Switzerland Today
Greetings from Bern,
Free movement exists more or less within Switzerland at the moment (although the government is mulling quarantine in autumn). Travelling abroad isn’t so easy, however. Swiss citizens can’t get into the US and US citizens have just been told to stay clear of Switzerland.
In the News: The US government has told its citizens to avoid travelling to Switzerland.
- The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the State Department have both warned against travel to Switzerland, because of a rising number of Covid-19 cases. The CDC raised its travel advisory to “Level Four: Very High”, telling Americans they should avoid travelling there, while the State Department issued “do not travel” advisories.
- Talking of restrictions to travel, the foreign ministry reminded Swiss citizens on Monday that they’ll need a passport to enter post-Brexit Britain from October 1 – an identity card will no longer cut it. Shame.
- Demand for repatriation flights for Swiss citizens with Covid-19 has been high in July and August – especially among dual nationals in North Macedonia and Kosovo, according to tabloid newspaper BlickExternal link. So far this month air rescue service REGA had flown to the Kosovan capital Pristina 21 times, the paper said. “It comes as no surprise that Kosovo stands out as a hotspot,” Blick sniffed. “The large Swiss diaspora couldn’t wait to visit their homeland this summer, mostly in jam-packed planes and buses. Kosovo also made the headlines […] because of the excessive and unrestrained partying.” Blick quoted a cantonal health director who said these repatriation flights were adding to the pressure in understaffed Swiss hospitals.
How soon will we start buying our groceries with bitcoin? What kinds of scams do we need to be aware of? And why is Switzerland so sweet on cryptocurrencies and blockchain?
In this episode of The Swiss Connection podcast published today, finance correspondent Matt Allen gives host Susan Misicka an overview of what he’s learnt while covering this scene over the past several years.
“People are getting into bitcoin for speculation. It’s a bit of casino investing,” he says. “These are just normal people off the street who think they can make a fortune, and it captures the public imagination.”
Do I understand the technology behind cryptocurrencies and blockchain? Of course not – who does? Which is why I watched this video animation by Michele Andina, which clearly explains distributed ledger technology (DLT) to crypto-idiots like me. Enjoy gaining some new insights, although SWI swissinfo.ch accepts no liability for any daft investments or nervous breakdowns!
Filmmaker Mortaza Shahed survived an attempted kidnapping in Afghanistan and now lives in Bern.
In a fascinating interview, he discusses the causes of the chaos in his home country and the chances of peace under the Taliban. “The last time the Taliban occupied Kabul, they attacked universities and hospitals, killed thousands of people and then imposed a brutal regime,” he says. “That’s not what peace looks like.”
Shahed also explains why his ideal Afghanistan “would look just like Switzerland”.
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