Switzerland Today

Dear Swiss Abroad,

It’s been a tough season for ski resort officials so far. First the energy crisis, then warm weather over Christmas that left green swathes of mountain and limited runs of artificial snow. But since the New Year there have been reports of snow cannons vandalised in several Swiss and French ski resorts. Machines were damaged and power cables cut. It’s unclear who is behind it but fingers are being pointed at climate activists.

Critics say snow cannons, which cost CHF50,000 each, harm the environment and waste energy. As my recent article points out, 54% of Swiss slopes use artificial snow. But snow-making facilities only account for 0.1% of annual electricity consumption in Switzerland. Fortunately the real white stuff seems to be falling - for now.

Here are some other stories from Switzerland on Wednesday, January 11, 2023.

Keystone / Isaac Fontana

In the news: visas from Russian occupied territories, Liberian war crimes trial and Infantino investigation.

• Switzerland will not recognise newly issued travel visas from territoriesoccupied by Russia, including parts of Ukraine and Georgia. “The EU sees this as a violation of international law and the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of the two countries [Ukraine and Georgia],” the Swiss government stated. The European Union decided not to accept travel documents from such new Russian citizens on December 8. Switzerland has now decided to follow suit.
• A Liberian man convicted of 22 counts of warcrimes including rape, murder and an act of cannibalism is seeking to overturn the judgment at an appeal trial that opened in Switzerland.
• GianniInfantino (photo above), president of world football’s governing body FIFA, met special prosecutors in Switzerland on Tuesday as part of their criminal investigation into his undisclosed meetings with the country’s attorney general during a probe of football officials.
• SpanishDefenceMinister, Margarita Robles, saysSwitzerland is refusing to allow her country to re-export warmateriel to Ukraine.

Keystone / Yuri Kochetkov

Pro Helvetia maintains its Moscow office and certain activities.Switzerland has no plans to test travellers from China for Covid-19.

The Swiss Arts Council Pro Helvetia continues to operate from its Moscowliaison office despite the ongoing war in Ukraine. At the outbreak of the war, it took the decision to suspend all support to public activities in Russia, such as concerts, exhibitions or festivals.

This will continue in 2023External link. But the organisation has decided to adjust its mandate and focus on “peer-to-peer exchange and knowledge transfer among artists and arts professionals” to maintain cultural cooperation with the Russian independent art scene. It will also adapt its promotional work “via online programming and experimenting with new digital and hybrid formats”.

“Pro Helvetia strongly believes in the necessity of continuing its collaboration with the independent cultural sector in and outside of Russia,” it stated on its website. “The experience of these past months highlights the importance of maintaining existing cultural links between Swiss and Russian artists and the key role Pro Helvetia’s presence in Russia plays in maintaining dialogue between artists and art practitioners from both countries.”

After tough zero-Covid curbs were abruptly lifted in December, China has been battling a surge of infections. China’s top health officials and state media have repeatedly said Covid infections are peaking across the country and they are playing down the threat now posed by the disease.

Meanwhile, the World Health Organization (WHO) has said China is under-reporting the scale of the outbreak.

Worries over the size and impact of the outbreak in China have so far prompted more than a dozen countries – including the United States, Australia and some European countries – to demand pre–departurenegativeCovidtestresults from visitors from China. China has rejected criticism of its Covid data.

Switzerland’sposition was highly anticipated. The government finally announced today that travellers from China entering the country would not be required to undergo compulsory testing for Covid-19.

The Omicron variants circulating in China posed “only a smallrisk to the Swiss population and the Swiss health system,” it said in a statement.

“People in Switzerland currently have strong protection against developing severe Covid-19,” the government said. “Many of them have already been vaccinated or have already been infected and recovered.”

According to the latest findings, the variants of the coronavirus currently circulating in China are Omicron variants which are already extensively circulating in Switzerland or are already on the decline, it said.