Day: 12 May 2026

A new global initiative inviting people to spend 10 minutes doing something kind for someone else launched on Tuesday at the Princess Grace Irish Library in Monaco, brought to life by Donegal-born entrepreneur Troy Armour and Miss Ireland Caoimhe Kenny.

The 30 Days of Good Deeds campaign, running throughout June, is built around a simple chain reaction: do one kind act for another person, share it on social media, then nominate three friends to do the same within 24 hours. The deed itself can be anything — walking a neighbour’s dog, calling on an elderly person, leaving an encouraging note under a stranger’s windscreen wiper, or quietly doing a chore someone usually faces alone.

The campaign is the founding initiative of the Mo Chuisle Foundation — its name drawn from the Irish phrase meaning “my pulse, my heart” — with charitable work focused on cancer care, period poverty and creative education.

Why Monaco, and why this library

The choice of the Princess Grace Irish Library carries its own quiet significance. Prince Albert II’s great-grandfather John Henry Kelly hailed from Newport, Co. Mayo, and the library — which houses Princess Grace’s personal book collection, including an original copy of James Joyce’s Ulysses — has long been a keeper of the Grimaldi family’s Irish roots. Princess Grace was the first foreign head of state to make a state visit to the Republic of Ireland, in 1961.

“The goal of the foundation to spread kindness across the world resonates with Princess Grace’s own mission in life,” said Library Director Paula Farquharson — a sentiment echoed in Grace Kelly’s own words: “I would like to be remembered as someone who accomplished useful deeds, and who was a kind and loving person.”

The people behind it

For Troy Armour, the campaign draws on something rooted in his upbringing. “I grew up in Donegal, where looking out for your neighbour wasn’t a campaign — it was just what people did,” he said. “Ten minutes. One person. One kind thing. Then pass it on to three more people.”

Caoimhe Kenny brought her own cause to the foundation. “I wanted to make sure that ending period poverty was one of the goals of Mo Chuisle,” she said. “Up to 24% of girls miss at least one week of school a year because they don’t have access to sanitary products.”

To take part, visit 30daysofgooddeeds.com or follow @30daysofgooddeeds from 1st June.

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Photo credit: Helena Lopes, Unsplash

The Monaco E-Prix takes place on Saturday 16th and Sunday 17th May, and with the circuit taking over large sections of the Principality, residents and visitors should plan their movements carefully.

From 5am on both race days, vehicles and pedestrians will be excluded from all streets forming the circuit, including the Quai des États-Unis, Boulevard Albert Ier, Place du Casino, Avenue des Spélugues, Avenue Princesse Grace and Boulevard Louis II, among others. Ticket holders and those with an Automobile Club de Monaco pass may still access the circuit perimeter on foot. Residents of buildings immediately adjacent to the circuit may access their homes on presentation of identity documents; those working nearby may do so with their work permit.

Several additional streets will be closed to cars only, including the Quai Albert Ier, Quai Antoine Ier and the Tunnel Rocher Albert Ier. One-way directions will be reversed on a number of streets including Rue Princesse Florestine, Rue Suffren Reymond and Rue Saige, while a two-way system will be introduced on Rue Grimaldi between Rue Suffren Reymond and Place d’Armes.

From Friday 15th May, further closures come into effect, including the Tunnel Sainte-Dévote, the Tunnel Débarcadère and the Bretelle Auréglia.

Parking

Parking restrictions begin as early as Wednesday 13th May in some areas, with the most extensive bans — covering Boulevard Albert Ier, Place du Casino, Avenue des Spélugues, Rue Grimaldi, Boulevard Louis II and many surrounding streets — taking effect from Friday 15th May at 11pm and remaining in force until the end of racing on Sunday.

Electric charging points

Several Monaco ON electric charging points will be deactivated during the event period, including those on Avenue des Ligures from 9th May, and those on Rue Grimaldi, Rue Louis Notari, Rue Florestine, Avenue de la Quarantaine and Quai des États-Unis from 15th May.

Free buses

As part of its event mobility plan, the Princely Government has again made the full CAM bus network free of charge on both race days — not only on lines serving the E-Prix sites but across the entire network. Services will be both rerouted and reinforced. Full details are available at the CAM website.

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Photo credit: Luke Entwistle, Monaco Life

Passengers from the hantavirus-stricken cruise ship MV Hondius are back in their home countries across Europe, where they face quarantine periods of up to 45 days as health authorities work to contain any further spread of the rare and potentially fatal virus.

The ship docked in the Canary Islands on Sunday with 147 passengers and crew from 23 nationalities on board, following a coordinated operation between the Spanish government, the World Health Organisation and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. All those on board were tested for symptoms before being repatriated to their countries of origin.

A new case was confirmed during the repatriation process, with one passenger beginning to show symptoms during transfer to France.

Where passengers are now

Spain’s 14 nationals are being held at the Military Hospital Gómez Ulla in Madrid, one of the country’s high-level isolation facilities, where they face a 42-day quarantine with regular PCR testing. French authorities have placed their five returning passengers in a healthcare facility for medical and epidemiological assessment, after which a 42-day isolation period will follow. French authorities have also confirmed that anyone who has been in contact with passengers or confirmed cases “may be subject to quarantine or isolation measures where it appears that they present a serious risk of infection.”

In the Netherlands, 26 passengers arrived in Eindhoven on Sunday. Dutch nationals have been sent home for 42 days of self-isolation, while those without Dutch residency have been placed in a quarantine facility. During the quarantine period, passengers are permitted short outdoor walks while maintaining distance and wearing a face mask.

Twenty British nationals, along with one German resident and one Japanese passenger, are being monitored at Arrowe Park Hospital in Wirral, where a 72-hour testing period will be followed by up to 45 days of isolation. Germany has transferred four passengers to Frankfurt’s hospital before dispersal to their respective federal states, with each person monitored by local health authorities. Belgium received two passengers, both taken to Antwerp University Hospital for assessment, while Greece’s sole national is in precautionary quarantine for 45 days at the Attikon University Hospital in Athens. Two Irish passengers arrived in Dublin on Sunday and are described as being in good spirits with no symptoms.

Fifty-four people remain on board the ship — 26 continuing by sea and 28 to be transferred by aircraft — both groups bound for the Netherlands, including six passengers who will subsequently travel on to Australia.

Why health authorities remain concerned

Health authorities continue to stress that the overall public risk remains low, despite the seriousness of the outbreak. Unlike Covid-19 or influenza, the Andes strain of hantavirus — the only known strain capable of human-to-human transmission — is not considered highly contagious and typically requires prolonged close contact with an infected person, particularly during the early stages of symptoms. Most hantavirus infections are instead linked to exposure to infected rodent urine, saliva or droppings. However, the virus carries a high mortality rate once symptoms develop, with hantavirus pulmonary syndrome estimated to be fatal in roughly 30 to 40% of cases. The incubation period can range from one to eight weeks, which explains the unusually long quarantine measures now being enforced across Europe.

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