Switzerland today
Dear Swiss Abroad,
The great Tina Turner is no more. The Tennessee native who became a Swiss citizen died peacefully after a long illness in her home in Küsnacht near Zurich at the age of 83.
Everyone has a favourite Tina Turner number. Mine is the 1995 theme song for the James Bond film Goldeneye.
“But now my time has come
And time, time is not on your side”
She will be missed but her music will live on in our memories.
Goodbye Tina: An American and Swiss icon
Tina Turner moved to Switzerland in the 1990s with her partner German music executive Erwin Bach. She then retired from show business, married Bach and relinquished her US nationality to become a citizen of Switzerland in 2013.
Like other foreign celebrities before her, such as Charlie Chaplin or Audrey Hepburn, Tina was welcomed with open arms by her adopted homeland.
“With Tina Turner’s death, the world has lost an icon. Your songs and the many memories associated with them will stay with you. My thoughts are with the family of this impressive woman who has found a second home in Switzerland,” tweeted Swiss President Alain Berset on Wednesday night.
She lived a quiet life in Switzerland but was active within her small community in Küsnacht.
Slaves in Switzerland? Modern slavery rankings
Switzerland had the lowest prevalence of modern slavery with an estimated 0.5 modern slaves per 1,000 residents, according to 2023 Global Slavery IndexExternal link that was released on Wednesday. Examples of modern slavery include forced labour, forced marriages, debt bondage, sexual exploitation or human trafficking.
North Korea had the highest prevalence of modern slavery, followed by Eritrea, Mauritania, Saudi Arabia and Turkey, the index showed.
Despite its good performance, Switzerland is estimated to harbour around 4,000 modern slaves based on data extrapolated from the International Labour Organisation and the International Organisation for Migration. It was criticised, along with other rich countries, in the foundation’s 172-page report for taking limited action despite larger resources at its disposal in terms of GDP per capita.
E-voting survey: 72% of Swiss polled say yes
The majority of Swiss citizens are convinced of the benefits of e-votingExternal link, according to a representative survey carried out by the research institute gfs-Zurich on behalf of the Swiss Federation of the Blind and Visually Impaired (SBV FSA).
The main argument in favour of the introduction of electronic voting is the simplification of the voting process during an election or a vote, the federation said in a statement on Thursday. According to those in favour of the idea, it would also increase political participation.
Opponents of e-voting, on the other hand, are concerned by the possible manipulation of elections and votes.
A pilot project to allow e-voting in some cantons was abandoned in 2019 amid technical and security concerns of the system run by Swiss Post. However, at the beginning of March, cantons Basel City, St Gallen and Thurgau were given the go-ahead to resume e-voting trials.
Evacuated rockfall-risk village: No return yet
On May 12, the 84 residents of Swiss village of Brienz/Brinzauls, which sits beneath an extremely unstable mountain, were evacuated. On Wednesday, the residents were informed that they could visit their homes on Thursday to collect any belongings.
However, fog restricted the measuring devices’ view of the slope, and therefore the visit was postponedExternal link to Friday. Only two people per household will be allowed to return to the village for two hours. Will they be able to return home? Time will tell.
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