Sharing or renting your house when you are not using it, or your car when you have a seat to spare is a very old idea. Home swaps started in the 1950s when, as part of a project to improve cultural exchange, the Swiss and Dutch Teachers’ Unions started the home-exchange revolution. In a similar […]
FIFA’s Blatter resigns
On 2 June 2015 Sepp Blatter resigned as president of FIFA only four days after re-election. Mr. Blatter said “I have been reflecting deeply about my presidency and about the forty years in which my life has been inextricably bound to FIFA and the great sport of football. I cherish FIFA more than anything and […]
How Europe’s highest vineyard ended up with 500 owners and Indian connections
Get high on Switzerland this summer, writes Renu Chahil-Graf from her Swiss mountain retreat. There are many reasons to visit, not least its exceptional food and wines and salubrious climate. The highest altitude vineyard in Europe is known to be in Visperterminen, a village of 1,400 people, nestled in a mountain range just across from […]
FIFA arrests in Zurich hotel raid change tone of presidency vote
According to the New York Times plain-clothed Swiss police officers arrived unannounced at the five star Baur au Lac hotel in Zurich where FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association) officials were staying. The officers went to the officials’ rooms to arrest them. The operation was carried out peacefully. The Swiss Federal Office of Justice (FOJ) […]
Lake Geneva’s belle epoque paddle boats attacked by pirates
On Sunday 24 May 2015 around 10,000 people turned up in the village of Rolle on the shore of Lake Geneva, Switzerland to see a parade of the world’s largest fleet of operating paddle boats. This was the 20th parade of these beautiful boats. Six boats, all from the early 20th century, took part: Montreux […]
Flights to London City Airport to get a boost
British Airways (BA) plans to increase services between London City Airport, in the Dockland’s area of London, and Geneva starting in September 2015. From 6 September 2015 BA will increase flights to up to three a day with a schedule aimed at business customers. Flights will depart from London City at 08:15, 14:15 and 18:50 […]
First high powered particle collision photos from CERN
For the first time, on the night of 20 May 2015, protons collided in the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN at the record-breaking energy of 13 TeV. These test collisions were part of the systems set up that includes adjusting the collimators that protect the machine and detectors from particles that stray from the […]
Incredible new Matterhorn speed record
Swiss mountaineer Dani Arnold broke the speed record for climbing the Matterhorn on 22 April 2015. This new record replaces Ueli Steck’s record set in 2009. Steck, also Swiss, made it to the top in one hour and 56 minutes, 10 minutes longer than Arnold who made it to the summit in one hour and […]
Montreux festival legend BB King leaves us
Riley B. King, known to most as B.B. King, has passed away at 89. The American blues singer, songwriter, and guitarist was a regular at the Jazz Festival in Montreux, Switzerland. The son of sharecroppers Albert and Nora Ella King he was born on September 16, 1925 near the town of Itta Bena, Mississippi but […]
Swiss based Nepalese stand together during the Lausanne Carnaval
The 7.8 magnitude earthquake that struck Nepal on 25th of April at 11.56 a.m. local time had its epicenter in Gorkha. The one that struck on 12th of May at 12.50 local time had a magnitude of 7.3 and was centred southeast of Kodari (Sindhupalchowk District), 76 km northeast of Kathmandu. These two earthquakes created […]










