According to Le Matin, a cheese collection in the Swiss Alpine town of Grimentz in Valais contains two of the oldest cheeses in the world, possibly the oldest. The two cheeses, among a collection of 72, were made 142 years ago in 1875. The pastures that fed the cows that produced the milk for them […]
Archives for August 2017
Balls or burgers – insect products coming to Swiss supermarkets soon
Would you eat balls made from insects? Last year the Swiss supermarket Coop applied for authorisation to sell insect based products. Then on 14 August 2017 it announced a limited number of its stores and its delivery service Coop@home would start selling the products from 21 August 2017, phasing the products in across other stores between […]
Swiss hotel causes outrage with notice to Jewish guests
A Swiss hotel has caused outrage with a guest notice. A photograph of a notice posted in the hotel Aparthaus Paradies in the Swiss town of Arosa spread rapidly on social media after a Jewish family staying in the hotel noticed it. The notice singles out Jewish guests asking them to shower before swimming. SWITZERLAND: […]
Farm subsidy cuts for animal mistreatment supported by Swiss Farmers’ Union
According to 20 Minutes, Jacques Bourgeois, the director of the Swiss Farmers’ Union, supports sanctioning farmers who fail to treat their animals properly by cutting the farm subsidies they receive from the Swiss government. In 2015, producer support in Switzerland amounted to around 57% of farm revenues according to an OECD estimate. Swiss farm subsidies are second to only […]
FILM: Neptune reports from Locarno film festival
11 August 2017. Switzerland’s most important film festival, LOCARNO, celebrated its 70th birthday this year. With its penchant for “new” cinema, its exquisite setting of the Lago Maggiore, velvety mountains and its magical nightly screenings of films on the gigantic Piazza Grande (seating up to 8,000!), it draws more cinephiles every year. Despite incredibly high temperatures […]
Swiss initiative to grant more paternity leave given official green light
20 Minutes. The 100,000 signature mark required to launch a popular vote was reached in June 2017. Yesterday the Swiss Federal Chancellery validated 107,075 of the 107,455 signatures collected completing the first significant official milestone. The initiative is demanding four weeks of paid leave for fathers, to be taken within the first year of the […]
Super high-speed train between Zurich and Milan unveiled
20 Minutes. Dubbed the “Superveloce”, the new high-speed journey is expected to start operating between now and 2020. Made possible by the opening of the new Gotthard train tunnel, the trip should take only 2 hours and 45 minutes. Since the world’s longest train tunnel was opened in December 2016, 2.3 million passengers have passed through […]
Geneva councillor Pierre Maudet ready to give up French nationality
Tribune de Genève. According to Tribune de Genève, Geneva councillor Pierre Maudet is ready to give up his French nationality. Maudet recently put himself forward to replace Didier Burkhalter, the federal councillor, equivalent to cabinet member, who announced his resignation in July. The issue of Maudet’s dual nationality was raised by Céline Amaudruz, a Geneva-based […]
More than 3 planets needed if we all lived like Swiss residents
If every one the world’s 7.5 billion people lived like the residents of Switzerland we would need 3.1 planets to live sustainably according to calculations by the Global Footprint Network. In aggregate, humanity has been living on credit since 2 August 2017. This means we are depleting earthly resources available to future generations of humans and everything […]
Geneva lags well behind Zurich in airport ranking
A recent airport ranking by Handelszeitung ranks airports around the world. 65 aviation experts looked at airport architecture, atmosphere, passenger flow, staff friendliness, relaxation, recreation, restaurant and shopping areas. Geneva airport at rank 50 is far behind third-placed Zurich. Two asian airports, Singapore (first) and Hong Kong (second) take the top spots. Changi Airport in Singapore offers free-to-access […]