Switzerland Today
Hello from rainy Bern!
There was some good news from today’s government Covid-19 press conference: three remaining countries – India, the UK and Nepal – have been taken off the “variant of concern” list. This means unvaccinated people, including children, arriving by plane are no longer required to quarantine (although they must present a valid negative test). This should ease concerns for some vaccinated parents who were trying to figure out how to keep their unvaccinated kids in a bubble for ten days after the summer holidays.
In the News: The government tries a fig leaf to help repair relations with the EU.
- Senators are pushing back on government plans to send the so-called “cohesion billions” to the European Union. The payment was ratified in 2019, but the funds haven’t been released following various spats with the EU. The Swiss government now wants to release the CHF1.2 billion to normalise relations with the EU after it walked away from a framework deal with Brussels earlier this year. Some senators, however, don’t see the rush. At this rate, the EU will have to wait until Christmas for the billions.
- Swiss bank Credit Suisse is back in the news – this time over the Mozambique “tuna bonds” scandal. The Financial Times has reported that the bank will face trial over the 2013 case, dealing another blow to a bank that has been trying to shake off various crises. The scandal centres on loans the bank organised to fund maritime projects, including a state tuna fishery in Mozambique. Auditors later found that $500 million of the money raised by the loans could not be accounted for.
- In more Covid news, new daily infections exceeded 1,000 for the first time in months. If this leads to a return to restrictions on social life, there could be an uproar from vaccinated folk. This is according to an internal paper from the Swiss army medical service obtained by CH-Media, which says that this could lead to more protests, this time from the vaccinated population.
Culture Corner: Few can forget the iconic image of a nun singing on a scooter.
That scooter was none other than a Vespa, which turned 75 this year. The robust, affordable and easy to ride scooter made its debut in Italy but has had a special place in hearts and on roads in Switzerland. Geneva played host to the first International Vespa Rally in May 1951. Switzerland was also the first country to import the Vespa and a special model of the scooter was made especially for the Swiss market.
Stay tuned for more culture stories this week as the Locarno Film Festival starts tomorrow. Our reporters Eduardo Simantob and Carlo Pisani will be covering all the Piazza Grande buzz. Follow them at #LocarnoCloseup.
Word on the Street: People are still talking about the August 1 speech by Marco Chiesa, president of the right-wing Swiss People’s Party.
According to media reports, Chiesa declared “war on the cities”, criticising the politics of left-wing city folk as the politics of “parasites”. Was it just a way to grab attention or has he hit a nerve?
In compliance with the JTI standards
More: SWI swissinfo.ch certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative
