Switzerland Today
Hello from Bern,
Where this week the government will decide on another raft of Covid decisions. The Covid certificate is not likely to be scrapped (yet), but it’s again making the news today as 250,000 people find themselves “invalid”.
In the News: Certificates go out of date, cheese exports boom, and rents are high.
- Some 250,000 people saw their Covid certificates go out of date today, SRF reported. The sudden change is due to a government decision this month to reduce the validity of the passes from 365 to 270 days, thus bringing them in line with the EU. Restaurants say it will cause more headaches and lost business. The government is due to make a decision on scrapping further Covid measures on Wednesday.
- Cheese exports from Switzerland hit record levels last year, with volumes rising by 7% and revenues 10%, according to figures released today. A total of 82,470 tonnes were exported to foreign bellies, with the industry enjoying total revenues of CHF756.7 million ($813 million). Europe was the destination for 80% of all Swiss cheese exports; German consumers made up half of that market.
- A five-year comparison of rent prices shows Geneva and Zurich as the most expensive Swiss cities, with Geneva marking the greatest increase since 2017. The French-speaking city is particularly pricey when it comes to family-sized flats: a 4.5-room apartment goes for an average of CHF3,500 per month. Lugano in southern Switzerland is cheapest for bigger apartments, while Biel/Bienne is cheapest for smaller (two-room) flats.
Dictator difficulties: Switzerland to send Ambassador to Minsk.
Dealing with undemocratic regimes isn’t as easy as it used to be… Even neutral Switzerland, which has always tried to keep avenues of communication open to all the world’s lands, regardless of political leanings, is coming under pressure. After the recent criticism of its plans to send a government minister to the opening of this week’s Beijing Olympics, then more criticism of its reversal of this decision, today the Tages-Anzeiger raisesExternal link another tricky case – Belarus.
The country has been the target of sanctions and snubs by European nations after crackdowns by leader Alexander Lukashenko in 2020, and the controversial rerouting of a plane to arrest a dissident last year. Some countries, including France and Austria, have been going to lengths to avoid having their Ambassadors present their credentials – and thus legitimise – Lukashenko. Switzerland, however, is about to send a new Ambassador to Minsk, writes the newspaper – and, as the foreign ministry confirmed to swissinfo, “she will present her credentials to the head of state, as per the diplomatic tradition in most countries.”
Some opposition figures in Belarus will no doubt be unhappy: one figure quoted by the Tages-Anzeiger says it amounts to an “insult to the feelings of all Belarusian citizens”. The European Commission, which does all it can to diplomatically ignore Lukashenko, is also likely to roll its eyes. For the Swiss foreign affairs ministry, the issue is the old one of pragmatism – you can’t make much progress if there are no relations whatsoever. “We are convinced that we can better serve our interests with an Ambassador on site,” a foreign ministry spokesman said. And in this case, there is a pressing interest to resolve: the dual Swiss-Belarusian citizen Natallia Hersche, who is currently still in jail after being sentenced for taking part in an anti-government protest march in 2020.
Nadal edges ahead of King Roger in Grand Slams
In winning the Australian Open yesterday, tennis player Rafael Nadal has taken his total career Grand Slam titles to 21 – a record which will now give him some added clout in the so-called GOAT (“greatest of all time”) race. Is Nadal the goat of goats? “Yes, maybe,” the non-committal Tages-Anzeiger writes today: a qualified “yes” also echoed in Le TempsExternal link, whose sportswriter says Nadal is “mathematically the best”, but that Swiss goat Roger Federer, trotting behind on 20 grand slams, has other cards up his sleeve – his style, his technique, his mark on the sport, etc. Anyway, “what does it mean to be the best?” Le Temps asks. For an attempt to answer this question, here’s a feature written last year by swissinfo goat Tom Stephens.
Scientists spot tiny snail species in southeast Asia
A huge discovery was reported today by researchers who have found the world’s smallest snail. Scientists from the Senkenberg research instituteExternal link, including the University of Bern’s Adrienne Jochum, spotted “Angustopila psammion” in North Vietnam, where it lives in cave sediment. Smaller than a grain of sand (with a shell height of 0.46-0.57 mm), and so small that researchers doubt that any smaller snail will ever be found, the “secret” of the creature’s evolution is also being small. “Thanks to its size, it can find food in tight spaces, and can also feed on particles which are not interesting to larger animals,” said Jochum. The snail itself, being so small, is also quite unappetising for hungry predators. Another small step forward for science.
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