MONACO: The Professional Women's Network held its monthly Monaco roundtable luncheon at Zest earlier this week, at which Andrea Pennington gave a short presentation on a subject of interest to professional women for inspiration and empowerment. Ladies present heard simple tips for online branding and easy PR tips for getting media attention for their business...

MONACO BANKING: Over 80 colleagues from Front Office, Operations, Change, Finance, Technology, Wealth Management Monaco, have collaborated to successfully migrate its Private Bank client records to the strategic Avaloq platform. Avaloq is considered the reference in integrated, comprehensive banking software systems in the most demanding financial centres across the world...

MONACO TRAVEL, MONACO BUSINESS: Another rail strike that started tonight will mean that many trains serving Monaco will not run on Friday or Saturday. Although the French train company SNCF claims that a guaranteed and reduced service will be in place, this will be limited to trains running at peak commuting times….

MONACO: This morning, the Government Counsellor for Social Affairs and Health, Stéphane Valeri, received , at their request, representatives of employees of the automotive supplier BorgWarner. They came to express their gratitude to the Government of Monaco and Mr Valeri for support and guidance they received under the planned termination of the business involving 153 job losses...

MONACO SPORT, ASM: Monaco's hopes of making it through to the finals of the French Cup were dashed tonight away to Guingamp, with two goals from the home team sealing the visitors' fate in extra time, in rapid succession...

MONACO BUSINESS, MONACO TELECOM: Monaco Telecom has come a long way in the last few years, from being a telecoms service provider with a poor reputation for reliability to an operator able to provide both 100 percent reliability and security to its customers. Unreliability presented a major problem for businesses in the Principality, especially banks, that depend on systems being both fast and dependable, as well as secure…

MONACO: A footbridge connecting the Honoré II precinct and the UNESCO Gardens is being installed to facilitate pedestrian traffic between the train station and Fontvieille. This project will require the closure of the uplink of the avenue de Fontvieille between Tuesday, April 22 and Friday, April 25, between 08:00 and 16:00...

MONACO BUSINESS: The purchase of a moth-balled French oil refinery by Monaco's Sotragem appears to be off, according to a Reuters news report. Owners of the refinery, US-based LyondellBasell, said it had pulled out of talks to sell its Berre refinery in southeastern France to Sotragem, adding that the bid offered no guarantee that the mothballed site would restart…

MONACO: Irish journalist NR Greer has spent the winter in Menton, and in a very perceptive column in Northern Ireland's News Letter he paints an impressionist picture of the malaise of the long-suffering locals in Monaco's neighbouring communities. He writes: "Shops, cafes and small businesses would rather stay closed than employ anyone. While that is not entirely new in France, where restrictive labour laws have long been the norm, it is getting worse..."

PRINCE ALBERT, PRINCESS CHARLENE: A very friendly event was held yesterday by the Prince's Guard at "la Rose des Vents" for the presentation of the Guard's beach volleyball team to the Princely Couple. Ms. Victoria Ravva, volleyball of RC Cannes, Kevin Crovetto, the gymnast Star of Monaco, Pierre Pujol, volleyball of RC Cannes were among those present...

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Monaco Prosecutor Jean-Pierre Dreno has been acquitted of charges that he leaked information to the press during a judicial enquiry. The case had been brought by the two men originally taken to court for allegedly infringing the privacy of Monegasque citizens by ordering a public opinion poll, a case that dates back to 2012 and continues...

MONACO, IUM: An assignment for the students of the International University of Monaco Masters course in Luxury to create an original luxury service business turned into a well-attended competition yesterday at the Yacht Club de Monaco where seven finalist teams presented their passions backed up by detailed business plans. All in front of a jury, presided over by Eric Althaus of Althaus Yachting and notable personalities from the Government, the Yacht Club, SBM and the luxury sector in Monaco...

MONACO: Vasily Klyukin, the Russian businessman and banker, was 'In the Spotlight' last night at his Art House in Monaco. Vasily, now a Monaco resident, related to moderator Martina Brodie how he became involved in the world of Russian banking, starting as a first-year university student...

MONACO: The Development Office of the College of Europe is organizing a professional ‘Training seminar on EU institutions and negotiations for civil servants from Monaco’ from May 5 to 6 and from May 13 to 15. The courses will take place in the Principality...

MONACO FINANCE: The multi-family office has taken an important step forward with the support of the elected National Council. The commission on finance and the economy is proposing a law on multi-family offices that would give such bodies full legal status in Monaco. The draft law is likely to be debated in June...

MONACO FINANCE, IUM: Monaco has been willing to set the highest standards in order to continue to develop its financial industry in a responsible, sustainable manner and to meet clients’ high expectations. Such professional requirements affirm Monaco’s position as a dynamic financial centre. AMAF, Monaco’s Finance Association, certification is Monaco’s official professional certification required for finance professionals...

MONACO: The first annual event devoted to Patients' Rights will take place on Friday, April 18. The Princess Grace Hospital is organizing a day given over to the rights of patients, for both the general public and for professionals, with the participation of patients' associations…

MONACO BUSINESS, MONACO FINANCE: As of April 14, 2014 , the online approach for declaring information necessary for calculating GDP is again available to economic agents in the Principality of Monaco...

PRINCESS CHARLENE, MONACO CHARITIES: Princess Charlene was invited by Natalia Vodianova to attend a tennis tournament in the framework of the Love Ball, which was held in Monaco in July...

MONACO: Two pensioners have appeared in court in Monaco charged with damaging vehicles parked in their buildings. The avocat-general, the aptly-named Michael Bonnet, said that if he did not believe in the coincidence of the calendar "I'd end up believing that a gang of pensioners is on the loose in the Principality to scratch cars in the car parks." The first defendant, a Monegasque of 76, keyed an Aston Martin on January 11. After pulling up alongside the luxury car, he looked around, saw no-one and then dragged his car key along the door and bonnet of the car on the left-hand side…

Monaco Events & Announcements

BRITISH ASSOCIATION: Don't forget the 'Easter  Friday Friendship Club'  today,   Friday  18th April  at St Paul's Church Library. The BAM FFC is for members and friends to meet up for afternoon tea twice a month. Entrance is free and is also a great opportunity to meet up with old friends or to make some new ones. Members can chat and read magazines, exchange books (more new titles !), play cards/games or help with the ongoing jigsaw while enjoying complimentary tea, coffee and delicious homemade cakes. We now have an extensive DVD lending library with new titles coming in every week - help us to increase our ever-growing selection and bring along some DVDs. Also books and magazines are always welcome.  
 
Don't forget  the next  'Happy Hour' is on Thursday 24th April at  a new venue, Flashman's Bar , Monaco between 6.30 and 8 pm. Come along by yourself or with friends and meet some members of the Committee and other members of BAM (some old and some new).   

NICK DANZIGER Renowned photographer, author, film-maker and artist, at Monaco Fine Arts, photographic exhibition, The British, from April 3 until April 18. Palais de la Scala, 4th Floor, Suite 1177. By invitation only. evelina@monacofinearts.com, Info: www.monacofinearts.com

BOMO: Tuesday, April 22, 18:00 to 20:00, BOMO - Book Boutique of Monaco will host a cocktail reception for local authors Mike Ferrier and Gina Rossi.  Please contact BOMO for more details and to RSVP.  +377 97 77 94 73, BOMO.monaco@gmail.com

CARFAX INTENSIVE COURSES: Carfax Education Monaco will run an Intensive SAT course on Tuesday 22nd April to Friday 25th April. The course will include an SAT diagnostic test, an analysis of the pupil’s strengths and weaknesses, strategies to improve math and verbal SAT scores and effective time-management techniques.  The price for the intensive SAT preparation is 1,975 euros TTC for 28 hours. Customized programmes also available. For more information please contact Carfax on + 377 98 80 11 80 or visit www.carfax-monaco.com.

OPEN MIKE: The STARDECK  at STARSNBARS will host an OPEN MIKE NIGHT AND CONCERT on Tuesday April 22 to showcase local residents who love to sing but don’t often have an opportunity to perform on stage in a professional setting. The evening will be animated by  American singer and musician FAT CAT HACKETT, well known locally for his distinctive R’n’B style and entertaining “cool” stage presence. The StarDeck bar will open at 18h00 with Happy Hour prices 18:00-20:00. The live performances, including numbers by Fat Cat himself, will continue throughout the evening, followed by dinner and dancing.

BAM: Thursday 24th April - A guided visit of the old town of Villefranche ,  the Citadel  and the Cocteau Chapel, followed by lunch. How many of you have lived in this area for years and never visited the Citadel in Villfranche-sur-Mer?  Well, now is your chance!  BAM have organised a day trip to Villefranche on Thursday 24th, and with a guided visit to the old town of Villefranche, and  learning the history of this very special town.  The guided  tour will start with a visit to the old town and includes a visit to the famous Cocteau Chapel.

The tour will continue up to the magnificent Citadel, visiting one of the four museums within its walls. The tour ends with lunch on the sea front.  The afternoon is free to either  continue exploring the town, go back to the Citadel to visit the other museums or just enjoy the glorious views of  the Bay of Villefranche!  Price for Members:  €35 and for non-members €45.  Price includes guided tour, lunch with drinks.   Booking forms were sent outwith the April newsletter or can be found on www.bam-monaco.mc

CONCERT - MAY 2: Maestro Errol Girdlestone and his choir "Ristretto" will offer a choral concert on Friday, May 2, at 20:00. in Saint Paul's Church. The concert will feature a performance of Frank Martin's remarkable a cappella "Messe pour Double Choeur" (Mass for a double choir, or 8 voices). Two motets will also be offered:J. S. Bach's "Komm Jesu, Komm" and Johannes Brahms' "Fest und Gedenksprüche". This concert is offered for the benefit of Saint Paul's Church to help cover the cost in offering concerts in the church. A free-will offering will be collected.

HISTORIC GRAND PRIX: During three days (Friday 9th, Saturday 10th and Sunday 11th May) some of the world’s most precious and amazing cars will compete in 7 different race categories ranging from pre war voiturettes and Grand Prix cars to Formula1 3.2 litres from 1974 to 1978, in the 9th Monaco Historic Grand Prix 9th to 11th May 2014. All cars racing in the Historic Grand Prix of Monaco have participated in International races and the participants are selected with outmost care and according to strict regulations.
 
Monaco Star Events invite you to take part in this fun and action-filled event right in the heart of the action. Our VIP Historic Lounge is located right above the Paddock area with full views of the cars parked below, only a short walk from your premium Grand Stand and with possible Paddock walks throughout the weekend.
 
Take advantage of a 10% discount to get your tickets to the VIP Historic Lounge for Saturday 10th of May by calling us on +377 93 50 07 35 with the reference of Monaco Today.

CONTINUES - Andy Warhol at Ribolzi Gallery: The exhibition of art and artifacts of Andy Warhol The American Dream continues at the Adriano Ribolzi Gallery, next to the Hotel Hermitage, until April 26.

Listings in Events & Announcements are free for non-profit associations, charged for commercial events and entities. To place listing email monacotoday@gmail.com

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SERVICE: Computers, IT, Internet, BBC reception - Philip - 06 1542 3824

FOR RENT: F1 GRAND PRIX VIEW APARTMENT TO RENT. 3 piece apartment in the Shangri-la building (5th floor). Overlooking the starting grid and the port. Large balcony, comes with GP passes . Tel 98 80 10 10 email ian.foster@stelios.com

GPF1 luxury accommodation: bright penthouse apartment for rent nr. Place des Moulins... walk to everything. 2 queen size bedroom suites + large LR, stunning kitchen, terrace, panoramic sea views (no GP views), central AC, etc. Available for up to one week from May 19th-May 26th. email: martine.martel@gmail.com;
+33 617373071

FOR RENT:  3 Bed / 3 Bathroom beautiful modern townhouse in the centre of St Jean Cap Ferrat's fishing village. Approx floor space 90m2 over 3 floors. Patio 16m2. On street parking. Air-con/heating throughout. Priced at €3000 PCM +33 6 01 43 55 89 

FOR SALE: A collection of 46 works by Adriano Maraldi, the famous Italian artist. Call Olga for details +393480891547 or e-mail: obolenka3@gmail.com

FOR SALE: Fletcher 19 Sportscruiser with 115 hp Mercury outboard. Year 2000, one owner and regularly serviced from new. Dry berthed near Cannes and berth available. Perfect for summer at € 9,500. Tel. 06 78 63 73 56.

ANGLAIS: Parfaire votre communication écrite et orale en anglais. Cours d'anglais et/ou  accompagnement sur mesure pour groupes ou en individuel. Rédaction et révision de tous type de documents (CV, lettre de présentation, offres d'emploi, thèses académiques). Professeur de langue maternelle anglaise, Formation Berlitz, MBA et expérience professionnelle. Flexible et disponible - se déplace à domicile si souhaité. Téléphone:  0678635709   Email:  englishplusmc@gmail.com

LANGUAGE SERVICE: Improve Your Communication in English — Written and Spoken. English language training, coaching and consultancy tailored to your needs. Group or individual. Help with Documents, CVs, Cover Letters, Academic Theses, Writing and Editing. English mother tongue teacher. Berlitz trained, MBA, professional background. Flexible availability. tel:  0678635709   email:  englishplusmc@gmail.com

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Buy local or bye local

I passed a sign at a farmer’s market in the UK recently that said: “Buy local or bye local.” As a farm-bred girl, I endorse the philosophy of buying local. Indeed, I hanker back to the halcyon days of my youth when my family lived a self-sufficient utopia with an organic vegetable garden, a chicken coop, bee hives, and fields where a local farmer grazed his sheep and paid us annual rent in half a lamb for our freezer.  My sisters and I spent our days hunting for blackberries, and canoeing and swimming in the muddy river at the bottom of our garden. At least that’s how I remember it, but the rose-tinted spectacles of nostalgia probably make it sound a lot more Swallows and Amazons than it was...
 

A bemused reader in Beaulieu-sur-mer speculates about the air traffic controllers' strike and President Hollande and his runabout.

Dear Sir, More travel misery – that’s why Trierweiler was flying back home from India yesterday; the whole trip was planned round the air traffic controllers' strike programme.

The only answer for these disruptive strikers is to delocalize the whole French ATC sector to Bangalore. The Aiguilleurs du ciel never see a plane anyway, just their computer screens, so no problem putting the images offshore. As has been done with the military radar on Mont Agel – all the screens are manned in Lyon so only a few maintainers are left in BA943 above Monaco, a good nuclear target, but don’t tell the buyers flocking to settle in the tax haven just below, in the fall-out zone.

As for the Elysée, nobody has asked who the owner is of that Paris apt, home to Valerie. She says it is “in his name”; but his Declaration de Patrimoine (www.huffingtonpost.fr/.../declaration-patrimoine-francois-hollande-117-)...makes no mention of it – only the Mougins house and two small apts in Cannes.  Nor of any liquid capital to buy a large Paris apt.  So he keeps below the threshold for the ISF.  There's work for investigative journalists.

My main gripe about the President is he rides a foreign scooter – an Italian Piaggio, whereas I have just done my best to save France by buying not only a new Peugeot scooter, but also a ditto car (Peugeot 107).  Why does he not buy French, like me? Earlier civilizations were run by specially treated men, called Castrati, who were also in demand as singers. Not too late to apply this in the Elysée – though some high-profile ladies might not appreciate it.

Peter, Beaulieu-sur-mer (name and address supplied)

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR CAN BE SENT TO monacotoday@gmail.com. Please include a telephone number.

Previous letters can be found at MORE

MONACO MEDIA: The media world has been stunned this week by news that the founder of Amazon - the online shop - has bought the iconic Washington Post newspaper at what seems to be a knockdown price. The $250 million Jeff Bezos paid is just a little over one percent of his personal wealth of $23 billion, making a very small dent indeed in his bank account. Never mind that since its founding Amazon has lost money more than it has made, making Bezos a virtual billionaire in charge of a virtual empire. Perhaps he bought the Post because he yearned for something real.

To decry the sale of the Post is not just to indulge in unworldly sentimentality. Its disposal marks another milestone on the way to the cemetery for printed newspapers as we have known them for the centuries since the Times of London first appeared in 1785 as the Daily Universal Register, changing its name three years later. In the ever-evolving world of media, print is in its death throes.

If it's almost all over for ink except the burials, and the standouts are disappearing fast, should we be surprised? No. Disappointed, sorry? Yes. The great newspapers of the past, including the Post, the New York Times, the Times, the UK's Daily Telegraph, are empty imitations of their former selves thanks to cost-cutting. The greatest loss as these titles decline and disappear is the quality of the journalism that called them home..

TOP MARQUES: THURSDAY, APRIL 17 -  One of the major annual events n Monaco, the Top Marques show, opens today and runs until Sunday at the Grimaldi Forum. Top-end cars, yachts, watches and helicopters are all on display. Several manufacturers have chosen Top Marques Monaco to launch new vehicles.

GARDENERS STRIKE: WEDNESDAY, APRIL 16 -  Monaco's public gardeners downed tools again yesterday morning in protest at what they called a lack of communication from the government in answer to their grievances, centred on their terms of service and lower working hours.

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NEW YORK: TUESDAY, APRIL 15  The Guardian and the Washington Post have been awarded the highest accolade in US journalism, winning the Pulitzer prize for public service for their groundbreaking articles on the National Security Agency’s surveillance activities based on the leaks of Edward Snowden.

The award, announced in New York on Monday, comes 10 months after the Guardian published the first report based on the leaks from Snowden, revealing the agency’s bulk collection of US citizens’ phone records.

In the series of articles that ensued, teams of journalists at the Guardian and the Washington Post published the most substantial disclosures of US government secrets since the Pentagon Papers on the Vietnam war in 1971.

The Pulitzer committee praised the Guardian for its "revelation of widespread secret surveillance by the National Security Agency, helping through aggressive reporting to spark a debate about the relationship between the government and the public over issues of security and privacy".

SOURCES: BBC, Guardian, France24

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Vasily Klyukin talks about his tall ambitions

Treorchy Male Voice Choir the stars of St Davids Day

Adriano Ribolzi is extending his Andy Warhol expo until the end of April

Nick Danziger was the special guest at a British Association of Monaco event at BOMO

Marika Taishoff, MBA Professor at the International University of Monaco, talks about luxury

Martina Brodie interviews top wildlife artist and Monaco resident Spencer Hodge

Sir Jackie Stewart and Roman Polanski at 'Weekend of a Champion' press conference

Father Walter Raymond tells us what's on at St Paul's Church this Christmas

Kory Tarpenning on opening the first Starbucks in Monaco

Dena Lyons and Art Factory Monaco

Anita Di Sotto talks about Whisky Weekend

Martine Ackerman talks about Child CARE Monaco

Martina Brodie interviews artist Laure Fissore

Martina Brodie interviews Peace and Sport champions

Ian Brodie interviews President of National Council

Ian Brodie interviews author of Mayhem in Monte Carlo

click on images to view

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Under the table

TUESDAY, APRIL 8: When I woke up at 7:30 my family was under the table. I stood in the doorway, obedient to the rules of earthquake survival. It was LA, one day in the 80s. Earthquakes were common enough, and at least in the city we no longer lived 50 feet from the San Andreas fault in Kern County, a geological break that ran long the creek bed below the house. I called in the story as soon as I knew the possible toll. Three dead. One worker buried by a trench he was digging, a heart attack, and a student flattened by a prefabricated concrete slab falling from a high-rise car park on a campus in Pasadena. Her sister with her unscathed.

Fleet Street wasn't satisfied. "Hundreds flee as LA burns," the headline read. Someone else's name was on the story, a common trick. I called in to Independent Radio News, knowing at least my voice would be heard from Brighton to the Western Isles and I'd get the thrill of signing off, "Jeff Daniels, Los Angeles."

I was on the phone to my eldest son last night at 21:26 when my chair started rocking. I told him this was more usual than our phone calls. Maybe they were connected. Excusing myself, I went through to the living room. My wife looked a little startled. "The sofa was shaking. As if Bruiser (the chihuahua) were wagging his tail, but he wasn't with me."

Our teenager in the bedroom hadn't noticed a thing, listening to U2. "Where was the dog," I asked. "Under the table," she said.

Jeff Daniels

previous column at MORE

Tuesday, February 11, 2014

Monte-Carlo Diary

6/6 for effort

I can hardly put into words how welcome some sunny weather will be. Every school day we trudge to the train station and from Nice Riquier to the school with our nine year-old genius. When it's raining, as it has been, we have to take a change of clothes, although I have greatly benefited by the recent purchase of sailing boots for the teenager. I have to wear three pairs of socks to stop them sliding off.

Monaco, so I am told, turned down the offer of an alternative private school, so it migrated west. Perhaps the Principality was too keen on its position at the top of the exam league tables to want anything more adventurous than a standard French school with its strict and orthodox adherence to 'the system.' We are very happy with Nice. The school, that is.

George is doing very well. He knows all about the pyramids and the solar system, although I have to admit to a nagging nervousness over his numeracy. Last week he showed me his sums. 0/6. Bearing in mind the need for constant praise and encouragement, I wished him better luck next time, as if he were a gambler at the Monte-Carlo Casino. "Ah, but Dad," he said, "I did much better than Michel. He got 0/0."

"Merde!" I said. "No Dad, not merde, merrde." His French is brilliant.

Jeff Daniels

The Jeff Daniels column is published in the interests of editorial diversity, and views expressed do not necessarily represent those of the publishers.

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Christmas tips from Ruth Tongue

Don’t beat yourself up this festive season – but do keep an eye on the waist band! Our new in-house nutritionist and Pilates specialist Ruth Tongue shares her tips on how to start 2014 feeling fresh, energised and motivated - rather than sluggish and carrying a few unwanted extra pounds.

Everyone likes to indulge a little (ok, a lot) over Christmas and the New Year – and that’s normal. But there’s nothing worse than getting to the second day of January feeling heavy, tired and like you want to hibernate until your skinny jeans fit again! Follow these tips to ensure you enjoy the party season without feeling the effects when 2014 rings in...

What on earth is the French President doing in Monaco? Well, there are a few things to see, such as the Oceanographic and Monaco's Scientific Centre. And a few bits of paper to sign. Lunch at the Palace should be good, and will not disappoint the Socialist President's champagne tastes. Otherwise, not much will be going on and the visit will be marked by an inconvenience to road traffic. That will be its high point, since it seems that the President won't be meeting any of the remaining 8,000 French residents - whose families have lived here for generations - to discuss the fact that they have to meet the high cost of living in Monaco while paying French taxes, an arrangement inherited from the treaty with France into which Prince Rainier was famously coerced in 1963.

If I were a Frenchman, or woman, I would wonder what my President was doing in Monaco. Perhaps he has come to open a bank account. Switzerland is certainly less attractive than it was for French savers. Or perhaps I would conclude that Mr Hollande fancied a day away from the office and a very unattractive in-tray.

Jeff Daniels

Jeff Daniels reviews

Mayhem in Monte Carlo

Long-term Monaco resident and former ad-man Mike Ferrier's second book in a trilogy, Mayhem in Monte Carlo, is at first sight a mixed bag of intelligent insight and mundane stereotyping. And as many new writers do, Mike has cut out the middleman. The book can be ordered on Amazon, to be read on a tablet or consumed in book form, a modern form of buying novels that appeals to some more than others...

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