Local News Tuesday 8th September 2015

Motorway disruption - A contraflow is still in operation on the A8 motorway near Menton following a serious fire on Monday afternoon that forced authorities to close the road in both directions. The fire, which broke out above the Giraude Tunnel caused major traffic jams after 3 heilcopters and 40 firefighters were sent in to tackle the blaze. The fire was brought under control shortly after 8pm last night. Traffic problems in the area are likely to persist until the road is completely reopened.

Migrant update - The Grasse prefecture has said that there’s no change to France’s position on migrants despite the recent swell of sympathy for the displaced people of Syria and other war torn nations. The sub-prefect of Grasse Philippe Castanet says that migrants without the correct paperwork and who have not claimed asylum in France will continue to be expelled from the country. He said that between 100 and 200 migrants a day are being taken back to the Italian frontier after being apprehended in the Alpes-Maritimes. Mr Castanet stressed however, that some exceptions are made notably for unaccompanied minors or heavily pregnant women.

Road toll - There have been calls for a greater police presence on the roads following 3 deaths in separate accidents over the weekend. Two cyclists and a motorcyclist were killed in incidents between Saturday and Sunday. In two cases the drivers of the vehicles responsible for the deaths, fled the scene of the accidents. The driver of a car which hit a cyclist on the route de Saint-Laurent-du-Var in the early hours of Sunday was arrested afterwards when police found him asleep behind the wheel of his vehicle. He’s appeared in court in Grasse where the judge has ordered his detention for at least the next 4 months pending further enquiries.

Madame Medusa - The jellyfish are back in force along the Riviera coast with the Antibes area badly affected. The creatures have been pushed inshore by currents following the recent windy weather and there have been numerous cases of people being stung. Authorities say that bathers should take extra care in the sea and keep their eyes peeled.

Royal sculptures - Art created by the late Prince of Monaco Rainier III are being shown at a new exhibition in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin. 6 sculptures created by the Prince in his Rocagel studio are on display at the Art-Bre exhibition to mark the 10th anniversary of his passing. The late Prince was a great supporter of the arts and set up a number of artists studios on the Port Hercule in 1997. The exhibition is open daily from 9am until 7pm at the parc de Roquebrune-Cap-Martin and admittance is free.

Trashville - Residents in parts of Hyeres in the Var are up in arms about a build up of refuse in the streets. The Paul-Long area of the town has been described as a public dump by local residents who say that there is an increasing amount of household and garden waste being dumped on the streets as well as illegal rubbish disposal. Many are said to be observing local laws which prevents rubbish being left on the street for collection until 8pm at night with refuse being dumped at all times of the day. There are calls for more ‘green patrols’ to be set up and offenders to be fined.

National News

No to immigration - A new opinion poll has found that the majority of French voters are opposed to relaxing immigration laws to help migrants from war torn Syria and other nations. The poll, carried out by Odoxa for Le-Parisien-Aujourd’hui newspaper found that 55 percent of the 1000 people surveyed are opposed to the easing of rules for migrants applying for refugee status.

Air strikes ? - France is to start carrying out reconnaissance flights with a view to conducting airstrikes on Islamic State positions in Syria. The news was announced by President Hollande on Monday and it’s reported that there’s widespread support for the idea among politicians from most mainstream parties. Mr Hollande says that the fight against terrorism must be carried out at home but also in the places where it’s entrenched. Flights could start as early as today in coordination with the US-led coalition fighting IS. Mr Hollande ruled out sending French ground forces into Syria saying that such a move would be ineffective and unrealistic.

Business

The German airline Lufthansa has cancelled nearly half of its long-haul flights today after pilots called a strike. Lufthansa says that it also expects to have to cancel many short-haul flights tomorrow with the pilot’s union calling for the strike to be extended. It’s the 13th strike to affect the airline in 18 months. 90 out of 170 long-haul flights have been cancelled today. Pilots are protesting over the retirement age although unions say that they have made concessions including increasing the average age of retirement to 60.

EU agriculture ministers have announced a 500 million euro aid package for struggling farmers who are protesting over falling prices. The new measures came as thousands of farmers protested on the streets of Brussels on Monday. Streets were blocked by tractors near EU headquarters with farmers saying that many are facing ruin because of falling prices. The European Commission says that it is well aware of the difficult situation being faced by farmers. The aid measures will be focused on milk producers who have been hard hit after Russia blocked EU imports and the dairy market was deregulated earlier this year.

The UK supermarket giant Tesco has sold its South Korean stores for 4.2 billion pounds as it tries to balance its budget sheet. Tesco has sold Homeplus to the South Korean buyout firm MBK Partners. The money will be used to pay down debt and help to revive the company’s core UK business. The sale will yield 3.35 billion pounds for Tesco after tax and costs.

Sport

Tennis - Andy Murray is out of the US Open. The world number 3 lost in 4 sets to Kevin Anderson of South Africa to make his earliest exit from the tournament in 5 years. Anderson won in 4 sets 7-6 6-3 6-7 7-6 and will now go on to meet Stan Wawrinka in the last 8. Also through to the quarter finals are Roger Federer who beat John Isner in straight sets and Richard Gasquet of France who put out Tomas Berdych in four sets.
In the women’s event Jo Konta’s amazing run is over.The Briton was beaten 7-5 6-3 by Petra Kvitova denying her a place in a maiden grand slam quarter final. Simona Halep and Victoria Azarenka are also through to the last 8.

Football - Northern Ireland remain top of their Euro 2016 qualifying group following a 1-1 draw against Hungary at Windsor Park last night. Scotland’s hopes of making the finals were severely dented though as they lost 3-2 at home to the world champions Germany. The Republic of Ireland registered a vital 1-0 win over Georgia in the same group to keep their hopes of making the finals alive.

Rugby Union - Tragedy for Wales as star full-back Lee Halfpenny has been ruled out of the World Cup after picking up a serious knee injury. Halfpenny ruptured his anterior cruciate knee ligaments during Wales’ victory over Italy last Saturday and will be out of action for several months. Scrum-half Rhys Webb is also an injury doubt after sustaining an ankle injury.

Cricket - England need to beat Australia in the 3rd one day international at Old Trafford today to keep the 5 match series alive. Australia won the first two games with comparative ease. Play starts at 3pm French time this afternoon.

Athletics - Usain Bolt says that it’s time for a rest and he’ll sit out the Diamond League final in Brussels on Friday. The Jamaican, who won the 100 and 200 metres finals at the World Athletics Championships in Beijing last month says that he wants to concentrate on next year’s Olympics and he’s decided not to race again this year.

Cycling - Frank Schlek of Luxembourg won stage 16 of the Vuelta a Espana on Monday but it’s a home rider who takes the overall lead. Joaquim Rodriguez has overhauled Fabio Aru at the head of the field and now has a 1 second lead. Today is a rest day.

Weather

Clear skies in coastal areas with the chance of some showers in the mountains this afternoon. Moderate easterly winds and a high of 26 degrees celcius. Overnight lows of 19 degrees on the coast tonight and 15 degrees inland with clear skies. Wednesday and Thursday-Mainly fine but a couple of degrees cooler.

And finally

More than 44,000 mobile phones are being distributed to South Korea’s military personnel – but they can only receive calls. The phones are being given to members of all four branches of Korea’s armed forces – the army, navy, air force and marines – to make it easier for them to stay in touch with friends and family while in their barracks. At the moment, urgent private calls have to be taken through an administration office. Due to defence ministry budget restrictions, the scheme was initially only going to apply to barracks in remote areas or on the front line but after telecoms company LG Uplus stepped in to fund the cost of the handsets and the network maintenance, the number was increased to 44,686 phones, covering every one of the military’s barracks.