11 August 2017. Switzerland’s most important film festival, LOCARNO, celebrated its 70th birthday this year. With its penchant for “new” cinema, its exquisite setting of the Lago Maggiore, velvety mountains and its magical nightly screenings of films on the gigantic Piazza Grande (seating up to 8,000!), it draws more cinephiles every year. Despite incredibly high temperatures […]
Switzerland braces itself for a storm
Tribune de Genève. Swiss Meteo is predicting heavy storms this evening. A mass of heavy unstable air is poised to unleash heavy rain, winds, and possibly hail. Storms are predicted to cover much of the Swiss plateau from Geneva through to Lake Constance. The warning is level 3, which is described as considerable danger. and […]
New 50 Swiss franc note wins international beauty contest
The new 50 franc note, launched last year, was voted the best new bank note in 2016 by the International Bank Note Society, a society founded in 1961. Nearly 120 new banknotes were released worldwide in 2016. The Swiss 50 only narrowly beat the Maldive Islands 1000 Rufiyaa bill, Argentina’s 500 Peso jaguar, and the […]
Cyclists offended by insurance company video
A video published by Suva, an Swiss insurance company, has offended a number of cyclists. The video portrays the grisly fate of a smug dimwitted cyclist who ridicules his vindictive car-driving colleague and neighbour. His neighbour takes his car to work, even in winter, while the hardy cyclist rides rain, hail or shine. When the cyclist fails […]
Recent Swiss snow won’t make it over the Rösti Graben
Some Swiss newspapers, such as 20 Minutes, have spotted a correlation between current divergent weather and Switzerland’s linguistic divides. The Rösti Graben, that metaphorical dividing line between French- and German-speaking Switzerland, seems to fits with diverging weather conditions. Over the last 24 hours, some Swiss towns in the east have had a sprinkling of April […]
Switzerland assembles record number of Charlie Chaplins
On Easter Sunday, a world-record 662 Charlie Chaplins of all ages assembled at Chaplin’s World near Vevey to celebrate what would have been the original’s 128th birthday. Charlie Chaplin was born on 16 April 1889. The short video below shows the look-a-like Charlie Chaplins assembling in star formation for a photo. And no large gathering on […]
Swiss might drop daylight savings
20 Minutes. Switzerland could drop daylight savings. Currently, Switzerland’s Federal Council sees no reason to abandon it, however if Switzerland’s neighbours did it would follow, mainly for economic reasons said the Federal council. National councilor Yvette Estermann (UDC/SVP), who is fiercely opposed to daylight saving, took the opportunity to point out the negative health consequences […]
Fake posts on social media can lead to criminal proceedings in Switzerland
20 Minutes. Anyone who posts false information on Facebook that triggers a police investigation risks criminal proceedings. A recent case in Zug provides an example. Two young people recently attacked a 52 year old man in the city of Zug, slashing the corner of his mouth. Shortly after the attack, a woman posted a comment on […]
How could Trump’s presidency damage the United Nations?
On 3 January 2017, a bill known as the American Sovereignty Restoration Act of 2017 was introduced to U.S. Congress. The bill aims to repeal the United Nations Participation Act of 1945 and other related laws. More specifically, it requires the President to terminate U.S. membership in the United Nations (U.N.), including any organ, specialised […]
Zurich has world’s most expensive coffee
A comparison of coffee prices in 75 cities around the world places four Swiss cities in the top five. At an average price of CHF 3.47, Zurich came out top, followed by Copenhagen (3.22), Basel (3.21), Bern (3.07) and Geneva (3.02) The best prices were in Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paolo in Brazil, just […]
