Day: 12 December 2016

Experts from Bordighera, Menton, Monaco, Antibes, Hyères and the Port-Cros National Park attended a meeting in the Principality on Friday to discuss the growing threat to the region’s palm trees.

Robert Castellan of the Phoenix gardens in Bordighera, summed up the severity of the problem when he said: “If we cannot find a solution, all the palm trees in the region will disappear.”

Palm trees are under threat from a range of pests, in particular the red weevil, which found its way to PACA from its native Indonesia. According to a regional steering committee, 5,500 palm trees are now affected, an increase of 500 percent in just five years.

The meeting of Monaco brought together the curators of a number of botanical gardens along the coast, with the aim of sharing experiences and discussing possible solutions.  Sylvie Mazalon of the association Sauvons nos palmiers told the meeting that once a tree is infected, it’s usually too late to save it. Cross-border cooperation will be essential in finding ways to combat the menace, the meeting was told.

READ ALSO: Cross-border talks on health care and teleworking

Seven out of ten French people believe there will be a terror attack during this holiday season, according to a survey published in Le Figaro on Monday. Overall, respondents were more concerned about an attack, by four percentage points, than they were in September.

In more bad news for the French government, 54 percent of respondents said they had little confidence in the government being able to guarantee security against such attacks. The figure rose to 75 percent when other crimes were factored in, including robberies, burglaries, and assaults.

The new prime minister, Bernard Cazeneuve, formerly in charge of the Ministry of the Interior, has said that his administration will announce new measures against the threat of terror attacks at some point over the next few days.

In related news, the Nice judicial police and an anti-terrorism unit, SDAT, arrested eleven individuals in the Nice area on Monday in connection with the Bastille Day terror attack on the Promenade des Anglais that took the lives of 86 people.

According to sources close to the investigation, those arrested have links to an Albanian couple suspected of providing logistical support to Lahouaiej-Bouhlel by supplying him with a pistol that was found in the cab of his hired truck.

The two Albanians, identified as Artan H. and Enkelejda Z., were held in Nice in July and remain in pre-trial detention.

READ ALSO: Charity run for Nice victim, 13, and why we can’t forget

Peter K Murphy, who retired earlier this year as Ambassador of the Sovereign Order of Malta in the Principality of Monaco, has been honoured in his native Winchester, Massachusetts.

Murphy attended the local school before moving to Boston College, and has retained strong links in the town. Before representing the Catholic charitable order in the Principality, Murphy was a long-serving career office in the US foreign service.

He served his country at the US consulates in Argentina, Italy, Romania, Germany, and Vatican City.

His duties over the years were far from hum-drum. Among career highlights, he negotiated with China to establish the first two American consulates in China and was successful in dealing with the then Soviet Union in reducing restrictions on US residents and visitors.

In a message to students at Winchester High School, Murphy said, “If what I have told you of the Foreign Service of the United States can convince a few young students at Winchester High School to follow in my footsteps, I would be very pleased … In today’s changing world, our country has need of good, young representatives abroad. Should they choose such a career, I guarantee that they will be rewarded as in no other career.”

READ ALSO: Ambassador honoured for “judicial career marked by excellence”
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The 41st Circus Festival of Monte-Carlo will give a special place to animals by inviting two great families to perform: the Zapachny family from Russia and the Frank-Kröplin family from Germany, two teams of circus professionals who closely observe the strict conditions required by the Festival for the presentation of animals in the big top and for their care outside the ring.

Very early on, the Founder of the Festival, Prince Rainier III, asked that the bond and tenderness that exists between the trainers and their animals be highlighted, as well as respect for good conditions out of the ring. Abiding by these rules, and mindful of the constant wellbeing of their animals, these two legendary families will appear in the Fontvieille ring.

Askold and Edgar Zapachny, directors of the great Moscow State Circus and representing the third generation of a circus dynasty, are award-winners at many festivals and true stars in their own country. The audience at the festival will be delighted as the Zapachny brothers will present their fabulous mixed big cats act with 14 tigers and lions for the first time outside Russia.

Erwin Frankello from the Frank dynasty will present two acts with elephants and sea lions. The elephants listen closely to their trainer in a very gentle yet incredibly modern act. The South American sea lions will leave the audience with a wonderful memory as they are so mischievous and unpredictable. Both of these acts are characterised by a powerful dialogue between the trainer and his pupils: strong bonding, tenderness and play are at the heart of these acts that are based on mutual respect. They provide an example for us all, the Circus Festival organisers say. (Photo: ©torange.biz)

Scorpio Bulkers has reached agreements with a shipyard to reduce the price to be paid under the shipbuilding contracts of two Kamsarmax dry bulk vessels that are to be delivered between Q1 2017 and Q2 2017, by an aggregate of $4.9 million.

The company, which has principal executive offices in Monaco and New York, also announced that its Board of Directors has authorised the repurchase of up to $20 million of the company’s outstanding 7.5 percent Senior Notes due in 2019 in open market or privately negotiated transactions.

The specific timing and amounts of the repurchases, which will be funded by available cash, will be in the sole discretion of management and vary based on market conditions and other factors. This authorisation has no expiration date, the company said.

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