Today, Swiss Federal Councillor Didier Burkhalter announced his resignation. One of seven in Switzerland’s executive, he became known around the world, during his stint as the nation’s president, when a photo of him of him standing alone on a public train platform waiting for his train was Tweeted. The photo was taken by Le Temps journalist […]
Archives for June 2017
Swiss politicians push for tax on short-haul flights out of Switzerland
20 Minutes. Two Swiss politicians from Zurich, Thomas Hardegger and Priska Seiler Graf, are calling for short-haul flights to be taxed, a move they think would push people away from flying and towards train travel. They want an end to the uncontrolled increase in air travel and the emissions it generates. In 2010, the average distance flown by […]
Property prices fall in Swiss resorts but climb elsewhere, says UBS report
A real estate report by the bank UBS, which looks at 25 top resorts in Switzerland, Austria, France and Italy, shows vacation home price drops across Switzerland. These price falls contrast with price rises in resorts in Austria, France and Italy. With more than 10,000 second homes, Crans-Montana is Switzerland’s biggest market in the Alpine […]
Swiss government wants better access to criminal records of EU citizens in Switzerland
20 Minutes. On 12 June 2017, Switzerland’s parliament agreed to look at improving criminal record checks of EU nationals moving to Switzerland, but it wants a solution that avoids complicating relations with Brussels. One possibility would be for Switzerland to join the European Criminal Records Information System (ECRIS) programme which allows EU states to exchange information on […]
Swiss government to look at toughening rules on expelling radicalised asylum seekers
Recently Switzerland’s States Council, or upper house, supported a proposal to review the current practice around expelling failed asylum seekers, in particular those who are radicalised or have broken the law. The proposal, put forward by Damian Müller (PLR/FDP) must now be discussed by the Federal Council, Switzerland’s executive body. After the attacks in Manchester […]
Watch out for pianos mysteriously appearing on streets in Geneva and Nyon
From Wednesday 14 until Tuesday 27 June 2017, pianos will start to appear on the streets of Greater Geneva and Nyon. There will be a total of 53 spread across these locations, 7 in Nyon, 15 in central Geneva, and more on the remainder of the left and right banks as well as 2 in […]
Get ready for Geneva’s 2017 summer music festival featuring 6,000 musicians
This year Geneva’s music festival turns 26. Every year the event is reinvented, and 2017 is no exception. It runs from Friday 23 June to Sunday 25 June 2017. Le News was at the event’s press conference and captured a short clip of two of the musicians forming part of this year’s aural extravaganza. The festival […]
FILM: Wonder Woman – yes she is!
9 June 2017. WONDER WOMAN *** Yes, she is! In every way a wonder, and a woman of curiosity, beauty, strength and caring. For that is the attraction of this latest blockbuster, directed by Patty Jenkins (whose 2004 film “Monster” won an Oscar for Charlize Theron) – it’s a balanced mix of romanticized Greek mythology along […]
Switzerland makes top 10 most peaceful countries
The 2017 Global Peace Index places Switzerland in the top 10. The Global Peace Index, produced by the Institute for Economics and Peace ranks 163 countries covering 99.7% of the world’s population. The index looks at 23 indicators covering the level of safety and security in society, the degree of domestic or international conflict, and […]
Jet ski use authorised on Lake Geneva
20 Minutes. According to 20 Minutes, jet ski operator Pascal Guarnieri, based in Amphion, France, is over the moon after an administrative tribunal in Grenoble overturned two rulings, clearing the way for jet skis to be used on the French portion of Lake Geneva. After a legal battle lasting ten years, Pascal Guarnieri has achieved his […]