April 2023 - Page 24 of 29

Photos: “Ode to the Riviera” taking form as stars arrive for Monte-Carlo Masters

05/04/2023

MCCC empty stands ahead of Monte-Carlo Masters

The Monte-Carlo Masters’ “Ode to the Riviera” is beginning to take form with just days to go before the start of the tournament at the Monte-Carlo Country Club (MCCC), as the stars of tennis descend on the Principality.

The stands have been erected at the MCCC, and whilst empty for now, by Saturday, they will be filled with thousands of fans from across the world, as the Monte-Carlo Masters heralds the start of the clay season.

“A new visual identity, inspired by the Riviera”

Speaking at the presentation of the 116th edition of the prestigious clay-court tournament back in February, David Massey said this year’s competition would be an “ode to the Riviera”. The Brit, directing his first tournament, added that the tournament would have “a new visual identity, inspired by the French Riviera and the colours of the Mediterranean”.

Monaco Life visited the MCCC on Monday to witness the preparations, and discovered that the stands, adorned in Mediterranean blue, are already in place. The VIP village boxes, which have been extended, will all face the sea.

Novak Djokovic training at the MCCC

Whilst the finishing touches are being added to this year’s tournament, the players have already begun to arrive. Notably, Novak Djokovic, a Monaco resident, has been training at the MCCC this week in preparation for the event.

Alexander Zverev, another resident of the Principality, has also been spotted around Monaco and was present on the Roca Team’s media channel on Sunday as AS Monaco Basketball took on Boulogne-Levallois in the Betclic Elite.

The eerily empty stands of the MCCC will soon be filled when tennis returns to the Principality on Saturday.

Novak Djokovic at the MCCC ahead of the Monte-Carlo Masters.

Watch Novak Djokovic training at the MCCC in our Instagram video below…

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Photos by Monaco Life / Luke Entwistle

France on track as greenhouse gas emissions fall by 2.5% in 2022

by: Cassandra Tanti

05/04/2023

Greenhouse gas emissions fell by around 10 million tonnes in France last year thanks to a mild winter and rising energy costs. Now experts hope the country can keep up the trend.

Provisional figures released on 3^rd April by the French Interprofessional Technical Centre for the Study of Air Pollution (CITEPA), the organisation tasked with tracking French emissions inventories, reveal that the country saw an overall 2.5 % drop in emissions in 2022 over the previous year.

This equates to roughly 408 million tons of CO2, 10 million less than in 2021.

“We are seeing a return to the decline […] in emissions with the end of the post-Covid-19 rebound effect,” said CITEPA, who noted a sharp increase of 6.4% in 2021 credited to the post-pandemic recovery.

CO2 emissions stagnated in the first nine months of 2022, but from October to December 2022, monthly emissions are down sharply compared to those of 2021 (-9% in October, -11% in November, -5% in December), according to the CITEPA publication.

Broken down by sectors, the picture is varied. Energy and transport emissions rose by 8% and 2% respectively, whilst manufacturing fell by 8% and construction in the residential sector dropped by a healthy 15%.

The government was pleased by the news but tempered it with caution. The Minister for Energy Transition Agnes Pannier-Runacher said, “In the coming months, I will carry out an upcoming energy-climate program, which will set even more ambitious objectives as there is still a long way to go.”

The good news is tempered, however, as the majority of last year’s changes, as in other years, were due to very specific sets of circumstances. “It remains to be seen whether we will soon be able to observe a permanent drop in emissions linked to structural factors,” said Colas Robert, an engineer at CITEPA.

This leaves France in a tricky position, as these gains will not only need to be maintained, but stepped up, so that the nation’s carbon neutrality goals are met by 2050. Even the 2030 goal of a 40% decrease, which factors in new EU objectives of a 55% reduction compared to 1990 levels, will not be possible unless emission cuts are almost double that of 2022.

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Photo by Chris Robert on Unsplash

Photos: Prince Albert II of Monaco welcomed in Cyprus by President Nikos Christodoulides

by: Cassandra Tanti

05/04/2023

Prince Albert has been awarded an environmental prize in Cyprus by President Nikos Christodoulides. The trip, organised by Cypriot businessman and Monaco resident John Christodoulou, also attracted members of the Monaco Ambassadors Club to the small island republic.

The visit was organised for the weekend of 1^st April and included a cultural tour of the island.

John Christodoulou led the Prince around the famous village of Lefkara, where it is said that Leonardo da Vinci visited as a guest of Catherine Cornaro – Queen of Cyprus.

The Prince and members of the Monaco Ambassadors Club (MAC) were welcomed for a dinner at the Amara Hotel in Limassol with the newly elected President of the Republic of Cyprus Nikos Christodoulides. As the former Minister for Foreign affairs, the 49-year-old is well known for his strong commitment to strengthening the European bonds of Cyprus, and returning negotiating parties back to the table over the ‘Cyprus problem’.

During the evening, Prince Albert II was awarded a prize for his overall contribution to the protection of the environment. Guests celebrated the moment with a glass of traditional 50-year-old Coumandaria wine, of which the Prince was gifted with a bottle.

*Prince Albert, honorary president of the MAC, receiving an environmental award from President Nikos Christodoulides, alongside John Christodoulou. Photo source: Yianis Christodoulou Foundation*

Promotion of Cypriot tradition and art

MAC guests also attended an award ceremony on Monday 3rd April at Monte Caputo in Limassol for the ‘Love Cyprus’ school competition organised by the Yianis Christodoulou Foundation.

The new initiative provided an opportunity to promote creativity among the student population with the aim of upgrading their schools, a purpose which attracted the attention of young creators.

During the ceremony, eight schools were awarded for their masterpieces with cash prizes totalling €180,000.

Under the motto ‘Love Cyprus’, all creations, including photos and videos, promote Cyprus, not only as a summer tourist destination, but also as a country characterised by great tradition and culture, hospitality, arts, customs and natural beauties.

MAC president Christian Moore, Cypriot singer-songwriter Anna Vissi and Greek philanthropist Marianna Latsi were among the guests and judges of the competition.

During their short trip to Cyprus, guests were also guided to Lefkara, Omodos, Kourio, and the old town of Limassol. They enjoyed Cypriot cuisine in traditional taverns, and were greeted by a shot of zivania at every occasion!

Click on the gallery below to see more pictures from Prince Albert and Monaco Ambassadors Club trip to Cyprus…

PHOTOS: JOHN CHRISTODOULOU AWARDED GOODWILL AMBASSADOR 2022

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Feature photo: Prince Albert II of Monaco with President of the Republic of Cyprus Nikos Christodoulides (left) and John Christodoulou (right)

700 commitments, but no formal agreements made at UN Water Conference

by: Stephanie Horsman

05/04/2023

The first UN Water Conference held in a generation concluded with the adoption of the Water Action Agenda, a 700-strong commitment plan aimed at protecting this essential resource. But those gathered stopped short of establishing a formal agreement along the lines of the 2015 Paris Accord and the 2022 Montréal Deal.

The UN Water Conference, held between 22nd and 24th March at the UN Headquarters in New York, was special in several ways, not least of which was because it was the first such meeting dedicated to water security to be hosted in over 40 years.

The importance of water in the grand scheme was apparent in the massive turnout. Upwards of 2,000 participants, from politicians and government representatives to industry leaders and experts from the scientific community, gathered for the rounds of conferences and events.

WATER ACTION AGENDA

Perhaps the biggest news to come out of the event was the adoption of the Water Action Agenda plan: a document filled with 700 action-oriented voluntary commitments to water-related projects.

Scientists have said that severe water shortages will affect the whole of Earth by 2040 unless drastic measures are taken, so the $300 billion in pledges made to support the Water Action Agenda must be used wisely. If they are, they have the potential, said General Assembly President Csaba Kőrösi, to unlock more than $1 trillion in socio-economic and environmental gains.

“Your dedication to action and transformation is propelling us towards a sustainable, equitable and inclusive water-secure future for people and planet alike,” UN Secretary-General António Guterres told those present. “This conference demonstrated a central truth: as humanity’s most precious global common good, water unites us all, and it flows across a number of global challenges.”

MONACO’S PARTICPATION

Monaco’s Permanent Representative to the UN Isabelle Picco, pictured above at the event, spoke of the Principality’s ongoing work in the management of water, citing a 26% decrease in consumption and the importance of the government’s investments in infrastructure, such as the recently upgraded Waste Water Treatment Plant (UTER) in Fontvieille.

Monaco also co-organised three events outside of the conference, which provided a way to promote field solutions. These events included a networking session with the Coalition for the UN We Need, chaired by the former president of the UN General Assembly, Maria Fernanda Espinosa, where 60 young representatives of civil society met to discuss the issues of the conference.

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Photo credit: Rick Bajornas / UN

Formula 2: Arthur Leclerc on the podium in Australia

by: Luke Entwistle

05/04/2023

Arthur Leclerc secured his first podium in Formula 2 in Australia over the weekend, while Grasse resident Théo Pourchaire finished ahead in second.

Arthur Leclerc, brother of Formula 1 driver Charles, is in his debut season in Formula 2 and drives for the DAMS team. Leclerc has begun the season well, scoring points in Bahrain and in Saudi Arabia.

On Sunday in Australia, Leclerc produced his best race of the season so far, profiting from a second safety car to make the jump from fifth to third. The result also moves him into the top five in the drivers’ standings with 33 points.

However, Leclerc is now 25 points off Ayumu Iwasa, who won in Melbourne on Sunday with ease. Pourchaire, from just down the coast in Grasse and the winner of the first race of the season in Bahrain, split the two DAMS cars. The Frenchman is now second in the standings.

“Today we had a great race. I’m pleased with the progress we’re making. We had good speed throughout and kept it clean to take the podium, which of course I’m so happy about! Thanks to the team, and I’m looking forward to continuing the season strongly,” said Leclerc.

The grid next travels to Baku Azerbaijan at the end of the month, where Leclerc, part of the Scuderia Ferrari Academy programme, will be looking to build on his performance Down Under.

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Photo by Dutch Photo Agency

Monaco’s iconic Sass Café celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2023

by: Stephanie Horsman

04/04/2023

It’s been announced that Monaco’s most famous nightspot Sass Café will be marking a three decade milestone later this year.

In the late summer of 1993, Salvatore Treves, known by friends as Sassa, was given free rein to create a new nightclub on the ground floor of the Columbia Building on Avenue Princesse Grace.

The energetic and already successful nightclub entrepreneur wasted no time. Starting out as a piano bar and restaurant, Sass Café was born, and with the help of his equally impressive wife Yolande, they turned it into a Monaco institution almost overnight.

Just a few years later, in 1997, the couple’s 19-year-old son Samy joined the family business and brought with him a youthful outlook. He helped breathe new life into Sass Café, modernising it both in concept and in the aesthetics.

sass café monaco — *Sassa, Yolande and Samy of the Treves family. Photo provided.*

From elegant dining to trendy nightclub in the blink of an eye

Sass’ special appeal has always been in the way it transforms itself from an elegant dining experience to a trendy nightspot in the blink of an eye each night. Live music at dinner is followed by thumping tunes pumped out by a DJ. The party seemingly never ends.

The eclectic interior is a riotous party in itself: a mix of leather and velvet furnishings, walls painted in gold and red, fanciful artwork and classic chandeliers hanging from the ceilings.

But this doesn’t distract guests from the food, which is a Mediterranean and Italian blend designed by Corporate Chef Shahar Dahan. Dishes include all-time favourites like pasta, risotto, and salads, but the menu also features high-end offerings such as Wagyu beef and caviar.

*Elegant dishes against the backdrop of that signature Sass style. Photo credit: Fabbio Galatioto*

All the celebrities go to Sass Café

The Sass Café allure has attracted countless international personalities over the years and the restaurant’s Wall of Fame shows snaps featuring the likes of Sean Penn, Sharon Stone, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Bono all enjoying the scene.

It is a rich history that will be celebrated in style every night this year, as they have done for three decades, with Sassa, now 85-years-old, still seated in the first row, where he has been every evening since 1993.

Click on the gallery below for more photographs of Monaco’s Sass Café: