Don’t uncork the champagne just yet. Finance minister Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf this week outlined the Federal Council’s response to the popular initiative “Stop discriminatory VAT in the restaurant business”, to be put to the vote on 28 September. For several reasons, she rejected the proposal of GastroSuisse, the hotel and restaurateurs association, to bring the standard […]
Archives for 2014
University of Geneva alumnus wins Fields prize
The Fields Medal, officially known as International Medal for Outstanding Discoveries in Mathematics, is a prize awarded to two, three, or four mathematicians aged under 40 by the International Mathematical Union. It has been awarded every four years since 1950. It is often viewed as the greatest honour a mathematician can receive and has often […]
Swiss cheese off EU over Russian sanctions
As tensions rise between Russia and the West, Switzerland announced last week that it has added 26 Russian and Ukrainian individuals and 18 organizations to its sanctions list, bringing the total number of individuals affected to 87 and the number of entities to 20. Switzerland is not part of the European Union and is not […]
Geneva voted “Europe’s Leading City Break Destination 2014”
World Travel Awards (WTA) this week have named Geneva “Europe’s Leading City Break Destination 2014” at the what is considered by the industry to be the ‘Oscars’ of Tourism. The city triumphed at the prestigious awards which took place in Athens on 2 August. Already recognised as a leading business destination, this win is a […]
FAR° Festival of the Living Arts
For nearly 30 years, the city of Nyon has been pleasantly disrupted by the far° Festival of the Living Arts (theatre, dance and performance) during most of the month of August. As the only such event in the region, the far° explores new territories for the performing arts with Swiss and international artists combining both […]
Payot’s best sellers of the week
This week’s review: I Am Pilgrim by Terry Hayes. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green was again the week’s Payot top seller. Having already reviewed it, Le News instead looks at the third highest entry, I Am Pilgrim, the debut novel by former journalist and screen-writer, Terry Hayes. It was published in July 2013 […]
Pleasant shock for your wallet
Many Lausanne residents will have received a pleasant surprise with their latest electricity bill – a deduction of CHF 80 for every person, including children, in the household. This is in fact an annual subsidy from the commune to partly offset the cost of living in the city. It was introduced at the beginning of […]
The Revolution of the Saints revisited from Geneva
In the West, there is tremendous fear of Islamic fundamentalism taking over the Arab world. The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), often described as “extremist” and “militant,” continues its march towards Baghdad; in Egypt the Muslim Brotherhood remains an important actor. Surprisingly, there should be a particular understanding of this phenomenon from a […]
Hiking hazards in Switzerland: Not just bad weather
As Swiss meteorological records point out, July proved to be the wettest month in 50 years. Precipitation was four times higher than normal putting a severe dampener on Swiss tourism. The Lake Geneva region, Bernese Alps, Valais and Jura have all endured exceptionally high rainfall. Many resorts have reported cancellations, particularly among weekend vacationers seeking […]
Pay more for a 4 x 4
Anti 4×4 and SUV sentiment is being supported by a system of penalties being charged for importing polluting vehicles by the government. In a report by 24 Heures, importers of cars into Switzerland last year paid penalties of over CHF 5 million to the government for importing large polluting vehicles such as 4x4s. The penalties […]
