UN Special Rapporteur Maina Kiai today called on international sports bodies, including FIFA and the International Olympic Committee (IOC), to respect universally recognized human rights at their events, especially the right to peaceful assembly. Maina Kiai condemned “private multilateral bodies” and singled out Switzerland-based IOC and FIFA in a speech to the UN General Assembly. […]
Swiss companies out-perform analysts’ expectations – except for UBS
Markedly positive third quarter earnings are now being released by Swiss companies. According to IG Bank, eight of the 15 companies that have reported so far have beaten analysts’ expectations by an average 2.21% with the exception of UBS. At Switzerland’s largest bank, UBS, profits were lower than expected at CHF 762 million against analysts’ […]
Learn to shout louder, or learn the lingo.
There are various schools of thought on how to learn French (or indeed any other language). Assuming that you do not believe that restaurant French is enough to get by in Suisse Romande, then you may be faced with deciding whether you, your partner, or colleagues should embark on a language course. This is often […]
Skiing safety action
Portes du Soleil the massive Swiss-French ski domain has announced that it is to recruit ski monitors in an effort to reduce ski speeds. A spokesman claimed that many skiers, especially those with children, felt uneasy on the slopes. Skiers caught speeding or skiing dangerously would forfeit their ski passes. The news will be welcomed […]
The curious have adventures: Cultural youth exchange programmes
Youth exchange programmes offer a rare opportunity for a person, generally in their late teens, to travel, study and live in a foreign country for an extended period of time. They live as a member of a family and learn through immersion about their host country’s culture. As importantly, they act as ambassadors for their […]
Apple’s game-changer: iPad Air2 for a cheaper connection
It’s either good news for consumers as the mobile networks’ throttlehold is broken, or bad news if consumers’ choice of network operators is restricted. Apple announced this week that its new iPad Air will contain a “soft sim” which allows the user to choose their preferred mobile operator based on service and price, and indeed […]
La Nuit de la Guitare: Acoustic guitar virtuoso concert
It is rare to have world-class musical talents come together to give performances in lesser known venues in the region. But this is exactly what is happening in Versonnex on 31 October. For fans of the acoustic guitar, this event promises to be memorable with three highly respected masters coming together for just one evening. […]
Payot’s best sellers of the week
Gone Girl is a thriller by American writer Gillian Flynn. Published by Crown Publishing Group in June 2012, it soon made the New York Times best seller list. The novel’s sense of suspense comes from uncertainty about the main character, Nick Dunne, and whether he is involved in the disappearance of his wife. Reviewers have […]
Black-outs: a growing trend?
Geneva’ utility organisation, SIG has stated that the blackout that occured late on the evening of 15 October across Plainpalais and old city affected nearly 15,000 of its customers including restaurants and television broadcaster, RTS. It was caused by the breakdown of a transformer. This was the second large powercut in the region in as […]
Visages du Japon – Faces of Japan
Launching on Wednesday 8 October for two weeks, the Fenetre sur Cadre, a small venue at 10, Place du Marché in Carouge, will be exhibiting the work of three photographic artists, Nicolas Bouvier, Matthieu Zellweger and Sylvia Wyder. The artists have come together to each express through photographs, their own personal vision of Japan. Sylvia […]