Switzerland Today
Dear Swiss Abroad,
can a Roman Emperor still conquer the New World from Switzerland? It appears he can. Take a look at today's briefing to find out how the rare gold bust of Marcus Aurelius ended up in Los Angeles from the Swiss canton of Vaud.
And if you're into animal protection, international education and drug legalisation then keep reading.
In the news: after weeks of heavy criticism Swiss Red Cross president resigns.
- Swiss Red Cross president steps down after damning report. The President of the Swiss Red Cross (SRC), Barbara Schmid-Federer, has resigned for “health reasons” following heavy criticism of her leadership style. “The past few months have been intense and stressful for me. The attacks on the reputation of the SRC and on myself have pushed me to the limit of my resilience,” Schmid-Federer said in a statement on Friday.
- The Swiss House of Representatives has rejected a proposal to authorise the re-export of Swiss-made war materiel to Ukraine. The decision was voted on Thursday evening with 98 in favour and 75 against – and 2 abstentions. This happened on the same day Switzerland’s President Alain Berset met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the European Political Community (EPC) summit in Moldova.
- Swiss capital city, Bern, wants to test controlled sale of cocaine. With 43 votes to 18, the city parliament approved a motion from the Alternative Left to extend trials with cannabis to the future legal sale of cocaine.
From Rome to Switzerland and now Los Angeles: Marcus Aurelius conquers Malibu.
One of Switzerland’s most prestigious archaeological artefacts, the gold bust of Marcus Aurelius, has been exhibited for the first time outside Europe in the Californian Getty Collection, as reported by Swiss newspaper 24heursExternal link.
Considered by many a rare masterpiece of Vaud and Swiss archaeology, the gold bust of the Roman Emperor had never been exhibited outside the continent. But on Wednesday the Getty Villa Museum inaugurated an exhibition titled ‘The Gold Emperor from Aventicum’.
The bust, made from a single 22-carat gold plate, was discovered during excavation works in Avenches, in canton Vaud in 1939.
Although it only weights 1.5 kilograms, the bust of the emperor who lived between 121 and 180 AD is a rare gem. It’s only been exhibited ten times.
Getty’s curators described the bust as “one of the most spectacular archaeological discoveries of the 20th century”. Needless to say, the bust is insured for several millions: but that’s the price to pay to protect an emperor.
Swiss Federal Council makes it easier to kill wolves
Not long after the discovery of a new pack of wolves in southeastern Switzerland, the Federal Council has decided to make it easier to shoot wolves in the country as of July 1.
According to the new rulesExternal link, if a wolf from a pack suddenly and unexpectedly threatens humans, it could be shot immediately and without a permit from the Federal Office for the Environment.
The threshold of damage that wolves must cause to be killed has also been lowered. Now, six instead of ten livestock are sufficient for shooting. In addition, if an individual wolf kills more livestock in an area where there have already been wolf attacks, it is protected from being shot for a shorter period of time.
Excluded by Erasmus+ Swiss universities find another solution, but is it enough?
To compensate for Switzerland’s exclusion from Erasmus+ and the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme, more and more Swiss universities are forging alliances with European universities, Le CourrierExternal link reported on Friday.
The goal of these alliances is to broaden the range of exchanges on offer. “Our students will be able to go abroad or follow courses given by partner universities at a distance,” explains Bernard Ries, vice-rector of the University of Fribourg, in the newspaper.
But for a European alliance to exist, it must obtain funding from Brussels. This has been done for the four alliances involving UNIL, the University of Geneva, Basel and Zurich. But the chances of the University of Fribourg’s alliance being accepted are still uncertain. Researchers can now only wait for the decision to be made by mid-June.
In compliance with the JTI standards
More: SWI swissinfo.ch certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative
