Basel-based Irish writer Padraig Rooney, whose recent book The Gilded Chalet, explores Switzerland’s relationship with American, British and other expatriate authors, looks at Hemingway’s and Fitzgerald’s own encounters with the Lake Geneva region. The war was over and the French franc cheap: twenty-five to the US dollar in the mid-twenties. Ernest Hemingway first breezed into […]
Europe’s most expensive hotels in Geneva, Paris and Zurich
Across the road from Lake Geneva, sits Geneva’s and the world’s most expensive hotel suite. The Hotel President Wilson’s Royal Penthouse Suite is reported to cost $83,500 per night – the price is not listed on the hotel’s website but costs this much according to CNN. For most of those planning to visit Geneva, this price […]
International aid – Switzerland gives less but still 8th most generous
A club of countries known as the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) together gave US$ 147 billion in international aid in 2017, 0.6% less than in 2016. The figure includes money spent on refugees. In percentage of GDP terms, the most generous nations were Sweden (1.01%), Luxembourg (1.00%), Norway (0.99%), Denmark (0.72%) and the UK (0.70%). […]
How a Swiss-American journalist ended up in court for defending French cultural heritage
In 1989, war correspondent Edward Girardet came face to face with Osama Bin Laden. Bin Laden threatened to kill him. This time around it’s money and principle rather than his life that are at stake. On 4 April 2018, he’ll be in a French court defending himself against a defamation charge brought by a French […]
Tariq Ramadan – new testimony undermines alibi
This week, things took a turn for the worse for Tariq Ramadan. According to a report by Swiss broadcaster RTS, a witness contradicted an alibi given by the Swiss muslim academic. One of his accusers claims she was raped in Lyon during the afternoon of 9 October 2009. In opposition to this claim, Tariq Ramadan’s […]
Maker of the Sniper’s Choice, makes the news – but what is the Swiss company RUAG?
The Swiss company RUAG made the news last week when investigators were called in to look at information relating to the sale of ammunition. But what is this company? According to RTS, the investigation revealed contracts for the sale of ammunition to Russia that had not been properly declared, RUAG triggered the investigation itself when […]
Geneva wants to limit Airbnb rentals to 60 days a year
The canton wants the platform to place limits on its use to put the brakes on commercial operators. The 60 day limit was set by Geneva’s State Council. Antonio Hodgers, State councillor in charge of housing told Tribune de Genève that renting on the platform had become a real business for some and that this […]
Geneva – investigators now actively hunting for welfare fraudsters and tax cheats
The team, which has been operating since the beginning of March, is hunting for people on welfare who might be working or have undeclared assets, according to 20 Minutes. In addition, it is looking for those living in the canton but pretending to live somewhere else like Monaco, Dubai or another Swiss canton. Last year […]
Home bag collection and check in now available for passengers flying on Swiss
Passengers travelling internationally from Geneva and Zurich airports on Swiss and Edelweiss can wave goodbye to their bags at home and collect them at their destination. The service, run in partnership with Swiss Rail, must be ordered the day before departure. Each bag costs CHF 22 on top of a base collection fee of CHF […]
The number of false Swiss residents coming clean rose in 2017
French communes bordering Geneva saw a rise in the number of those living in France but pretending to live in Switzerland coming clean in 2017. According to the newspaper Le Temps, the neighbouring commune of Saint-Julien-en-Genevois saw the number rise to 1,130 in 2017, more than the 1,000 in 2016 and the 600 in 2014. […]
