News
The “Restos du Coeur” unable to meet people’s needs for the first time in its history - For the first time in its history, the French charity and food aid association the “Restos du coeur” will have to refuse people from November. Today November 21st, marks the launch of the charity's winter campaign, but sadly the association is unable to distribute 170 million meals, to accommodate 1.3 million people, or rather 200,000 more than last year. To access food distributions, beneficiaries must generally earn less than 667 euros per month. However, as a spokesperson explains “we do not want to close the doors to those who do not meet the criteria for food aid, but who could benefit from other support offered by the Restos du Cœur”. Last year, faced with energy inflation, the association founded by French stage comedian and cinema actor Coluche, included electricity and gas expenses in the criteria for accessing distributions. Which saw the number of beneficiaries jump considerably. In addition, donations and partnership with supermarkets, are drying up.
United Nations warning - With COP 28 just a few days away the United Nations has warned that world temperatures are set to rise by 2.5 to 2.9 degrees Celsius by the end of the century. Limits set by the international community will be exceeded and climate commitments made by countries around the world place the planet on a catastrophic path for global warming of up to 2.9°C. Emissions are still too high and the report concludes that countries' current commitments lead to a 2% reduction in emissions between 2019 and 2030, instead of the recommended 43% to limit warming to 1.5°C. The COP 28 conference will take place from 30 November until 12 December 2023.
Eggs from domestic henhouses in the Paris region - The Regional Health Agency has advised the public not to consume eggs from domestic henhouses in more than 400 towns in the Ile-de-France (Paris) region. The reason is due to “contamination” with “persistent organic pollutants” which can be harmful to health with an increased risk for children, pregnant or breastfeeding women.
Man charged following fatal electric scooter accident on Prom last year - The 46-year-old man who killed a Ukrainian child on the Promenade in Nice while riding an electric scooter has been handed a three-year prison sentence, two of which are suspended. It was on June 29th, 2022, on the Promenade des Anglais, that 5-year-old Yan, a Ukrainian refugee was killed in the collision at around 7.30pm. An investigation into the accident claims that the estimated speed at the time of the impact was 53km/hr and that the electric scooter was not insured. The court found the restaurant manager and father guilty of involuntary manslaughter. The court's decision will be posted at the scene of the accident at 91 Promenade des Anglais.
Strike action sees passengers stuck on plane for two and a half hours - Strike action by French air traffic controllers on Monday saw many passengers experience cancellations and long delays. One passenger on her way back from Paris to Nice told local media how she spent two and a half hours on the plane waiting to leave the French capital. The air traffic controllers' strike on Monday, November 20, affected several large cities in France, including Paris, Marseille and Nice.
Local train network heavily disrupted this weekend - Meanwhile, due to work being carried out on the local train network. The SNCF has announced that from this Friday November 24th until Sunday 26th train traffic will be severely disrupted. No trains will run between Ventimiglia and Monaco on Saturday November 25, to find out more passengers are invited to check on the SNCF TER SUD website.
Business
Wall Street's three major stock averages closed higher on Monday with Nasdaq's 1% rally leading the charge as Microsoft hit a record high after it hired prominent artificial intelligence executives. The Nasdaq boasted its highest closing level since July 31st while the S&P 500 registered its highest close since August 1st.
Meanwhile, staff at OpenAI have called on the board of the artificial intelligence company to resign after the shock dismissal of former boss Sam Altman. In a letter, they questioned the board's competence, and accused it of undermining the firm's work. They also demand Mr Altman's reinstatement. But Mr Altman now has a job at Microsoft and seems to want to stay.
And - Elon Musk's social media platform X has sued a left-leaning pressure group that accused the site of allowing antisemitic posts next to advertising. X's lawsuit alleges that Media Matters for America "manipulated" data to "destroy" the platform formerly known as Twitter. The accusations led firms including Apple, Disney, IBM and Comcast to paused adverts on X. After Mr Musk threatened the lawsuit, Media Matters called him a bully.
Sport
Football – In the European Championship qualifying matches last night, England only managed a disappointing one all draw against North Macedonia. Already-qualified England got the point they needed to secure a top seeding at Euro 2024.
Meanwhile, reigning European champions Italy secured the point they required against Ukraine to qualify for Euro 2024 as Group C runners-up behind England.
But it was Northern Ireland which finally gave their supporters a result to cheer about as they ended a poor Euro 2024 qualifying campaign with an impressive 2-0 win over Denmark in Belfast.
In tonight’s qualifying games Greece play France and Wales face Turkey.
Rugby Union - South Africa's former rugby star Hannes Strydom has died in a car accident at the age of 58. He was part of the Springbok team that famously won the 1995 Rugby World Cup after the end of apartheid in 1994. Strydom gained 21 Springbok caps in his career between 1993 and 1997.
Golf - The launch of Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy's virtual golf competition has been pushed back one year to early 2025, after its facility in Florida sustained damage. TGL, an indoor "high-tech league", was due to start on 9 January 2024.
Weather
Light rain is forecast for the Alpes Maritimes and parts of the Var region. Highs of 16 degrees in Monaco, Nice and Saint-Tropez with a gentle breeze. Highs of 15 degrees in Marseille with a strong mistral and gusts of up to 70km/hr. This evening going down to 9 degrees along the coast with clear skies.
The outlook for tomorrow and Thursday, Fine with a gentle breeze and highs of 19 degrees on Wednesday and 17 degrees on Thursday.
Sunrise 07.31am
Sunset 05.00pm
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