National News France
Rehearsal for Paris Olympics opening ceremony postponed - A rehearsal of the opening ceremony for the Paris Olympics has been postponed. Originally scheduled for Monday April 8th organisers had to reschedule the rehearsal of a convoy of boats which will parade on the Seine on the evening of the opening ceremony on July the 26th, with athletes on board, due to floods which have raised the level of the river. It marks yet another obstacle in the lead up to the Games and the opening ceremony. It was in January that France’s Minister of the Interior announced that the number of spectators able to attend the opening would be halved.
High temperature across France this weekend - Temperatures are expected to rise across France at the end of this week and heading into the weekend, reaching up to 30 degrees. According to Meteo France almost everywhere in France will experience temperatures well above the seasonal norm. The winter of 2023 was one of the warmest winters ever recorded in the world and it looks like the trend is set to continue. The mass of hot air from North Africa will reach almost the whole of France. From Thursday, 20 degrees will be reached across the entire southern half of the country. Météo-France even predicts peaks of 25°C in the South-West, in Bordeaux or Biarritz and that temperatures will continue to rise for the day on Friday, reaching the northern part of the country, with the exception of the tip of Brittany. In Paris, temperatures could hit 28 degrees at the weekend.
Local News
Mother and her teenage son arrested in connection with the theft of a suitcase at Nice airport - Police in Nice have arrested a mother and her teenage son in connection with a stolen suitcase at Nice airport. Jewellery, cash, and luxury clothing were found during the search. The pair were arrested just a few hours after the theft which took place over the Easter weekend. They were found to be in possession of 15,000 euros in cash, numerous items of jewellery and high-fashion clothes.
Traffic severely disrupted - Tuesday marked a particularly difficult day for motorist on the A8 motorway in our region with an 18km traffic jam. Several incidents seriously disrupted traffic including a car catching fire near Antibes at around 4pm which lead to a lane closure.
New regulations for dog owners - Dog owners will soon have to keep their dogs on a lead in forest areas in France. The new regulations will come into effect from April 15th and is in place until June 30th. It applies to woodlands and forests. Failure to respect the rule could lead to a hefty fine of up to 750 euros.
Most beautiful market - The town of Hyères in the Var is to represent the region in the “Your most beautiful market” competition on TF1. After having already beaten twelve other markets in the Var and the Alpes-Maritimes during a first round organized by the Nice-Matin group, the market of the city of palm trees appears in the list of 24 markets participating in the national vote open to the public, which will take place in two stages, from April 22nd to June 14th. The overall winner will be revealed on June 24th.
Monaco Rugby Sevens - General secretary of the Princess Charlene of Monaco Foundation and part of the coaching staff for the Impis rugby team, Gareth Wittstock, is getting ready along with the Monaco Rugby Sevens team to defend their title in Scotland on April 13th for the annual Melrose Sevens tournament. One year after their coronation in the rugby sevens in Melrose (Scotland), the Monegasque Impis team supported by Gareth Wittstock will be defending their title. The Impis won the oldest rugby sevens tournament in the world in Melrose, Scotland and went on to succeed at the Dubai Rugby Sevens. Ahead of the tournament on April 13th, players will participate in an activity for the prevention of drowning organized in collaboration with the Princess Charlene of Monaco Foundation.
Beer brewed in Monaco – Finally, a beer brewed in Monaco has won a gold medal at a prestigious international competition in Lyon. The Brasserie de Monaco's "blanche" wheat beer emerged the winner in its category, beating off competition from around the world. The awards in Lyon saw more than 1,800 beers scored and ranked by a team of more than 1,000 tasters. Last year, the Brasserie de Monaco won a silver medal for its blond pilsner. The brewery, on the port in Monaco, is gearing up for a busy period with the Grand Prix, during which it expects to sell in the region of 7,000 pints of beer.
Business
The news that Tesla deliveries have dipped sharply has led to shares in the company falling more than 4%. The company owned by Elon Musk saw demand slide in the first three months of the year. Tesla has dealt with a fire at its European factory as well as global shipping disruption and other challenges. The company handed over just under 387,000 electric cars to customers - the smallest quarterly figure in more than a year. That was down more than 8% year-on-year and far fewer than analysts expected.
Meanwhile it’s not in the automobile industry that she’s made her millions as singer Taylor Swift has joined Elon Musk as ranking among the world's wealthiest people, according to a new rich list. The American pop star entered the Forbes World's Billionaires List for the first time with $1.1bn (£877m), along with Sam Altman, creator of the AI chatbot ChatGPT on $1bn (£800m). LVMH French luxury goods titan Bernard Arnault and his family topped the chart with an estimated $233bn (£185bn). Forbes said there were a record 2,781 billionaires for 2024
And - Two Office softwares from Microsoft are to be split. The Teams business messaging and video app office software will be split globally. The firm separated the two products in Europe last year as it faced a possible fine from competition watchdogs. Teams was added to Office in 2017. The European Commission has been investigating the move after a complaint from rival Slack in 2020. A Microsoft spokesperson told reporters that the move is to "ensure clarity for our customers".
Sport
Cricket- Ben Stokes has ruled himself out of this summer’s T20 world cup so he can focus on his bowling in other formats later on in the year.
Football- In the Premier league last night, Newcastle v Everton, Burnley v Wolves, and West Ham v Spurs all finished 1-1. In the mid-table clash, Bournemouth edged Crystal Palace 1-0 with a 79th minute goal from Justin Klivert. And Nottingham Forest beat Fulham to go 3 points above Luton who play Arsenal at the Emirates tonight. In the other matches this evening Brighton go to Brentford and Man City host Aston Villa.
Rugby Union - Scottish Rugby says it is confident that Gregor Townsend can improve the national team's Six Nations performances. Scotland finished fourth in the 2024 competition with two wins - against England and Wales - from five games. Townsend, who has been head coach for seven years, is contracted until 2026.
Weather
Scattered showers, clearing by the afternoon. A moderate breeze and highs of 17 degrees in Nice 16 degrees in Monaco. 18 degrees in Saint Tropez. 21 degrees in Draguignan. This evening going down to 9 degrees along the coast with clear skies.
The outlook for Thursday, sunny with a gentle breeze reaching 23 degrees inland in the Var and 17 degrees along the coast in Nice. Friday, much the same highs of 17 and sunny.
Sunrise 07.07am
Sunset 07.59pm
Sea temperature
Nice 14.2 degrees
Weather elsewhere
Lisbon 19 degrees misty
New York 8 degrees heavy rain
Sydney 22 light rain
London 15 light rain
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