Switzerland Today
Hello Swiss Abroad,
After several major rockfalls on Monday, the village of Blatten in canton Valais is still holding its breath, awaiting the potential collapse of a section of the mountain looming above.
And could Geneva lose its place as the world capital of multilateralism? Several contenders are making their move.
Enjoy your read,
Following several major rockfalls on Monday high above the mountain village in the Kleines Nesthorn and Birchgletscher region, the situation in Blatten in the Lötschental Valley, canton Valais, is becoming increasingly precarious.
The village of Blatten remains on borrowed time due to the risk of a collapse of part of the Petit Nesthorn. Around a third of the anticipated five million cubic metres of rock has already fallen.
“You can see clouds of dust all the time and hear the scree,” explained Jonas Jeitziner from the regional control centre on Tuesday morning. In the worst-case scenario, the remaining 3.5 million cubic metres could slide. “According to estimates, 1.5 million cubic metres have already come loose.” The changeable weather is also expected to influence the situation.
The events are reminiscent of those in Brienz, canton Graubünden, which has been evacuated since November due to the risk of a major landslide. But according to Simon Löw, Emeritus Professor of Engineering Geology at the Swiss federal technology institute ETH Zurich, the two cases are not comparable, if only because of the type of terrain.
He noted that major events involving millions of cubic metres, such as this one, have not increased in recent decades compared to the past 300 years. However, smaller incidents such as mudslides and rockfalls have become more frequent since the 1990s.
Technical incidents, a shortage of specialists, and delays in digitalisation: Skyguide, Switzerland’s air navigation services provider, has been grappling with persistent challenges. Now, the Swiss Federal Audit Office (SFAO) is sounding the alarm, describing Skyguide’s financial situation as “very worrying”.
Skyguide’s Virtual Centre project, intended to digitise air traffic management, has encountered repeated problems. Following a fresh audit, the SFAO warned on Monday that without additional funds, the company may no longer be able to fully fulfil its mandate.
Skyguide, which is over 99% state-owned, acknowledged the situation and said it would evaluate necessary corrective measures in its internal review. However, the Virtual Centre project remains central to its modernisation strategy.
Faced with budget cuts and the withdrawal of the United States, the United Nations is in crisis. This crisis is fuelling the ambitions of other countries to challenge Geneva’s role as the global capital of multilateralism, writes 24 Heures
After the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) considered relocating some of its activities to Vienna, and Rwanda formally offered to host certain UN functions, Qatar has now put itself forward to house the UN’s humanitarian arm.
The Gulf state has increasingly positioned itself as a humanitarian hub, funding operations in sensitive areas. In March 2023, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) signed a headquarters agreement with Doha, granting it favourable legal status.
Since UN Secretary-General António Guterres announced plans to cut the organisation’s budget by 20%, Geneva has been in turmoil. Morale within the agencies is deteriorating. In response, Geneva’s cantonal government has unveiled an emergency action plan, and the Swiss federal government will inject CHF80 million ($96 million) into the WHO. But according to 24 Heures, “Switzerland is now playing defence”.
At a press conference on Monday, Bern cantonal police announced they had dismantled a human trafficking network involved in sexual exploitation. Investigations were complicated by the pervasive code of silence in such circles, the authorities noted.
Five suspects are accused of luring 146 Chinese women to Switzerland and coercing them into prostitution. The women were confined to flats they feared leaving and were required to hand over half of their earnings to their alleged handlers.
Victims of human trafficking rarely come forward to police, often fearing retaliation or being under constant surveillance. In Switzerland, an average of 11 convictions for this offence have been issued each year since 2008. But according to Leila Boussemacer, a lawyer with the Protestant Social Centre in Geneva, the true scale of trafficking in Switzerland is “much greater than we imagine”.
Translated from French using DeepL/amva
In compliance with the JTI standards
More: SWI swissinfo.ch certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative
