The newly-formed Monaco Association of Latin America (AMLA) welcomed 37 children to its successful Christmas tree workshop on December 19 at Twiga.
The youngsters, aged two and seven, assembled six different types of Christmas ornaments with the help of their parents and AMLA volunteers. Santa Claus then arrived to call on stage each child by name to hand over a certificate, a medal and a goody bag. Each child hung his or her ornament on the Christmas tree.
The event ended with a Zumba class for big and small with Latin American songs, given by the Colombian AMLA representative.
This Christmas tree is now standing in the Princesse Grace Hospital ward for children with paediatric emergencies.
AMLA thanked the young participants for their excellent work and their generous parents for their collaboration and support, with a special thank you to those who closely collaborated on making this event possible: Petra Bungert, Workshop Creative Director; the Théâtre des Muses for providing the Santa Claus; Albert Braquetti; the Princess Grace Hospital, Madame Berlioz and Madame Seneque for approving and receiving the Christmas tree; and Destinazur for transporting the tree at no charge.
The €300 raised has been donated to the Richmond Global Health Alliance to help fund their project in aid for chronically ill children in Nicaragua.
A total of nearly 100,000 police officers and members of the Armed Forces were deployed over the Christmas weekend in France as part of Operation Sentinel.
The Ministry of State mobilised 54,000 police, 36,000 gendarmes and 7,000 soldiers – some 6,000 more than last year. Minister Gerard Collomb said that the security of French citizens, as well as that of tourists, was his “absolute priority”.
Since 2015, more than 241 people have died in jihadist attacks in France, and the threat of further incidents remains at an “elevated” level. Six hundred and fifty churches and 45 Christmas markets received extra security over the weekend. A total of almost 7,000 Catholic masses were held on Sunday and Monday, all without incident.
Les Simets. Photo: Facebook Festival International du Cirque de Monte-Carlo/Ezekiel Coopersmith
Audiences at the 42nd International Circus Festival of Monte-Carlo will be treated to a very special show in the Fontvieille big top, as the Organising Committee, presided over by HSH Princess Stephanie, has invited the best acts in the world to celebrate the 250th anniversary of modern circus.
This edition of the circus, which takes place from January 18 to 28, will feature The Vavilov Troupe and its leaping acrobats in the banquine tradition – with six former gymnasts that include two bearers who propel three male and one female flyers into the air where they perform somersaults and twists before finishing with an exceptional triple somersault.
The National Hungarian Circus, presented by Joseph and Merrylu Richter, will showcase the Grand Exotic Group, five acrobats riding one horse, the comedian and mime Andrey Jigalov and contortionists Duo Miracle.
In their traditional Christmas card, issued on Friday, December 22, Prince Albert and Princess Charlene and their children, hereditary Prince Jacques and Princess Gabriella, wish everyone a Merry Christmas and beautiful festive season.
Photo: Vanessa Von Zitzewit /Palais PrincierPhoto: Vanessa Von Zitzewit /Palais PrincierPhoto: Facebook Eric Mathon/Palais Princier de Monaco
On Wednesday, December 20, Prince Albert and Princess Charlene warmly welcomed young Monegasques for the traditional Christmas celebration at the palace.
After watching a performance of Palladienne dance in the palace courtyard, with Santa in attendance, some 500 petite guests, aged 5 to 12, attended a magic show in the throne room, where they were also treated to a snack.
They youngsters also received Christmas gifts from the princely couple, and the children of Princess Stephanie, Camille Gottlieb and Louis Ducruet.
Hereditary Prince Jacques and Princess Gabriella, who celebrated their third birthday on December 10, did not attend the festive events as they, reportedly, have a touch of the flu.
(L-R): Dr Kohei Ogawa (Robotics and AI Researcher, University of Osaka), Henk Potts, (Director of Global Research, Barclays Private Bank), Jean Castellini (Minister of Finance and Economy), Philippe Gudin, (Chief EMEA Economist, Barclays Investment Bank), Geminoid Android Hiroshi Ishiguro and Francesco Grosoli (CEO, Private Bank EMEA & Monaco Branch, Barclays Private Bank). Photo: Oznerol
Barclays hosted its annual client lunch on Tuesday, December 12, and welcomed 120 guests at the Salle Eiffel at the Hotel Hermitage. With the theme “The Future of Artificial Intelligence” Henk Potts, Director of Global Research Barclays Private Bank, moderated the two and a half hour event that focused on Artificial Intelligence’s influence in the Fintech and Finance industry.
Francesco Grosoli, CEO, Private Bank EMEA & Monaco Branch, Barclays Private Bank, delivered the official welcome to the investment conference and told the audience that Barclays works across the whole of the Barclays network and beyond, bringing together the right people, ideas and opportunities to connect clients with new possibilities. Mr Grosoli also commented on the launch of the Barclays Private Bank advertising campaign saying that big challenges suddenly seem small when able to exploit the power of collaboration.
Philippe Gudin, Chief EMEA Economist, Barclays Investment Bank, provided an in-depth economic outlook outlining how global growth was on its way to 4 percent. For the first time since the great recession following the financial crisis, growth is totally synchronised across the world, and this is creating a virtuous circle, with strong global demand and accelerating global trade boosting inventories and investment, especially in developed countries.
Photo: Oznerol
Nevertheless, and despite the labour market tightening in the wake of economic expansion, global inflation is picking up only very gradually, owing to temporary factors such as technological changes and globalisation, which are holding up wage inflation. Consequently, central banks are embarking into a gradual normalisation of their monetary policies, although the ECB and the Bank of Japan are still lagging behind, with still negative interest rates and large provision of liquidity, which could, if maintained too long, affect financial stability.
One of the main risks ahead is related to the uncertainty around Brexit, which has not disappeared after the agreement on the divorce settlement. Our economic scenario is based on the assumption of a hard but orderly Brexit, with a transition period that would avoid the UK economy falling off a cliff on March 29, 2019, but we may know only late in 2018 whether an agreement is reached.
Dr Mike Lynch, Founder of Invoke Capital, discussed with guests Artificial Intelligence (AI) opportunities and its impact on investing. He said that computers in many areas are becoming more accurate than humans, a process that could dramatically alter corporate business models and have a profound effect on society. While not an investor in cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin, he did say that Blockchain technology offers some attractive investment opportunities.
Jean Castellini, Monaco Minister of Finance and Economy, spoke on the subject of “MonacoTech and the Principality’s Financial Ecosystem”. He presented the MonacoTech startup program launched early November. The main goal of the incubator is to bring consultancy expertise by various differing methods and allow young CEOs to get tips about managing and developing a company.
The Minister of Finance and Economy concluded his speech with an update on the latest developments in the area of tax transparency, with a focus on the recent publication by the European Commission of its black and grey lists. He noted with satisfaction that the efforts of the Principality, as far as exchange of information and international cooperation are concerned, were now fully conformed by entities such as the European Union (indeed Monaco is not on the lists recently published).
The last speaker of the event was Dr Kohei Ogawa, Robotics and AI researcher from the University of Osaka who covered the topic of “Human, Android, and Connecting Technology” and was helped by a Geminoid android that entertained the audience.
A geminoid is a special type of android that doesn’t just broadly resemble a human; it is meant to look like a specific person and in this case it was the twin of its creator Hiroshi Ishiguro, who is the director of the Intelligent Robotics Laboratory, part of the Department of Systems Innovation in the Graduate School of Engineering Science at Osaka University.
In closing the Global Outlook 2018, Mr Potts commented that the outlook for the global economy is strong and corporate earnings should continue to thrive in 2018 which should be positive for equity market investors particularly in the US and Europe. Mr Pots wished everyone a happy and prosperous New Year from the Barclays Private Bank team.
Otto Kern with Ehefrau Naomi Valeska at UNESCO Charity Gala 2012. Photo: Michael Schilling
The Public Prosecutor Office in Monaco has issued the authorisation to bury the body of German designer Otto Kern, who died December 10.
An initial investigation into the circumstances of the death of the long-time Monaco resident has ruled out the influence of alcohol and drugs, bild.de was first to report.
The 67-year-old designer fell from his thirteenth floor apartment on avenue Princess Grace, and his body was found the following morning on a first floor terrace.
The exact circumstance of Otto Kern’s death is still to be determined.
Otto Kern is survived by his fourth wife, Naomi Valeska, two ex-wives (his third wife Daniela Filipovic died, 32, in 2004 in a car accident) and three children, Otto Amadeus, Olivier and Candy, from his first two marriages.
Model Sarah Kern, was married to the Kern from 1995 to 1999. She told bunte.de, “He was a rock star. He looked like a rock star, he lived like a rock star. He was the most charismatic, handsome man I know. He was a great person – and it’s a big loss.”
