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So what is it about Leonard Cohen? What makes him so special that he is loved by musicians, even those who would never claim him as an influence, and some of the greatest singers and singer/songwriters are happy to bend their talents to the great man's songs?

Why? What makes it so special? Cohen achieves that most elusive of all literary conceits. He uses language so successfully he creates images that are at once believable but never rooted in the real world.

But there are two other reasons for Cohen's appeal. Every budding singer/songwriter will blather about how Dylan has been a great influence. Only the most discriminating, and the most left-field, of songwriters - Nick Cave, Rufus Wainwright, Jeff Buckley, Suzanne Vega, Peter Gabriel - cite Cohen as an influence. He doesn't appeal to everyone. His vision is restricted to a deeply introspective, overtly literary and melancholy cognoscenti.

And there is a very special secret embedded in his songs. Like the great Cole Porter and Irving Berlin classics, Cohen's songs can be endlessly reinterpreted without losing their special magic. There is always an element of Cohen in every interpretation but every singer can come to the Cohen canon and place their own, unique vocal stylings on his songs.

All of Switzerland's 26 cantons wield enormous power over their own taxation systems, setting their own tax levels with local citizens weighing in at the ballot box. The result is a discreet, let's-make-a-deal tax system for the international super rich who — unlike the Swiss themselves — are allowed to negotiate "lump sum" tax agreements.

Cantons are keen to draw wealthy foreigners because they offer a quick way of raising revenues at a time that they are facing public spending cuts. The local authorities have also been slashing corporate and personal rates for Swiss residents in a race that the association of canton finance chiefs has criticized as excessive.

"There are a lot of people who think this is not just and should be abolished," she said, but the fear is that if steps are taken it will simply cause the flight of a highly mobile elite to other receptive places like Belgium or London — where even Swiss millionaires are being tempted by tax benefits.

Os cientistas avançam que o declínio destas duas grandes culturas coincide com modificações do ciclo climático entre o ano 700 e o ano 900 da nossa Era.

A seca provocada por alterações no regime das chuvas, com a catastrófica redução das colheitas agrícolas, e um empobrecimento quase geral, poderão explicar as profundas tensões que levaram ao desaparecimento daquelas sociedades.

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Aos olhos dos investigadores, as variações na cintura de chuvas tropicais poderão ter sido globais e explicar assim, ainda que parcialmente, o fim da era clássica Maia (250-900) no actual México e na Guatemala.