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Day: 8 March 2024

Roca Team’s Mike James crowned best scorer in Euroleague history

by: Stephanie Horsman
08/03/2024
Basketballer Mike James getting ready to take a shot at the net during practice

AS Monaco Basket star Mike James made history Thursday night, becoming the all-time leading point scorer in the Euroleague during a game against Etoile Rouge de Belgrade in Monaco.

“Magic” Mike James’ moment came with just under four minutes left in the first half of the game, when he took the crown from Greek legend Vassilis Spanoulis to a sold-out Gaston-Médecin crowd on 7th March.

4,464 points and counting

“It is a great honour for me to coach such a player,” said AS Monaco’s Head Coach Sasa Obradovic. “Over the past three years, we have developed our relationship and helped each other grow. We come from a different world, but it’s been a wonderful adventure since day one.”

James, who was fêted not only by fans as he surpassed the previous record, but by his parents who were also at the game, can now boast 4,464 points and counting on his Euroleague statistics.

“I didn’t want it to get too emotional, because we first had to focus on winning,” said James after the game. “I will savour this record at the end of my career. I enjoyed the present moment. My friends and family have been here for a while, we’re going to celebrate together tonight, but quietly. Because the most important thing is yet to come, we want to go all the way and win the Euroleague title. Spanoulis? He called me yesterday to talk to me and congratulate me.”

Mike James has been on a high lately. The American, who joined the Monegasque side in 2021, was voted MVP for February. It is the fifth such trophy that James has achieved in his career. With 20.3 points, 6 rebounds, 1.7 steals and 3.7 assists on average in the month of February, the Portland native easily won the title, leading the Roca Team to three consecutive wins and continuing the teams meteoric rise in the Euroleague standings.

The Roca Team’s latest win

Aside from James, the team played brilliantly against opponents Etoile Rouge de Belgrade, beating them handily 98 to 80. The Roca Team led in all but one quarter, where they tied.

In the end, Mike James was high scorer of the game, with 20 points. Élie Okobo and Donatas Montejunas had strong showings as well, bringing 14 points each to the table.

Magic Mike and the rest of the team are back in action again on 10th March at 4:30pm, when they take on Basketball Club Maritime Gravelines Dunkerque at the Gravelines Sportica.

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Photo of Mike James by Monaco Life 

Amazónico announces opening date for early April

by: Elsa Carpenter
08/03/2024
amazonico monaco

Ahead of the grand opening of the South American fusion restaurant, the management team at Amazónico have announced that a handful of job positions are still up for grabs. 

Amazónico is looking to finalise its team of 190 employees before the destination restaurant opens its doors on the rooftop of the recently renovated Café de Paris on Friday 5th April.  

See more: See it for yourself: The legendary Café de Paris is transformed after €55 million renovation

According to comments made to Monaco Matin, 97% of the team has already been contracted, but a number of roles are yet to be filled. 

“We are still looking for sommeliers [and workers] in the kitchen and at the bar,” said Angelo Truisi, the assistant to the General Director of Amazónico. “Recruitment began at the end of 2022 because, initially, the opening was planned for July 2023. 80% of people recruited over the past year have waited and are staying with us because they want to be part of the adventure. We know that we offer the people who join us one of the most beautiful places [to work] in the Principality.” 

Truisi has said that Monte-Carlo Société des Bains de Mer and D.ream International, which owns the Amazónico franchise, are still accepting CVs via email: recrutement@sbm.mc.

Once open, Amazónico will offer a Latin American-inspired cuisine with sushi options. The style and décor of the rooftop establishment, which will reportedly be open from 6pm to 5am, will to be decidedly tropical and exotic.  

See more: Welcome to the jungle: First look at the Café de Paris’ new rooftop restaurant, the Amazónico

Monaco is the latest locale to welcome the franchise after cities including London, Dubai and Madrid.  

An official inauguration is in the works for Thursday 4th April before Amazónico’s restaurant and adjoining club open to the awaiting public the following day. 

Read related:

What’s new in Monaco in 2024?

 

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Photo credit: Monte-Carlo Société des Bains de Mer

Energy-related emissions hit an all-time high in 2023

by: Stephanie Horsman
08/03/2024

The latest figures released by the International Energy Agency (IEA) have revealed that worldwide energy-related CO2 emissions hit a record high of 37.4 billion tonnes in 2023, due in part to drought-stricken regions’ inability to rely on hydropower.  

Scientists have been warning for years that drastic cuts in greenhouse gas emissions will need to be made if the global community is to reach its climate change goals.  

With a vast amount of these gases coming from fossil fuel usage, countries have increasingly looked to alternative and renewable sources in order to power homes and businesses, but Mother Nature doesn’t always see things the way governments do.  

Last year, extreme droughts caused a 40% decrease in hydropower output worldwide. This in turn caused a 170 million tonne rise in emissions as affected regions were forced to turn back to traditional forms of power production. 

“Without this effect, emissions from the global electricity sector would have fallen in 2023,” says the report from the IEA. 

SOME GOOD NEWS 

Despite the drought factor, however, some of the world’s bigger polluters were able to achieve reductions in emissions in 2023.  

The European Union’s 9% fall in emissions was the biggest success story of the year, with the slow but steady shift to renewable energy generation coupled with a plunge in coal and gas power production leading the charge.  

The United States was also a winner, with a 4.1% decrease, thanks in large part to its electricity sector.  

China, normally a huge emissions culprit, also turned it around last year, offsetting its 5.2% emissions rise by becoming a massive contributor to the alternative power industry. Around 60% of new solar panels, wind turbines and electric vehicles came from China last year, meaning that the future there could see some steep drops in overall yearly emissions.  

The IEA has said that, without alternative technologies, the global increase in energy-related CO2 emissions over the last five years would have been three times larger than the 900 million tonnes registered. The agency has also revealed that, for the first-time, at least half of the power produced by developed nations came from low emission sources in 2023.  

 

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Photo source: Marek Piwnicki, Unsplash  

France seeks to “regain sovereignty” over livestock industry

by: Stephanie Horsman
08/03/2024

In the wake of the large-scale farmers’ protests that rocked France earlier this year, the French government has announced a plan to strengthen the national livestock sector as well as the wider agricultural industry. 

On 25th February, France’s Minister of Agriculture and Food Sovereignty, Marc Fesneau, unveiled his plans to better support those growing the nation’s crops as well as its livestock breeding sector. 

Fesneau hopes his plans will alleviate the fears of farmers who say that their livelihoods are in jeopardy due to cheaper imports and a growing number of regulations placed on the nation’s agricultural industry. 

The plans aim to bolster France’s ability to “produce what it consumes” in terms of crops and meat products, with a particular goal of meeting livestock sovereignty.  

“Breeding is essential in France and holds part of the solutions to the great challenges of our century,” reads a statement released by the Ministry. “The Government has decided to put breeding at the heart of its concerns by strengthening the plan to regain our sovereignty over breeding announced last October on the occasion of the 32nd Livestock Summit.” 

To that end, the government has enacted a €150 million benefits fund to support those raising cattle and has earmarked €400 million in guaranteed loans for the livestock sector, which will become available in July 2024.  

There will be €30 million available each year to support investment in agricultural equipment that contributes to significantly reducing greenhouse emissions and another packet of €15 million to strengthen the fight against tuberculosis and other diseases affecting livestock. 

The government is also publishing a decree to protect what can be designated as foods of animal origin, a requirement by restaurants to integrate 100% sustainable meat and fish products into menus, and to ask for an EU-level ban on synthetic meat, arguing that these cultivated products go against tradition and negatively impact livestock farming.  

Another element of the plans is to build interest in farming as a career choice and encourage generational farming within families.  

Finally, the mantra “produce what we consume” will be the battle cry henceforth, following the public confirmation of the Ministry’s mission to ensure food security and self-sufficiency in France, whilst continuing to improve standards and reach climate goals.  

 

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Photo source: Fabien Bazanegue, Unsplash