Новости за 18.04.2024

Here’s a look at some eye-catching facts and figures behind the Montreux Jazz Festival, Switzerland’s biggest annual music festival. The line-up for this year’s event, which runs from July 5-20, was announced on Thursday. 58 As usual, there is something for everyone at this year’s Montreux Jazz Festival – the 58th edition. The line-up – a total of 64 concerts – includes the traditional mix of old-timers and up-and-coming stars, from Alice Cooper, Lenny Kravitz and Sting (performing in a trio) to Raye (six-time Brit Award winner in 2024)... Читать дальше...

As the 60th edition of the Venice Art Biennale opened its doors on Thursday, Swiss Interior Minister Elisabeth Baume-Schneider inaugurated the Swiss Pavilion. In her speech, the interior minister – who is also responsible for culture – emphasised the idea of confrontation with “the other”. “Foreigners Everywhere” is also the motto of this year’s Biennale. Baume-Schneider said engaging with others is a proven method of opening up to the world and reassuring oneself of one’s own identity. Her remarks... Читать дальше...

The Federal Court in Lausanne has upheld the conviction of far-right essayist Alain Soral for discrimination and incitement to hatred. The Frenchman, who lives in Lausanne, made derogatory comments about the sexual orientation of a female journalist and homosexuals in general in an interview published online in 2021. Soral, whose real name is Alain Bonnet, was convicted based on Article 261bis of the Swiss Criminal Code. Since July 1, 2020, it is also possible to punish calls for discrimination or... Читать дальше...

Swiss voters are likely to have the last word on reforms to healthcare financing this year as the country’s public services union (VPOD) handed 57,000 signatures in to the federal chancellery in Bern on Thursday. At stake is the ‘monism bill’ which foresees standardised financing of outpatient and inpatient care, under which the cantons would be required to pay at least 26.9% of the costs of services and health insurers a maximum of 73.1% through premiums. Today, outpatient treatments are paid by health insurers alone from premiums. Читать дальше...

Federal technology institute ETH Zurich’s high placing in global university rankings could be under threat as its budget struggles to keep pace with increasing student numbers, it says. The university believes government funding will be insufficient for the coming years. And if funding levels remain unchanged, cost-cutting measures may become necessary, it said on Thursday as it presented its 2023 annual report. + Read about why the Universtiy of Zurich recently stopped participating in one prestigious international ranking Among other things... Читать дальше...

People in Switzerland drank slightly less wine in 2023 than in the previous year. However, Swiss-made wines increased their market share. Overall, wine consumption fell by 1.3 million litres to 235.9 million litres, the Federal Office for Agriculture announced on Thursday – a decrease of 0.5%. However, there were differences between types of wine: according to the figures, an uptick in white wine consumption was not able to compensate for a drop in the popularity of red. That said, red wine still... Читать дальше...

Healthcare costs rose by 2.5% in 2022 compared to the previous year to CHF91.5 billion ($100.7 billion). However, the increase was below the average of the last five years, the Federal Statistical Office (FSO) said on Thursday. The big three service providers were hospitals, socio-medical facilities, and doctors' surgeries. Hospital services accounted for CHF32.6 billion of the costs, socio-medical facilities for CHF14.5 billion, and doctors' surgeries for CHF13.7 billion; costs rose across all three sectors. Читать дальше...

On Friday activists gather in Swiss cities for the latest “global climate strike”. As numbers on the streets dwindle, is the movement still influential? In September 2019 Swiss climate activism hit the big time when 100,000 people demonstrated in Bern, many of them inspired by Swedish activist Greta Thunberg’s global climate movement. A month later, parliamentary elections vindicated the mood, with the Green Party making unprecedented gains. Things have since gone a bit differently: following a pandemic... Читать дальше...

Swiss International Air Lines (SWISS) decided on Wednesday that it will not be operating any flights to the Lebanese capital up to and including April 30. The airline also announced that it would not be using Iranian airspace until then and will be monitoring the situation in the region “closely”. The decision regarding the Lebanese capital goes in the opposite direction to that of Tel Aviv; on Tuesday SWISS announced it would resume flights to the Israeli city with immediate effect. On Wednesday... Читать дальше...

In 2023, 1.7% less electricity was consumed than in the previous year, apparently due to more efficient appliances. According to the Swiss Federal Office of Energy (SFOE), electricity production also rose by 13.5% to hit a new record. In 2023, 72.1 billion kilowatt hours (kWh) of electricity were produced in Switzerland, a new record, compared to 63.5 billion kWh in 2022, the SFOE said on Thursday. After deducting storage pump consumption, net generation in 2023 was 66.7 billion kWh. According to a press release... Читать дальше...

The Swiss National Bank won’t have to take climate and environmental risks into account in its monetary policy, according to the country’s parliament. While a number of institutions including the European Central Bank and Sweden’s Riksbank have started to address climate change issues, Swiss lawmakers on Wednesday followed the stance of departing SNB President Thomas Jordan, who has repeatedly said that the central bank should have a narrow mandate focused on inflation control and shouldn’t put global warming on its agenda. Читать дальше...

Far-right organisations, reports of cybercrimes and acts of terrorism by increasingly young suspects, and the arrival of anti-Semitism in popular culture reflect an increase in violence and radicalisation in younger people in Switzerland. Read up on the topic and join the discussion on dialogue! A recent report by the Foundation against Racism and Anti-Semitism (GRA) on discrimination in Switzerland revealed a 50% increase in reported cases of discrimination and hate speech in 2023. It identifies “Junge Tat”... Читать дальше...

The landmark ruling that condemned Switzerland for climate inaction has had a ripple effect on international law. UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and the Environment David R. Boyd speaks to SWI swissinfo.ch on what this means for the UN and on accountability for states. Is climate protection becoming a new human right? Last week, Switzerland became the first country in the world to be sentenced for climate inaction by an international court. In its judgement, delivered on April 9, the European... Читать дальше...