Новости за 19.04.2024

On Friday, the Swiss franc showed itself to be a safe haven in troubled times, amid new developments in the Middle East. However, some of the gains against the dollar and euro were lost again as the markets stabilised. In the early afternoon, the US dollar was trading at CHF0.9088, after having fallen to CHF0.9012 during the night. The exchange rate trend was similar against the euro, which is currently valued at CHF0.9677. On Thursday evening, the euro was still trading at well over CHF0.97. The... Читать дальше...

Lufthansa and its subsidiaries SWIIS International Air Lines and Austrian cancelled all flights to Israel on Friday due to the ongoing security situation. Four flights up to and including 7am on Saturday are affected, a Lufthansa spokesperson said in response to an enquiry. According to the Zurich airport website, the Swiss flight from Zurich to Tel Aviv scheduled for 12 noon Friday has been cancelled. According to US media reports, at least one Israeli missile attacked a target in Iran. There were no initial reports of damage. Читать дальше...

Poor weather conditions have led the start of the Patrouille des Glaciers races planned for Friday to be postponed by 24 hours. The first starts, which were scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday, had already been cancelled on Monday. Passing weather disturbances in the night from last Friday to Saturday had led to a lot of snow on the course, the organisers announced on Thursday evening. In addition, fog and clouds would prevent normal helicopter flights and thus rescue from the air. According to the commander of Patrouille des Glaciers... Читать дальше...

The Swiss filmmaker and film critic Ulrike Koch has died at the age of 73. Koch was an expert on China and was known for her successful 1997 documentary film The Salt Men of Tibet, among other works. Koch died March 30 in the Zurich region, following a serious illness, a nephew of the artist told the Keystone-SDA news agency on Friday. On a list compiled by the Federal Office of Culture, containing over 53,000 entries, The Salt Men of Tibet ranks 92nd among the 500 most successful Swiss films between 1976 and 2023. Читать дальше...

The Swiss Federal Court has upheld an appeal by telecommunications provider Swisscom against a decision by the Competition Commission (ComCo). In 2015, the Competition Commission had fined Swisscom more than CHF7 million ($7.7 million) for an anti-trust violation relating to a tender for Swiss Post. The country’s highest court overturned a judgement by the Federal Administrative Court, which had largely upheld the Competition Commission's decision. According to the Federal Court judgement published on Thursday evening... Читать дальше...

The Raiffeisen banking group has no history of prejudicial business behaviour against Jews in Switzerland despite the anti-Semitic views of its German founder, according to a report that was commissioned by the company. A presentation of the report’s findings by Raiffeisen Switzerland on Thursday also addressed protests about the naming of the Raiffeisen square next to the bank's headquarters in St Gallen. A public square in the Bleicheli neighbourhood of St Gallen has been known as Raiffeisenplatz since 2005. Читать дальше...

Switzerland, like the United Kingdom, has abstained from voting on a resolution in favour of full membership of the Palestinian state at the United Nations. The Swiss foreign ministry announced on Thursday night that "at the present time" the admission of Palestine would "not be conducive" to détente and peace efforts in the Middle East. "Switzerland is of the opinion that it would be better to admit Palestine as a full member of the UN at a time when such a step will fit into the logic of an emerging... Читать дальше...

With the Electricity Law, the Swiss government and parliament aim to promote domestically produced renewable energies. The goal is to secure supply and reduce the use of carbon fuels. Voters will decide on this on June 9. How did the vote on the Electricity Law come about? The so-called Electricity Law consists of a whole package of laws that were developed over many years and passed in parliament last year. Because it combines numerous measures, it is also referred to as a blanket decree. The laws... Читать дальше...