GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – Lufthansa will be canceling of flights Monday 22 April due to a higher-pay strike by personnel. Only 20 of the 1,650 short-haul flights will be operating and most medium-haul flights will not be running. The strike also affects some Swiss airline flights: details on the company’s site. Lufthansa was hit by another [...]
Crime rate up 9% in Switzerland, mainly theft – urban areas worst hit
March 26, 2013 by
Lausanne’s increase highest: detective work paying off, but cop patrols to be stepped up GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – Crime is on the rise in Switzerland, up 9 percent overall in 2012, with robberies showing an 11 percent increase nationwide. Theft in urban areas has risen more rapidly than elsewhere. Two other areas of crime that are [...]
Swiss continue to drink 1.6 litres of spirits a year
February 19, 2013 by
Figure well below that for UK, France GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – The Swiss continue to hold a steady line on their consumption of spirits, at about 1.6 litres per person a year for the past 10 years. Consumption has risen slightly, new figures from the Federal Bureau for Alcohol show, but in line with the rising [...]
The 2013 ultimate guide to Swiss carnivals
February 13, 2013 by
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – The 2013 carnaval season is upon us. Brace yourself for the never-ending brass band parades, Guggen (masked performers) and cow bells (no bikini-clad dancers here). Although there is no Carnival in Geneva, a number of towns around Lake Geneva have scheduled carnivals for late February and early March, including a Venetian carnival in [...]
Bernard Stamm ends world solo sail with high winds, waves
February 7, 2013 by
Sailor was disqualified but carried on with daunting Vendee Globe route GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – Sailor Bernard Stamm from Saint Prex, canton Vaud, crossed the imaginary finish line in Les Sables d’Olonne, France, of the Vendée Globe around-the-world solo race Wednesday 6 February, after 88 days, 10 hours, 27 minutes and 10 seconds at sea. But the [...]
British-Swiss Chamber says “no” to salary caps vote
January 30, 2013 by
ZURICH, SWITZERLAND – The British-Swiss Chamber of Commerce (BSCC) has come out against the Minder Initiative to cap top management salaries, in an unusual move into the political arena, with a letter to members Wednesday 30 January. The 3 March vote calls for a federal constitutional amendment that would make shareholder approval mandatory for board [...]
We love our cold coffee: 6 swimming pools’ worth of milk!
January 10, 2013 by
ZURICH, SWITZERLAND – Emmi’s 2004 recipe for little cups of cold coffee is holding its own, and giving Swiss dairy farmers a boost. The company says it has crossed the line for 100 million cups sold, two-thirds of them outside Switzerland, all made from fresh Swiss cows’ milk. The UK, Germany and Austria are the [...]
Swiss offered easier entry to US
January 8, 2013 by
BERN, SWITZERLAND – The US has offered Switzerland the possibility for its citizens to enter the US more quickly, under the Global Online Enrollment System (Goes) that allows “trusted travellers” a speedier passport control process. A biometric passport, fingerprints and an interview are part of the approval system. The programme is optional. If Switzerland accepts [...]
Goldbear 1, Teddy 0 in the choco vs gummy bear battle
December 18, 2012 by
ZURICH, SWITZERLAND – A legal battle pitching two unlikely opponents, a Swiss chocolate Christmas bear versus a German gummy bear, has so far resulted in Zurich-region Lindt & Spruengli losing the first round, despite shortening the name of its bear to Lindt Teddy. The gold-foiled wrapped bear is an extension of the company’s hugely successful [...]
Snow and cold take toll on Geneva-Brig train line
December 11, 2012 by
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – The almost unthinkable happened to the famously on-time Swiss trains late Monday: snow and ice slowed down by 30 minutes and in some cases cancelled trains on a main line, Geneva-Lausanne-Brig, which links Calvin’s city to canton Valais. Brig also serves as a main connection to Italy and much of German-speaking Switzerland. [...]
