Switzerland today

Hello from Bern!

We’re all pinching ourselves here after last night’s dramatic match. Did that really happen? Did the Swiss “Nati” really upset world champions France? “Every Swiss, no matter where you live, can be proud today,” Swiss captain Granit Xhaka told reporters after the match.

After 120 minutes of play, it came down to the final penalty shot for a historic victory, sending Switzerland to the quarter finals for the first time since 1954.

Keystone / Alessandro Della Valle

In the news It’s red and white all over the papers today as Switzerland celebrates their win against France.

• “Last night we witnessed an explosion of joy in every city in Switzerland,” wrote the French language paper Le Temps. “The historic victory of the national football team overwhelmed a nation with happiness.” The Swiss were the quintessential underdogs. The New York Times expressedExternal link their awe that a “well-drilled, but limited – and also quite uninspiring – Swiss team” could pull off such a result.
• It isn’t just football fans that are drinking champagne. Trade union Unia’s annual pay gap study found that the pandemic did little to reduce the gap between executives and employees in companies. It found that three CEOs of Swiss companies pocketed more than CHF10 million last year. Some companies granted pay rises to their CEOs even though the firms were losing money.
• Heavy storms hit the country again today, wreaking damage and straining rescue teams. Insurance firm Axa estimates that the damage from the last week of storms amounts to CHF143 million from over 33,000 claims. Some towns have already called upon the army for support as rescue teams reach their limits.

And, lastly, the cows are making their annual summer ascent. About 500 cows and calves in their finest attire made the climb from Adelboden to Engstligenalp on Monday.

Keystone / John Angelillo

Weigh In Freedom of expression – a pillar of democracy – is increasingly under pressure.

Switzerland holds itself up as a beacon of freedom of expression, but proposed legal changes show that it isn’t guaranteed. Citizens are increasingly being called to the ballot box to decide on what counts as acceptable expression. What is it like where you live? How are you affected by this and what do you think should change? Take part in our debate.

CSEM

Swiss Made What if a machine could make skin that looks just like your own?

This is the idea behind denovoSkin. “It’s not artificial skin, but it’s not exactly natural skin either,” said Daniela Marino, cofounder and director of CUTISS, which developed denovoSkin. “To be precise, it’s a skin-tissue equivalent produced by bio-engineering.” 

The technique could be particularly useful for the more than 11 million people around the world who suffer serious burns every year. The product is now in Phase III testing but already received orphan drug approval in the US and Europe, allowing it to be used for certain patients.

Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.

Deep Dive A “movie plot” clandestine drug trafficking operation has exposed vulnerabilities in the shipping industry. 

The seizure of $1 billion in cocaine off the MSC Guyane in 2019 may have been the largest drug seizure in US history but it is far from an isolated case. According to UN experts the illicit drug trade has been on the rise and companies are ill equipped to deal with it. Only 2% of the 750 million containers moved around the world every year are inspected. 

Swiss criminal law expert Mark Pieth says that the concealment of illegal goods is just one issue facing the sector where there is a lack of oversight. Companies “would [only] find out if they are tipped off, if there is an undercover operation, or simply by chance,” he said.