France: Putting a price on the ‘City of Love’
A historian and a Parisian real estate specialist have put their heads together to come up with a total price tag for the City of Light, finding that the French capital is worth a whopping 706 billion euros. …
France 24
Love padlocks attached to a fence by lovers are pictured on the ‘Pont des Arts’ bridge in Paris on Jan. 4, 2012. (Thomas Samson/AFP/Getty Images)
Italy: Holocaust denial could become a crime in Italy
Senate Justice Commission to vote on amendment to criminal code
Italian MPs from across the political spectrum on Tuesday introduced an amendment to Italy’s criminal code that would make denying the Holocaust a crime. …
Holocaust denial is explicitly or implicitly illegal in 17 countries: Austria, Belgium, Canada, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Hungary, Israel, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Switzerland, and Romania. …
ANSA
Switzerland: Naked Geneva sculpture covered before Iran talks
A relief carving of a naked man at the United Nations’ Geneva headquarters was covered up on Monday, apparently to spare the blushes of Iranian diplomats ahead of fresh talks on the country’s use of nuclear energy.
UN officials would not comment on why the wall relief, inspired by Michelangelo’s “Creation of Adam”, had been masked by a large white screen, referring questions to the Swiss authorities.
But Swiss newspaper Tribune de Genève claimed that the aim was to avoid offending the Islamic republic’s delegation for the talks taking place on Tuesday and Wednesday. ...
The Local
Sri Lanka: Prince Charles to celebrate his 65th birthday in India and Sri Lanka
The Prince of Wales will be in India on his 65th birthday and will celebrate the landmark at a reception in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Clarence House has announced. The Prince and the Duchess of Cornwall will spend nine days in India next month before travelling to Sri Lanka for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) where the Prince is representing the Queen for the first time.
A spokesman for the Prince said no formal party was planned, but “there’s likely to be some singing and maybe even a cake” at the High Commission reception. The royal couple will have a rest day on November 13, giving them time for a private celebration, though royal sources insisted the Prince “doesn’t want any fuss” about the fact that he will be eligible for his free bus pass. …
Telegraph via Columbo Page
A photo of Prince Charles taken Sept. 11, 2013. (Dan Kitwood-WPA Pool/Getty Images)
Spain: Spanish app calls time on Mexican kidnappers
An IT company based in the Canary Islands has designed a mobile app which will give relatives of Mexico’s 105,000 annual kidnap victims a chance to track down their loved ones before it’s too late. ...
Boia, meaning beacon in Portuguese, allows users to choose one or more mobile “bodyguards” who receive vital information when the app user leaves his or her predetermined “comfort zone”. ...
Mexico and other Latin American countries with high incidences of kidnappings have already shown interest in the Spanish app because of the amount of information it can provide in life or death situations. ...
The Local
Iceland: Prince Harry to propose in Iceland
Prince Harry is apparently ready to propose to his girlfriend Cressida Bonas under the Northern Lights, according to a report in British magazine Heat. Harry, 29, has been with his 24-year-old partner since May last year, when they met through his cousin, Princess Eugenie.
Speculation has increased in recent months about the Prince’s plans to propose, and reports claim he has now made up his mind where and when to do it.
A source said Harry has been to Iceland to train for his trek to the South Pole next month and the country holds a special place in his heart. …
Ice News
Cressida Bonas (Danny E. Martindale/Getty Images)
Canada: Malala Yousafzai to become honorary Canadian: Report
Malala Yousafzai — the Pakistani activist for girls’ education known worldwide for surviving a Taliban assassination attempt — will be granted honorary Canadian citizenship ...
Toronto Star
Malala Yousafzai (Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)
*Image of Paris via Shutterstock.
