Switzerland Today
Dear Swiss Abroad,
Seventy-five years after the catastrophic “avalanche winter”, the Swiss government is once again confronting the dangers posed by avalanches, which have already claimed several lives this season.
Meanwhile, global attention is focused on Geneva today. With two high-level meetings taking place, the city has once again moved to the forefront of international diplomacy. And you will also discover how a “Swiss” duck has made an unexpected debut in the German rock scene.
Geneva returned to the centre of international diplomacy today, hosting high-level talks on the war in Ukraine and Iran’s nuclear programme.
Discussions between delegations from Kyiv, Moscow and Washington are based on a US plan unveiled several months ago. It foresees possible territorial concessions by Ukraine in exchange for Western security guarantees. At the heart of the negotiations lies the fate of the Donbas, the large industrial region in eastern Ukraine.
The talks on Iran focus on reaching an agreement over the Islamic Republic’s missile and nuclear programmes. Tehran is demanding an easing of economic sanctions before making concessions. Washington, for its part, has not ruled out military intervention as a last resort if no deal is reached.
Many media outlets view these sensitive negotiations as a success for Swiss diplomacy and for Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis, who also chairs the OSCE this year. They also underline the continuing relevance of International Geneva, which has faced significant challenges following the US withdrawal from several organisations based in the city.
An avalanche alert has been issued across large parts of the Swiss Alps. Avalanches yesterday caused a train derailment in Goppenstein, canton Valais, and claimed the life of a skier in Davos, Graubünden. Disruptions are expected to continue in the coming days and authorities are urging caution.
The danger level stands at 4 (high) across almost the entire Alpine region, with parts of Valais reaching the maximum level of 5. Several roads have been closed and some areas temporarily isolated.
The WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research explains that heavy snowfall combined with strong winds has created unstable snow slabs on an already fragile base layer. These accumulations could release at any time.
Experts stress that the situation is serious but not comparable to the “avalanche winter” of 1950/1951, recalled in several media reports. That winter, avalanches killed 98 people and destroyed around 1,500 buildings, triggering a major shift in Switzerland’s avalanche prevention policies.
Guido A. Zäch, a pioneer in paraplegic rehabilitation, has died at the age of 90. He was instrumental in founding the Swiss Paraplegic Foundation.
Zäch envisioned a country in which wheelchair users could regain independence and self-determination. In the 1960s, as a young doctor from St Gallen, he became aware of major shortcomings in Switzerland’s hospital, social and insurance systems for people with spinal injuries.
Among the organisations he created, the Swiss Paraplegic Foundation, established in 1975, is the best known. It supports, among other institutions, the Paraplegic Centre in Nottwil (canton Lucerne), founded in 1990. “A unique institution that has improved the lives of tens of thousands of people,” writes Schweizer Illustrierte.
His vocation stemmed from a personal experience: at 18, he suffered spinal compression after diving into shallow water. He escaped serious consequences, but another young man attempting the same jump was paralysed. “It could have been me,” Zäch told Schweizer Illustrierte a year ago. The question of how such injuries could be treated became the driving force of his life’s work.
Among Switzerland’s most unlikely international stars last year was… a duck. The viral image of a mallard caught in April in Köniz by a speed camera flying at 52km/h in a 30km/h zone, has now become the cover of a German rock band’s new album.
The story of the delinquent mallard caught the attention of the band Tales Like These on Instagram. One of their songs, “Cavities”, features the phrase “duck and dive”, meaning to avoid trouble – a fun play on words.
The mallard soon became a mascot for the band, which asked the municipality of Köniz for permission to use the image as the cover of its album Evidence of Past Mistakes.
The municipality happily agreed, according to its official Facebook page. As for the duck, its views on the matter remain unknown.
Translated using AI/amva/ts
In compliance with the JTI standards
More: SWI swissinfo.ch certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative
