Local
White March in memory of Nathan - A white march has been organized in memory of Nathan Martiano from Carros who was killed in a road accident on Saturday night. 19 year old Nathan has been described by his friends and family as “a ray of sunshine”. In a message on social media the mayor of Carros expressed his deepest sympathy for his family. An online fund raising has also been launched to support the young man’s family.
Meanwhile police are continuing their investigation into the death of a motorcyclist on the voie rapide in Nice on Friday afternoon. Several entrances to the road in an eastbound direction were closed on Monday to allow authorities to inspect the area. The voie rapide is expected to be completely closed tonight from 9pm.
Police in the Var are appealing for anyone who may have information about a local resident who has been missing for six days. Forty-six year old Jean-Charles Bottero was thought to have been riding his bike in the town of Rocbaron not far from mountain bike trails. At the time of his disappearance he was wearing black clothing and riding a red and black bicycle. Anyone with information is asked to contact the police in Brignoles on 04 94 69 03 90.
Snowfall - Less than a week after the first winter snowfall in the Var, Meteo France has forecast more snow for the region this evening. Storm Gabriel is expected to be accompanied with strong winds clearing by Wednesday afternoon with heavy rainfall expected for Thursday and Friday.
On a national level the storm has led to 37 departments across France being placed on an orange alert today due to the risk of violent winds, snow and ice.
Nice-Côte-d'Azur airport has announced five new destinations for 2019. Passengers will be able fly direct from Nice to Rennes, Brest, Toulouse, Porto and Malaga. Some of the flights will only operate in summer or winter periods. New flights from Nice to Kuwait City, via Paris, were announced last week.
Nice to Tokyo - Jean-Jacques Clarasso from Saint-André-de-la-Roche in Nice has set off on an eight month trip to Japan. Adventurer and rugby fan Clarasso, has combined his two passions, setting himself the challenge of completing the trip in a three wheeled vehicle. He plans to reach Japan in September in time for the Rugby World Cup.
National
Prisoner - An armed gang has freed a prisoner from a police van in southern France. The accomplices knocked a female guard to the ground and shot at the van in the town of Tarascon. The prisoner was being transferred from Beziers prison and was due to appear before judge on charges of armed robbery. This is the second dramatic escape by a prisoner in less than a year in France. Last July gangster Rédoine Faïd broke out of prison in a hijacked helicopter. He was captured in Paris three months later.
Carlos Ghosn - French President Emmanuel Macron has expressed his concern about the “conditions” in which former Renault CEO Carlos Ghosn is being detained. Speaking during his visit to Egypt Macron said "he was concerned about the fate of a French compatriot calling for the minimum decency to be respected”. Ghosn has been detained since 19 November in Japan, on suspicion of financial malpractice. He fiercely denies the charges. Following his resignation last Wednesday French media reported that despite the accusations against him Ghosn could receive several million euros in compensation.
Brexit - The UK government has published its latest advice for people travelling to the UK, European Union, European Economic Area or Switzerland after 29 March 2019 in the event of a no-deal EU Exit. Travellers who intend to use their European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) must check what the arrangement is with the specific country they are visiting as the card may not be valid. This advice also applies to students studying in the EU.
In addition, UK nationals should follow current advice from the government which recommends travellers take out separate travel insurance to cover any healthcare requirements needed in any country within the EU or outside.
There is also further guidance for UK nationals living or working in the EU.
The new advice encourages citizens to register for access to healthcare in the EU/EEA country they live in, as some residents may need to be a long-term resident or pay social security contributions to access free or discounted healthcare.
If a resident is in the process of applying for residency the advice suggests individuals take out separate health insurance.
Until further agreements are reached between the UK and individual EU member states, the government advises UK citizens to follow this latest guidance to ensure they are fully prepared for any unexpected healthcare requirements overseas.
Eurovision - France’s young inspiration to LGBT teenagers all over is hoping to win this year’s Eurovision Song Contest after he won over the public’s vote to represent the country at the upcoming event in May. 19 year old Bilal Hassani, has grown into an internet sensation as he has proven critics wrong who initially dismissed him as merely an “Arab in a wig”. His winning song 'Roi' or King in English, has become a hit and won him more fans after his performance on Saturday night.
Business
The United States Justice Department has announced that its bringing criminal charges against Huawei Technologies of China for bank fraud, obstruction of justice and theft of technology.
The firm’s chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou has also been charged in a move which is set to ratchet up trade tensions between Washington and Beijing and seriously impact Huawei’s plans for international expansion.
The Justice Department has accused the firm and its chief financial officer of conspiring to violate US sanctions against Iran by doing business through a subsidiary that it tried to hide.
Huawei is also accused of stealing robotic technology from T-Mobile.
The firm and Meng Wanshou deny all the allegations.
The United States Congressional Budget Office says that the government shutdown is estimated to have cost the economy 3 billion dollars.
The CBO said that the loss was expected to take 0.02 percent from US growth this year and that the overall damage had amounted to some 11 billion dollars but that much of that will be recovered as work resumes.
The CBO is the federal agency in charge of analysing the economy and budget for Congress.
As part of its report,it said that new tariffs could also knock around 0.1 percent off growth until around 2029 as higher costs prompted lower consumption and investment.
And-The British Prime Minister’s spokesman has reassured the public that there will be enough food to eat in the event of a no-deal Brexit.
On Monday,some of the UK’s major food retailers warned that they wouldn’t be able to guarantee supplies of fresh produce if the country leaves the EU without a deal.They said that that stockpiling fresh food is impossible and that the World Trade Organisation tariffs that Britain would revert to would “greatly increase import costs”.
However,the Prime Minister’s spokesman said that the UK has a “high level of food security based on a wide range of sources including strong domestic production and imports from other countries”.
He said that this would continue to be the case whether Britain leaves the UK with or without a deal.
Sport
Football-The draw has been made for the 5th round of the FA Cup in England with the tie of the round Chelsea against Manchester United.
In other games League 2 Newport County could host Manchester City if they come through their 4th round replay against Middlesbrough while League 1 Doncaster Rovers will be hoping to cause an upset when they host Crystal Palace of the Premier League.
The final tie of the 4th round last night ended in a 3-3 draw between non-league Barnet and Brentford of the Championship.They’ll now replay with the winners facing Swansea away in the 5th round.
In the English Premier League tonight-Arsenal play Cardiff.Fulham host Brighton.Huddersfield play Everton.Wolves host West Ham.Manchester United play Burnley and Newcastle play Manchester City.
Rugby Union-The 6 Nations Championship starts this weekend with the biggest game of the tournament on Saturday when Ireland host England in Dublin.
The England defence coach John Mitchell says that Ireland will be trying to “bore England” into submission and that in many ways the game will be all about who is prepared to be more patient.
England have been training in Portugal with special focus on countering the high-ball threat.
History suggests that the match will be a low scoring affair with the winner in the box seat to win the Championship this season.
Wales have been given a boost with three key players passed fit for Friday’s 6 Nations opener against France in Paris.
Number 8 Ross Moriarty,full back Liam Williams and scrum-half Gareth Davis have all been cleared to play.
Dan Biggar and Adam Beard are also fit after recovering from knocks.
Boxing-The former WBA world super-middleweight champion George Groves has announced his retirement at the age of 30.
Groves lost his title to fellow Briton Callum Smith in the World Boxing Super Series last September.
He had 32 fights in an 11 year professional career and said that the “desire to fight” had left him.
Weather
Mainly fine with a light south westerly or variable winds
Top temperature 13 degrees.
Overnight lows of 6 degrees on the coast and 1 degree inland with rain spreading across coastal areas and snow down to 600 meters.
Wednesday and Thursday-Rain to start tomorrow then clearing later.Rain returning on Thursday afternoon.Highs of 9-12 degrees.
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