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Day: 2 November 2021

US to open border to vaccinated travellers on Monday

by: Stephanie Horsman
02/11/2021

The United States government is reopening the country to fully vaccinated non-US citizens from 8th November, one of the last remaining countries to lift such Covid-related restrictions.
The restrictions on international visitors were first imposed on air travelers from China in January 2020 by then-President Donald Trump and extended to dozens of other countries. Joe Biden continued the travel ban when he took power in January 2021 but has now decided to give visitors an early Christmas gift by changing the criteria.
In a break from previous travel restrictions, the Biden administration is focusing less on a visitor’s country of origin and more on the individual. Now, all adult travellers – with a few exceptions – must be fully vaccinated before entering the country.
Children and teenagers under 18 will be exempt from the vaccination rule, but all passengers over the age of two, regardless of vaccination status, must also present a negative Covid test taken with 72 hours of travel. Additionally, airlines will collect contact information on all passengers to assist with tracing. They will store this information for 30 days.
The airlines must also confirm, before departure, that vaccinations have been administered two weeks before arrival and come from an “official source”, meaning any jabs approved by the US health regulators.
A Centre for Disease Control (CDC) spokeswoman told Reuters in early October that, “Six vaccines that are FDA authorised or approved or listed for emergency use by WHO will meet the criteria for travel to the US.”
The lifting of the travel ban is an effort to move away from blacklisting entire countries from non-essential travel, such as most of Europe, China, Brazil, India, South Africa and Iran, and focussing on individuals. Currently, there are 33 countries that fall under ban.
“It is in the interests of the United States to move away from the country-by-country restrictions previously applied during the Covid-19 pandemic and to adopt an air travel policy that relies primarily on vaccination to advance the safe resumption of international air travel to the United States,” reads President Biden’s order.
 
 
Photo of New York by Dimitry Anikin on Unsplash
 
 

Monaco start-up secures €3.7 million in funding

by: Stephanie Horsman
02/11/2021

Monaco start-up YouStock has reached a major milestone with three major new investors, giving them the capital to expand not only in France, but also internationally.

Founded in 2015, YouStock, the Monaco company that packs, moves and stores household goods and furniture at a reasonable price, has had a meteoric rise. Just two years into operations, the start-up attracted the attention of business incubator MonacoTech, and now they have secured funds from three new investors which will allow them to grow ever faster.

Amavi Capital, a fund specialising in European PropTech, the la Région Sud Investissement and business angel Jean-Luc Haddad, founder and president of Grospiron International, have joined forces with YouStock, investing €3.7 million in the company.

This injection of capital will allow YouStock, which has operations in Nice and Paris as well as the Principality, to continue their national expansion plans to Lyon by the end of 2022, with another to-be-determined European capital set to be established in early 2023.

“Ever since its launch, we’ve been impressed by the digital platform developed by the

YouStock team, as well as the growth they’ve generated,” said Frederic Van den Weghe, Managing Partner at Amavi Capital. “Supporting YouStock in their

ambitions to grow in France and in Europe is perfectly in line with the PropTech focus of our investment strategy. YouStock revolutionises the way you can manage your belongings on demand, short or longer term, and at a very competitive rate. All on an intuitive digital platform.”

YouStock Co-Founders Alexis Bouresche and Pierre Charvet found a hole in the self-storage market and went about plugging it. The logistics and costs of storing furniture and household items were often prohibitive for people, and the idea stemmed from these constraints.

You Stock’s guiding principles offer solutions by giving customers reasonable pricing, up to 40% less than other self-storage facilities, and customised service that allows clients to directly manage the organisation of their storage online with a QR coded inventory system. This feature means that select items can be delivered back to customer’s homes within a 48-hour time period at the click of a button.  

The company has seen phenomenal growth, boasting a clientele of 1,200, a 90% rise since 2020, and they even managed to thrive during lockdown.

YouStock has also chosen its locations wisely, with the Paris opening being a massive success due to rising rent prices forcing people into smaller flats. This has led to the need for cost-effective solutions for off-site safeguarding of personal belongings.

“Our success in Paris, Monaco and Nice confirms the relevance of a service like YouStock in big cities,” said CEO Alexis Bouresche. “By offering city dwellers the fairest, simplest, and most affordable model, we aspire to quickly become a key player. This raising of capital offers a real opportunity for us to gain a foothold throughout France over the next few months.”

YouStock’s goal is now to go beyond France’s borders and cover the whole of Europe.

 
 
 

“Sport has a unique power to highlight climate change”

by: Luke Entwistle
02/11/2021

Nico Rosberg, owner of E-sports team Rosberg X Racing, has waded in on COP26. A prominent figure within the environmental sub-section of the sporting world, Rosberg took to Twitter to advocate for the implementation of environmental policies, whilst also confirming his attendance at the conference this week.
Since his retirement from Formula 1 following his championship-winning season in 2016, Rosberg has dedicated himself to the environmental cause, culminating in the creation of his own E-rally team Rosberg X Racing, which recently earned him the European Culture Award for the Environment.
In a video and subsequent thread posted on Twitter, Rosberg on Monday called for urgency in the face of the climate crisis. In particular, he highlighted the Paris Agreement commitment to limiting the global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees by 2030 stating that, “Decisions made now affect the pace of transition to reach that zero carbon emission goal.”


In order to reach that target, Rosberg has advocated for three important changes to be immediately implemented. Firstly, he called for a shift from fossil fuels towards renewable energy sources. Secondly, for the protection of rainforests and biodiversity, primarily through stopping deforestation. Finally, to build circular economies for every industry, in order to stop the use of single-use plastics.
Rosberg’s advocacy for sustainability uses the medium of sport to convey the environmental message as, in his own words, “Sport has a unique power to highlight climate change.” His engagement in the novel Extreme-e rally series has already raised the profile of climate change within a sporting context, with other racing series, including Formula 1, now starting to consider and address their environmental impact.
Rosberg will be hoping that his in-person attendance at COP26 will further raise the profile of sustainable sport, and hopefully elicit tangible, positive change at this critical juncture for the survival of the planet.
 
SEE ALSO:

Rosberg X Racing lose out in thrilling Arctic X Prix

Rosberg’s team claims 2nd straight Extreme E win

Rosberg X Racing makes history as first Extreme E winner

 
Photo: Screenshot of Nico Rosberg during Twitter video
 
 

Monaco extends partnership with human rights institute

by: Stephanie Horsman
02/11/2021

Monaco and the International Institute of Humanitarian Law of San Remo have renewed a partnership that will in part see financial support for teachers and study grants for soldiers in war zones.

Monaco has long been committed to promoting peace and humanism and to reducing the suffering of people who are, quite literally, caught in the crossfire of armed conflicts.

To this end the country has been in partnership since 2020 with the International Institute of Humanitarian Law of San Remo with whom they have a funding agreement to assist them in their endeavours. This collaboration has now been extended through 2022-2023.

Improving acceptance by the belligerents and having strong transmission of information on the ground in war-torn areas are goals of both the Institute and the Principality through dissemination of rules, dialogue and the exchange of good practices.

On 27th October, Monaco’s Minister of External Relations and Cooperation Laurent Anselmi received the representatives of the International Institute of Humanitarian Law of San Remo including Edoardo Greppi, Professor of International Law and International Humanitarian Law at the University of Turin and President of the Institute, Secretary General Stefania Baldini, and Gian Luca Beruto, Deputy Secretary General, for a meeting to discuss the challenges posed, raising questions of interpretation of laws already in force, as well as the use of new technologies.

The agreement states that the Principality will provide financial support for teachers and for study grants to soldiers, government officials, diplomats, experts and students. The scholarships are intended for nationals of developing nations, specifically for those who have international ties with Monaco.

The International Institute of Humanitarian Law of San Remo was founded after World War II on the basis of principles set out by the United Nations Charter. For countries in the grip of serious crises and conflicts, the four Geneva Conventions of 12th August 1949 along with other relevant international instruments, notably the Additional Protocols of 8th June. 1977, guarantee the protection of the life and dignity of combatants, civilians and those on humanitarian missions.

 
 
Photo by Manuel Vitali, Government Communication Department
 
 

 

Josephine Baker tribute at Bar Américain

by: Stephanie Horsman
02/11/2021

American-born entertainer, French Resistance agent, civil rights activist and former resident Josephine Baker, who is being interred at the Pantheon in Paris later this month, is being honoured with an evening of music and remembrance at the legendary Bar Américain in the Hôtel de Paris.
She was a woman who broke down barriers and succeeded in ways no one would have ever imagined. Josephine Baker was an anomaly, a woman who found respect and admiration in her adopted France in an era when people of colour were often kept sequestered and gender bias was the norm.
This remarkable lady, who was not just a singer and dancer, but also a World War II Resistance fighter and a campaigner for civil rights, is being memorialised on 30th November in Paris’s Pantheon, a first for a black woman.
To mark the occasion, the Bar Américain at the Hôtel de Paris will also celebrate her life with an evening hosted by journalist Axel Jaffray, who will speak to the assembled crowd about her accomplishments, with music performed by a jazz band who will play some of her most beloved hits.
Jaffray, who specialises in music and production, will offer two half-hour tributes to Baker during the evening, giving insights into her life and career. Additionally, there will be an exhibit of unpublished archive photos, giving rare glimpses into her world.
Baker, who lived in the Principality for several years and is buried in the Monaco Cemetery, first came to the area in 1969 and soon became friends with Princess Grace. This relationship led to the entertainer being welcomed to star in many local events over the years, including hosting the Monaco Red Cross Gala at Le Sporting in the summer of that same year, where she proclaimed, “It’s at the Monte-Carlo Summer Sporting where I approach perfection.”
In 1974, the Monte-Carlo Société des Bains de Mer Group (SBM) created the ‘Joséphine’ show at the inauguration of the new Monte-Carlo Sporting Club and its new Salle des Etoiles.
 
 
Photo source: SBM