Colonel Sepp Blatter and a very timely exhibit

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Here are the stories we're following in the week of May 25, 2015.

Colonel Sepp Blatter – FIFA chief’s earlier life

FIFA (the Fédération Internationale de Football Association) will hold a presidential vote at its congress on Friday. Current president, Switzerland’s Sepp Blatter is the favourite to win what would be a fifth term in office. This week, swissinfo.ch will take a closer look at Blatter’s career, not only as a renowned football coach, but also as a Swiss army colonel during the Cold War.

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The world’s 1%

Last year, swissinfo.ch reported that 86 of the world’s 2,325 billionaires were living in Switzerland. This week, we may get to learn a bit more about them: On Tuesday, UBS financial services and consulting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) will release a worldwide survey of billionaires. The survey will report how the world’s billionaires made their money, and how they are spending it.

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Seekers find asylum in Swiss homes

Around 300 Swiss homes are opening their doors to asylum seekers, thanks to a project organised by the Swiss Refugee Council (SRC). The SRC is working with cantonal partners to place asylum applicants in volunteer Swiss households for a minimum of six months. Originally launched in 2013, the programme is finally gaining ground after suffering delays due to administrative hurdles. This Wednesday, swissinfo.ch sheds light on the programme and its participants.

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A brief history of time

Although watches are often associated with Switzerland, timekeeping is a global concept with a lot of rich history. On Tuesday, Lausanne’s Musée de design et d’arts appliqués contemporains (mudac) will share some of this history in a new exhibit called “Telling Time”. With 150 artefacts on display – from heritage watch collections to Apple’s much-talked about timepiece – the event will provide a meta-chronology of humanity’s 5,000-year-old obsession with keeping track of time.

STST-STTP

Switzerland’s Top 100

Switzerland Tourism has launched a “Grand Tour” of the country, consisting of 1,600 km and 100 cultural and natural highlights. With its Swiss scenery and Swiss cities, the fast-paced tour also features Swiss prices. Will the new attraction appeal to visitors? swissinfo.ch investigates.

 What you may have missed last week:

Romansh, the least-spoken national language in Switzerland, can now boast its very own e-comic. Featuring a variety of fearsome monsters, Il Crestomat was born in the Swiss canton of Graubünden, which hosts most of the language’s 60,000 speakers. In this podcast, the creators of the e-comic stage a live reading of their work for swissinfo.ch.