According to data recently released by the Federal Office of Statistics 45,748 dwellings were vacant in Switzerland at 1 June 2014. This is just over 1% of all dwellings and represents an annual 14% increase in vacancy rates. The biggest increases were in the Lake Geneva region, followed by the Mittelland, Zurich and eastern Switzerland. […]
Blatter to stand for fifth Fifa term – England not supportive
Sepp Blatter (78) has confirmed he will stand as Fifa president for a fifth term next year despite repeatedly denying that he would do so. Blatter claims that the support expressed by most national associations at Fifa’s congress in São Paulo made him reconsider. Several Fifa members, including England, state that they will not support […]
Apple takes aim at Swiss watch industry
Apple, the US-based technology company, has predictably tried and to a degree succeeded in getting a rise from the Swiss media by claiming that its latest device, a digital watch, will cause the demise of the Swiss watch industry. The campaign disingeniously ignores the truism that a wristwatch is worn for far more than just […]
WHO demands e-cigarette bans and marketing restrictions
Much to the irritation of the tobacco industry, including corporate giants such as Philip Morris in Switzerland, the World Health Organization is demanding that governments ban electronic cigarettes indoors. It also wants curbs on advertising and other tactics that lure young people. In a report issued at the end of August, the UN organization maintains […]
Swiss president’s commute – a video by swissinfo.ch
Swissinfo.ch has put together a short video exploring why Switzerland’s leaders don’t use bodyguards.
US-Swiss relations – doomed to repeat history?
Book review: Switzerland: A democracy under pressure By Stefanie Frey et al. Verlag Merker im Effingerhof, CHF 59.00 Swiss–United States relations have been strained in recent years by disagreements on several issues, most recently banking secrecy, security and privacy issues. Does the US have good reason to criticize Switzerland, or do US politicians not understand […]
Payot’s best sellers of the week
The Giver is an American children’s novel by Lois Lowry. It won the 1994 Newbery Medal and has sold more than 10 million copies. It has recently been released as a film and the book re-launched. Rank Title Author Published By Genre 1 Adultery Coelho, Paulo Random House Fiction Hard Cover 2 The Fault in […]
Le News – 10 September 14 – edition 31
10 September 2014 Download the latest edition of Le News here: Le News 10.09.14 Edition 31 (Right click “save target as”)
The Swiss president’s commute goes viral on twitter
In stark contrast to the president of the United States, the Swiss president was shown in a photo, taken by Le Temps journalist Serge Jubin, standing on a railway platform in Neuchâtel waiting along with the general public for his train to arrive. No armour plated limousine in sight. Jubin’s tweet reads: “Switzerland, a wonderful […]
Payot’s best sellers of the week
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green is staying firmly on top of Payot’s top 10 this week. A new entry is Personal, the nineteenth book in the Jack Reacher series written by Lee Child. Released this week by publisher, Doubleday Bantam, it has already jumped to fourth position in the local best seller’s […]
