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Day: 9 August 2016

Air League fundraiser features two skilled pilots

by: Cassandra Tanti
09/08/2016

Pilots Melanie Astles and Quentin Smith to speak at Air League fundraiser. Photos: Facebook Team Mélanie Astles; Facebook Quentin Smith
Pilots Melanie Astles and Quentin Smith to speak at Air League fundraiser. Photos: Facebook Team Mélanie Astles; Facebook Quentin Smith

Monaco’s Air League is holding a fundraising evening on September 6, from 6 to 8 pm, by the kind permission of Sir Stelios Haji-Ionnou, patron of the Air League of Monaco.  The highlight of the evening will be presentations by two accomplished pilots: Melanie Astles, and Quentin Smith. Melanie is the first female pilot ever to have joined the Red Bull Air Racing Team. A world champion aerobatic pilot, she has won the French aerobatic championships more than once, and is training to be a French Air Force pilot. Melanie is from Monaco and Cap d’Ail and is “looking forward” to speaking to junior members.
Quentin, who will give a short talk, runs a successful helicopter training and maintenance centre. He is a two-time Helicopter Freestyle Aerobatics World Champion, the first person to circumnavigate the globe in a piston engine helicopter and the first person to fly to both North and South Poles by helicopter. He is also one of a small number of pilots to have survived ditching an aircraft in the South Atlantic.
Drinks will be available at €20 each and payment is via an honesty bar, with all proceeds going to the Air League of Monaco. The event will be held on the terrace of easyGroup Holdings Ltd., Avenue de la Quarantaine.
Places limited. Contact to confirm attendance: Vanessa Ilsley – vi@airleague.mc or Susan Webb: jwebb@monaco.mc
READ ALSO: First bursaries from Monaco Air League
 

Drought alert in Alpes-Maritimes

by: Cassandra Tanti
09/08/2016

waterhoseA severe water shortage in the region has prompted the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes to ask users to limit their use. Rainfall in the department has been 35 percent less than normal since September 2015.
The whole of the department has been placed on a “vigilance” alert from Monday, August 8. The authorities have called on water users, particularly businesses, to take a range of actions to limit their use.
Non-essential use of water, such as car washing, should be avoided, while the amount of water for cleaning roadways and pavements, as well as for the watering of plants, should be reduced. The prefecture also encourages businesses and homes to plant species that are well-adapted to the local climate.

Road accidents with two-wheelers on the rise

by: Cassandra Tanti
09/08/2016

Photo: Joshua Kimberly
Photo: Joshua Kimberly

The gendarmerie of the Alpes-Maritimes has called on motorbike riders to exercise greater care following a spate of fatalities involving two-wheelers. Six serious road accidents in the department last week all involved two-wheelers, “as either a cause of the accident or as a victim”, the gendarmerie said on its Facebook page.
A 54-year-old motorcyclist lost his life on Saturday in the Vallée de la Roya, an area stretching between Tende, France and the Italian town of Ventimiglia.
So far in 2016, out of a total of 148 recorded accidents, 90 involved at least one two-wheeler, almost 61 percent of the total. Motorcyclists represent 62 percent of injuries and 53 percent of fatalities in the department. On Sunday night an Italian motorcyclist was clocked at 134/kph in a 50 kph zone, the gendarmerie said.

Teen linked to terrorism arrested near Paris

by: Cassandra Tanti
09/08/2016

handsA 16-year-old girl who was ready to commit a terror attack in France has been arrested and detained in Seine-et-Marne, on the outskirts of Paris. The minor, who cannot be named, is under investigation for “associating with wrong-doers in a criminal conspiracy” and “provoking the commission of terrorist acts through online communications”.
A judicial source said that the girl had been using the encrypted Telegram programme to send and receive messages. Telegram is a favoured means of communication among jihadists.
A source close to the investigation said that the girl was “very radicalised,” and had been relaying messages as the administrator of a group on Telegram. She had not only tried to instigate terror attacks but had also expressed her intention to take part in an attack.
She has no previous criminal record and a search of her family home failed to find any arms or explosives. No other arrests have been made and the anti-terror police are searching her telephone and computer.
The Telegram messaging service was launched three years ago and was designed by Russian nationals. An individual code is needed to decipher messages.

Could Europe be going Cold Turkey?

by: Cassandra Tanti
09/08/2016

Russian President Vladimir Putin with Turkish President Recep Erdogan June 13, 2015. Photo: kremlin.ru
Russian President Vladimir Putin with Turkish President Recep Erdogan June 13, 2015. Photo: kremlin.ru

European leaders were watching closely on Tuesday as the Presidents of Russia and Turkey met in Saint Petersburg in a move to patch up their differences.
Turkey is crucial to Europe since its territory has been used as a passage for tens of thousands of migrants escaping conflict in the Middle East. The EU has found itself offering large sums of cash and promises of fast-tracking EU membership, despite Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s dictatorial exercise of power.
On the other side of the table, Vladimir Putin is proving himself eager to destabilise Western Europe, which has been outspoken in its criticism of Russian military incursions into Ukraine.
While relations between the two countries reached their lowest point with the shooting down of a Russian fighter on Turkey’s border with Syria, Erdogan appreciated the support of Russia during the recent coup attempt.
Commentators are quick to point out the characteristics the two leaders have in common. Both are authoritarian, and neither pays more than lip service to a free press or the treatment of minorities. However, in both their cases, relations with the European Union are strained and often confrontational. If the two charismatic and unpredictable strongmen can find common cause, or at least a rapprochement, Western Europe can expect more problems to come.