News
French policeman kills his three children - A French policeman has killed his three children before turning the gun on himself, at his home in the town of Vémars in the Paris region. The incident occurred on Sunday afternoon. The mother of the three young girls was in a state of shock following the incident and has been taken care of by emergency services. An investigation is underway.
Fatal shooting in Nimes - Two people aged 24 and 25 have been shot dead in the town of Pont-Saint-Esprit north of Nîmes in the Gard region. Two other individuals were seriously injured. The shooting took place at around two o'clock in the morning on Sunday October 29th, in the town centre in front of the terrace of a closed café. The four men were leaving a bar when they were targeted by Kalashnikov shots from "a group of hooded individuals”. The motive for the shooting is not yet known. The “first investigations are underway”.
Two children die in house fire - Two children have died in a house fire in Saint-Raphael, their parents are still hospitalised. The fire broke out on Saturday morning in a residential area of the town. An investigation is underway to determine the cause of the blaze.
France’s football world in shock - The football world in France’s has been left in “shock” and “disbelief” after the Ligue 1 match between Lyon and Marseille was postponed due to the Lyon football team’s bus being ambushed with rocks on its way to the Stade Velodrome on Sunday. The manager of the Olympique Lyonnais Fabio Grosso was “seriously injured” in the attack and Lyon has since warned that an "even more serious tragedy" could occur if action is not taken. Six visiting supporter coaches were also targeted before the game between 10th-placed Marseille and bottom-of-the table Lyon, which had been due to kick off at 7.45pm. Marseille said it "deplores the unacceptable incidents" and in a statement, Lyon said it "regrets that this type of situation occurs every year in Marseille", adding the club "invites the authorities to take stock of the seriousness and repetition of this type of incident before an even more serious tragedy occurs".
Flights cancelled due to Storm Céline - Flights at Brest airport have been suspended on Sunday after its control tower was struck by lightning on Saturday evening. Eleven planned flights were cancelled due to the incident which saw storm Céline hit the west of France. Planned flights to Paris, Marseille, Toulon, Toulouse and Lyon were amongst those affected.
Abortion rights in France - French President Emmanuel Macron has promised to enshrine a woman’s right to an abortion in the French constitution by next year. Macron said on Sunday that his government would submit a draft text to France’s highest administrative court over the coming week, with the aim of making abortion rights constitutional by the end of the year. The announcement follows a promise made by Macron on 8th March, International Women’s Day, when he tweeted in response to the overturning of federal abortion rights in the US last year. Abortion in France was legalised in 1975 and several laws enacted since then have aimed to improve the conditions for abortions, notably by protecting the health and anonymity of women, as well as lightening the financial burden of the procedure. An opinion poll last year showed that 89% of respondents wanted abortion rights to be better protected under the constitution. According to government figures, 234,000 abortions were carried out in France last year.
Monaco town hall - Monaco town hall has purchased two electric bikes for the municipal police. The move will allow police to quickly intervene in areas that are difficult to access without polluting and avoiding increasingly dense traffic. The municipal police officers patrol the entire Principality and are authorized (among other things) to report parking offenses.
Snoozing - Finally, with the clocks going back at the weekend a team of researchers in Sweden have recently revealed that hitting that snooze button could actually be good for you and that contrary to popular belief allowing yourself an extra few minutes of “bonus sleep time” could be beneficial. The study showed that women are apparently more likely to have difficulty jumping out of bed at the first ring of the alarm clock. The conclusion showed that there was no reason to deprive yourself of waking up in stages, if it seems beneficial without of course being late!
Business
The crisis-hit Chinese property giant Evergrande has been given one last chance to come up with a new deal over its huge debts or face liquidation. Evergrande is the world's most indebted property developer with more than $325bn (£268.4bn) of total liabilities.
It defaulted on its debts two years ago and has been working on a new repayment plan ever since. Most of Evergrande's debt is owed to people within China, many of whom are ordinary citizens whose homes have not been finished.
A private equity investor is in pole position to buy The Body Shop, founded by Dame Anita Roddick and her husband Gordon nearly 50 years ago. The Aurelius Group is according to reports in exclusive negotiations to buy the British-based chain, which was put up for sale by its Brazilian owner during the summer. If completed, a deal is expected to value The Body Shop at a substantially lower price than the £400m to £500m suggested in some media reports since the auction was launched.
Sport
Rugby Union - New Zealand’s Ardie Savea has been named men's player of the year at the World Rugby Awards on Sunday. The 30-year-old beat Ireland's Bundee Aki, France's Antoine Dupont and South Africa's Eben Etzebeth to the prize. Savea scored three tries at the Rugby World Cup as the All Blacks reached their first final since 2015, losing 12-11 to South Africa in Saturday's tense showpiece in Paris.
Ireland boss Andy Farrell was named coach of the year after helping his side to the top of the world rankings with a 17-match unbeaten run.
Football – In the Premier League on Sunday Liverpool said that their 3-0 win against Nottingham Forest was “for their brother” Luis Diaz after he missed the match following reports that his parents had been kidnapped in Colombia with police still searching for the player’s missing father after his mother was rescued.
And Manchester City beat Manchester United 3-0.
Formula One - Red Bull's Max Verstappen has won the Mexico City Grand Prix to break his own record for wins in a single Formula 1 season. Verstappen's victory was his 16th in 2023 in what is becoming one of the most dominant seasons in history. Mercedes Lewis Hamilton came in 2nd and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc 3rd.
Cricket – England's miserable World Cup campaign slumped further as they collapsed to a 100-run defeat by hosts India. It is their fourth defeat in succession in India and their fifth overall - the first time they have lost five times at a World Cup.
Tennis - Dan Evans has withdrawn from Great Britain's team for the Davis Cup Finals with a calf injury.
Weather
Thundery showers are forecast with a gentle breeze and highs of 21 degrees in Nice, Monaco and Cannes. 20 degrees in Saint-Tropez and Toulon. This evening going down to 11 degrees and cloudy.
The outlook for tomorrow, strong winds which should give way to clear skies and highs of 22 degrees. Scattered showers are forecast again for Wednesday and Thursday.
Sunrise 07.03am
Sunset 05.24pm
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France will host the 2030 Winter Olympics in the Alpes, conditional on state and regional financial guarantees. President Macron confirmed his full su...
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