The Beznau I reactor at the Swiss Bezenau nuclear power plant in Döttingen in the Canton of Aargau appears to be in worse shape than some had imagined. The reactor which sits on a man made island on the Aar river is currently on a rest period. It went into operation in 1969 and is […]
Swiss are world’s train travel champions
According to LITRA, the Swiss covered more distance by train than anyone else in the world in 2014. An average Swiss resident covered 2,288 km by train, more than twice the distance of an average Brit (1,056 km). Even the French with their world-class high-speed TGV train network were well behind the Swiss with only […]
Geneva’s fines for excessive noise and driving in bus lanes more than triple
Tribune de Genève. On 1 October 2015, fines in Geneva went up massively. According to Tribune Genéve, the increases are expected to put an extra CHF 3 to 4 million per year into Geneva’s public purse. The increases impact a myriad of things including driving and parking infringements and excessive noise. For example the fine […]
From bare-foot football to leading AIDS fight. Sidibé knows how to convince.
A walk in the park. This week Renu Chahil-Graf interviewed Michel Sidibé, Executive Director of UNAIDS, the UN agency combating HIV and AIDS. Michel knows about discrimination. The son of a mixed-race marriage in Mali in the 1950s, he is well qualified to fight the discrimination faced by those with HIV. He also knows how […]
Do you work for a good business or a bad one? Here’s what to look for.
What is good business? What is an ethical company? Some people struggle to answer this question. Others have well defined views and examples of what good business looks like. They can also describe bad businesses they think exploit human weakness or damage the environment. The School of Life, founded by Zurich-born Alain de Botton, a […]
Get inspired at the United Nations 70th anniversary open day
The Palais des Nations, home of the United Nations Office at Geneva (UNOG), will open its doors to the public on Saturday, 24 October 2015, to mark the 70th anniversary of the United Nations. Under the theme “Strong UN. Better world”, the Open Day will be among key events being held worldwide that day […]
Young Swiss have lost all confidence in retirement
20 Minutes. A survey by the newspaper 20 Minuten, reveals that only 12% of those under 30 expect to be able to retire. More than half expect to have to work until 70. Nine out of ten are concerned about AVS provisions and only 2.1% are certain there will be enough money. 26% think it […]
Court cancels speeding fine after owner claims not to know who was driving
On 1 September 2015, 24 Heures reported that a former mayor of Nyon lost a court battle to have a speeding offense overturned. He claimed innocence, and while the resulting investigation revealed big questions about the accuracy of speed camera photographs, he lost. The Vaud court sided with the police who argued that it is […]
Swiss pumpkin champion hit by heat wave
2015 was a disappointing season for Beni Meier. Last year he became known as the man who grew the world’s largest pumpkin when he produced a 1,054 kilogram whopper, presented at a competition in Ludwigsburg in Germany. This year Beni still managed to take the prize for the largest Swiss pumpkin, weighing a relatively modest […]
Is Geneva airport really one of the world’s worst five?
On 28 July 2015, the British newspaper the Independent, posted a thirteen-line article listing the worst five airports in the world written by senior travel writer Simon Calder. Geneva’s Cointrin was listed number four. No methodology or data were presented to support the author’s conclusions. For example, it is not clear which airports were included […]
