Local
Deadly weekend on the region’s roads - It’s been a deadly weekend on the regions roads with four people killed and several injured. Four people including a 16-year-old teenager lost their lives in Nice and Antibes.
Meanwhile there was severe disruption on the regions rail network between Nice and Toulon as more than 2,000 passengers were evacuated from Marseilles Saint Charles train station on Sunday due to reports of a “suspicious noise coming from the ceiling of a TGV. Police officers and firefighters were deployed to ensure security causing delays of up to 2 hours.
Ironman - An athlete taking part in this weekends Ironman in Nice has been hospitalized after falling nearly 20 meters during the cycling session on Sunday. The victim was immediately transported by helicopter to the Pasteur Hospital in Nice. Earlier in the morning, it was Norway's Gustav Iden who became Ironman world champion, beating double Olympic champion Alistair Brownlee of Britain.
Parents complain of class closure - Parents at a primary school in Nice have complained following the closure of a class which has resulted in pupils of three different levels ‘Grand section, CP and CE1” being taught together. No official information was given to parents ahead of the new move which has led to the launch of a petition in protest against the new measure.
Heatwave - Record heatwaves in June and July caused the deaths of 1,435 people in France this year, according to the country's health minister. Speaking on French radio, Agnès Buzyn said half of those who died were aged over 75. Buzyn added however that, thanks to preventative measures, the rate was 10 times lower than the same period in 2003 when a deadly heatwave hit Europe. France recorded its highest-ever temperature of 46C (114.8F) in June.
It could by you? – A lucky winner in the Alpes de Haute Provence of the National lottery Jackpot on September 5th has still to claim their prize. The ticket for the 5 million euros jackpot is still to be validated by the lucky winner who has 60 days to claim his or her prize money. The winning number on Saturday 5th September were 2,12,16,27,30 and 2 as the lucky number.
National
Deadly algae in Brittany - Environmentalists in France have claimed that the large amounts of green algae currently affecting shallow bays on Brittany’s coastline are linked to nitrates in fertilisers and waste from the region’s intensive pig, poultry and dairy farming flowing into the river system and entering the sea. Adding that when the algae decomposes, pockets of toxic gas get trapped under its crust making it potentially fatal to humans if they step on it.
Yellow vest movement - Police across France have clashed with Yellow Vest protesters hoping to inject fresh momentum into their anti-government protests calling for social justice. Despite violent scenes in Montpellier, most protesters marched peacefully. Police said around 1,500 people gathered in Montpellier, where a police car was set alight by a firebomb as officers used tear gas to try to disperse the crowd. Several storefronts were also vandalised, and police said three people had been detained.
Brexit - France’s Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian has rejected any further delay to Britain's exit from the EU, currently scheduled for 31 October. Speaking to French media on Sunday Le Drian said "In the current circumstances, it's no! We are not going to go through this every three months". British Prime minister Boris Johnson has been adamant that he will not seek a third Brexit delay this year. Last week he said he would "rather be dead in a ditch" than seek the Brexit extension until January backed by more moderate forces.
Venice Film Festival - Roman Polanski has won the Venice film festival’s second-biggest prize on Saturday with An Officer and a Spy, in which the controversial director revisits the Dreyfus Affair, considered one of the largest miscarriages of justice in French history. Alfred Dreyfus was a 36-year-old Jewish army captain from France’s Alsace region, which had been annexed by Germany in the 1870 Franco-Prussian War. In October 1894, Dreyfus was accused of passing secret information on new artillery equipment to the German military attaché.
The accusation was based solely on a comparison of handwriting found on a document in the German's wastepaper basket in Paris. But it came during a period of heightened fears of the country’s Teutonic neighbours after the loss of Alsace.
Jeffrey Epstein investigation – As France pursues its own investigation into alleged offences by Jeffrey Epstein a former model has accused a modelling agent close to US sex crimes suspect Jeffrey Epstein of raping her in 1990. A 46-year-old Dutch woman says Jean-Luc Brunel drugged and raped her at his Paris appartment in the early 1990s, shortly after she turned 18. Brunel has emerged as a key figure in the scandal surrounding the US billionaire, who committed suicide in a New York jail last month.
Wrong anthem played at football match - French President Emmanuel Macron has apologized to the Albanian Prime Minister after Andorra’s national anthem was played by mistake instead of Albania’s. The incident occurred ahead of Saturday’s qualification match for the Euro-2020 between France and Albania. "The French president regarded the blunder as 'an unacceptable mistake'.
Business
British Airways pilots have started a two day strike in a continuing dispute over pay and conditions.
Tens of thousands of BA passengers have been advised not to travel to airports and the airline says that most have now made alternative arrangements.
BA and the pilots union BALPA have both indicated that they’re willing to start a fresh round of negotiations.
The dispute is centred around a pay increase of 11.5 percent over three years which the airline says is fair but the union insists is not enough.
The strike could cost BA up to 40 million pounds a day.
The Japanese economy grew at a slower pace than initially estimated in the second quarter as the US-China trade dispute prompted a downward revision of business spending.
Official Japanese Cabinet Office data published today shows that the economy grew at an annualised rateof 1.3 percent in the quarter from April to June-weaker than a previous forecast of 1.8 percent.
The latest data adds to pressure on the Bank of Japan to expand stimulus when it meets next week.
Some economists are warning that there’s a chance that growth will turn negative in the fourth quarter and that the Bank of Japan could consider lowering interest rates further into negative territory.
And-The accounting giant KPMG has predicted that Britain will enter its first recession in a decade next year should the government leave the European Union without a deal.
Economists at KPMG say that the knock-on effects to the UK’s trade and business confidence of a no-deal Brexit would lead to the economy shrinking by 1.5 percent in 2020.
Consumer spending which accounts for between 60 and 80 percent of growth in the economy would also be severely dented.
The latest warning comes following similar reports from the Bank of England and the government’s independent forecasting unit , The Office for Budget Responsibility which have both alerted the Johnson administration to the negative economic consequences of losing access to the EU single market and customs union overnight.
Sport
Tennis-Rafael Nadal has won the US Open after beating Daniil Medvedev in a five set thriller at Flushing Meadows.
Nadal took the first two sets 7-5 6-3 but Medvedev struck back by taking the third and fourth sets before coming back to take the deciding set 6-4 and win in 5 sets.
The 33 year old Spaniard’s victory moves him to within one Grand Slam of Swiss rival Roger Federer’s leading tally of victories.
He said that it had been one of the most emotional nights of his tennis career.
Cricket-Australia have retained the Ashes after beating England by 185 runs in the 4th Test at Old Trafford.
England put up some stubborn resistance in their second innings before being bowled out for 197 with less than an hour left on the 5th day.
Australia lead the series 2-1 heading into the final Test at the Oval which starts on Thursday but they retain the Ashes with a draw the best outcome that England can hope for in the 5 match series.
Formula 1-Charles Leclerc won his second consecutive race with victory in the Italian Grand Prix at Monza on Sunday.
It’s the first time that a Ferrari has won in front of the home crowd at Monza since 2010 and clearly shows that Leclerc is rapidly becoming the team’s leading driver.
The 21 year old held off Lewis Hamilton in somewhat controversial fashion in the middle of the race and held on to take the cheqeured flag with Valtteri Bottas leapfrogging the world champion into second place.
Hamilton leads the drivers’ championship by 63 points from Bottas with Max Verstappen in third and Leclerc now in 4th place.
That’s the end of the European part of the season.The next Grand Prix is in Singapore on the 22nd of September.
Football-In the FA Women’s Super League on Sunday Chelsea beat Spurs 1-0.Everton were 1-0 winners at Birmingham.Liverpool lost 1-0 at home to Reading and Arsenal beat West Ham 2-1.
Golf-Paul Casey has won his first tournament in 5 years with victory in the European Open in Hamburg.
Casey shot a final round of 66 to end on 14 under par-one shot clear of a cluster of players including Bob MacIntyre of Scotland and Matthias Schwab of Austria.
Cycling-Sepp Kuss of has won stage 15 of the Vuelta a Espana on a strong day for overall leader Primoz Roglic.
The US rider crossed the finish line on the 154.4 kilometer stage from Tineo to Santuario del Acebo 39 seconds ahead of his nearest rivals.
Roglic gained time on all of his nearest rivals with the exception of Alejandro Valverde.He leads the general classification by 2 minutes 25 seconds from Valverde heading into today’s 16th stage which is 144.4 kilometers through the mountains from Pravia to Alto de la Cubilla.
Weather
Clear skies with a moderate to strong westerly wind across the Var.
Top temperatures 24-26 degrees.
Overnight lows of 18 degrees on the coast and 14 degrees inland with partially cloudy skies.
Tuesday and Wednesday-Overcast with rain tomorrow ,mainly fine on Wednesday.Highs of 22 degrees tomorrow and 26-28 degrees on Wednesday.
Finally
A recent survey in the UK has found that more than half of people are unhappy in their homes and dream of moving on.
They long for a bigger home, with size taking over from location as the biggest factor in making a forever home.
Price, closeness to green spaces and parking are the next most important things.
The survey shows 53 per cent of homeowners want to move — but some are more content than others.
In Leicester, London and Plymouth about two thirds have itchy feet whereas, in Belfast, the proportion is just a quarter.
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