Monaco’s Ambassador to Japan Didier Gamerdinger has represented Prince Albert at the state funeral of Shinzo Abe, former Prime Minister of Japan.
Didier Gamerdinger was one of 4,000 guests at the funeral in Tokyo on Tuesday 27th September. Others included US Vice President Kamala Harris and British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly.
Shinzo Abe was killed on 8th July 2022 while giving a campaign speech in Nara, a city in the west of the country. He was shot by a man armed with a homemade gun who has reportedly told police that he had targeted the conservative politician over his support for the Unification church.
Abe’s death sent shock waves through a country with very low rates of gun crime and prompted tributes from politicians around the world.
Shinzo Abe was Tokyo’s longest-serving prime minister.
Photo source: Monaco Government Communication Department
As part of the Principality’s digital transformation, the government is now offering residents and those wishing to move to Monaco a new simplified online system to facilitate the residency process.
Back in June 2021, the government launched new procedures for people with residency permits. They benefitted by getting a digital identity as well as an electronic signature that allows them to take care of necessary governmental formalities, as well as getting easy connections to the websites of private partners such as SMEG and Monaco Telecom. Electronic signatures were also introduced, allowing residents to sign important documents legally online.
This initial phase has now been expanded and includes new online applications for people who would like to move to Monaco, residency permit renewal options, replacement permits for lost or stolen cards, and applications for certification of residency for administrative reasons. Online appointment booking has also been added for convenience.
These services are available 24/7 and can be used from a computer, phone or tablet on the MonGuichet.mc website. Real time monitoring of requests is also available and text messaged notifications for those who need to make appointments with agents are part of the package.
“Making appointments online for procedures with the residents’ section is part of the modernisation process undertaken several years ago within the Public Security, which tends to improve reception and relations with users,” explained Divisional Commissioner Rémy Le Juste, Head of the Division of administrative police. “As part of a framework for simplifying and securing administrative procedures, this new digital tool will make it easy to choose the day and time of your appointment. Naturally, the residents’ section remains particularly attentive to ensuring that users can benefit from appropriate support and an appropriate response, so that the digital transformation can benefit all residents.”
Marine Rolando, Head of the e-Government Division at the Department of Digital Services, added, “Our wish is to save time for our residents, but also for the agents of the Department of Public Security because the processing will be more fluid and the delays reduced. Also, people who wish to settle in Monaco will have instant access to information and will be able to anticipate their request.”
Astronaut Dr Scott Parazynski: “There will be a colony on Mars in 20 years”
A man from Mars dropped in on Monaco last week. Given the focus on sustainable living at the Monaco Yacht Show, it was a timely visit for anyone thinking of hot-footing it to its cooler climes. Who better to sound out what life is like on the red planet?
Dr Scott Parazynski is a veteran of five spaceflights, having spent over eight weeks in space and 47 hours on spacewalks. He played a crucial role in the construction of the International Space Station and in May 2016 was inducted into the US Astronaut Hall of Fame.
A physician in emergency medicine and trauma, he led the first joint US-Russian spacewalk while docked to the Russian space station Mir Mission. He also served as crew-mate and personal physician to Senator John Glenn when he returned to space at 77-years-old. The Senator was the first American to orbit the earth and the third American in space when he flew the Friendship 7 mission in 1962.
The only person to have flown in space and climbed to the top of the world – Mount Everest (2009), the bowels of the earth hold no secret for Parazynski either: he is one of the first to climb down to the world’s youngest lava lake, inside the crater of Massaya Volcano in Nicaragua.
And he flies (commercial, instrument, multiengine and seaplane) and he dives…
“I think I get my determination from my parents. They were very adventurous and encouraged me to pursue my interests,” says Dr Scott Parazynski. “I think not limiting oneself to established norms and being willing to challenge oneself is key; being ready to take on new opportunities, that really opened up so many doors for me in my career. And not being afraid to fail.”
Parazynski’s father was an engineer on the Saturn V Rockets as part of the Project Apollo, the third US space flight programme, and young Scott knew by the time he was five-years-old that he wanted to be a part of it one day.
But he waited until he was 29 to apply. “I was lucky, I was accepted on my first application and started working for NASA in the summer of 1992.” A year of very intense training on the basics of the space shuttle and flight followed. He had his first spatial mission just one year later.
Astronaut selection involves several thousand people applying every two to four years and class sizes vary between 10 and 20 astronauts. This corps of experts work in teams of six or seven on rotation.
In the current day, each mission lasts about six months: “On my flights they were typically about two weeks long because the space shuttle only had limited fuel on board and she had hydrogen and oxygen fuel cells that created energy and drinking water and that was one of the limiting consumables for the mission.”
“Taking off is exhilarating,” he reveals. “It’s like being on the steepest roller coaster you’ve ever been on in your life: You’ve got about 3gs of gravity squeezing you back into your seat and you continue to accelerate for 8.5 minutes and you can’t believe anything can have that much power. You’re accelerating from 0 km/pr hour on the launch pad to 85,000 km in just 8.5 minutes, so it is eye watering.”
The landings are different. Having adapted to the weightlessness of space, the body weakens and the muscles and bones that resist gravity on earth have atrophied: “Your balance system is altered, so when you first get off a mission you are very wobbly and it takes a couple of days to get your land legs back.”
There are many weird and unique aspects to an ordinary day in space, the most obvious being able to float. You push yourself off with your finger tips and go wherever you want to go.
“You can’t put anything down because it will float away immediately and, in fact, the joke is if you do lose something, it is going to show up in the cabin air cleaner in about two days, so that’s what we call ‘the lost and found’.”
Sleep is another challenge: astronauts velcro pillows to their head and bolt sleeping bags to the ceiling or wall, because it feels too weird to float around, which you do anyway, inside your sleeping bag. Because they are living outside most magnetic fields, astronauts also suffer from Cherenkov radiation; intense beams of light that shoot at the back of the eye.
“On space flights you start to crave certain foods. Some types of food are too messy, they create crumbs that get in your eyes, so we don’t take bread for example, we don’t have an oven, so we can’t prepare a proper pizza, for example.” Camping-style meals are mixed with water. “They don’t look very good, but they’re tasty.”
Food is also spicier in space because the tastebuds change, it’s called fluid shift. On earth, fluid pools in the lower body during the course of the day, but in space that pull of gravity is not there, “So our faces get a little puffier and we have a runny nose and a diminished sense of taste.”
So, will there be life on Mars one day? “Without any doubt I believe there will be a civilisation on Mars sooner than many might think. In 20 years I think there could be a foothold of a colony that will continue to expand and learn to live off the land. But it’s going to be a hardship, they’ll have to live underground because the radiation environment is much higher.”
Another good reason to sustain the earth below.
‘The Sky Below’, Dr Parazynski’s autobiography is a focus on overcoming adversity. He was speaking at the Captains’ Forum organised by the Yacht Club of Monaco, in partnership with Jutheau Husson and Oceanco.
Charles Leclerc once again failed to convert his pole position on Sunday, finishing second in the Singapore Grand Prix, behind eventual winner Sergio Perez.
Max Verstappen, champion in waiting, endured what he described as a “really terrible” weekend in the sweltering, humid conditions in Singapore. He only qualified eighth after having to abandon his final qualifying lap due to insufficient fuel on Saturday.
Sunday didn’t start any better. Like the rest of the grid, he had to wait an hour for lights out, as the start was delayed due to a passing storm. When proceedings did get underway, Verstappen was uncharacteristically slow off the line, falling further down the field to 13th and having to avoid contact by going off-track at turn one.
In contrast, teammate Sergio Perez had a fantastic start. Lining up on the front row of the grid alongside Charles Leclerc, the Mexican got the jump on the Monégasque driver, and by turn one was comfortably ahead. It was in those opening seconds that the race was ultimately decided. The duo drove off into the distance and were unthreatened by the rest of the field.
Behind them, the race was a bit messier. Incidents are characteristic of a wet-dry race, and this race was filled with plenty of them. Whilst safety cars, or virtual safety cars, were brought out following incidents involving Guanyu Zhou, Fernando Alonso, Alex Albon, Esteban Ocon and Yuki Tsunoda, there were also minor errors committed further up the field.
Photo source: Scuderia Ferrari Press Office
Lewis Hamilton, known as a master of the wet, made two errors that saw him unable to capitalise on his strong qualifying as he ultimately finished in ninth. Verstappen’s error-strewn weekend continued when he slid straight on whilst trying to overtake the McLaren of Lando Norris. The Dutch driver ultimately worked his way back up to seventh.
But the day belonged to his teammate. Perez hadn’t won since that stunning drive in Monaco back in May in similar meteorological conditions. His victory lifts him to just two points behind Leclerc, whose second-place finish keeps him clear of the Red Bull driver.
Leclerc was given a glimmer of hope post-race as Perez was summoned to race control over a safety car infringement. However, his five-second penalty wasn’t enough to demote him, and he hung onto the victory by just over two seconds. Carlos Sainz completed the podium.
Whilst an entertaining race, there is the burgeoning feeling of inconsequentiality. The title race is all but over. Verstappen could have wrapped up consecutive titles in Singapore, although the odds were stacked against him.
The chances of completing the task in Japan next Sunday are a lot more feasible. Verstappen only needs to outscore Leclerc by eight points and Perez by 10 points in order to secure the title.
Leclerc is seemingly already looking towards next season and is concentrating on ironing out errors in order to launch another title challenge. “I want to use these last races to improve our execution of races and I think that we made a step in the right direction today,” he said.
Ferrari and Leclerc will be looking for a clean end to the season to set the groundwork for a title challenge next season. Although he is being made to wait, this year once again belongs to Verstappen.
AS Monaco Basketball eased past Roanne on Sunday (109-85) to continue their winning streak in their first game back in the transformed Salle Gaston Médecin.
The Roca Team showed up for the big occasion. Amidst the fanfare of the grand occasion, the team made sure that they got the job done on-court to give a historical day in Monaco basketball history an even sweeter taste.
Monaco were dominant from start to finish, winning each quarter, and easily passing the 100-point mark. Despite a new-look team taking to the court at the first match in the Principality this season, the more recognisable faces stole the show.
Mike James (20), so often the difference maker last season, was highest scorer for the Roca Team, and he was backed up by co-captain Yakuba Ouattara (12) and Donatas Motiejunas (12).
Both Ouattara and coach Sasa Obradovic were happy with the way in which they inaugurated their new court. “It is a beautiful way to inaugurate the new hall,” said Ouattara.
“It was a beautiful atmosphere in this new hall for the first match of the season,” said Obradovic. “I think the public like what we showed them, with a great collective display,” he added.
Photo by AS Monaco Basket
Monaco will face tougher matches, including later this week as they get their Euroleague campaign underway. Whilst the Principality club are widely expected to comfortably make the Betclic Elite playoffs, the real challenge is replicating, and bettering their Euroleague showing.
They get their campaign underway with a trip to Virtus Bologna on Friday. “We’re constructing something here and all the players are involved. We have prepared well for the upcoming Euroleague match, and that’s a good thing.”
Obradovic will be hoping that he has laid the foundations for another glittering Euroleague campaign, as the team looks to carry their start-of-season momentum into European competition.
An impressive €340,000 has been raised by philanthropists and the Stelios Philanthropic Foundation at a charity dinner in Monaco, with funds to go towards efforts to save the Mediterranean monk seal from extinction.
The annual dinner, now in it’s 10th edition, is organised by Monaco resident and entrepreneur Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou who, through his philanthropic foundation, matches euro-for-euro the money raised .
This year, the collective donations came to €170,000. After being matched by the Stelios Philanthropic Foundation, the total money raised reached €340,000 – an all-time high. It will be equally shared between the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation and the WWF in their efforts to save the monk seal from extinction.
Monaco Life Publisher Eric Brundage and Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou, photo source: Stelios Philanthropic Foundation
Roughly half of the monk seal’s global population, 250 to 300 individuals, lives and breeds in Greece. This unique species today faces an extremely high risk of extinction and is classified as critically endangered.
Since 2010, WWF Greece has backed local awareness campaigns, while the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation has been involved in monk seal conservation since 2011. In 2019, the foundation spearheaded the Monk Seal Alliance (MSA) to fund conservation projects.
The Stelios Philanthropic Foundation charity dinner has raised close to €1.6 million for the environment since 2013.
Photo above source: Stelios Philanthropic Foundation
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