Day: 19 September 2016

Backes & Strauss, the oldest diamond company in the world, is set to shine in Monaco next week at the opening of the Second Edition of Top Marques Watches & Jewellery.
The Master of Diamonds since 1789 will be exhibiting its Ultimate Bejewelled Timepieces at the luxury watch show, being held in the magnificent Salle Belle Epoque of the Hotel Hermitage from September 29 to October 1.
Backes & Strauss is just one of a number of prestigious names to have been confirmed for the “Pop-up” Show, which opens next Thursday during the Monaco Yacht Show.
Organisers also revealed today that a number of exclusive exhibits would be up for grabs in a fundraising Tombola for the Monegasque association Monaco Disease Power.
Guests invited to Thursday’s Opening Cocktail Party at the Hotel Hermitage’s Salle Belle Epoque will have the chance to win a number of incredible prizes including a bespoke brooch by designer Elena Sivoldaeva and a Rebellion Timepiece.
Parisian gallery Laurent Strouk has also donated an original painting by French artist Robert Combas following the success of his exhibition in the Grimaldi Forum this summer, while the event’s principal sponsor The Edmond de Rothschild group has offered a Barons de Rothschild Jeroboam of Champagne.
Under the honorary presidency of HSH Prince Albert, Monaco Disease Power supports the families of children with physical disabilities or mental illness. One of the main projects of the association in recent years has been the creation of a respite house for families in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence and it is hoped that money raised at Top Marques Watches & Jewellery will contribute to the construction of a second centre.
Other brands to be represented at the Principality’s only event dedicated solely to Haute Horlogerie and Jewellery under the patronage of HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco include Swiss horologer Franck Muller, ultra-high-end watchmaker Cvstos and Greubel Forsey, creator of one of the rarest current-production timepieces, the Quadruple Tourbillion.
Heading up the list of luxury jewellery brands is Monaco resident Elena Sivoldaeva who will present her new Elena Sivoldaeva Exclusive collection.
 

The director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has visited Monaco. Yukiya Amano and Prince Albert discussed the importance of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and the IAEA’s role in helping countries to achieve them, especially in areas such as the protection of the environment and cancer control. Mr Amano also briefed the Prince on the current priorities of the Agency.
During his visit to the IAEA Environmental Laboratories in the Principality, Mr Amano was informed about current projects in the areas of tracing pollutants from oil spills, monitoring ocean contamination and acidification, and helping to improve seafood security.
The laboratories, established in 1961, are the only marine laboratories within the United Nations system. They played a major role in assisting Japan in tracking possible sea contamination in the aftermath of the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in 2011. Next week’s Scientific Forum will focus on how nuclear technology can help achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

On Monday, September 19, Mr Gilles Tonelli, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, representing the Minister of State, received HE Mrs Marine de Carne of Trecesson of Coetlogon, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the French Republic, and Mr. Cristiano Gallo, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Italy who had presented, in the morning, their credentials to HSH Prince Albert.
An official lunch hosted by the Sovereign Prince was given in their honour at the Residence of the State Minister in the presence of numerous personalities.
A graduate from the Institute of Political Studies, HE Mrs Marine de Carne de Trecesson de Coetlogon was appointed as Southern Europe’s assistant director of the central administration in 2004, then became Adviser to the Permanent Representation of France to the European Union. As Deputy Director of Climate Change and Sustainable Development in the Directorate for European and International Affairs in 2010, she was promoted to Ambassador responsible for bioethics and corporate social responsibility in 2013.
With a degree in Political Science, HE Mr Cristiano Gallo began his diplomatic career in 1987 at the Cultural Relations Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MEA). In 1989 he joined the Italian Embassy in Abu Dhabi and in Maputo. He was promoted Counsellor of the Embassy in Riyadh in 1999 and first Counsellor in Bucharest in 2002. He was appointed as Minister Plenipotentiary to the Presidency of the Council of Ministers. In 2014, he returned to the MEA.

French motorways are going to be improved in a scheme costing a total of one billion euros, once regional authorities have been consulted and given approval, according to the French press.
Part of the cost will be met by increased toll charges, which will rise by less than two percent from 2018 until 2020, the secretary of state for transport, Alain Vidal, told the Journal du Dimanche. The regional consultations, which started on Monday, September 19, will be coordinated by local Prefects.
The money will be used to upgrade major interchanges, create car-sharing facilities in urban areas, and environmental improvements, rather than additional highways. Work is expected to start before the end of 2017 and provide 5,000 new jobs.