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Month: May 2021

Roca team takes win over Limoges

by: Stephanie Horsman
24/05/2021

AS Monaco Basketball secured another victory in their second of three straight away games as they blasted Limoges CSP out the water 75 to 59.

The Roca team took things in their stride against Limoges in the Salle Beaublanc on Saturday night, holding the lead in all but one quarter and ending the game with a solid 75 to 59 win.

The good news kept coming as Monaco’s Abdou Ndoye opened scoring and Mathias Lessort was able to return after his ankle injury, though Coach Zvezdan Mitrovic was not on hand after being suspended this game in the fallout from Le Mans.

After being behind in the initial minutes of the match, the Roca team quickly picked up the pace and took the lead after an inspiring layup from Marcos Knight gave them a one point advantage. Ibou Fall Faye followed that up with a three-pointer and it went on like this until the first quarter buzzer sounded, leaving Monaco in a good position with a healthy 23 to 12 lead.

The second quarter saw the boys lag behind, due largely to Limoges player Philip Scrubb’s superb efforts, but they held onto a one point lead as the halftime buzzer sounded.

After halftime, Monaco took back a more solid lead and continued the pace, never letting their advantage go and ending the third quarter with a score of 57 to 48. This lead continued to the end, and expanded, with the team winning 75 to 59.

“I would like to congratulate my players,” said Assistant Coach Mirko Ocokoljic after the game. “It is not easy to play every other day and it is always difficult to face CSP Limoges in the hall. It was important to be aggressive and that’s what we achieved. The team made the difference in the 3rd quarter and was able to retain this advantage for this important victory.”

ASM made 17 of 33 shots on the night, with seven for 24 in three point range. They recovered a huge 35 rebounds, had seven steals, picked up 10 stray balls and had nine assists.

Marcos Knight was high scorer with 16 points to his credit, followed by Brenden Frazier with 12 and Rob Gray with 11.

The Roca boys will see if their on-the-road winning streak continues on Tuesday when they play in Bourg-en-Bresse against JL at 6pm.

 
 
 
Monaco Life with AS Monaco Basketball press release, photo by AS Monaco Basketball
 
 
 

Verstappen claims Monaco victory after Leclerc fails to take start

by: Cassandra Tanti
23/05/2021

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen claimed his maiden Monaco Grand Prix win over the Ferrari of Carlos Sainz and McLaren’s Lando Norris, with Ferrari polesitter and home hero Charles Leclerc failing to take the start after suffering a pre-race driveshaft issue.
Starting effectively from pole after Leclerc’s cruel side-lining, Verstappen out-muscled Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas off the line to take a lead that he would only briefly relinquish in the pit stops, Verstappen claiming his second win of the season, and his first ever podium in Monaco.
“You always want to win this Grand Prix. I remember when I was very little already watching this Grand Prix. Standing here I’m very proud but I’m also thinking ahead it’s still a very long season. Of course, it’s a great way to continue,” said Max Verstappen after the race.
In an off-day for world champions Mercedes, a disgruntled Hamilton could do no better than seventh (the same position he started) to lose his lead of the championship to Verstappen – who now heads Hamilton 105 points to 101 – while Bottas had even worse luck, after a stuck right-front tyre in his pit stop forced him into retirement.
That left former McLaren team mates Sainz and Norris P2 and P3, Sainz now at Ferrari salvaging the day for the Scuderia to take his first podium in red, while some brilliant strategy from Red Bull allowed Sergio Perez to overcut his way from P8 to P4 in the pit stops.
Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel did similar to take P5, for by far his and his team’s best finish of the year – Vettel maintaining his record of never being classified lower than P5 in a race he’s finished in Monaco – while AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly was able to hold off Hamilton’s Mercedes to claim P6, Hamilton salvaging a bonus point for fastest lap after a late second stop.
Starting on hard tyres from P13 paid dividends for Lance Stroll, who made a 58-lap stint work to claim P8 and add to Aston Martin’s joy in Monte Carlo. He finished ahead of the Alpine of Esteban Ocon, while Alfa Romeo’s Antonio Giovinazzi took Alfa Romeo’s first point of the season after claiming 10th.
For Verstappen, though, Leclerc’s DNS in Monaco provided him with a golden opportunity – and the Dutchman didn’t falter, defiantly hitting back in the title fight against Hamilton, and adding a Monaco Grand Prix win to his CV for good measure.
 
Monaco Life with Formula One, photo source: Colombo Images 
 
 

Charles Leclerc forced out of F1 home race

by: Cassandra Tanti
23/05/2021

Ferrari pole sitter Charles Leclerc has been withdrawn from his home Monaco Grand Prix because of a driveshaft problem.
Ferrari said the driveshaft problem, which emerged just before the race, was impossible to fix in time for the start.
His withdrawal was a shock as the team had, just hours before, cleared his car to race in the iconic race.
The 23-year-old had smashed into the barriers lining the street circuit with 18 seconds left on the clock during qualifying on Saturday, the impact raising fears that the car could need a new gearbox and incur a five-place grid drop.
Ferrari raised his hopes some hours later on Saturday by saying an initial inspection had “not revealed any serious damage”. But further checks on Sunday were deemed necessary.
On Sunday morning, “following further in-depth checks”, “no apparent defects were found,” Ferrari said in a statement.
They insisted: “The Monegasque driver will start today’s race from pole position, as per the qualifying result.”
But just an hour later, and  as the 3pm start time approached, came news that his car would not be leaving the pits.
“Charles will not start the race due to an issue with the left driveshaft which is impossible to fix in time for the start of the race,” said the team.
For Leclerc, it was a cruel end to his dream of winning his home grand prix.
He was to have joined Red Bull’s title contender Max Verstappen on the front row, with Mercedes’ championship leader Lewis Hamilton lining up a distant seventh for the fifth round of the season.
Ferrari have not won a race since 2019 and the only Monegasque to win his home grand prix was Louis Chiron in 1931, long before the Formula One world championship came into existence in 1950.
Overtaking is extremely difficult on the tight and twisty harbourside street circuit, making grid position and strategy of critical importance.
 
 
(REUTERS, AFP)
 
Photo source: Scuderia Ferrari Press Office
 
 

Lifting of EU quarantine rules likely by July

by: Cassandra Tanti
21/05/2021

European Union citizens will soon be able to travel freely throughout the bloc’s 27 nations without the need to quarantine, under a new deal signed on Thursday.
European Union legislators and member countries found a compromise Thursday for launching Covid-19 certificates before the height of the summer holiday season, a move aimed at boosting travel and tourism following the restrictions of the coronavirus pandemic.
The various players managed to reconcile their differences during another round of discussions, paving the way for the trans-border travel passes to be introduced. Officials said the system should be up and running by 1st July.
“This agreement is the first step to get the Schengen Area back on track,” European Parliament rapporteur Juan Fernando Lopez Aguilar said, referring to Europe’s passport-free travel zone. “It will make all the difference, and it won’t be repeating the nightmare of Summer 2020.”
The European Commission said the certificates will be issued in digital format and designed to be shown either on smartphones or paper. It guaranteed that “a very high level of data protection will be ensured.”
When it proposed the certificate plan in March, the executive commission said the documents would be given to EU residents who can prove they have been vaccinated, as well as those who tested negative for the virus or had proof they recovered from COVID-19.
EU lawmakers and nations agreed on that, but the European Parliament insisted that COVID-19 certificates should be enough to allow EU citizens to move about freely in all member countries, and that governments shouldn’t be allowed to impose extra restrictions on certificate-holders, such as quarantines and more tests.
Since border controls are a national responsibility, EU member nations were not ready to relinquish their prerogatives. Another roadblock was the price of tests, as lawmakers insisted the tests should be free of charge,
Under the compromise sealed Thursday, the European Commission said it would allocate 100 million euros in EU funds for the purchase of virus tests compatible with the certificates.
“This should particularly benefit persons who cross borders daily or frequently to go to work or school, visit close relatives, seek medical care, or to take care of loved ones,” the parliament said.
Negotiators agreed that, if necessary, additional funding should be mobilized, subject to approval by the budgetary authorities.
As for the extra travel requirements that EU members might be tempted to introduce, the 27 nations agreed “they shall refrain” from imposing additional restrictions “unless they are necessary and proportionate to safeguard public health.”
The proposal should now go to member states for formal adoption and to the European Parliament for ratification during its next plenary session in June. The EU’s executive branch has already started working on the initiative’s technical aspects with EU countries.
“Work still remains,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said. “At EU level, the system will be ready in the next few days. It is now crucial that all member states press ahead with the roll-out of their national systems to ensure that the system can be up and running as soon as possible. This is what EU citizens rightly expect.”
All vaccines authorised by the European Medicines Agency — currently, that’s the ones made by Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson – will be automatically recognised. National governments will be allowed to include other vaccines which haven’t received EU market authorisation.
Under the provisional agreement, the certificate regulation would be in place for 12 months.
 
(AP)
 
Photo by Dennis Gecaj on Unsplash
 
 
 

New F1 ‘Spirit of Grace’ award revealed

by: Cassandra Tanti
21/05/2021

The Princess Grace Foundation announced during the Monaco Grand Prix that a new Grace Influential Impact Award will be handed out during next year’s event to the F1 team or organisation that demonstrates the highest commitment to positive impact through sustainability.
Grace Influential is an initiative led by the Princess Grace Foundation USA which oversees Princess Grace’s charitable legacy. The foundation is recognised for its prestigious awards program celebrating excellence and positive change.
Now, it is initiating the Grace Influential Impact Award, named for and inspired by Princess Grace of Monaco in honour of her commitment to excellence, the global culture of philanthropy she ignited from Monaco, and the enduring example she set, as an iconic global leader, for positive impact.
“The Grace Influential Impact Award is a prime example of our dedicated commitment to continuing Princess Grace’s legacy of positive change and we applaud Formula One for its leadership in impact and sustainability,” said Brisa Carleton, CEO of the Princess Grace Foundation USA and Grace Influential.
According to Brisa Carleton, Grace Influential recognises Formula One’s commitment to and investment in pioneering technology and innovation toward sustainability, philanthropic initiatives, and positive societal impact. The Grace Influential Impact Award celebrates the Formula One team or related organisation which best embodies these values and strives to make the world a better place.
A judging panel of independent luminaries with a focus on global social responsibility will be announced in the coming months. The first Grace Influential Impact Award will be presented at a dedicated ceremony during the Monaco Grand Prix 2022.
 
READ ALSO: Grace Kelly, the influencer
 
 
 

Monaco celebrates World Bee Day

by: Stephanie Horsman
21/05/2021

The United Nations designated 20th May as World Bee Day and in honour of our little pollinating pals, Monaco has revealed the secrets of its “pollinator hotels”.
Since 2013, the Principality, in association with the French National Forestry Office (ONF), has been monitoring pollinator “hotels”. Six such hotels were set up in 2020 in the area between Monaco and Mount Agel and were observed between March and September by an ONF technician.
Each hotel was inspected during the visits and samples of visiting insects were captured and sent to the Office for Insects and their Environment for scientific analysis.
Last year’s special circumstances made it impossible to carry out all the surveys intended, notably at the bee hotel located in Saint Martin Gardens, but nonetheless, results have been encouraging.
Some of the findings from 2020 include the presence of 18 species of bees, nine species of spheciform wasps and one species of vespoid wasp. The local domestic species of bee, Apis Mellifera, was not part of the survey, as they do not use this type of habitat.
Wild, or solitary, bees, of which more than a thousand species are known to exist, are different from domestic bees in the way they organise and the fact that they do not produce honey. Wild bees are primarily solitary creatures and do not follow a queen. They stick close to their food sources and have a range of a mere 10 metres.
The bees spotted at the hotels are not honey-makers, either. They are more collectors, who mix pollen with nectar to form tiny balls of food that are stored for future bees. These bees live less than one year and usually die in winter after they lay their eggs. They are also not aggressive to humans and over half of them do not even possess a stinger.
Bees’ quiet work helps maintain biodiversity in plants and agriculture, though it is a delicate balance. Some bees pollinate a single plant, and if that plant disappears, so do the bees.
At the insect hotel in the Saint Martin Gardens, there was a high occupancy rate in drilled logs. The presence of a small wasp (Trypoxylon kolazyi) from southern Europe, which had not previously been reported in the Alpes Maritimes/Monaco area, was observed for the second time. This wasp makes its nest in various cavities but never digs holes itself. It captures and paralyses its prey, which consists mainly of immature spiders, to feed the young in its nest.
 
 
Photo by Jenna Lee on Unsplash