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News Number of intensive care patients at its highest since November - Public Health France figures published on Sunday have shown that the number of Covid patients in intensive care in France is at its highest since November with 3,743 patients currently admitted to intensive care. 21,825 new cases of Covid have been identified bringing the total number of cases declared in France since the start of the pandemic to 3.9 million. The number of deaths from Covid-19 has climbed to 88,600, including 130 in the last 24 hours. Vaccination campaign - Meanwhile the vaccination campaign gained momentum over the weekend. According to French Prime Minister Jean Castex some 585,000 people have been vaccinated since Friday 5th March. At the weekend Marseille and the Provence Alpes Côte d'Azur received 18,720 vaccinations from Pfizer-BioNTech and 30,000 from AstraZeneca. Vaccination tents have been set up in the Old Port of Marseille and speaking to French media, the city’s deputy mayor Yannick Ohanessian, announced that Marseille was “ready to open the Velodrome stadium," - the stadium which usually hosts OM matches, will become a major vaccination center against Covid-19. National day of mourning for Covid victims - Meanwhile the President of the association "Victims of Covid-19" has requested from France’s Head of State a national day of mourning dedicated to those in France who have lost their lives to Covid. In response Macron has recognized the request saying that he does not want the victims of Covid to remain mere "numbers". Monaco Covid cases - In Monaco four new cases of Covid were declared on Sunday 7th March bringing the total number of residents affected since the beginning of the pandemic to 2,023. Forty-one people are currently hospitalized in the Principality and nine are in intensive care. Sixty-seven people are being cared for by the Home Monitoring Center. Monegasque authorities remind those returning from holiday that they must carry out a Covid test. This can be done by contacting the Covid call centre in Monaco on 92 05 55 00. In other news Residents evacuated following fire - 33 people have been evacuated by firefighters after a blaze broke out in an apartment block in Carros on Sunday evening. The alert was raised at around 11pm. Firefighters say the fire was caused by a major electrical fault. Riding accident - Two people have been injured in a riding accident. The accident occurred on Sunday morning, in the town of Besse-sur-Issole in the Var. A 4-year-old child, riding with her mother fell from a horse and a second woman also on horseback, tried to avoid the incident and fell, being dragged several metres along the ground. Both the 24-year-old woman and child were taken to hospital in Toulon suffering serious injuries. Corsica - An 80-year-old has had his throat cut following an altercation with another motorist in southern Corsica. The incident occurred on Sunday afternoon. Several other people suffered minor injuries after trying to intervene. An investigation has been opened to determine the exact circumstances behind the attack. Olivier Dassault dies in helicopter crash - French MP and billionaire Olivier Dassault has died in a helicopter crash in north-western France. The accident occurred on Sunday evening in Normandy where he had a holiday home. French President Emmanuel Macron has paid tribute to 69-year-old Dassault saying that “he loved France and his death would be "a great loss". Dassault was the son of industrialist Serge Dassault, whose group builds Rafale war planes and owns Le Figaro newspaper. Violence Lyon - Five people have been questioned by police following three consecutive nights of violence on the outskirts of Lyon. Speaking on Sunday while visiting the Pas de Calais France’s Interior minister said, “he believed the incidents to be fueled by the recent increase in drug trafficking in the area and insisted that the behaviour was unacceptable”. Two vehicles were set alight and a police van damaged after violence errupted shortly before the 6pm curfew on Saturday. 200 additional officers have since been deployed in the area. Foie Gras - In a move which will be welcomed by anti-cruelty campaigners Britain looks set to ban the import of foie gras. Ministers are believed to want to take advantage of Brexit by blocking imports with Lord Goldsmith, the Animal Welfare Minister, determined to implement the ban 'in the next few months'. British farmers are already banned from producing foie gras, but shops and restaurants can currently continue to import it under rules still in force from the UK's membership of the EU. Quality food - Paris town hall has held the first of three weekend conferences “to supply the capital with quality food" and promote a healthy diet. At the weekend the capital welcomed 100 participants as well as representatives from the world of agriculture to take part in AgriParis which aims to create a super cooperative which will increase the share of organic and sustainable food in collective catering as well as school canteens to 100% by 2026". In addition to this the city council also wants to focus on local produce by supplying the capital with fruit and vegetables from market gardeners located within a radius of 250 km, compared to the current 650 km radius. “Room for improvement Mr President” – As today marks International Women’s Day, France’s Minister for Gender Equality has suggested that French President Emmanuel Macron is “not setting the example when it comes to equality within his cabinet members” with only one-woman member out of the thirteen cabinet members. Asked whether political leaders should set the example on the subject, Elisabeth Moreno replied: "Yes. If we preach something so important, we must set an example”. Adding that she had told Macron that “he was not setting an example”. However, the minister went on to defend the president's action on gender equality saying that “he has nevertheless made the issue an important cause in his five-year term”. Business Asian markets have been mixed this morning as the US senate passed President Biden’s 1.9 trillion dollar coronavirus stimulus package putting fresh pressure on treasuries and high-valued tech stocks. While the passing of the bill raises hopes for faster economic growth, analysts are also expecting a sharp acceleration in inflation which is pushing up bond yields and stretching equity valuations. Investors have taken heart following the publication of the latest US Non Farm Payroll numbers which showed that employment surged by 379,000 last month while the jobless rate dipped to 6.2 percent. The US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has attempted to calm concerns over inflation by saying that the true unemployment rate is closer to 10 percent and that there is still “plenty of slack” in the labour market. However, yields on 10 year Treasuries still hit a one-year high of 1.625 percent following the publication of the data and the rate was hovering at 1.59 percent this morning. The price of oil has risen above 70 dollars this morning for the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic began following reports on Saudi Arabian facilities. Brent Crude futures hit 71 dollars 38 in early Asian trade, their highest level since January 2020 while West Texas Intermediate was up 2.4 percent at 67 dollars 69. The increases come after Houthi forces in Yemen fired drones and missiles into the heart of Saudi Arabia’s oil industry on Sunday. Riyadh has described the incidents as a “failed assault on global energy security”. It was the second attack on Saudi facilities this month following an incident in Jeddah on March 4th. Both Brent and West Texas Intermediate have risen for the fourth consecutive trading session after Opec and its allies decided to keep production cuts largely unchanged in April. A Chinese government delegate has said that the country is still at least 30 years away from becoming a manufacturing nation of “great power”. Speaking to Communist Party delegates on Sunday, Miao Wei said that basic capabilities are “still weak” and that “core technologies are still in the hands of others”. Mr Miao, who was the Minister for Industry and information technology for more than a decade said that China risks being “hit in the throat” and that the ratio of manufacturing output to GDP has been declining too early and too quickly. He said that the country’s manufacturing industry has made great achievements in recent years but the situation of being big but not strong and comprehensive but not good has not been fundamentally changed. |
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Sport Football - Rangers have won their first Scottish Premiership title in ten years after arch rivals Celtic could only draw 0-0 at Dundee United on Sunday. Rangers beat St Mirren 3-0 on Saturday and now have an unassailable 20 point lead at the top the table. The success is a triumph for manager Steven Gerrard in his third season at Ibrox. He said that there was “much more to come” from his side. Rangers have dropped only 8 points so far this season, scoring 77 goals and conceding just 9. There were four games in the English Premier League on Sunday with Manchester United ending Manchester City’s 21 winning streak with a 2-0 victory at the Etihad. City are still 11 points clear at the top though. Liverpool’s miserable run continues as they lost their 6th straight home game with a 1-0 defeat at the hands of struggling Fulham while West Brom and Newcastle drew 0-0 and Spurs hammered Crystal Palace 4-1. There are two games tonight. Chelsea play Everton and West Ham host Leeds. Rugby Union - There was one game in the Gallagher Premiership on Sunday. Harlequins beat Northampton 37-19. Tennis - Roger Federer says that he never seriously considered retiring from the game during his 14 months away and still feels that the “story is not over”. The 39-year-old will make his return to the sport at the Qatar Open this week in what will be his first appearance on the tour since losing to Novak Djokovic in last year’s Australian Open semi-finals. Federer says that he’s “pain and injury free”. He’s had two knee operations during his time off and says that he wants to go out “on his own terms”. Golf - Bryson DeChambeau has powered to victory at the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill Florida. The American finished on 11 under par with a final round of 71 to hold off England’s Lee Westwood by one shot. Rory McIlroy faded after leading following the first round and finished among a cluster of players on 3 under. Weather Mainly fine with light to moderate easterly winds. Top temperature 16 degrees. Overnight lows of 8-10 degrees with partially cloudy skies. Tuesday and Wednesday - Sunshine and showers tomorrow, partially cloudy on Wednesday. Highs of 13-15 degrees. And Finally During these uncertain times people are reportedly turning to the moon to make their dreams come true. Moon wishing is becoming more and more popular. The theory is simple, all you have to do is write your wish on a piece of paper read it aloud, visualize it happening and then ask the moon to make it come true. The moon is believed to act as a kind of ‘help desk’ which delivers wishes to the universe. |
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