Switzerland today
Greetings from Bern,
Geneva took centre stage again as the host of talks between heavyweights Russia and the United States over Ukraine. Swiss President Ignazio Cassis probably had his hands full dealing with frayed nerves.
Verdict: No breakthrough but not a disaster either.
In the news: Ukraine talks, doomsday media and punctual trains
- The US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, met his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, in Geneva today. The meeting follows three rounds of inconclusive talks between American and Russian diplomats. The military buildup on the Ukraine border remained the bone of contention for both parties. The talks did not achieve any breakthroughExternal link but helped clarify positions and demands from both sides. Message from Geneva: Do not write off diplomacy yet.
- With less than a month to go before a referendum on government funding of private media, Finance Minister Ueli Maurer has made his displeasure about Covid coverage known. In an interview, he accused the press of scaremongering and placing too much emphasis on worst case scenarios. Maurer’s comments come as infections reach a record high, but hospitalisations are slightly declining.
- Swiss trains have acquired a reputation abroad for punctuality, even if Swiss residents tend to look at their watches and shake their heads if their train has not arrived on the dot. This legendary punctuality has taken a beating in recent years due to the weather, construction and maintenance work. But being on time is back on track partly thanks to Covid-19. “The lower number of travellers due to the ongoing corona pandemic also relieved the rail system,” said a communiqueExternal link.
- Travellers from southern African countries can visit Switzerland again. The State Secretariat for Migration tweeted on Friday that the entry ban on people from Botswana, Eswatini (formerly Swaziland), Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, Zimbabwe and South Africa would be lifted on Monday.
Science corner: Artificial intelligence for your teeth
Researchers at the Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich have developed a deviceExternal link that will let you know when it’s time to visit your dentist. What looks like an electric toothbrush is actually a mini camera that takes pictures of your teeth and the images are analysed within seconds using artificial intelligence.
“The users immediately see how well they brush their teeth and which areas they neglect – often up to 40% of the teeth,” says Severin Stalder, founder of the spin-off company.
Bye bye Meatloaf: Trip down memory lane
The rock music star has died at the age of 74. His Grammy Award-winning single I’d Do Anything For Love was on the lips of many a teen in the 90s. He performed four times in Zurich (1988, 1994, 1996 and 2005). In 2003, he also made an appearance on a Swiss television show to promote his album Couldn’t Have Said It Better and at times his energy seemed too much for the Swiss hostExternal link to handle.
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