Day: 25 October 2017

On Tuesday night, the Princess Grace Foundation-USA and HSH Princess Charlene celebrated the return of the annual Princess Grace Awards Gala to Los Angeles with an exclusive kick off event at Paramount Pictures, the home to where Grace Kelly made so many of her iconic films.

It was a special girls’ night out for entertainment, music and style icon, Jessica Simpson, as she attended the event with her mom Tina Simpson, and daughter Maxwell Johnson, who presented flowers to Princess Charlene upon arrival.

Jessica beamed with joy on the carpet watching her daughter fulfill her fairytale dream of meeting a real Princess.

In partnership with Nickelodeon Group and Paramount Pictures, the October 24 evening also featured a special tribute to Stephen Hillenburg, creator of Nickelodeon’s SpongeBob SquarePants, and introduced the Stephen Hillenburg Animation Scholarship, a gift awarded annually in support of emerging animators in the film category.

Karen and Stephen Hillenburg, who were in attendance, endowed the Foundation with a gift that will encourage and assist future animators to develop and hone their crafts. Hillenburg received his Princess Grace Award in 1991 and a Statue Award in 2002.  He is the first Princess Grace Award winner to honour the Foundation with the gift of such a scholarship.

Additional attendees included Billy Zane (Legends of Tomorrow), Sofia Milos (Sangre Negra), Hon. John F. Lehman (PGF-USA Chairman), Jon B. Turk, MD (PGF-USA Board of Trustees), Lynn Wyatt (PGF-USA Board of Trustees), and more. Plus, the cast of SpongeBob SquarePants including Tom Kenny (Voice of SpongeBob SquarePants), Bill Fagerbakke (Voice of Patrick Star), Rodger Bumpass (Voice of Squidward Tentacles), Dee Bradley Baker (Voice of Perch Perkins), Clancy Brown (Voice of Mr. Krabs), Sirena Irwin (Voice of Lady Fish), Carolyn Lawrence (Voice of Sandy Cheeks), and Jill Talley (Voice of Karen) were all in attendance to support Stephen Hillenburg.

The 2017 Princess Grace Awards Gala will take place on tonight at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills. HSH Prince Albert will have the “distinct privilege” to present the Prince Rainier III Award to Oscar-winning filmmaker James Cameron.

Article first published October 25, 2017. All photos: Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images for Princess Grace Foundation-USA.

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Monaco’s Digital Security Agency (AMSN) was created on December 23, 2015, as a centre of expertise and response to security and digital attacks and operations of vital importance.

Led by Rear Admiral Dominique Riban, an engineer of the Naval Academy and SupTélécom Paris, ASMN’s functions are to prevent and detect digital attacks and to react and coordinate actions in crisis situations. It also raises awareness and encourages public services and security requirements.

As part of this pledge, the agency is supporting an event organised by FEDEM, the Federation of Monaco Employers, and the chambers of new technologies and insurance, on the topic of cybercrime.

The breakfast will take place, also with the support of the Economic and Social Council, on Thursday, November 16, at 8:15 am, in the Bellevue Salon of the Café de Paris (further information: evelyne@gramaglia.mc).

“Monaco is one of the safest states in the world and will do everything to keep it so, including in the digital sphere,” Monaco’s Minister of State, Serge Telle, said recently at a Security Summit.

“The arrival of digitalisation is a revolution … and a revolution is always synonymous with perils. We will therefore have to face new challenges, such as securing networks, putting in place appropriate procedures, developing response capacity, training staff and building competent teams, and, finally, creating an ecosystem.”

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At the invitation of the Italian Government, which this year chairs the Mediterranean Contact Group of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), a Monegasque delegation led by HE Isabelle Berro-Amadeï participated in the OSCE Mediterranean Conference in Palermo on October 24 and 25.

This Conference on “Massive Movements of Migrants and Refugees: Challenges and Opportunities” was held as part of the preparation of a Global Refugee Pact and a Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration, which will be submitted for the approval of the 73rd session of the United Nations General Assembly.

The high-level political segment focused on enhancing security and promoting international and regional cooperation to address current challenges and challenges, in line with target 7 of SDG 10: “Facilitate migration and mobility in an orderly, safe, regular and responsible manner, including the implementation of planned and well-managed migration policies.”

Three sessions were organised around the risks involved, the protection of migrants, the opportunities resulting from migration, and integration policies in host countries.

In her speech, HE Berro-Amadeï underlined Monaco’s special interest in these important issues in its foreign policy, which expresses its support for dialogue and cooperation in order to protect the most vulnerable people, as well as actions to defend their rights.

She also recalled that Monaco is actively helping to help improve the lot of these people in the context of migration. The Ambassador praised the role of the OSCE in this area, which provides a platform for discussion and discussion on these topical issues.

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The European Commission announced on Wednesday that representatives of the Member States of the European Union had failed to come to a conclusion on the fate of the controversial pesticide glyphosate, whose European licence expires in December, despite the willingness of France and Germany to compromise.

The committee of experts has not been able to agree on the duration of the renewal that would be granted in Europe to this substance, marketed by Monsanto under the name Roundup and suspected of being carcinogenic to humans.

Glyphosate is a weedkiller so pervasive that its residues were recently found in 45 percent of Europe’s topsoil and in the urine of three-quarters of Germans tested at five times the legal limit for drinking water.

Since 1974, almost enough of the enzyme-blocking herbicide has been sprayed to cover every cultivable acre of the planet. Its residues have been found in biscuits, crackers, crisps, and breakfast cereals.

Opponents claim that glyphosate is so non-selective that it can even kill large trees and is destructive to wild and semi-natural habitats, and to biodiversity.

The Commission had originally wanted a renewal for ten years, and had announced on Tuesday afternoon that it would no longer aim for a reduced period of between five and seven years. However, on Wednesday the required majority could not be obtained for seven, five, or even three years, the option preferred by France and Germany,

According to a European source. The Commission took note of the positions of the various delegations and would “think” before setting a new meeting date “shortly”. Meanwhile, French Government spokesman Christophe Castaner said France was ready to accept a four-year licence extension, if it resulted in an agreement.

Christian Huyghe, Agriculture Scientific Director at France’s Arigcultural Research Institute (INRA), is confident in the adaptability of farmers to find alternatives in the event of a ban on glyphosate.

But glyphosate is very easy to use and very effective. It has the ability to be absorbed by the plant in all its tissues whereas traditional weed killers only destroy the leaves and are rather ineffective on perennials.

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