Following this week’s compromise Lima Climate Change agreement, which basically keeps the global initiative on track with governments promising to bring forward their commitments until next year’s pivotal Paris conference, the question now is whether this will finally mean real action. It’s taken a long time for politicians and select business interests to acknowledge that […]
Swiss higher education under attack
Last February’s referendum seeking to restrict mass immigration from the European Union already has seriously damaged Swiss universities and complicated student exchanges. The federal government in Bern has less than three years (February, 2017) to decide how to implement the curbs on the free circulation of people, the pillar of the European cooperation, as constitutionally […]
CHF 117 million for International Geneva
According to Bern, Switzerland’s budget for International Geneva is to be increased by CHF 44.8 million annually from 2016-2019. Seeking to strengthen the country’s role as premier host to the United Nations, the Federal Council plans to dish out a total of CHF 117.2 million over the three-year period. While the UN headquarters operates as […]
Swiss democracy and xenophobia: Need for more open debate
Last week’s Le News editorial questioning whether the over use of Switzerland’s referendum system was actually undermining democracy through too much democracy received considerable reaction, much of it irate. Clearly, we had touched on a sacred cow, even if not of the Swiss Brown or Simmental variety. How dare one criticize Swiss democracy? It has […]
Will Uber bring the same tragedy and drama to Basel?
LAUSANNE Uber, the quasi-taxi company, is back in the news, again for all the wrong reasons. The company has just launched its service in Basel despite condemnation by local taxi firms, but also public authorities and lawmakers elsewhere. For such critics, the city would do well to heed the advice of those who have experience […]
Switzerland continues nuclear power cutback
World-wide, the use of nuclear energy, including new investment, is falling back. The Italians already made the decision in 1987 following the Chernobyl crisis to close nuclear power stations. In Germany, eight stations have been shut since 2011 leaving nine others to continue producing 16 percent of the country’s needs. Over the next decade, Berlin […]
Swiss to crack down on FIFA and sports corruption
ZURICH Amid repeated allegations of corruption and lack of transparency, the Swiss-based International Federation of Football Association (FIFA) may finally be held accountable by the Bern government. In recent years, the organization’s top executives, including Swiss national, Sepp Blatter, president of FIFA, the governing body of world football, have managed to ignore accusations of inappropriate […]
A drone for Christmas! Beware stiff laws
“Drones are just brilliant!” enthuses 17 year-old David, a student in Vevey. “I’ve asked my parents to give me one for Christmas”. He may be disappointed. With more and more mini-drones being flown throughout the country, the government recently initiated a ban to prevent them from being flown over populated public areas. Events such as […]
The Swiss deflation puzzle
There is currently much talk of the dangers of deflation and the specter of its imminent arrival in the Eurozone. The Economist newspaper proclaimed last week that if deflation were to set in, the single currency would be in peril. Economists assume that deflation, or falling prices, reduce consumption as consumers defer spending in the […]
HIV infections down in Geneva
The number of people living with HIV in Geneva has remained stable this year, according to new statistics released by the Department of Health. One in 100 people in Geneva are living with the virus – more than 4,000 people – and during the first 10 months of this year, 46 people were diagnosed. However, […]