News
Covid-19 - French health authorities have reported a record 86,852 new coronavirus cases in 24 hours at the weekend, as the country's death toll surged past 40,000.
More than 1.7 million people have now contracted the virus in France. A total of 4,410 intensive care beds are occupied, with emergency services in some regions risking saturation.
To date, around twenty Covid-19 patients have already been transferred by medical plane from the Provence-Alpes-Côtes d´Azur to Brittany, where hospitals are currently less saturated.
Speaking on the health situation France’s Health Minister Olivier Véran has said that “it is too early to say whether the lockdown in the fight against Covid-19 in France will be lifted at Christmas” and France’s Education Minister has also encouraged remote learning in Lycée’s with a minimum of 50% attendance in class.
Monaco – Meanwhile in Monaco three new cases of Covid-19 were declared on Sunday bringing the total number of residents affected by the coronavirus to 486.
18 patients are currently hosptialised and 104 people are being followed by the Home Monitoring Centre.
The Princess Grace Hospital in Monaco has announced organizational changes to strengthen its capacity to treat Covid-19 patients. Two units dedicated to the care of Covid patients have been created. Other Covid patients continue to be hospitalized in various specialty services. Visits are now suspended in all Medicine and surgery unless authorized by the department head but remain authorized in strict compliance with barrier gestures.
Mink farms - Alpes Maritimes Deputy Loic Dombreval has called for mink farms in France to be closed. Health authorities in Denmark have reported widespread outbreaks of coronavirus in mink farms, with a variant strain of the virus spreading to some local communities in the country. There are only a small number of mink farms in France and none have reported a coronavirus outbreak. Speaking in an interview with French television, M. Dombreval, who is also a vet, said that he had written to President Macron calling for veterinarians to be included in the Scientific Council.
Tribute Nice attack - French Prime Minister Jean Castex has led a national tribute to the victims of the Nice attack. Castex began the tribute with a minute of silence, on Saturday at the colline du Chateau in Nice.
The Prime Minister spoke of the lives of the three victims, 60-year-old Nadine Devillers, 55-year-old Vincent Loquès, and 44-year-old Simone Barreto Silva.
Flights - Flights to and from Nice Cote d'Azur Airport are being impacted by lockdown measures in France. The airport is expected to have a significantly reduced number of arrivals and departures in the coming days and weeks as airlines reschedule and cancel flights in the light of coronavirus restrictions. If you have a flight booked, you're advised to contact your airline to check that your flight is still operating.
Storm Alex - Alpes Maritimes Deputy Eric Ciotti has said that donations amounting to €1,150,000 have been collected so far to help those affected by Storm Alex. Donations can still be made through the Alpes Maritimes Department's website https://www.departement06.fr/
National
Fake Covid-19 test certificates - French police have arrested seven people accused of offering fake negative Covid-19 test certificates to departing passengers at Paris Charles de Gaulle airport.
The six men and one woman were found to have more than 200 counterfeit certificates on their mobile phones.
The fakes would have been sold for up to €300 each. The arrests came after the certificate of a passenger bound for Ethiopia was found to be false.
Some airlines and destinations now require passengers to show a recent negative test certificate, under tighter immigration rules.
Jean Luc-Mélanchon - Far left French politician Jean-Luc Mélanchon has announced his plans to run for France’s presidential election of 2022. The leader of La France insoumise (LFI) and former minister has indicated that he will not be in the running for certain until 150,000 citizens have supported his candidacy via an online platform.
Recent polls place Mélanchon far behind both Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen.
Fifty-year anniversary death of General de Gaulle - French President Emmanuel Macron is to pay tribute today in Colombey-les-deux-Eglises, the village of Haute-Marne fifty years after the death of General de Gaulle on this day in 1970.
Because of the Covid-19 epidemic, the fiftieth anniversary will be celebrated without an audience, in the presence of only about thirty people, including members of the de Gaulle family.
For the Elysée, Charles de Gaulle "embodies with force and vigor the spirit of the French nation: he has succeeded in bringing the French together to show resilience and will in the face of hardship".
These are all values to which Emmanuel Macron includes in his speeches in the face of the current "hardships" of the Covid-19 epidemic and the terrorist attacks of recent weeks.
Vendée Globe - The ninth Vendée Globe departed on Sunday from Les Sables-d'Olonne in western France. Thirty-three skippers in their state-of-the-art monohull yachts headed off on a single-handed, non-stop, round-the-world voyage.
The boats can be followed in real time on the internet as they face a journey of 52,000 kilometers, crossing the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans before heading back in Brittany sometime in late January.
Message - A couple in eastern France have discovered, while out for a walk, a tiny capsule containing a message dispatched by a Prussian soldier over a century ago using a carrier pigeon.
The message written in German detailed military manoeuvres apparently during the first world war and was addressed to a superior officer. The date is marked 16th July but the year is not clear.
Business
Shares in Asia have risen this morning with oil prices jumping and the dollar remaining weak on expectations of fewer regulatory changes and more economic stimulus under the administration of US President-elect Joe Biden.
Mr Biden’s election victory has been largely priced in by markets which had been trading with a view of a Democratic White House and a Republican-controlled Senate since the middle of last week.
S&P futures have jumped by more than 1 percent while Nasdaq futures were up by more than 2 percent signalling a positive start to the week for US markets.
Analysts say that the overriding view is that the US economy is still weak and that growth is slowing.
The crucial issue will be whether a Biden administration can expand fiscal stimulus and introduce measures to slow the spread of Covid-19.
The United States saw a record number of new coronavirus infections last week with the total number of cases nearing 10 million.
Trade talks between the UK and EU will resume in London later at the start of a key week for the negotiations.
The two sides will attempt to bridge what they say are still “significant” gaps on fishing quotas and competition issues.
On Sunday ,the British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that the “outlines” of an agreement were clear and that a deal was “there to be done”.
Mr Johnson insisted however that the UK was prepared to leave the single market and customs union on the 31st of December without agreement.
Joe Biden’s victory in the US Presidential election is giving Mr Johnson more food for thought with the new American leader opposed to Brexit and reportedly unwilling to consider a trade deal with the UK if the Good Friday agreement and peace in Northern Ireland is threatened by a no-deal outcome between the UK and EU.
Mr Johnson is yet to talk to Mr Biden but has sent him a congratulatory message on his victory.
And-Britain’s economy is set for a pre-Christmas slump with further job losses and shop closures despite government measures to protect businesses during the latest Covid-19 restrictions.
Surveys of business activity have revealed a sharp decline as tough new restrictions were launched across the UK amid the second coronavirus wave.
The accountancy firm BDO says that measures of business confidence and output fell in October for the first time since April while the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development and the recruitment firm Adecco said that studies revealed that almost a third of UK firms plan to make redundancies over the final months of the year.
Sport
Football-There were four games in the English Premier League on Sunday.
West Brom lost 1-0 at home to Spurs.Leicester beat Wolves 1-0.Manchester City and Liverpool drew 1-1 and Arsenal were beaten 3-0 at home by Aston Villa.
Leicester are top of the table with 18 points from Spurs and Liverpool who have 17 each.Southampton are fourth on 16 points.
In the Scottish Premiership on Sunday Celtic were 4-1 winners at Motherwell and Rangers thrashed Hamilton 8-0 !!
Formula 1-The two Grand Prix races in Bahrain this season will be held mainly without spectators as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
The Bahrain International Circuit said that there would be a limited number of seats for the families of frontline health workers and first responders.
The track will host two races on the 29th of November and the 6th of December.
The first will be held on the standard track with the second on the shorter ,faster outer track as full night-time event.
Rugby Union-There were two games in the Guinness Pro 14 on Sunday.Leinster were 26-7 winners at Ospreys and Scarlets squeaked past Zebre 18-17.
There are two games tonight.Edinburgh play Cardiff Blues and Ulster host Glasgow Warriors.
Tennis-Daniil Medvedev has won his 8th ATP tournament with victory over Alexander Zverev in the final of the Paris Masters.
The world number 5 came though 5-7 6-4 6-1 in two hours and 7 minutes.
It was only his 2nd win in seven meetings with Zverev adding to his 2019 Shanghai Masters final success.
Cycling-Primoz Roglic has won the Vuelta e Espana as Pascal Ackermann won the final largely processional stage into Madrid on Sunday.
The victory gives the Slovenian a season ending high after he was pipped to the Tour de France earlier this year by compatriot Tadej Podocar.
Richard Carapaz of Ecuador finished overall second with Hugh Carthy of Great Britain a creditable third.
Weather
Partially cloudy with light variable winds.
Top temperatures 19 degrees.
Overnight lows of 13 degrees with partially cloudy skies.
Tuesday and Wednesday-Partially cloudy with highs of 16-18 degrees.
And Finally
A survey in the UK has shown that four in ten people have kept financial affairs such as a savings account or a loan hidden from family and friends.
Partners are the most likely to be left in the dark while those aged 25 to 34 are reckoned to be the most secretive. Nearly three in five in this age group keep quiet about money products with credit cards, loans and overdrafts the most commonly concealed.
38 per cent of people surveyed in the study by the Government-backed Money and Pensions Service (MaPS) said they stay silent about financial worries, with embarrassment or a fear of being judged among the reasons for not sharing concerns.
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