Day: 8 January 2018

Prince Albert will visit Burkina Faso from January 10 to 12, according to sources close to the Burkina Faso Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.

Prince Albert will visit the West African country as the guest of its president, Roch Kaboré. Among other appointments, the Sovereign is expected to visit a training centre for students specialising in health, in hospitality and sustainable agriculture.

Monaco has been involved in long-term projects in Burkina Faso, including an extensive programme to develop the country’s emergency fire service capabilities. The Principality has also helped in fighting severe malaria among children in hospital and in preventing malnutrition.

In addition, Monaco has helped improve literacy and has donated cash towards the building of a secondary school. The biggest single grant, of €500,000, has been to help street children in Barnako and Ouagadougou.

Burkina Faso is a very poor country, even by West African standards, with more than 80 percent of the population depending on subsistence farming. The help that Monaco is providing is making a great deal of difference to the daily lives of many people.

As a prelude to this visit, on January 7, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs travelled to Loumbila, a few kilometres from the capital, to visit the new Aquatic Rescue and Training Centre, which aims to materialise cooperation between Burkina Faso and the Principality of Monaco.

The centre’s first stone was laid on June 27, 2016, and the building is the former Monegasque Pavilion from the Expo Milano 2015, which was relocated to Loumbila and has been reconstructed as a six hectare first aid and CPR training complex, as financed by the Princess Charlene of Monaco Foundation. This will allow the training of “rescuers and lifeguards from Burkina Faso and other countries in the region”. Director of Aquatic Rescue Centre of Monaco, Pierre Frolla, an Ambassador to the Foundation, as well as four-time freediving world record holder, has overseen the development.

Monies raised from the 2017 Riviera Water Bike Challenge were put towards this project, a joint partnership with the Princess Charlene of Monaco Foundation, the Monaco Red Cross and the Burkinabe Red Cross.

Its inauguration is planned over the next week.

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https://monacolife.net/15099/

The upmarket resort of Gstaad has an online problem, and a person living in Monaco is to blame, according to local news reports.

In 2006, the Gstaad-Saanenland Tourist Office forgot to renew its domain name, gstaad.com. The domain was put up for sale by auction, and bought by the Monaco resident for €26,330 ($31,500).

A year ago, the Gstaad took the case to the Commercial Court for the Canton of Bern and lost its case at the State Arbitration Court. The office has now appealed to the World Intellectual Property Organisation, one of 17 specialised offshoots of the United Nations and the accepted forum for rulings on domain rights.

A verdict is expected shortly.

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Monaco delegates in Switzerland and Italy this week

Monaco’s Junior Chamber International (JCI) proudly announced that its long-time member Kevin Hin was elected 2018 JCI Executive Vice-President for Europe during the JCI World Congress 2017 in Amsterdam.

Since its establishment in 1963, none of the Monaco Junior Chamber of Commerce members has ever occupied such a position on an international level. This appointment places Mr Hin as Number Two on the JCI Executive Committee, just behind Brian Lim from JCI Philippines, World President of the organisation for 2018.

A polyglot and restless traveller, Mr Hin, has all the characteristics to fit this task. Born in London and raised in Monaco, the 38-year-old went to the exclusive FANB middle school and the Franciscans high school, a schooling that permitted him to learn French at an early age, and even the Monegasque language. He went back to England to obtain a Masters in International Finance from the London School of Economics.

Thanks to his multicultural background, Kevin is open-minded, passionate as a traveller and deeply attached to traditions. That’s why after finishing his studies, in 1989, he decided to settle back in Monaco to serve his beloved country.

Mr Hin works as Commercial Assistant for the Monegasque jeweller AMP Monaco and is in charge of APM’s commercial development in Germany, Austria, Central and Oriental Europe.

Since he entered JCI Monaco in 2003, Kevin Hin has dedicated his time and energy to the movement. He has been elected National President in 2010 and Senator for life after having organised, with his team, the JCI World Conference in Monaco. He has already represented Monaco on an international level by serving as JCI Vice-President for eight European countries in 2016.

The JCI counts 160.000 members in 120 countries and aims is to develop entrepreneurship and young leaders’ abilities to impact our societies positively.

As Executive President for JCI Europe, Mr Hin will be in charge of 30.000 members in 32 countries. He will also Preside at the European Conference that will take place in Riga in June 2018 and the President’s reunion in Zagreb in February 2018.

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A Monaco Yacht Show Series Original: Irina Peterson

The number of asylum applications in France has increased by 17 percent in 2017 compared to 2016, putting more pressure on the asylum system than had been expected.

The figure does not include tens of thousands of claimants who come under the Dublin agreements, that is, who have been returned to France where a first application was made.

According to Pascal Brice, Director of the French Office for the Protection of Refugees and Stateless Persons (OFPRA), the number of official asylum seekers is at a historic high, passing the 100,000 threshold for the first time.

Of the total of 100,412 requests, the largest group by first application was not from those directly displaced by war or famine, but those who first registered in Albania. However, since Albania is considered a country of “safe origin”, OFPRA has granted protection only to 6.5 percent of those applicants. Afghanistan represented 5,987 claims, while Haiti took third place with 4,934 applications.

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News

As of 9 pm Monday, arrivals at Nice-Côte d’Azur airport are showing delays up to 90 minutes, and departures are now starting to board. All SNCF service, along the Cannes-Ventimiglia line, are fifteen to thirty minutes behind schedule.

Météo-France has put Monaco and the Alpes-Maritimes on Orange Alert from 2 pm on Monday, January 8, to Tuesday, January 9, at 6 am, with heavy rain and ENE wind gusts up to 100 km/h expected.

Not only should residents of the Principality take the usual precautions to prevent falling objects, particularly from exposed balconies, but people should also be careful venturing out of doors during this period, the authorities said, as a strong swell, with waves up to 3 meters, can quickly affect seaside roads and walkways.

Forecasters warn also of flood risks, and expect at least 80mm of rain on the coast, which could reach 130mm to 140mm inland. There’s also a chance of hail.

Heavy snow, 60cm to 80cm, is expected in the Mercantour region, which could bring the risk of avalanche.

As of 1 pm, flights in and out of Nice-Côte d’Azur airport have been moderately delayed by up to 20 minutes, and SNCF train service has been relatively on schedule, with only a few delays and cancellations.

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Monaco's weather a major draw