By Andy Cohen Often referred to as the human rights or humanitarian capital of the world, Geneva has for decades managed to revere an ugly truth in the form of an authoritarian, if not murderous, religious abuser. The legacy of Reformist John Calvin – Jean Calvin in French, born Jehan Cauvin in Picardy – is […]
Coronavirus: latest antibody study suggests 10.8% of Geneva infected in first wave
A recently published update to the ongoing study in Geneva to assess the extent of SARS-CoV-2 infection suggests 10.8% of the population may have been infected in the first wave of infections. The study, which tests a sample of the population over time for IgG SARS-CoV-2 antibodies, started in early April 2020. The latest figures […]
Geneva regularises nearly 2,400 illegal immigrants
In 2017, the canton of Geneva launched a programme called Operation Papyrus to issue residence permits to undocumented foreigners living in the canton. Not all undocumented foreigners qualified for the scheme. Only those able to prove ten years of residence, if they had no children, or five years of residence if they had children, were […]
Geneva considers more voting rights for foreigners
The government of the canton of Geneva is considering extending voting rights to some of the canton’s large population of foreign residents, according to Tribune de Genève. 41% of the canton’s population are not Swiss. The plan, supported by a majority of a commission (8 votes to 5 with 1 abstention) looking at the idea, […]
Terrorist attack planned in Geneva
A terrorist attack was planned on a fuel storage facility near the airport in Vernier in the canton of Geneva, according to the newspaper Le Temps. Swiss members of the Islamic State group, led by a man with the alias Abu Ilias al-Swisri, planned to blow up the facility in April or May 2019, according […]
Geneva makes road signs gender equal
Geneva’s roughly 500 road crossing signs once all bore an icon of a man wearing a hat. Recently, the city decided to take down half of these signs and replace them with 250 signs containing six different icons of women, which include young, old and pregnant women. Serge Dal Busco, the state councillor in charge […]
Saudis to cut funding of Switzerland’s largest mosque
Constructed in 1978, the mosque located in Petit-Saconnex in Geneva is Switzerland’s largest. In a recent interview in Paris, Muhammad bin Abdul Karim Issa, Secretary General of the Saudi-based Muslim World League, the organisation that funded the mosque’s construction, told the newspaper Tribune de Genève that the organisation would stop managing and funding the mosque. In […]
Unemployment in Geneva higher than neighbouring France
In December last year, the Observatoire statistique transfrontalier published unemployment figures for the French region surrounding Geneva. French unemployment calculations broadly follow the method used by the International Labour Organisation (ILO), which includes all available job seekers – ILO definition of unemployment and French definition of unemployment. Official Swiss figures however include only those registered […]
New fines for single use plastic in Geneva
From 1 January 2020, single use plastic products will be banned in the city of Geneva. Offenders will risk fines of at least CHF 100. Offering free single-use plastic bags at retail checkouts will be banned across the canton from 1 January 2020. The law enacting the ban was passed earlier in 2019 by Geneva’s […]
French strikers vow to disrupt new cross-border train service for a long time
Early this week, the union representing French Léman Express train workers issued a press release stating that the current social conflict will be long, according to the newspaper Tribune de Gèneve. The press release concluded by stating that striking train workers are determined to turn the Léman Express into the Nothing Express. In addition to […]
