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News Restrictions lifted from today - From today Monday March 14th, several health restrictions are to be lifted in France and in Monaco such as wearing a mask and the vaccination pass, as well as the opening of the 4th dose to people over 80 in France. Faced with the downward trend of the covid epidemic observed in early March, French Prime Minister Jean Castex announced the lifting of numerous health restrictions. The mask does however remain compulsory on public transport. Meanwhile the health protocol in French schools is to return to level 1 and today marks the end of the health protocol in French companies. At the weekend, Public Health France identified 72,443 new covid contaminations in 24 hours, a figure that has been increasing for several days. Over the past 7 days the number of cases is more than 63,000, compared to 52,000 last Saturday. In Monaco one new case of covid was identified on Sunday bringing the total number of residents affected to 9,778. Seventeen people are hospitalised and 168 are being followed by the Home Monitoring Centre. Skier dies in the Hautes-Alpes - A skier has died in the Hautes-Alpes following a collision with another skier. The accident occurred on Sunday morning in the resort of Les Orres. According to reports the collision between the victim a 42-year-old man and a 17-year-old occurred on a black run. The teenager was taken to hospital in Gap. An investigation has been opened to determine the exact circumstances. Road accident - Four people have been injured in road accident in Callian in the Var. The collision between two cars, occurred on Sunday evening at around 7.30pm on the D37. Emergency services intervened and all four victims were taken to hospital. Traffic was disrupted in the area following the crash. Demonstrations in Corsica - 67 people have been injured, including 44 police officers during a demonstration in Bastia, Corsica, on Sunday. Several hundred people gathered to show their support for the Corsican independence activist Yvan Colonna who has been in a coma since being attacked in prison in Arles. Pro-Ukrainian rally postponed following death threats – Meanwhile a pro Ukraine demonstration has been "postponed" due to death threats towards the Russian church in Nice. The pro-Ukrainian rally was to be held on Sunday in front of the church however, following the death threats the prefecture announced the postponement of the gathering. Princess Charlene returns to the Principality - Princess Charlene has returned to Monaco to continue her recovery. The Prince's Palace made the announcement on Saturday afternoon in a press release. A happy occasion for her children and for HSH Prince Albert who celebrates his birthday today. Paris-Nice – The Slovenian Primoz Roglic has won his first Paris-Nice. The 80th edition of the Paris-Nice came to an end on Sunday crowning 32-year the winner while the UK's Simon Yates came 2nd. |
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Business Asian markets have risen this morning and oil prices are down on hopes for progress in Russia-Ukraine peace talks even as the fighting raged and Russia hit a large Ukrainian base near the border with Poland on Sunday. Despite the violence, both sides have hinted that some progress may be made in peace talks today with Ukrainian negotiators saying that Russia is beginning to start to talk “constructively” and Russian sources saying that “significant progress” is being made and that it was possible that the two delegations could soon reach draft agreements. Neither side has yet said what the new talks will cover but three rounds of negotiations in Belarus, the last of which took place last Monday had focused on humanitarian issues. More than 2.7 million Ukrainians have fled the fighting since the invasion started and hundreds of thousands more are trapped in sieged cities with food, water and medical supplies running out. Moscow has denied targeting citizens and says that Ukraine is to blame as it’s failed to evacuate civilians from encircled cities. Oil prices have fallen this morning as diplomatic efforts to end the fighting in Ukraine are being stepped up and markets brace for higher US interest rates. Brent crude was down by 2.7 percent earlier this morning to 109 dollars 72 with West Texas Intermediate down 2.8 percent at 106 dollars 23. Both benchmarks have surged since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February the 24th but there are tentative signs that peace talks may be making some progress. Analysts say that oil prices may continue to moderate this week as investors digest the impact of sanctions on Russia and hopes for peace increase. The focus away from Ukraine will switch to monetary policy this week with the US Federal Open Markets Committee meeting this week to decide on interest rates. The Fed is expected to start raising rates this week which will also put downward pressure on oil prices with crude typically moving inversely to the US dollar as the rising greenback makes commodities more expensive for foreign currency holders. The Chief Executive of one of America’s largest gas companies says that the US can step in to help shore up global supplies. In an interview with the BBC Toby Rice, who runs the largest American natural gas supplier EQT said that the US “could easily” replace Russian supply. He estimated that the United States could quadruple its gas output by 2030 adding that America has the ability and the desire to do more. However, without more pipelines, EQT can’t send its gas where it’s needed most. Another obstacle to the export of more liquefied natural gas is a shortage of facilities with US terminals currently shipping close to as much gas as they currently can. Before natural gas can be exported it has to be stored at a special facility where it’s cooled to below – 260 degrees Fahrenheit turning it into a liquid which can then be loaded onto cargo ships. There are currently just 8 such terminals operati |
