that he misled investors in a tweet on the 7th of August in which he said that he had “secured funding” to take Tesla private.
Musk agreed to pay a 20 million dollar fine and step aside as Tesla’s chairman,although he has been allowed to remain as chief executive.
Tesla and the SEC have so far declined to comment on the latest development.
A report by Bloomberg has claimed that Apple and Amazon are among US firms and agencies that have had data stolen by Chinese spies.
The report says that the data has been siphoned off via tiny chips inserted on server circuit boards made by a firm called Super Micro Computer.
The servers had allegedly been compromised during manufacturing and the chips activated once they were up and running.
Amazon,Apple and Super Micro have all rejected Bloomberg’s claims with Apple in particular saying that it had found “no evidence” to support the allegations.
And-Samsung Electronics has this morning said that it expects to post record operating profit in the third quarter,helped by strong demand for its memory chips.
The South Korean electronics giant is forecasting operating profits of some 15.5 billion dollars-up 20.4 percent on last year.
The firm also says that it’s expecting a 4.8 percent increase in consolidated sales despite fierce competition from Apple and Chinese rivals.
Reuters says that chips will account for some 80 percent of Samsung Electronics’ profits.
Sport.
Football-Both the English teams playing in the Europa League last night won but it was a mixed night for the Scottish teams.
Chelsea scraped past MOL Vidi 1-0 at Stamford Bridge in Group L while Arsenal were comfortable 3-0 winners at Qarabag in Group E.
Rangers beat Rapid Vienna 3-1 in Group G but Celtic were beaten 3-1 away by Red Bull Salzburg in Group B.
In the English Premier League this weekend there’s 1 game tonight with Brighton playing West Ham.
On Saturday Burnley play Huddersfield.Crystal Palace host Wolves.Leicester play Everton.Spurs face Cardiff.Watford play Bournemouth and Manchester United play Newcastle.
On Sunday Fulham play Arsenal.Southampton host Chelsea and Liverpool face Manchester City.
Formula 1-Lewis Hamilton was quickest in first practice for Sunday’s Japanese Grand Prix and managed to avoid a big crash with Pierre Gasly in the Toro Rosso at the chicane.
Hamilton was nearly half a second quicker than Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas and more than 0.6 seconds faster than Daniel Ricciardo in the Red Bull.
Qualifying is at 8am tomorrow morning with the race at 7.10 am on Sunday.
Hamilton leads Sebastian Vettel by 50 points at the top of the drivers’ championship.
Rugby Union-There’s 1 game in the Gallagher Premiership tonight.Bath play Exeter while in the Guinness Pro 14 Edinburgh play Cheetahs,Glasgow host Zebre and Ulster play Connacht.
Weather
Clear skies with light variable winds.
Top temperature 26 degrees Celsius.
Overnight lows of 18 degrees on the coast and 14 degrees inland with partially cloudy skies.
The weekend-Partially cloudy tomorrow with a high of 24.Rain forecast on Sunday with a high of 21 degrees.
Finally.
An eight-year-old found a pre-Viking-era sword while swimming in a lake in Sweden during the summer.
Saga Vanecek found the relic in the Vidöstern lake while at her family's holiday home in Jönköping County.
The sword was initially reported to be 1,000 years old, but experts at the local museum now believe it may date to around 1,500 years ago.
"It's not every day that you step on a sword in the lake!" said a museum spokesman.
The level of the water was extremely low at the time, owing to a drought, which is probably why Saga uncovered the ancient weapon.
Saga's father Andy Vanecek said that he initially thought his daughter had found an unusual stick or branch in the water.
It was only after he asked a friend to take a closer look did he discover that it was likely to be an ancient relic.
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