Eight go on trial over beheading of Paris teacher - Eight people have gone on trial in Paris for their alleged role in the events leading up to the beheading of a history teacher in 2020. Samuel Paty, who was 47, was stabbed and then decapitated near his secondary school in the suburb of Conflans-Sainte-Honorine, by a radicalised 18-year-old man who was shot dead by police at the scene. He killed Paty after messages spread on social media that the teacher had shown his class cartoons of the prophet Muhammad from the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo. Seven men and one woman are now appearing in a Paris court, including friends of the attacker who are accused of helping purchase weapons for the attack. Some of the suspects are accused of spreading false information online about the teacher and his class, contributing to a climate of hatred before the attack. The trial will run until mid-December.
Six mountain rescues in one afternoon - In local news, it's been a busy few days for the Riviera's mountain rescue teams. On Sunday afternoon alone, rescuers were called out to six cases of people in difficulty in the mountains. They include a 24-year-old resident of Greolières who tripped on a path and fell 40 metres - and an Italian woman who suffered head injuries while hiking near Tende. A 57-year-old woman from Antibes who injured her ankle while hiking in Aspremont had to be airlifted to hospital and a 65-year-old hiker who fell ill in Greolières was also taken to hospital by helicopter.
New siren tested today at Nice airport - If you live near Nice airport you may hear a new type of emergency siren this morning. A new alert system has been set up to warn residents in the event of a serious incident at the airport's fuel depot. It's being tested for the first time this morning at 9.30 and should be audible within a range of almost two kilometres. For this test, only one beep will sound. In the event of a real emergency, you'll hear three consecutive beeps.
Water supply cut off - About 100 people in Mouans-Sartoux have had no access to drinking water since Saturday. A burst pipe causing a major water leak on the Avenue des Sources has meant the water supply had to be cut off. Repair works got under way on Monday morning. The town hall has handed out free bottled water to those affected.
Gas leak at casino - Meanwhile, Saint Raphael casino had to be evacuated yesterday due to a gas leak. Construction equipment carrying out roadworks outside the casino accidentally cut through a gas pipe. Twenty people who were in the building were safely evacuated and a security perimeter was set up.
Monaco shopkeeper appeals sentence against brand infringement - The manager of two souvenir shops in Monaco's old town has appeared in court accused of selling counterfeit items mentioning the Monaco brand without permission. Monaco and Monte-Carlo are protected names and anyone making money from their use - on clothing for example - has to have a licence and pay royalties. The shop manager was first sentenced and fined in May for trademark infringement. He's now back in court appealing against the sentence. Monaco Brands, the organisation that carries out spot checks on the use of the Monaco name, estimates the loss at about €50,000. The defendant argued in court that he had no idea the Monaco and Monte-Carlo brands were protected. The appeals court will deliver its ruling next month.
Major blood donation drive in Nice this week - OGC Nice football club is helping to organise a marathon blood donation session this week to try to get as many people as possible to give blood ahead of the winter. Players and coaches from all of the club's men's, women's and youth teams will be taking part. The goal of this 16th edition is to also attract 600 members of the public as donors. The donation marathon is taking place from today until Friday, from 1pm to 6.30pm, on Place Masséna and you need to book an appointment online at https://dondesang.efs.sante.fr/trouver-une-collecte/116759/sang. Just a reminder, if you lived for more than a year in the UK between 1980 and 1996, you're not eligible to give blood in France.
BUSINESS
Europe’s manufacturing production fell for the 19th month in a row in October, but with some tentative signs that the recession may be easing. That's according to the closely watched purchasing managers’ index.
Meanwhile, oil prices have risen over the past 24 hours after the Opec oil cartel and associate countries said they would delay an increase in output by a month, as they try to sustain prices despite relatively low demand.
Ryanair’s share price fell in Dublin yesterday, after the no-frills carrier cut back its growth expectations. Boeing’s delays to deliveries of new planes are holding the airline back. Ryanair believes that airline fares are more likely to rise than to fall in the next two years. Neil Sorahan, the Irish airline’s finance chief, said that “the decline in fares appears to be moderating”. Consumers have had less money to spend because of the rapid increase in interest rates. But the bigger picture is of a European industry that has more demand for flights than it can satisfy.
And 1,000 workers in the UK will get extra time off with no loss of pay in the first official pilot of a four-day week under the Labour government. The British Society for Immunology and Crate Brewery in Hackney, east London, are among the businesses to have joined the latest trial which started yesterday. The experiment will aim to present the findings from the latest pilot to the Labour government in the summer, as momentum builds for a shorter working week. The trial will involve 17 businesses in total, who will mostly implement the four-day week, although some have opted to test a nine-day fortnight, in which workers get an extra day off every two weeks. Nearly 200 British businesses have switched to a four-day week permanently so far.
SPORT
Football - Arsenal sporting director Edu has taken the decision to leave the club. The Brazilian's exit, which reportedly took Arsenal by surprise, comes amid interest in him for a role with Evangelos Marinakis' group of clubs. Those clubs currently include Nottingham Forest, Olympiacos and Rio Ave - and, in the future, potentially a fourth club they are looking to buy in Europe. However, it is unclear at this stage whether Edu has agreed to join the group. The sporting director had been away in Brazil on personal matters and arrived back late last week.
Formula One - Lando Norris has said he believes Max Verstappen "got a bit lucky" in winning a dramatic Sao Paulo Grand Prix from 17th on the grid. Sunday's result leaves the McLaren driver's championship aspirations hanging by a thread. Verstappen sensationally surged from the back rows of the grid to win for the first time since June. Norris' deficit is now 62 points with just 86 points left to play for over the final three rounds of the season.
WEATHER
Mostly sunny today with just some light cloud here and there, light variable winds and temperatures this afternoon reaching 19 degrees Celsius in the Alpes-Maritimes and 20 in western parts of the Var. It'll be another calm night, slightly cloudy with overnight temperatures going down to 14 degrees Celsius on the coast and 10 inland. The outlook for Wednesday: more of the same, generally sunny, occasional cloud, staying dry, a gentle breeze and up to 21 degrees Celsius.
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