Traffic alert: A9 closed on mountain side near Montreux

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GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – The A9 autoroute has been closed on the mountain side of the road between Villeneuve and Montreux since an accident involving three trucks in the Glion tunnel at 08:30 Friday. Two of the drivers suffered light injuries and are being treated in hospital. The road will remain closed until at least noon [...]

Road alerts for upcoming cycle race

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GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – Drivers, plan ahead: the Tour du Pays de Vaud cycling race will cause a number of roadblocks and slowdowns from Thursday to Sunday, 23-26 May. Traffic in the direction opposite the race will generally be stopped for stretches at times that depend on where the racers are, and drivers are cautioned to [...]

Some delays on Geneva-St Gallen train line

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GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – Problems with a locomotive are behind delays late Tuesday morning and early afternoon on the Geneva airport-St Gallen main train line that runs through Fribourg and Bern. Some of the replacement trains do not have scheduled restaurant cars. Check the CFF rail site for updates.

Zurich Airport loses marks for disabilities help

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ZURICH, SWITZERLAND – Elevators without braille despite tactile footpaths leading to them and charging non-Swiss travelers for wheelchair help on trains leading to the airport are two of the criticisms made by Roberto Castiglioni, editor of web site Reduced Mobility Rights, in his new Kloten accessibility report on Zurich Airport. Overall, his assessment is positive [...]

Darwin to fly Geneva, Milan to Cambridge

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GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – Darwin, Lugano-based airline with offices in Geneva, will begin flights 2 September between Cambridge, England and four European continental destinations, the company said Monday 20 May. The airline’s 50 flights a week to and from Cambridge include six a week to and from Geneva and eight a week to and from Milan’s [...]

South with Endurance, The Photographs of Frank Hurley

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GENEVA, SWITZERLAND / BOOK REVIEW, BOOK MY PLACE – We are approaching the hundredth anniversary of what must still be the most inspiring and heroic of all journeys, the astounding crossing of the Wedell sea by Shackleton and his four men in the James Caird, from Elephant Island to South Georgia, then the even more [...]

Crowds come out for naval show, 140 years of paddlewheelers

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GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – The 140th anniversary of the Lake Geneva paddlewheelers saw 8,000 people brave mixed weather in Nyon, with another 1,700 on board the CGN’s five steamboats for a “naval ballet” Sunday 19 May. Photos, ©2013 CGN The 1.5 hour-long display of maneuvers choreographed by First Captain Olivier Cheseaux ended with a flourish, as [...]

Spring comes, fighting cows need no coaxing

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GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – Saturday 11 May was the first day out in the pastures, as a herd, for cows at a farm above Sierre, canton Valais in Switzerland. The Val d’Herens cows are famously called fighting cows because the pregnant cows, with hormones ready to take on the world, battle each other to find the [...]

Rush hour trains: spread out to get a seat

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GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – Rush hour train travelers are getting advice this week from the CFF about how to make sure they get seats and how to find less-crowded trains. From 13-18 May the rail company is handing out flyers and counseling travelers at several main stations: Geneva, Lausanne, Bern, Basel, Olten, Lucerne, Zurich and Bellinzona. [...]

500 flight attendants to go at Air France

PARIS, FRANCE – Air France will be seeking volunteers for early retirement and other measures that will help the company cut 500 fulltime equivalent flight attendant jobs in a bid to save CHF236 million in 2013, reports agency afp. The  move will reportedly affect 600-650 people.