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Month: February 2022

Sanremo bands compete for Eurovision 2022

by: Stephanie Horsman
02/02/2022

Italy’s quintessential Sanremo Music Festival is currently underway and fans can catch the acts live at the Ariston Theatre, locally on Italian television station RAI, or online at RAI’s Raiplay site.  

The 72nd Sanremo Music Festival is running now until Saturday 5th February with a total of 25 acts playing over the five nights. The winner of the competition will have the chance to represent Italy at the 2022 Eurovision competition being held this year in Turin.

The first two nights split the acts in half for their debut performances and on the third night, Thursday, all 25 acts will reprise their acts in a single evening.

Friday night is cover night, where the performers will team up with a non-competing artist to do a duet of an Italian or international classic tune from the 1960’s to the 1990’s.

All-time international favourites such as the 1963 Ronettes hit, ‘Be My Baby’, Elton John’s ‘Your Song’ from 1970, ‘Hit Me Baby One More Time’, the Britney Spears hit from 1998, 1983’s ‘What a Feeling’ by Irene Cara and Aretha Franklin’s 1967 classic ‘(You Make me Feel Like ) A Natural Woman’ are amongst the songs audience members will be able to enjoy. Add to this the selection of all-time classics by Italy’s own artists over the decade and music lovers will have a night to remember.

Saturday, the fifth and final evening, will see the acts perform one final time before the winner is selected.

There is a twist to the contest, though. Differing from other Eurovision-related contests, the winner of the night is not necessarily going on to compete at Eurovision.

The performers were all asked ahead of time whether they would be willing to represent Italy in the contest, which will be held in May. If the winner of Sanremo has not indicated they would like to go onto Eurovision, RAI will choose another act internally to attend.

The Sanremo Music Festival is the world’s longest running annual television music festival. The first edition was held in January 1951 and was broadcast on RAI radio station Rete Rossa with only three competitors singing 20 songs. It came about as a way to revitalise the economy after the devastating effects of World War II and became an Instant hit with music fans.

 

 

Screenshot of Monday night’s performance on RAI

 

 

 

Monaco mourns death of former Chairman of Board of Auditors

by: Stephanie Horsman
02/02/2022
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The government of Monaco has announced the passing of one of their own with the death of James Charrier, former Chairman of the Monaco Board of Auditors from 2004 to 2016.

Born in 1927, Charrier started his career in administration as a tax inspector in 1947. A graduate of the Ecole Nationale d’Administration, he spent his entire career in the Auditor’s Court as an auditor, referendum advisor, master advisor, and chamber president.

In 1974, he was appointed to the General Prosecutor’s Office of the Court of Auditors where he was first Advocate General, then First Advocate General.

He joined Monaco’s Board of Auditors in 1969 as a member before being appointed Vice-Chairman in 1989. In 2004, he was elevated to Chairman where he held the post until his retirement in 2016.

As a member of the board, Charrier carried out audits in various fields, primarily financially-related, including the budget and accounts of the country.

Additionally, as Chairman, he updated the Board through the development and application of the Sovereign Ordinance of 2nd July 2008, which strengthened its resources.

James Charrier was also Grand Officer of the Order of Saint-Charles and Commander of the Order of Grimaldi. He was, in France, Officer of the Legion of Honour and Commander of the National Order of Merit.

The government has expressed deep sadness at the loss and has sent heartfelt condolences to his family.

The Board of Auditors is a supreme public audit institution in the Principality of Monaco. Its main functions are audit of the accounts, budgetary and financial management of Monaco, the commune and public institutions.

 

 

Photo by Direction de la Communication / Charly Gallo

 

 

 

James fires Roca Team to comeback victory

by: Luke Entwistle
02/02/2022
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AS Monaco Basketball brushed last weekend’s demoralising overtime defeats aside with a controlled performance against Euroleague strugglers Panathinaikos on Tuesday. Mike James was once again unstoppable, picking up a 29-point haul.

The win keeps them on the brink of the play-off places, although the Principality side’s rivals for the top-8 all have games in-hand.

In a large but sparsely occupied Greek sports hall, it seemed as if the latest chapter in Monaco’s recent tale of woe was set to be written. Panathinaikos cut through the Principality side’s defence with the same ease as Boulogne-Levallois had on Sunday, the Parisian side eventually racking-up 115 points in that fixture.

James would, however, come back to haunt his former side. The American point guard has spent two spells at the Greek side, and his contribution was decisive.

Post-match he revealed the inspiration for his match-winning performance, saying, “My last round game (against Real Madrid) was awful so I didn’t want to play badly twice in a row.”

Monaco’s passivity in the defensive phase during the first-quarter (27-19), which ceded a healthy lead to the home side, was more than compensated by an emphatic second-quarter. Their 30-point haul not only made up the deficit, but also gave Monaco a healthy half-time lead.

An 11-point run from the Greek side in the third-quarter put the pressure on Sasa Obradovic’s men, their inability to kill-off games offering Panathinaikos an unlikely route back into the tie.

Monaco’s response was, however, emphatic. An incredible run (16-2) in which James took 13 points, including a couple of three-pointers, definitively settled the game late-on. The 83-91 defeat consigned the Greek’s to their 16th Euroleague defeat of the season, whilst Monaco registered their 11th victory.

Post-match, Obradovic was very complimentary of the performance, singling out James for praise. “I am very happy with my players,” he said. “We found strength in the end… Mike James nailed some shots that only he can pull off.”

The Roca Team are on the road once again on Thursday as they came up against Crvena Zvezda in the Euroleague.

 

 

Photo source: AS Monaco Basketball

 

 

 

Inside Monaco’s Covid laboratory

by: Cassandra Tanti
01/02/2022
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Up to a thousand Covid tests a day are analysed in Monaco’s high security laboratory, where scientists are not only looking for positive cases but are intensely searching for new variants, of which there were 1,000 this month.

The Scientific Centre of Monaco (CSM) is renowned in the study of corals and the fight against paediatric cancer, but early in the pandemic, the CSM took on another vital, more immediate role. It became the testing centre for coronavirus in the Principality. By November 2020, Prince Albert was inaugurating a new biosafety level-three laboratory, allowing scientists to analyse highly contagious viruses and pathogens, namely Covid-19.

“There are only around 2,500 laboratories like this in the world,” Dr Christian Lavagna tells me inside the high-security lab. “P3 is the protective level that allows scientists to work with very pathogenic viruses or bacteria.”

Last month, the lab processed 13,168 PCR tests, 34% of which were positive for Covid-19 – a new record for Monaco.

In mid-January, amid the height of the fifth wave, the scientific centre analysed up to 3,500 tests in one week, effectively around a third of the population of Monaco.

In addition to keeping the government informed of the circulation rate of Covid in the Principality, the small team of six is also charged with detecting variants.

“We used to analyse the samples with classic methodology, a manual technique called QPCR. Fortunately, we have the possibility now to analyse variants automatically, which is easier for us and allows us to make a lot of analyses in one day,” reveals Dr Lavagna.

“During the month of January, we analysed and detected more than 1,000 variants. In Monaco, 98% of cases are the Omicron variant. We have a few remaining Delta variant, but it’s only about 1% now.”

Dr Lavagna says the new variant making headlines, the BA.2 subvariant of Omicron, is undoubtedly working its way through the population, however so far, it is difficult to detect in this lab.

“The BA.2 subvariant is very similar in terms of mutation with the Omicron one. We need to develop some tools to detect it, and we don’t have those just yet,” he says.

According to a new Denmark study, the subvariant is more transmissible than the common BA.1 subvariant of Omicron, and BA.2 has quickly become the dominant strain in that country.

Within a matter of months, the CSM will be equipped with a new sequencing laboratory that will allow the team to sequence Covid and other pathogens, thereby detecting new subvariants like BA.2.

“It is important to continue monitoring the evolution of this virus,” says Dr Lavagna. “Here in Monaco, a lot of people are tested, more than in France. Many of these people want to be tested often just to verify how they are and also to verify their serological state. It is very important to verify the serological protection of Monaco because, if a new variant appears, we can know if people are protected with enough antibodies and will have a good response against that new variant.”

Click play on the Instagram below to go inside the Covid-19 CSM P3 laboratory with Monaco Life…

https://www.instagram.com/p/CZcHxs3slbG/?utm_medium=copy_link

 

Photo by Cassandra Tanti, Monaco Life

 

 

Monaco strengthens legislative arsenal against financial crime

by: Cassandra Tanti
01/02/2022
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The National Council has passed two bills aimed at combating financial crime in Monaco. Among them, a widening of the scope of justice to confiscate capital and sanction fraudulent virtual currency transfers.

The National Council voted unanimously on Monday 31st January on two bills submitted by the Government relating to the prevention and the fight against financial crime.

“These legislative developments testify to the Principality’s desire to continue to adapt its legislation to the best standards and international commitments in the fight against money laundering, terrorist financing and corruption,” said the government in a statement on Wednesday. “Under the impetus of the Sovereign Prince, the objective pursued by the Principality is, in particular, to maintain the Monegasque banking and financial centre at a high level of standards.”

The government says the bills were produced after discussions between itself and professionals, on the one hand, and between the government and the National Council, on the other.

“In line with the objective pursued by the Principality to strengthen its system in a complex and constantly changing field, exchanges, both at the institutional level and between the public and private sectors, are continuing, in particular within the framework of meetings of the Committee for the Coordination and Monitoring of the National Strategy to Combat Money Laundering, the Financing of Terrorism, the Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction and Corruption, which will meet for the first time on 3rd February under the chairmanship of the Minister of State, Pierre Dartout,” said the government.

The new mechanism voted Monday evening reinforces the capacity of justice to confiscate capital that it finds to be fraudulent in origin. It also widens the scope of application of offences relating to payment instruments, insofar as it can sanction a fraudulent transfer, not only money or monetary in value, but also virtual currency.

The legislation also specifies some of the obligations that are incumbent on professionals subject to the fight against money laundering, particularly in the presence of atypical transactions.

Meanwhile, “the list of subject professionals has been supplemented following the conclusions of the National Risk Assessment (ENR2), with the aim of finding the right balance between the efficient apprehension of risks and the preservation of the attractiveness of Monaco,” added the government.

 

Photo source: National Council of Monaco

 

 

 

January was a record-breaking month for sunshine

by: Stephanie Horsman
01/02/2022
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With over 210 hours of sun racked up in January alone, Monaco and the neighbouring Alpes-Maritimes region beat the previous sunny days record set back in 2005.

People have flocked to the Côte d’Azur and Monaco in winter since the late 18th century when the benefits of sea air, warmer temperatures and abundant sunshine lured the British upper classes to the region in droves.

Times have changed, and “wintering” isn’t a pastime many can any longer afford, but the draws of the region are still intact. The winters remain mild and sunny, though some are sunnier than others.

As it stands, the first month of 2022 has spawned the record of being the sunniest yet documented. This January beat the old record, set in 2005, with an amazing 213 hours of sun.

The average sunshine hours racked up for January sit at 157, so 2022’s record has surpassed this mark significantly. Since 2000, only two years have gone beyond the 200-hour mark, those being the previous record-holding year and this one.

All this sunshine is wonderful for morale, but not so good for water catchment basins. The month of January had a paltry two hours of rain, one of the lowest recorded averages since the start of the millennia, with 11.3mm falling on 5th January. This leaves rainfall totals way below the normal monthly average of 67mm but sets no record for being lowest. This particularly dry January had more rain than in 2017, which saw 10.8mm, while 2005 had only 5mm, and 2000 had 7.9mm for the month.

Temperatures stayed in the normal range despite all the sun. The coldest day was 8th January, with a minimum temp of 3.4ºC, and the warmest day was 5th January, which saw a balmy 22.5ºC. The average January temperatures for the region are 9ºC.

With all the winter sun, its little surprise that the city of Nice has come first in a ranking of the best cities in the Alpes Maritimes for “quality of life” for the second year running, according to newspaper Le Journal de Dimanche, which does a yearly list.

The capital city of the French Riviera is ranked 7th nationally for cities over 2,000 inhabitants, beating out Cannes in the region, who came in second, and Antibes, who took the bronze. When expanding to cities of over 200,000, Nice ranks at the top of the list, also for the second year in a row.

“The City of Nice remains this year once again the 1st of the largest cities in France in  Le Journal de Dimanche 2022 ranking of the cities where people live best. We will relentlessly pursue our efforts to improve the quality of life of the people of Nice,” said proud Mayor Christian Estrosi after the announcement on his Twitter feed.

The coastal village of Theoule-sur-Mer took the top spot for villages in the Alpes Maritimes, ahead of Falicon and Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, who came in second and third respectively.

The ranking is based on 187 criteria such as services, shops, security, transport, health care, education, solidarity, leisure and sport, whilst even delving a bit deeper to look at things like unemployment and life expectancy.

Nice’s national and region standings have set the city apart as one of the most attractive in France.

 

 

Photo of Nice by Cassandra Tanti, Monaco Life