Month: July 2018

The 13th edition of the Monte-Carlo Jazz Festival will be longer than previous editions, spanning several autumn weekends.

Jean-René Palacio, artistic director of the SBM, said that the Festival will continue into December, as more artists have been booked for the popular annual season. The main focus of the Festival will be the Salle Garnier, although the Festival will open on October 27 with Gregory Porter and a Night of Blues at the Salle des Etoiles, providing a natural succession to the summer concerts.

The next day, Bobby McFerrin, of ‘Don’t Worry, Be Happy,’ fame will head the bill, while on November 18 Russian pianist Denis Matsuev will be the guest of the festival, tackling an array of jazz standards.

Among the highlights of the festival will be the night of celebration on November 23 of the 130 years of the relationship between Monaco and New Orleans, birthplace of Princess Alice. “Rather than invite artists from New Orleans, we chose to give Stephane Sanseverino carte blanche to reinterpret the music of the region,” said Jean-René Palacio.

Fortunately, there were no injuries in the storm that battered the east of the Alpes Maritimes on Monday afternoon, but with gusts that peaked at 120 kph in Sospel, and 103 kph in Menton, there was considerable damage to property.

Trees fell and blocked roads, mainly on more exposed higher ground, and several roofs were damaged. A gas mains was ruptured when two trees fell in Menton itself.

In Monaco, the biggest problem reported to the authorities was the flooding of a number of cellars. At Nice Airport, the temperature fell from 28 to 16 degrees as the storm approached.

The weather outlook for the second half of July promises highs of 28-30 degrees, with night-time temperatures falling to between 20 and 22.

Aleksandr Golovin had been linked with a move to Chelsea, but AS Monaco’s Vadim Vasilyev has revealed that Monaco have made a move to bag the Russian midfielder.

The Ligue 1 club’s vice-president said: “We made CSKA a proposal for Golovin. I cannot say the amount of the transfer, but it is substantial.

“I think in this situation the transition to Monaco is the most correct option for Golovin. To go immediately from Russia to a top club in the leading European league is very risky. We have been able to launch the career of young players. It is enough to look at Kylian Mbappe,” Vasilyev added.

Both Chelsea and Arsenal are reported to have been chasing the 22 year-old. Golovin has been acclaimed as one of the stars of Russia’s success in making it to the quarter-finals at their home World Cup.

From July 5 to 14 a Monegasque delegation led by Isabelle Rosabrunetto, Director General of the Department of External Relations and Cooperation, went on a mission to Mongolia, at the invitation of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Damdin Tsogtbaatar, in order to to take stock of the help that Monaco has provided since 2008.

This working visit, which takes place ten years after the Official Visit of HSH the Sovereign Prince to Mongolia, made it clear that the results are very positive. Since the beginning of the scheme, assistance from the Government of Monaco to Mongolia has amounted to 3.8 million euros. Between 2015 and 2017, 45,000 people benefited directly from this assistance, which enabled them to improve their living conditions, indirectly helping 140,000 people.

The projects supported are in health, education, socio-economic integration, food security and cultural cooperation, in connection with the Museum of Prehistoric Anthropology of Monaco.

The majority of the projects have been monitored and in some cases adopted by the Mongolian national and local authorities.

During the visit, the Monegasque delegation also met UNICEF representative in Mongolia and discussed the innovative actions supported by Monaco, particularly those related to the setting-up of itinerant schools in traditional yurts.

In 2018, two development aid projects are still being supported by the Monegasque Corporation: support for nomadic pastoralists and preschool education.

Monaco Telecom has reached an agreement with MTN for the acquisition of all the shares of MTN Cyprus, the fastest growing telecom operator in Cyprus, with more than 400,000 customers and a turnover of 123 million euros in 2017. Launched in July, 2004, MTN Cyprus operates the second mobile phone license in Cyprus. The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2018.

This acquisition is part of Monaco Telecom’s international development strategy, which is being pursued by its shareholders, NJJ and the Government of the Principality of Monaco. It aims to build a regional presence in the Mediterranean basin. The national operator’s proven innovation know-how in mobile, internet and television, combined with its experience in international markets, allows it to invest in new countries to bring high quality telecommunication services to other markets, Monaco Telecom said.

Martin Péronnet, General Manager of Monaco Telecom added: “We are very pleased to have found this agreement to acquire MTN Cyprus. The company has an excellent management team that has developed a high quality 4G network and attracted a growing number of customers in recent years. MTN Cyprus is perfectly aligned with our ambition to offer our customers high performance fixed and mobile services.”

The division is outside the Johannesburg-based carrier’s core territories of Africa and the Middle East and had 426,000 customers at the end of March, the fewest of the company’s 22 markets. The deal values MTN Cyprus at about eight times 2017 earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation, the company said.

The move is a “small but welcome step,” Bloomberg Intelligence analyst John Davies said in a note. “MTN needs to simplify its operations, so selling the Cyprus unit at a decent valuation is a good start.”

According to Bloomberg, MTN will let Monaco Telecom continue to use the MTN brand in Cyprus for as many as three years in return for a commercial fee. Akira Partners LLP advised MTN on the deal, while Lazard worked for Monaco Telecom. The Monaco company is 55 percent owned by French billionaire Xavier Niel, founder and largest shareholder of Paris-based telecommunications provider Iliad SA.

Monaco has launched its annual summer campaign to encourage the owners and crews of pleasure craft to recycle their rubbish. “I sail, I sort my waste,” continues at the Port de Fontvieille and Port Hercule.

Participating in the scheme are the Urban Planning Department, the Monaco Ports Exploitation Company, and Clean Gestures, together with the RAMOGE Agreement. The aim is to reduce marine litter by distributing bags for waste sorting.

At the request of the Prince’s Government, the bags offered to boaters are no longer made of recycled plastic but of biodegradable material, in order to meet the environmental requirements of the Principality. The harbour master of Monaco provides two collection bags, one for recyclable waste and the other for rubbish than can not be recycled.

This initiative aims to encourage everyone to respect the marine environment. It also meets the commitments binding the ports of Monaco to the “Clean Ports” certification.  More info: www.ramoge.org