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 […]
Archives for 2014
Keeping business accountable
BERN The Federal Council has warned Swiss companies operating in developing countries that they must do more to ensure the protection of human rights and the environment, otherwise the government may step in. The matter is expected to go before the parliament in September. The 28 May Council report was in response to a petition […]
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 […]
Promoting health & sex education in developing countries
Switzerland’s Federal Council has submitted a report emphasising the country’s commitment to promote health and sex education in developing countries. The report focuses on the importance of sexual and reproductive health for the future of global development. Prior to 1994 most programmes emphasized the need for governments to impose family planning measures and distribute free […]
The Lake Geneva region: A writers’ pole for creativity
Perched at the foot of the Jura mountains, the Maison de l’Écriture rises as a strident intrusion of modernity with its vaulting, white pillars, panoramic windows and perforated roof. Yet this is not the first time that a New Age phenomenon has imposed itself on the area. Back in the 1890s, when the Morges to […]
Solar Impulse 2 test success
PAYERNE Bertrand Piccard’s and André Borschberg’s second solar-powered plane, Solar Impulse 2, successfully completed a two-hour maiden flight above La Broye on 2 June. This remarkable feat of engineering and ingenuity has captivated enthusiasts across the world — a suitable global acclaim considering the plane’s ability to reach far-off destinations without having to land. In […]
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.
Street Arts Festival Gratte-Bitume – 17 great street acts
Street performers are one of the fabulous delights of European city living. They provide immediate relief from the grind of the past working week and transform even the grumpiest person into an enraptured holidaymaker. Never ones to stint on providing the best “street artistes”, the Swiss have a deserved reputation for organising wonderfully eclectic street […]
Home and away – the consequences of going camping as a family
“We’re going to need a bigger tent,” my husband said, with some surprise. The last time we used his three-man tent, it had been more than big enough. We didn’t take up much space in those days, back in the first flush of romance, when we still fell asleep in each other’s arms. Also, we […]
Lowest Swiss unemployment in 25 years
Bern With last month’s unemployment figures at 3% – the lowest in 25 years according to Bern’s Secretary of State for Economy (SECO) – Switzerland’s good economic prospects are proving increasingly attractive to foreign companies despite the gloom of the 9 February anti-mass immigration vote. Based on an Ernst & Young (which now calls itself […]
