Did you know that the first full moon of the year was once known as the Wolf Moon? I picked this snippet up online and shared it with my older child one cold January night, as we had a magical mommy-daughter moment, holding hands and looking up at that moon. Perhaps I should have chosen […]
Of Pinterest, Feral Children and the Kruger National Park
Ever since the bigger child turned 8 and is now ‘practically a teenager’, we’ve been clashing over what she is and isn’t allowed to do. ‘You’re, like, totally controlling,’ she told me a few days ago. ‘No I’m not. And speak properly. And stand up straight.’ ‘You’re also overprotective. What do you ever let me […]
Morning Mood
What’s the music of your morning? These days, mine is far less ‘Morning Mood’ and more ‘Ride of the Valkyries’; less sipping herbal tea as I watch the sun peer pinkly over the Alps, and more hefty contributions to the Swear Jar as I run around trying to get everybody ready and out of the […]
5 beauty products you can make at home
Why spend tens and even hundreds of francs on beauty products when you can just as easily make them yourself, using simple ingredients that you probably already have in your kitchen pantry? Making your own beauty products will not only help you cut your expenses, but your skin and hair will also benefit from the […]
Palestine Geneva summit: Once again to the breach
GENEVA Over the past several years, Geneva has been re-asserting itself as a neutral mediation centre, either formal or informal, for conflicts such as Syria, Afghanistan, Ukraine and the Iranian nuclear issue. Back in 2003, it also hosted an Israeli-Palestinian peace effort known as the Geneva Initiative, which outlined possible venues for genuine reconciliation. The […]
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 […]
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 […]
Gurlitt’s Nazi art legacy accepted by Bern
Switzerland’s oldest art museum, the Kunstmuseum in Bern, will be accepting a collection of modernist artworks bequeathed by Cornelius Gurlitt, the son of a Nazi-era art dealer. The masterpieces, among them paintings and drawings by Picasso, Chagall and Monet, were discovered in Gurlitt’s home a couple of years ago, according to The Guardian. Following an […]
Web inventor Timothy Berners-Lee wins prestigious Swiss Award
The brains behind the creation of the world wide web, Sir Tim Berners-Lee has been awarded prestigious Gottleib Duttweiler award. According to the institute, the award recognises people who have made “outstanding contributions to the well-being of the wider community”. Previous winners include: Václav Havel, president of the former Czechoslovakia; and Wikipedia founder, Jimmy Wales. […]
