Monaco is now 100% covered by the fiber optic network, four years after the rollout of the high-speed internet service began.
According to a statement released by the government on Tuesday, Monaco Telecom has achieved full coverage of the Principality, excluding buildings under renovation.
“The fiber network, which is now offered to users and deployed as part of the territory’s digital transformation programme Extended Monaco, will be able to cover the volumes necessary to ensure high-performance telecommunications,” said the government in a statement.
Private users and companies are encouraged to contact Monaco Telecom to arrange connection as the copper network will be discontinued in December 2023 for consumer Internet subscriptions, in July 2024 for business Internet subscriptions, and in December 2024 for fixed telephony subscriptions.
Photo credit: Compare Fibre on Unsplash
Palace announces Kristel Malgherini as new Advisor to the Prince’s Cabinet
The Palais Princier de Monaco has announced that Kristel Malgherini, the former Secretary General to the Department of Social Affairs and Health, will replace Isabelle Costa as an Advisor to the Prince’s Cabinet.
During the tense times of the Covid pandemic, Malgherini was a staunch advocate for the Principality’s vaccination programme in her role as Technical Advisor to the Department of Social Affairs and Health.
Her handling of the situation brought attention to her professional competence, a skill that she will now bring to her newly announced role as Advisor to the Prince’s Cabinet for Social Affairs and Health, the European Union and legal affairs.
She is replacing Isabelle Costa, who has taken up the mantle of High Commissioner for European Affairs for Monaco.
Malgherini holds a Diploma of Advanced Law Studies from the Université Côte d’Azur in Nice. After graduating, she worked for the National Council before joining the Department of Health and Social Action as an administrator.
She then joined the Department of Social Affairs and Health at the Ministry of State in 2014 to successively perform the functions of Division Head, Project Manager and Technical Advisor, before being appointed as Secretary General in 2021.
50 years after his death, the last home of legendary artist Pablo Picasso is being transformed by its current owner into an international art centre with an estimated price tag of €114 million.
Painter, sculptor, designer and ceramist Pablo Picasso had an enormous influence on art in the 20th century. A long-time denizen of the south of France, the artist was prolific throughout his lifetime and never ceased to create, even in his later years.
Now, a half century after his death, the owner of Picasso’s last home in Mougins, formerly known as Mas Notre-Dame-de-Vie, but now called Château de Vie, is undergoing a transformation even the great man himself would be astounded by.
A global hub for artists and institutions
Current owner Rayo Withanage, the New Zealand billionaire who started Scepter, has laid bare his plans to convert the villa into a “global hub” where art will flourish through collaborations with “major artists and institutions from around the world”.
Withanage, who bought the property complete with its 500-year-old olive groves and stunning orangery in a 2017 auction for €20 million, has pledged £100 million or €114 million to get the ball rolling on the project.
“We invite the most iconic artists and creative institutions around the world to see the world as Picasso saw it, to work in his studio, and to consider the influence of his work,” he has said, adding that he envisions the villa to be a place where artists can work in-residence and that part of whatever proceeds are made from the sale of artworks will be donated to charities.
Picasso’s time in Château de Vie coincided with some his happiest and most productive years. The house went to his wife Jacqueline Roque after his death in 1973. Jacqueline was bereft and reportedly left everything exactly as it had been the day he died, down to the place he last set down his reading glasses. She committed suicide in 1986. The villa then stood empty for 30 years.
Rescuers have found another victim of Sunday’s avalanche near Mont Blanc, bringing the total to six. Two guides and four clients were killed in the incident near Chamonix in southeast France.
The avalanche occurred at the Armancette glacier on Easter Sunday, when conditions on the mountain were described as “not particularly alarming” by Dorian Labaeye, president of France’s mountain guide union. Météo France had not issued any weather warning for the region, but a combination of warmth and wind is believed to be behind the disaster, according to local authorities.
It spread across an area of 1.5 kilometres, at an altitude of 3,500 metres. Searchers recovered the bodies of the guides and a couple in their 20s on Sunday, while a 39-year-old woman and a man in his early 40s were found on Monday. They are yet to be formally identified.
Another person suffered slight injuries while eight others who were swept away were unharmed.
Labaeye said that the group impacted was equipped with an avalanche detector, shovels, and probes, which he said “facilitated the work of the rescuers”.
The Monaco Impi’s beat The Samurai to win the Melrose Sevens Rugby tournament, one of the oldest sevens competitions in the world, in Scotland over the weekend.
The Monegasque team, consisting of players from the Principality of Monaco, Scotland, England and France, pulled off a huge shock by beating strong favourites The Samurai on Saturday 8th April. The 26-12 win sees the team lift their first trophy.
No one seemed more surprised about the feat than Coach David Boglashvili: “We’ve only existed for six years. We didn’t reach a final anywhere… so it’s the first time in my life. It’s a great sevens experience. We are very happy, especially regarding the level of some of the other teams.”
The team itself was constructed only a week before the tournament, leaving Boglashvili with the unenviable task of molding a game plan consisting of players with whom he lacked familiarity, whilst also trying to create automatisms on the fly between players of numerous nationalities.
“The players come from different backgrounds, from all over the place, and yet they gelled together into a side. It’s a magic experience to do so much. I’m very proud of the way they have come together – more than even the result. It was difficult to create a game plan in such a short time, but somehow we seemed to manage and earned ourselves a super result,” said Boglashvili.
Andy Murray has crashed out of the Monte-Carlo Masters in straight sets against Alex De Minaur, whilst Monaco’s Australian Open finalist Hugo Nys has also lost his first-round encounter.
It was a physically lethargic Murray that took to the centre court of the Monte-Carlo Country Club for the first day of the main competition on Monday. Within two minutes, the former Grand Slam winner wasn’t moving completely freely, and it seemed his hamstring was giving him bother.
Murray didn’t manage to exert any pressure on his Australian opponent, who has had the better of him in their previous two meetings. The Scot was broken in the first game, and it was a sign of things to come. After losing the first set 6-1, there were signs of resistance early in the second set.
Photo credit: Andy Murray and Alex de Minaur by Luke Entwistle, Monaco Life
However, that resistance was futile and fleeting. Ultimately, Murray made too many unforced errors, whilst De Minaur played a clean game without having to push himself to the limits.
De Minaur secured his third consecutive victory over Murray (6-1, 6-3), as the Scot, whose participation in the tournament was only confirmed days before the beginning of the tournament, makes an early exit.
Hugo Nys fails to secure win in doubles
After Lucas Caterina’s and Hugo Nys’ defeats in singles qualifying over the weekend, there was further Monégasque disappointment on Monday. Nys lined up alongside partner Jan Zielinski in the doubles, attempting to recreate their success Down Under.
Photo of Hugo Nys and Jan Zielinski and by Monaco Life, Luke Entwistle
However, it wasn’t to be. Austin Krajicek and Ivan Dodig won the first set by tie-break (7-6) and then broke early in the second. “We had chances, but we didn’t take them,” bemoaned Nys post-match. Those missed chances were costly, as Nys and Zielinski slumped to a surprise early exit.
“We have lots of hope!”
Guillaume Couillard, captain of the Monaco Davis Cup team reflected on the “frustrating” defeat. “You have to manage to win when you’re not playing at your best. With a bit of madness, a bit of grinta, even a bit of luck, they could have got through it. It’s frustrating because they didn’t play at their level, the level they’re capable of playing,” said Couillard.
“It’s difficult to win all the time. Only one team wins a tournament, and 99% go home as losers,” he told Monaco Life.
Photo of Hugo Nys by Monaco Life, Luke Entwistle
Romain Arneodo and Valentin Vacherot are yet to play. The latter plays his singles match on Tuesday, whilst the former will feature alongside Tristan-Samuel Weissborn in a doubles match on Wednesday. The odds are maybe stacked against Arneodo, with Alexander Zverev on the other side of the net.
“All our hopes are behind [Valentin]. He’ll have a good chance. He’s a very good player. Romain is coming up against a difficult pairing, but we have lots of hope!” Couillard told Monaco Life.
See more in our Instagram video below, images credit Luke Entwistle, Monaco Life…
