Tag Archives: Switzerland

Bloomberg reports: The Swiss Army Knife, the iconic, more than century-old fold-up tool used by whittlers, soldiers and even astronauts, will soon be available without a blade. Victorinox, the company behind the quintessentially Swiss product, is responding to tighter regulations around weapons around the world, Chief Executive Officer Carl Eisner told the Blick newspaper on Monday. Instead, it plans to …

CNN Business reports: Switzerland’s biggest bank, UBS, has agreed to buy its ailing rival Credit Suisse in an emergency rescue deal aimed at stemming financial market panic unleashed by the failure of two American banks earlier this month. It said the rescue would “secure financial stability and protect the Swiss economy.” UBS is paying 3 billion Swiss francs ($3.25 billion) …

Euronews reports: Geneva natives Laure and Aline have been waiting for this day ever since they met 21 years ago. “We sent out the invitations at the last minute,” Laure told Euronews. “People sometimes have trouble making themselves available on a Friday at 11 am.” Switzerland is one of the last countries in western Europe to allow same-sex marriage. Hundreds …

The Daily Mail reports: A family of four are dead and a teenage boy is fighting for life in hospital after appearing to jump from their apartment building in the Swiss resort of Montreux on Lake Geneva, police said. The French family were found at the bottom of a seven storey building in Montreux on Thursday and are believed to …

The New York Times reports: Switzerland, a favorite destination for Russian oligarchs and their money, announced on Monday that it would freeze Russian financial assets in the country, setting aside a deeply rooted tradition of neutrality to join the European Union and a growing number of nations seeking to penalize Russia for the invasion of Ukraine. After a meeting with …

France 24 reports: Love in the time of Covid is a complicated affair. In France, dating got trickier this week after a “vaccine pass” came into force on Monday. The new pass requires people aged 16 and above to show proof of vaccination (that is, three doses) to enter public places such as bars, restaurants and cinemas. When it comes …

The Associated Press reports: Switzerland’s executive body announced Wednesday that same-sex couples can get married starting on July 1 next year, making good on the resounding support Swiss voters expressed in a referendum. The Federal Council officially said that starting Jan. 1, Switzerland would recognize the marriages of same-sex couples who wed in in other countries instead of continuing to …

The BBC reports: Swiss voters have backed same-sex marriage in a referendum, according to projections. More than 60% supported the measure, which would bring the country into line with most of western Europe. In the build up to the vote, church groups and conservative political parties opposed the idea, saying it would undermine the traditional family. Switzerland has allowed same-sex …

Reuters reports: Swiss voters decide on Sunday whether to allow same-sex couples to wed and adopt children after a highly charged campaign pitted gay rights activists against conservative opponents in one of the last Western European countries to still ban gay marriage. The federal government and parliament approved opening civil marriage to same-sex couples, but opponents forced a referendum on …

The Associated Press reports: Tens of thousands protested in Switzerland on Saturday for the legalization of same-sex marriage in the Alpine country. The protests came ahead of a national referendum on Sept. 26 on the legalization of gay marriage, which has already been introduced in many other European countries. So far, same-sex couples in Switzerland can only get official approval …

Bloomberg News reports: Already banned from Twitter, it looks like Donald Trump will be shut out of Davos too. The former U.S. president, the star attraction of last January’s gathering of power-brokers in the Swiss Alps, is unlikely to be invited back, according to the World Economic Forum’s founder and executive chairman, Klaus Schwab. Asked by newspaper NZZ am Sonntag …

The BBC reports: Voters in Switzerland have backed a proposal to make discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and sexual identity illegal. The result of 63.1% in favour to 36.9% against is a huge boost for Switzerland’s LGBT community. It had argued Swiss law on the issue lagged far behind other countries in Europe. Opponents of the new law …

The Daily Beast reports: Police in Switzerland reportedly uncovered a Russian spying operation in Davos, where world leaders are meeting this week for the annual World Economic Forum. Police arrested two Russian men in the Alpine town last August after they were alerted to their suspiciously long stay in the resort. The men had allegedly claimed diplomatic protections, but had …

Cross Country Magazine reports: A jaw-dropping video clip of a tourist tandem flight gone wrong in Switzerland has been posted to YouTube, revealing the terrifying ordeal of a pilot and passenger in Interlaken this summer. The passenger in the “Swiss Mishap” video that has gone viral in pilot circles is Florida-based Chris Gursky, an auto-parts manager and photographer. On 26 …

Media Matters report: Chuck Holton, a correspondent for the National Rifle Association’s NRATV, credited Switzerland’s low crime rate on the “homogeneity” of its culture, echoing a long-held white nationalist talking point. During the July 20 broadcast of NRATV’s Stinchfield, Holton discussed his reporting on gun laws in several European countries and how they compare to those in the United States. …

Reuters reports: U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to use his maiden speech to the World Economic Forum on Friday to promote his tax cuts, deregulation and trade policies to chief executives, bankers and political leaders. Trump, who flew into the sanctum of the global elite at the Swiss ski resort of Davos on Thursday, will deliver the event’s main …

Bloomberg reports: Billionaire Democratic donor George Soros on Thursday took aim at President Trump and tech giants during an appearance at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. “I consider the Trump administration a danger to the world,” Soros said. “But I regard it as a purely temporary phenomenon that will disappear in 2020, or even sooner.” “I give President …

Switzerland’s The Local reports: More than a thousand people protested in central Zurich on Tuesday against the planned arrival of US President Donald Trump in Switzerland for the World Economic Forum (WEF). Trump is due to make a speech at the gathering of international business and political leaders in Davos on Friday. The demonstrators marched through the Swiss city chanting …

The New York Times reports: President Trump is expected to attend the World Economic Forum at Davos, Switzerland, in the coming weeks, an administration official said Tuesday. In a statement, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the White House press secretary, said the president was looking forward to attending the gathering of world leaders and business executives. Mr. Trump’s planned appearance at an …

Over one million views since last night. Laughing Squid recaps: Not wanting to be outdone by the Netherlands invitation video, the Swiss television show Deville Late Night put together “Switzerland Second“, a hilarious video inviting Donald Trump to visit their country, voiced in English and using his own style of speaking. Additionally, the Swiss video touts its geographical superiority over …