French Villa Holiday News

French News, Tues 28 April 2009

Grand stadium plans

Plans to build a new football stadium in Nice have been relaunched. The initial project was scrapped after an inquiry found the correct procedures were not followed in awarding the building contract. The Nice Mayor Christian Estrosi has announced the formation of a steering committee to oversee plans for project. The stadium will have a capacity between 30 and 40-thousand seats, and be suitable for European and international matches. The venue, to be built on the plain de Var is expected to be completed by mid 2013.

Land up for grabs ?

The SNCF has told officials in Nice that it will consider the possibility of handing over some land from the Saint-Roch station to the city. The 46-hectare site is more than double the size of the main rail station in central Nice. The land could be used for housing, schools or public buildings.

Avalanche warning

Officials from the Alpes-Maritimes have reissued their avalanche warning for mountain areas. Heavy snowfalls throughout yesterday and overnight have increased the risk of avalanches. The alert is at its second highest level, 4/5.

Swine flu alert

French health officials remain on alert because of the risk of swine flu. Three suspected cases in northern France have been dismissed after test results proved negative; they are still awaiting results for a fourth patient in a Paris hospital. They called on anyone considering travelling to Mexico to be extremely cautious.

Jobless numbers up

French unemployment rose between 60,000 and 70,000 last month, Economy Minister Christine Lagarde has warned. Speaking before the release of the official data for March, she said the figure was still an improvement on the 79,900 who lost their jobs in February. France's unemployment rate is currently running at 8.2%, one of the highest in Western Europe. It is expected to go above 10% by the end of this year.

Chopper jail break

A convicted sex offender and cult leader has escaped by helicopter from a prison on the French Indian Ocean island of Reunion. 27-year-old Juliano Verbard serving a 15-year term, and two followers, were pulled on to the helicopter by three accomplices. The accomplices had pretended to be tourists when boarding the helicopter, but then forced the pilot to land in the prison grounds before flying off. They then landed a few hundred metres away, and drove off in a waiting van.

Nuclear test case

A court in French Polynesia has begun hearing complaints from former workers at France's nuclear weapons test sites. The cases, being heard for the first time, relate to work in Mururoa and Fangataufa and seek recognition and compensation for ill health. Eight cases have been lodged, although five of the workers have already died of what has been called radiation-linked diseases. Last month the French Government enacted legislation to allow compensation.

SPORT

Football - Newcastle United are still in desperate relegation trouble after a scoreless draw last night against Portsmouth.

Champions League semi-finals tonight, and Chelsea travel to Barcelona. Many top sports writers think Barcelona are the team to beat in the Champions League this season although they’re not ruling out a Chelsea side resurgent under Guus Hiddink.

There was one game in the Championship in England last night and Norwich City remain in the bottom three following a 2 nil home defeat by Reading. Norwich must now win their final game and hope that Barnsley who are one place above them in the table lose or they’ll be relegated to League 1. Reading still have a chance of automatic promotion If they beat Birmingham in their final game and Sheffield United fail to win.

Formula One - BMW Sauber have pledged to bounce back from their disastrous start to the season. Team boss Mario Thiessen says there’ll be a big development package for Barcelona and it’s only hoped that it pays off. BMW have just 4 points so far this season and Thiessen conceded that they just haven’t been good enough.

Cricket - Australia have taken a 2-1 lead in their one day series against Pakistan following a 27 run win in match 3 in Abu Dhabi. Australia made 198 for 7 from their 50 overs including 66 from skipper Michael Clarke before bowling Pakistan out for 171.

England will announce their first test squad of the summer tomorrow with all eyes focused on who’ll get the number 3 position. Ian Bell, Michael Vaughan and Owais Shah are all in contention with Bell appearing to show the best form so far this season. New coach Andy Flower and the selectors will also have to grapple with the old 6 batsmen or 5 bowlers conundrum with Andrew Flintoff’s injury adding an extra headache to the decision making.

Rugby Union - The Lions’ coach Ian McGeechan says he won’t be rushed into announcing a replacement for scrum half Tomas O Leary who’s been ruled out of the tour of South Africa with a broken ankle.McGeechan says that there’s still some rugby to watch this season and he won’t be making an instant choice. Those being considered for the role include England’s Danny Care, Chris Cussiter of Scotland, Dwayne Peel of Wales and Ireland’s Peter Stringer.

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And finally, a Serbian union official who chopped off his finger and ate it in a protest over wages that in some cases have not been paid in years, said Monday he did it to show how desperate he and other workers were. "We, the workers have nothing to eat, we had to seek some sort of alternative food and I gave them an example," Zoran Bulatovic told Reuters. "It hurt like hell." Bulatovic, a union leader at the Raska Holding textile factory in Novi Pazar in southwest Serbia, used a hacksaw to cut off most of his left-hand little finger Friday. Bulatovic said he decided to act after his deputy, "a single mother of three, was the first to say she would cut off her finger. I could not allow her to do that," he said.