On 30 November, Switzerland’s voters will decide whether to pass a controversial amendment put forth by Ecopop, a group of Swiss environmentalists. The initiative calls for boosting birth control in developing countries as a way to curb immigration, which according to the group shouldn’t exceed 0.2 per cent of the Swiss population over three years. […]
40-50 Swiss family-owned hotels under threat of closing
Family-owned hotels across Switzerland are striving to compete with larger ones. According to Swiss Info, an estimated 40 to 50 hotels are expected to close in alpine areas over the next few years, largely because they fail to target their guests properly, said Director of Tourism Jürg Schmid. The challenges are mostly financial, as many […]
Switzerland calls for global death penalty ban
Earlier this month, Swiss President Didier Burkhalter joined 11 foreign ministers around the world in a joint declaration in favour of abolishing the death penalty. “The death penalty is incompatible with human rights,” the Swiss government said in a statement last week. While Switzerland abolished the death penalty from its federal criminal law in 1942, […]
Federer masters China
Swiss tennis player Roger Federer (33) won his first Shanghai Masters title in China on 12 October, with a straight set of victories over 29-year-old French player Gilles Simon. Federer, a 17-time Gland Slam winner, won the game after Simon hit a forehand into the net, giving him a 7-6 (8-6) 7-6 (7-2) victory. “To […]
Cause Direct: Not your average crowd-funding site
Dozens of people gathered last week at Geneva’s Impact Hub to celebrate the launch of one of Switzerland’s newest non-profit organizations: Cause Direct, an online platform that serves to connect certified NGOs worldwide with interested funders and investors. The concept behind the site isn’t a novelty. Thousands of people around the globe use websites such […]
The Geneva International Film Festival: Tous Écrans
Celebrating its 20th anniversary, the international ‘Tous Écrans’ festival will feature 131 film and TV shows from 6-13November. The gathering will take over the heart of Geneva in Plainpalais’s art nouveau Pitoëff community hall, where two projection rooms will promote 44 Swiss and two European premieres, plus eight international and 10 World premieres. Canada is […]
