Fraser Yachts takes plastic to task

The plastic oceans
Photo: The Plastic Oceans Foundation/David Jones
Photo: The Plastic Oceans Foundation/David Jones

Fraser Yachts has announced a partnership with The Plastic Ocean Foundation as part of its efforts to protect the marine environment that provides the basis of the luxury yacht industry.

The Foundation, a global network of independent not-for-profits and charitable organisations, wants to change the world’s attitude towards plastic within a generation and Fraser Yachts has offered its total support for the cause.

Fraser Yachts not only sells luxury yachts, the company is also the leading charter company in the world; provides yacht management and crew recruitment services for luxury yachts and project manages the construction and refit of superyachts.

The company, with offices across the world, from Seattle to Sydney, will promote the work of the Foundation through social media, ask its team to act as ambassadors for Plastic Oceans and work with the charity to produce a common document to send to yacht owners and clients as well as training guidelines for crews on yachts, with the general aim of reducing plastic wastage and use.

Fraser Yachts will also introduce an internal campaign within its worldwide offices to reduce plastic waste and, with the Foundation, develop a proposal for studies and educational exercises to promote to its numerous owners, using yachts as the focal point.

“Every year we are producing more than 300 million tonnes of plastic, half of this is designed for single use, and each year around 8 million tonnes of it ends up in our oceans,” said David Jones of the Plastic Oceans Foundation. “We are genuinely thrilled that a prestigious company like Fraser Yachts has shown so much enthusiasm for what we are trying to achieve and has agreed to commit resources and to use its global voice to help us change the way we deal with plastic waste.”

Said Raphael Sauleau, Chief Executive Officer, Fraser Yachts: “We are always looking for ways to protect the environment and give back to the oceans that we make our livelihood from; we want to make sure that the oceans remain a beautiful place for many people to enjoy for future generations. We were very impressed with the work and the enthusiasm of Plastic Oceans. One of the great features of their strategy is that it is relatively simple to put in place, if everyone made a little effort it will result in a huge impact. We know that this topic is also close to the hearts of our clients and we look forward to working with them on various initiatives.”

The Plastic Ocean Foundation will also support and promote the efforts of Fraser Yachts to resolve the plastic pollution issue where ever and whenever possible.

The Foundation, which has operations in the USA, Canada, Hong Kong and the UK is the organisation behind A Plastic Ocean – an award winning film that shows the devastating impact of plastic pollution in the world’s oceans.

The film, which took four years to make, examines the way the reckless disposal of plastic waste has created a serious environmental problem which needs immediate worldwide attention.

A Plastic Ocean will be available to watch starting January 20, 2017 on iTunes, Amazon, Google Play and all major digital platforms.

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New Year wishes to Monaco’s diplomatic community

voeux Corps Consulaire

Mr Gilles Tonelli, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, extended his New Year wishes to the whole Foreign Consular Corps accredited to the Principality at a reception on Monday, January 9.

After thanking all the Foreign Consular Corps in Monaco for their work in 2016, the Minister gave an overview of the various events that marked the last year. He stressed that in the current global context, the continuity of the monarchy in Monaco ensures a continuity of policies and a permanence of priorities allowing for long-term security.

He recalled that in 2016 that 21 new foreign Ambassadors were accredited in the Principality and that the first Embassy of Monaco in Portugal was opened in Lisbon. To date, the Principality maintains diplomatic relations with 132 states and 110 foreign embassies are accredited in Monaco.

At the end of 2016, 80 countries were officially represented in the Principality by a Consul and five new Consuls from Monaco were appointed abroad. Lastly, Mr Tonelli spoke about the many highlights of 2016, notably through the key visits to the Principality concerning European issues, health and the sustainable development goals, in particular with the presence in November last of the President of the 71st General Assembly of the United Nations.

Present at the ceremony were HE Mr Serge Telle, Minister of State, Mr Georges Lisimacchio, Chief of Staff to HSH the Prince, Lieutenant-Colonel Laurent Soler, HSH Prince’s Chamberlain, HE Mrs Marine de Carne de Trecesson de Coetlogon, Ambassador of France, HE Mr Cristiano Gallo, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Italy, Ambassador of Kazakhstan, Ambassador of the Order of Malta, and the President and Directors of the International Atomic Energy Agency, and of the International Hydrographic Bureau.

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Chefs take Taste Week to class

food-712665_1280Several of Monaco’s top chefs, visited fifteen CE2 classes in the Principality on Monday morning as part of Taste Week. The “Welcome to the chef” initiative brought new flavours into the classroom, as students enjoyed the exotic tastes of fennel and aniseed, as well as sweeter concoctions, such as marshmallows. Also on the menu, the humble grape, coated in delicious white chocolate.

Not all the children were familiar with the more exotic tastes and not all of them liked the samples they were given, but for many young pupils, in La Condamine, Fontvieille and FANB, the visit from the chefs were an opportunity to taste foods they had never tasted before and they showed great enthusiasm for the unusual initiative.

Taste Week in the Principality’s schools lasts until Friday this week.

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SNCF plays its Happy Card

Photo: Alain Stoll
Photo: Alain Stoll

The French train operator SNCF has launched the “Happy Card”, designed for regular users of the TGV service. Costing €79 per month, the discount is for regular users of the service aged between 16 and 27. Users must join up for a minimum of three months, and the scheme gets underway from January 19. Booking is obligatory.

The 975-kilometre journey from Nice to Paris lasts almost six hours, due to a long slower section from Nice to Marseille, and some routes might not be available to Happy Card holders, according to SNCF.

The non-stop Paris to Lyon section takes just two hours.

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More motorbike deaths

Photo: Joshua Kimberly
Photo: Joshua Kimberly

The number of scooter and motorbike accidents in the neighbouring Alpes-Maritimes continues to increase. According to the prefecture in Nice, the number of fatalities rose from 24 in 2015 to 31 in 2016, an increase of 23 percent in one year.

The authorities say that riders losing control of their machines and the use of drugs and alcohol are the main reasons behind the jump in deaths.

Within the region, two types of roads have posted the worst results, the recreational routes in the backcountry and the busy main roads along the coast used by commuters.

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