Lausanne is bidding to host the 2020 Winter Youth Olympic Games. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) will announce its decision in July 2015 on whether the Games will take place in Lausanne or Brasov in Romania. The Youth Olympics are much like the Olympics but with one small exception, the Olympians are between 14 and […]
The honey bee controversy
Europe and the US have lost 45% of their bees. Given that 80% of Switzerland’s crops and wild plants rely on bee pollination, there is growing concern about the continued decline of Europe’s bee populations. Greenpeace and the European Alliance to Save Bees and Agriculture maintain that excessive use of highly toxic pesticides is largely […]
Schumacher moved to CHUV
Formula One champion Michael Schumacher has been transferred from hospital in Grenoble to the CHUV in Lausanne. His family report that the 45-year-old is no longer in a coma and they have commended the care and treatment provided by medical staff at the hospital in Grenoble. The German champion driver was placed in a medically […]
Tax on “dirty” power?
World Wildlife Fund-Switzerland (WWF) and Pro Solar, an initiative of Swissolar, have launched a joint petition calling for a levy of CHF 0.10 per kWh on electricity produced from non-renewable energy sources. The organizations believe that this would help reduce impact on the environment without putting undue pressure on households and the wider economy. More […]
Payot’s best sellers of the week
This week’s top seller is Hard Choices by Hillary Rodham Clinton. The book chronicles her four year stint as US Secretary of State in President Obama’s administration. Reviews to date are shamefully polemical and appear to be drawn solely along party political lines rather than on the merits or weaknesses of Mrs Clinton’s narrative.
Bergamo, Italy: Dolce vita around the corner
Need a dolce vita fix? Located 50km away from the hustle and bustle of Milan, Bergamo is a city full of old-world Italian charm. The city’s defining feature is the ancient hilltop Città Alta (Upper Town) surrounded by the Mura, over 5km of well-preserved Venetian walls. A wander through the cobblestone streets leads to several […]
Le News edition 28
19 June 2014 Download the latest edition of Le News here: Le News 19.06.14 Edition 28 (Right click “save target as”)
New anti-immigration initiative
Switzerland’s conservative UDC party, which launched the controversial initiative to curb mass European immigration last February, is contemplating a new one. In a statement, the party said it would seek to ensure the Federal Council “annuls the agreement with the EU on the free circulation of people” as required by its initiative. The UDC suspects […]
From Millennium to Sustainable Development Goals
GENEVA Given the world’s failure to eradicate poverty and hunger by 2015, governments and development specialists are seeking a new continuum with a greater emphasis on sustainability. According to a 23 May Geneva Environment Network roundtable, the new Sustainable Development Goals, or SDGs, should fully integrate environmental concerns since health, food security and other crucial […]
Payot’s best sellers of the week
Top of the list is Inferno, a mystery thriller from Dan “de Vinci Code” Brown, and the fourth book in his Robert Langdon series. Set mainly in Florence, the plot is as twisted as any dreamed up by that lovely city’s renaissance politician, Niccolò Machiavelli. The book was number one on the New York Times Best Seller list for the first eleven weeks of its release in 2013.
