Burkini fuels religious intolerance says UN High Commissioner

Photo: Giorgio Montersino
Photo: Giorgio Montersino

More pressure has been applied on French municipalities to drop the so-called burkini ban after the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights on Tuesday welcomed the decision by the French courts to put a stop to the prohibition of Burkini, saying that these orders fuelled the “stigma” of Muslims.

“These decrees do not improve the security situation and tend instead to fuel religious intolerance and stigmatisation of people of Muslim faith in France, especially women,” said the High Commissioner’s office. “Dress codes, such as anti-Burkini decrees, disproportionately affect women and girls and undermine their independence by denying their ability to make independent decisions about their way of dressing,” the office added.

Thirty coastal towns, especially on the French Riviera, have banned Muslim full swimsuits, which some see as a provocation after the Islamist attack in Nice on July 14 that caused 86 deaths.

Last Friday, the highest French administrative court, the Council of State, however, warned mayors that any ban on the burkini should be based on “known risks” to public order.

Monaco resident to demolish Trump property

Maison de L'Amitié in Palm Beach, Florida. Photo: Sensation White Amsterdam
Maison de L’Amitié in Palm Beach, Florida. Photo: Sensation White Amsterdam

Monaco resident and majority owner of the AS Monaco football club, Dmitri Rybolovlev, is demolishing the Palm Beach, Florida, mansion he bought from Donald Trump in 2008 for $95 million, according to local press reports.
Backhoe loaders and dump trucks have started crushing and carting away the 5,736 square metre French provincial home on the 2.4-hectare beachfront estate known as Maison de l’Amitié.
Also coming down is 7,618 square metre tennis house, a pool house and a carriage house. While such teardowns have become common in Palm Beach and other high-end resort towns, the demolition of this famous estate represents a new level of disposable wealth, Stuff reports.
Bought by Trump in 2004 for $41 million, the residence has featured as one of the top ten most expensive homes in the world. It has sat empty since the sale to Rybolovlev – a monument to the housing bubble and to Trump’s salesmanship.
Locals are asking what will come next for one of Palm Beach’s biggest white elephants, and whether its value can ever reach its 2008 record price.
According to town planning documents, the owner plans to split the property into three parcels that will be sold. Last week, the Palm Beach Town Council approved a proposal to subdivide the property. It’s unclear when the properties will be listed. Brokers say each parcel, at around two acres, would have to sell for $35 million to $40 million for the owner to make a profit.
Trump put the home on the market in 2006 for $125 million, making it the most expensive listing in America at the time. When no buyers emerged and Trump replaced several brokers, he trimmed the price to $120 million, eventually selling to the current owner. (Source: Stuff)

European Commission takes a bite out of Apple

appleIreland should act to recover up to €13 billion from Apple in back taxes, the European Commission has ruled. After a three-year long investigation, it has concluded that the US firm’s tax benefits are illegal.

The commission concluded that Apple received “illegal state aid” from Ireland — essentially a sweetheart deal that allowed the computer maker to unfairly reduce its tax bill in a way not available to other companies, according to the report.

The Commission said this enabled it to pay substantially less tax than other businesses, in effect paying a corporate tax rate of 1%. Both Apple and the Irish government are likely to appeal against the Commission’s ruling.

Orange sells Tete de Chien

tetechienAccording to Monaco-Matin, Monaco bought the fort that sits at the very top of the Tête de Chien rock outcrop that overlooks the Principality with commanding views. The price tag was a reported €13 million and the seller was Orange.

The transaction took place on July 20 and was announced by Jean-Jacques Raffaele, mayor of neighbouring La Turbie. He added that the three-hectare site has been ceded to Monaco. Employees of Orange are still carrying out work at the fort. (Source: Monaco-Matin)

Ladies Vintage Car Rally revving up

The third edition of the Ladies’ Rally Vintage Car Charity Event takes place Sept 18.
The third edition of the Ladies’ Rally Vintage Car Charity Event takes place Sept 18.

The third annual Ladies Vintage Car Rally is almost here again with the same purpose as the very successful previous events, to raise funds for Child Care Monaco’s girls’ school in India. This year’s Rally on September 18 takes on a new dimension with Place du Casino of Monte-Carlo especially privatised for the event.

Organiser Martine Ackerman reminds participants that, unlike many motoring events in Monaco, this is not a race. “Come enjoy, or even drive the beautiful vintage cars thanks to the great help and support of Fabrice Leroy from Rent a Classic Car and the other sponsors such as Café de Paris, Restaurant CastelRoc, Organic Spa & Hair, Champagne Taittinger and many more,” Martine says.

The theme for 2016 is “Belle en perles – Coco Chanel style,” which needs no translation. The day starts at 8:15 am in front of the Casino, with departure at 9 am, and ends at Palace du Palais at 7 pm, with a cocktail and awards giving at Le Castelroc restaurant. Martine emphasises the need for everyone participating to contact childcare@monaco.mc
before September 1, and in her usual friendly manner adds: “If you have any questions, needs or requests, we are here to help you!”

In 2012, Martine set up the association Child CARE Monaco with the objective to offer education to underprivileged children all over the world. After several visits to India, they established the Sneh Girls School, which welcomes 90 girls every day on borrowed premises. But the facility has quickly proved too small as it also accommodates girls from villages nearby so the following year, Child CARE Monaco build a school with a dispensary, two additional classrooms and a playground.

If you can’t make the Ladies Vintage Car Rally, you can help by sending a donation or sponsoring a child age 5 to 13 for €149 per year, which covers 1 school year, 2 meals per day, basic medical needs and the school uniform.

Eifman Ballet to celebrate 5th Russian Gala

Boris Eifman founded the St.Petersburg Eifman Ballet in 1977. Photo: Anyaso12
Boris Eifman founded the St.Petersburg Eifman Ballet in 1977. Photo: Anyaso12

Monaco’s history and cultural heritage are incontestably linked with the turbulent and innovative era of Serge Diaghilev’s “Russian Seasons”, a phenomenon of Russian culture in the early 20th century. The Russian Gala project, inaugurated in September 2012 at the Grimaldi Forum with the Gala of Stars of the Russian Ballet and attended by well-known figures from the Rock, continues the tradition of representing Russian culture on the Côte d’Azur and confirms the great interest shown in Russian art and the timeliness of such events in Europe today.

For the fifth anniversary of the Gala on September 9 and 10, the Grimaldi Forum will once again host the stars of the amazing Eifman Ballet from Saint Petersburg.

 Following the great success of “Anna Karenina” in September 2014, there will now be a performance of Boris Eifman’s latest ballet, “Up & Down”. In this work, the “psychoanalyst choreographer” delves into the unexplored depths of the interior worlds of his characters and enters the most hidden parts of the subconscious, the organisers say.

The main character of the work is a successful psychiatrist – a loving and charismatic husband who has everything he needs to be happy. But in a world entirely dominated by the power of money and dark, destructive instincts, true happiness seems impossible.

Eifman’s interpretation of Scott Fitzgerald’s novel “Tender is the Night” has already been acclaimed in Paris, New York, Chicago, Moscow and several other capital cities throughout the world.

“This year, the Russian Gala will be host to a legendary choreographer – the incomparable Boris Eifman – who celebrated his 70th birthday last year. This will be a rare opportunity to welcome the famous Ballet Eifman troupe to Monaco. The troupe has repeatedly been acclaimed by critics and the international press – this is a show that’s not to be missed under any pretext,” said Gulshat Uzenbaeva, manager of Gala Russe.