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Month: March 2021

Princess saddened at loss of Zulu King

by: Stephanie Horsman
17/03/2021

Princess Charlene and Prince Albert II are in mourning after learning of the death of their great friend, Goodwill Zwelithini, King of the Zulu nation, who died aged 72.
The Zulu King Goodwill Zwelithini passed away on 12th March in South Africa, prompting an outpouring of grief from the Princess.
“King Zwelithini was an honourable man with a pure heart,” Princess Charlene said of her friend on social media. “We shared many special moments over the years which I will forever hold dear to me. I will miss my friend and pray that the Zulu Royal Family find solace and comfort during this time.”
The King had been ill for some time with diabetes and succumbed to issues relating to the disease in hospital. He was 72.

Known for being an influential and traditional ruler, he presided over South Africa’s largest ethnic group, the Zulus, for almost half a century. Despite having no real power, he was the moral and spiritual compass for his people.
He advocated for preserving cultural identity and revived nearly-lost cultural practices by giving them a modern twist. One example is the Umhlanga, or Reed Dance Ceremony, which celebrated virginity amongst girls and raised awareness about HIV/AIDS in a part of the world which sees some of the globe’s highest infection rates.
King Goodwill was also a supporter of the Princess Charlene of Monaco Foundation over the years. The organisation took to Twitter saying, “Princess Charlene and Prince Albert of Monaco are saddened to learn of the death of Zulu King Goodwill Zwelithini. Beyond the collaboration with the Princess Charlene of Monaco Foundation, King Zwelithini was a close friend of Princess Charlene.”
Leading figures from around the world offered public condolences, including former US ambassador to South Africa Lana Marks, who said, “I’m saddened to hear of the passing of His Majesty King Goodwill Zwelithini Kabhekuzulu. In 2019, I had the honour of visiting his home in Kwazulu-natal, where we discussed his leadership towards HIV epidemic control. May his memory be a blessing to the entire Amazulu nation.”
Australian High Commissioner Gita Kamath also had kind words, saying, “My condolences to the Zulu people on the passing of King Goodwill Zwelithini. Just last weekend I visited the epic Zulu war battlefields in Kwazulu, place of heaven, which helped put the courage and pride of the Zulu nation on the global map. May his Majesty rest in peace.”
 
 

Celebrate Forest Day with a hike

by: Stephanie Horsman
17/03/2021

International Day of the Forests is being commemorated on Sunday in Monaco with events including a free organised walk covering the loop from Mont-Gros to Roquebrune Cap-Martin.

Sunday 21st March is International Day of the Forests, and to celebrate the Urban Planning Department and the National Forestry Office (ONF) are organising events related to forestry and trees.

The highlight is guided tours from Mont-Gros to Roquebrune Cap-Martin, a two hour hike of approximately 3.7 kilometres, with a rise to a summit of 1.7 kilometres above sea level.

The tours will give visitors a chance to discover the new changes recently made to this natural site by the ONF and the Principality, such as an insect hotel, a water mirror, and an arboretum.

There are two opportunities to join. The walks take place at 9:30am and 4:30pm, are free, but space is limited and reservations are required.

Additionally, there will be a workshop to explain the latest actions undertaken by Monaco and the ONF. They will be held at the entry to the Jardins Saint-Martin in Monaco Ville. The public is invited to be a part of activities related to forest and tree heritage, and these too are free and open to all.

The International Day of the Forest is a yearly event sponsored by the Food and Agricultural Organisation of the United Nations. Since 2012, the day is meant to celebrate the importance of forests as integral parts of our ecosystems. Nations are encouraged to “undertake local, national and international efforts” involving forests and trees, such as tree-planting campaigns and public awareness events.

Themes are chosen each year and in 2021 the theme is ‘Forest restoration: a path to recovery and well-being’.

Sustainable forest management helps combat climate change and contributes to prosperity through job creation, as well as producing goods and services for sustainable development. Roughly 1.6 billion people depend on forests for food, shelter, energy, income and medicines, and 80% of the world’s land-living organisms reside in forests.

At present, the world loses 10 million hectares of forest each year, equal to the size of Iceland, accounting for 12% to 20% of greenhouse gas emissions annually. Deforestation has also degraded about two billion hectares of land, an area larger than South America.

For those unable to attend the local events, other ways to participate can be found at http://www.fao.org/international-day-of-forests/en/

 

Photo source: Pixabay

 

Monaco Boost making progress

by: Stephanie Horsman
17/03/2021

Monaco Boost is now on its way to becoming a reality, with the allocation of space within the incubator to Monegasque entrepreneurs.

Minister of Finance and the Economy Jean Castellini and President of the National Council Stéphane Valeri met on Tuesday to allocate offices and stations to those interested in Monaco Boost, the Principality’s new collaborative workspace centre and business incubator for Monegasque nationals.

The site, located in Fontvieille, features furnished work areas, private meeting rooms and offices, an outdoor terrace, a “chill space” and a collective cafeteria corner.

It is “a bright and spacious working environment, creator of synergy and conducive to the development of new business,” boasts the website.

Amongst the candidates, it was fairly evenly split between new companies and start-ups. A full 48% are in the process of being created, whilst 52% are already established. The companies come from a variety of sectors and “a large part” of the applicants are looking to benefit from the offices to be able to recruit staff in the short or medium term.  

The first businesses are expected to move into the springboard facility in April and are expected to be an integral part of the Principality’s economic recovery.

 

Photo by Manuel Vitali / Government Communication Department 

 
 

A 2021 Monaco podium finish for Leclerc?

by: Cassandra Tanti
17/03/2021

After a series of “unlucky” races in the Principality, Formula One driver Charles Leclerc is hoping the 2021 Monaco Grand Prix will deliver the hometown podium finish that he has always dreamed of.
The rising Formula One star gave a virtual press conference on Tuesday and, when questioned by Monaco Life about the prospect of winning his first top three position at this year’s Monaco Grand Prix, responded: “It will mean the world to me to finally have such a great result in front of my home crowd, in front of my family and friends, and my teachers who are watching the GP and will maybe now understand why I was missing so much school when I was younger. But it means a lot. More than anywhere else.”
It will be the perfect evolution of a dream for the 23-year-old Monegasque, which began many years before in the Principality.
“My first memories were when I was four or five years old and I was watching Formula One from the balcony of my best friend’s house, and I remember dreaming of being one of those drivers. Now I finally have the opportunity (…) to realise my dream as part of the Scuderia Ferrari team.”
And he has every chance of turning the dream of a Monaco podium finish into reality this year with Ferrari’s new SF21, together with new team mate Carlos Sainz whom Leclerc says he has already bonded well with.
“I don’t think I have spent as much time with any other team mate as I have with Carlos,” said Leclerc. “We have spent a lot of time in Maranello since the beginning of the season trying to understand where we can improve and what areas we need to push in… so it has been very interesting. But apart from that, we also get on very well. We have similar ages, similar interests, and we’ve had a lot of good laughs already.”
While early tests in the SF21 have proven positive, Leclerc says only time will tell if the car manages to turn the team’s fortunes around after a disastrous 2020 season which pushed Ferrari to sixth in the championship – their worst finish since 1980.
“The car felt good in Bahrain, but again a car that feels good doesn’t mean it is necessarily fast. So, I will wait before making any further judgements.
“But the first test went well, we did all the kilometres that we wanted to do, which was the most important thing for us, gathering as much data as possible before the first race. Now I am just really looking forward to the first race to finally see where we are compared to the others.”
 
Relate stories:

Ferrari reveals Leclerc’s new wheels

Government: Monaco Grand Prix is a go

 
Photo @Scuderia Ferrari
 
 

WHO examines AstraZeneca, advises its use for now

by: Cassandra Tanti
16/03/2021

World Health Organisation safety experts and the European Medicines Agency are meeting separately to discuss the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine, whose usage has been suspended in several countries, including France.
Germany, Italy and France are the latest to join a growing list of countries to halt the rollout of the coronavirus vaccine over concerns about blood clots.
It deals a major blow to the worldwide immunisation campaign for a virus that has infected 210 million people and killed more than 2.6 million globally.
On Monday, France’s President Emmanuel Macron said that the country has decided to suspend the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine “as a precaution”, adding that authorities hope to “resume its use quickly” if the European Medicines Agency gives the all clear.
The Principality of Monaco is set to receive 7,200 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine by the end of March.
The World Health Organisation (WHO), AstraZeneca, and the European Medicines Agency (EMA) have all insisted the shot is safe, and that there is no link between the vaccine and reported blood clots.
The pharmaceutical company said the 15 incidences of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and 22 events of pulmonary embolism reported among those given the vaccine was “much lower than would be expected to occur naturally in a general population”.
WHO chief scientist Soumya Swaminathan said Monday that he doesn’t want people to panic and that so far, they have not found an association between the events and the vaccine, adding, “For the time being, we recommend that countries continue vaccinating with AstraZeneca.”
Meanwhile, the EMA said in a statement that “many thousands of people develop blood clots annually in the EU for different reasons” and that the number of incidents in vaccinated people “seems not to be higher than that seen in the general population”.
It added that “the benefits of the AstraZeneca vaccine in preventing Covid-19, with its associated risk of hospitalisation and death, outweigh the risks of side effects.”
The EMA will hold an extraordinary meeting on Thursday to decide on any further action.
 
Photo by Reuters
 
Related stories:

Monaco to boost arsenal with AstraZeneca vaccine

 
 

Covid self-tests coming to France

by: Stephanie Horsman
16/03/2021

Director General of Health Jérôme Salomon has announced the imminent arrival of Covid-19 home-tests in France as part of the government’s “test, alert, protect” strategy.

Mr Salomon told BFM TV on Sunday that self-tests are coming to pharmacies, and possibly even supermarkets, and the High Authority of Health is expected to inform the public this week as to which tests will be for sale and whether they will be recommended for businesses and schools.

“It will be fairly easy to access,” Salomon said. “The principle of the self-test is precisely that we can have it with the family. It will be in supermarkets or pharmacies in any case, if it is easiest. It’s going to be very easy to organise.”

These rapid antigen tests are done using the same general nasal swab technology currently in use, but they have been adapted for use at home. Patients will use a cotton swab, similar to the professional version only shorter, to rub the inside of the nostrils. The swab must then be soaked in a solution that detects the presence of the virus, which happens in less than half an hour.

To read the results, either the solution is poured onto a paper slip, not unlike a pregnancy test, or people can use a downloaded app to help identify what a positive or negative result looks like.

Tests such as these are authorised already in several countries such as the United Kingdom, Austria, Germany and Portugal.

Effectiveness is a concern, of course, and for France to approve these kinds of tests, they must prove to have a sensitivity level of 80% or more.

Salomon was clear on this point, saying, “The real question for me is the scientific evaluation. We cannot authorise tests which would give false negatives, or false positives. We must therefore be certain that these tests are reliable and that the French can have a confirmation of the test.”

Another point to be considered has to do with tracing. French health authorities question whether people who test positive will actually warn their contacts. The results-via-app system could be a good tool for this, in that it would assist in tracing positive cases without relying on the public to offer the news themselves.

The tests are expected to be covered 100% by national health insurance, therefore they will cost users nothing. They simply need to present a valid carte vital to the vendor and they will be permitted to purchase a test over the counter. For those not covered by national health, the estimated cost should be €10 or less.

 

Photo by Mika Baumeister on Unsplash