Oh, hooray. It’s cold and flu season again (again? Wasn’t it just November, like, a month ago?) and to amuse us all during this trying time, I’ve compiled a short list of sufferer ‘types’, based on my family. I’m sure there are more types, so contributions are welcome, but this is what I have to […]
Health insurance, restaurant taxes and crossing Lake Geneva
The concept of a referendum appears to be viewed increasingly by Europeans as a quick way to impose change on politicians (first Scotland, then Catalonia). The question, however, is whether the referendum really constitutes an effective form of democracy. Is decision-making not supposed to be the role of elected parliamentarians? And if a referendum affecting […]
Throwing off the yoke: Swiss farm numbers decline
It is hardly news that Swiss peasants have been abandoning farming in recent decades but the phenomenon increased even further in 2013. By the end of last year, there were 2.4% fewer farms than were worked in 2012, particularly smaller farms of between 5 and 20 hectares. On the other hand, the number of farms […]
Swiss referendum aims to change health insurance
Many of those in favour of the Swiss health insurance changes proposed for the 28 September 2014 referendum believe they will deliver cost savings and reduce average compulsory insurance premiums. Swiss health care costs were the second highest in the world after the US and 66 percent higher than in the UK, according to a recent analysis by the Economist Intelligence Unit. Often […]
US mid-terms: What Americans need to know!
With US mid-term elections coming up, expatriate Americans need to be aware of their rights and how to go about voting. GENEVA An American friend recently recounted how his parents, after many years of living in Switzerland, were surprised to learn that they still had the right to vote in US federal elections. In fact, […]
Glory Days – Cracking Up
“How much longer do you plan to go on living?” the seven-year-old asked me the other day, after giving me one of those long, appraising looks that children are so good at. I like to think that this question had nothing to do with greed for her inheritance (which currently stands at: my wedding ring; […]
Le News Diary
Change is a constant at Le News so we decided to add this section to keep readers up to date. We are excited about our progress and the role the paper is now playing in the community. We have also taken on three new talented contributors on the editorial side, begun investing further in digital […]
Jihadists, FIFA and the “new” old age
How should we deal with Swiss Jihadists joining ISIS? Berne may not consider it a problem, yet, but all it takes is one or two to return as terrorists, While European Muslims are finally speaking out against the beheadings, crucifixions and Mosque burnings, influential figures such as Tariq Ramadan in Geneva need to condemn ISIS […]
FIFA accused of cover-up: Qatar to lose cup?
The refusal by the International Federation of Football Associations (FIFA) to release the findings of its 350-page report can only lead to further speculation regarding allegations of corruption over the granting of the World Cup to Russia in 2018 and Qatar in 2022. It also suggests that nothing has changed within the powerful Zurich-based organization, […]
Swiss jihadists – foreign fighters recruited by extremists over the internet
Are Swiss Jihadists a danger? The silence of Switzerland’s moderate Muslims was broken last week following the arrest in Kosovo of two imams who had travelled to Switzerland to recruit for Syria and Iraq. Four days later, the Albanian Islamic Centre of Lausanne denounced what it called “the brain washers” whose actions “daily shock the […]