Monaco ditches plan to expand into sea: prince

The Mediterranean city state of Monaco has shelved a multi-billion-dollar scheme to expand into the sea because of the global economic crisis, its ruler Prince Albert II said Tuesday. Albert said Monaco, an independent enclave on southern France’s Riviera coast made rich by tourism and banking, had been forced to drop plans to build a huge artificial peninsula, which had been compared to Dubai’s island developments. “In the current climate it would be irresponsible to launch a project of this scale,” the prince told AFP in an interview, explaining that the project had fallen short of its funding and environmental protection goals.