An international eye on Swiss news from NuseReal
Events in Switzerland — myswitzerland — (LINK)
Nestle to cut costs, boost marketing under new CEO. — 19 November 2024 (LINK) — ground.news: 21 media reports (LINK)
Portugal wins World Cheese Awards as UK misses out due to post-Brexit customs. Swiss cheeses 2nd and 3rd. — 18 November 2024 (LINK)
— It's a soft and buttery sheep's milk cheese from Portugal, made by Quinto do Pomar in the Serra da Gardunha in the centre of the country that has been named the best in the world. The cheese topped the charts (86 points) at this year's World Cheese Awards, which was held in Viseu, northern Portugal, beating two Swiss cheeses: Tea Fondada (84 points) and Alpenhorn Mifroma (84) — coming in second and third place, as well as Spanish and American cheeses: La Cava Barus García-Baquero and Bayley Hazen Blue, which rounded off the Top 5. Awards 2025 in Berne 13-15 November 2025, for first time in Switzerland (link in German)
PrimeEnergy Cleantech has been officially declared bankrupt, the Swiss Official Gazette of Commerce (SOGC) reported. Hundreds of people in French-speaking Switzerland had invested in the company that specializes in photovoltaic installations. — 18 November 2024 (LINK)
Geneva Conventions conference on Middle East scheduled for March 2025. — 14 November 2024 (LINK)
Switzerland stakes its claim as Europe's hottest tech centre: Founderful, the Swiss pre-seed fund, announces it has raised an over-subscribed $140 million fund from investors looking for exposure to the growing number of technology-focused start-ups based in the country. — 14 November 2024 (LINK)
Watch gifted to John Lennon months before death belongs to Yoko Ono not man who bought it not knowing stolen by her chauffeur, Swiss Federal Court rules. — 14 November 2024 (LINK)
— The Patek Philippe 2499 perpetual calendar chronograph, a "holy grail" of the vintage watch market, was stolen by the Japanese artist's former chauffeur and "there was no evidence to show that Yoko Ono intended to donate to the driver something as special as the watch, engraved with an inscription, that she had given to John Lennon two months before his death," the court ruled in its decision, per Bloomberg.
Top Swiss court confirms Yoko Ono's ownership of John Lennon's watch. — (LINK)
Swiss parliamentary committee proposes foreign aid cuts and military funding boost. — 13 November 2024 (LINK)
French cross-border workers in Switzerland fear 'discriminatory' unemployment reform. — 13 November 2024 (LINK)
"The marketing lie Lindt chocolate just admitted to telling about its Excellence dark chocolate bars." — 13 November 2024 (LINK)
"Lindt Chocolate isn't 'expertly crafted' — it's actually full of lead." — 12 November 2024 (LINK)
— The lawsuit against Lindt & Sprüngli began with a 2023 report by Consumer Reports which found that 28 dark chocolate bars contained lead and cadmium. Eight of those bars were found to have high levels of cadmium. One of those was a Lindt bar. Another 10 of those bars were found to contain lead—one of those was a Lindt bar.
— Lawsuits ensued as consumers felt it was the perfect opportunity to go after the company whose marketing claimed that its chocolate products were "expertly crafted with the finest ingredients" and were "safe, as well as delightful."
New research challenges Einstein's predictions on cosmic expansion. French-Swiss team examined 100 million galaxies at four distinct points in cosmic history: 3.5, 5, 6, and 7 billion years ago. — 13 November 2024 (LINK)
Over $100 million worth of watches sold in Geneva last weekend. — 12 November 2024 (LINK)
Swiss village of Brienz-Brizauls southwest of Davos threatened by vast rockslide must be evacuated again by its 100 inhabitants: over past 20 years an Alpine rockslide has been moving 1m per year. — 9 November 2024 (LINK) — ground.news: 57 media reports (LINK)
Switzerland's cross border workers reach record level. — 9 November 2024 (LINK)
— At the end of September 2024, around 403,000 people residing in France, Germany, Italy and further afield crossed into Switzerland to work. This figure is 2.4% higher than at the the same point in 2023. The total number has grown by 19% in the five years since 2019 when the figure was 339,000.
— 57% of cross-border workers were resident in France, 23% resident in Italy, 16% in Germany and another 4% from further afield. At 112,000 (28% of the total), the canton of Geneva had the largest number of cross-border workers. Many of these people are Swiss citizens, who in search of a lower cost of living, have decided to move across the border and retain their jobs in Switzerland.
Road Trip Expo 2024 boosts Switzerland's tourism with 30,000 visitors at Palexpo, Geneva, 8-10 November. — 8 November 2024 (LINK)
— "With over 50 exhibitors showcasing the latest in travel gear, leisure vehicles, and road trip essentials, the expo offers a dynamic platform for discovering new innovations, gaining expert advice, and networking with brands and fellow travelers. It has quickly established itself as the ultimate destination for those passionate about exploring the open road and experiencing the best of outdoor adventure, making it an essential stop for anyone seeking the perfect road trip experience."
Switzerland's innovative floating solar panels: the 35 platforms generating photovoltaic energy would recover the energy investment in just over two years with a significant reduction in carbon footprint. From January through May, as water levels recede, the platforms rest on the lakebed at Lac des Toules. — 7 November 2024 (LINK)
CERN selects new director-general: British physicist Mark Thomson. — 6 November 2024 (LINK)
Swiss NGOs decry rise in wolf culling despite fewer attacks. — 6 November 2024 (LINK)
Swiss 'burqa ban' to take effect from 2025. — 6 November 2024 (LINK) — ground.news: 17 media reports (LINK)
Switzerland and the EU are still at odds over cohesion payments. According to the Swiss government, further negotiations are also necessary on immigration and electricity. But substantial progress made on institutional issues and state aid. — 6 November 2024 (LINK)
Switzerland loans funds for new IOM building in Geneva, demolishing old one. — 6 November 2024 (LINK)
Mysterious bamboo cart discovered in melting glacier in Switzerland. — 6 November 2024 (LINK)
The European Space Deep-Tech Innovation Centre (ESDI), created in collaboration with the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI), is to be located in the immediate vicinity of the PSI in northern Switzerland. — 4 November 2024 (LINK)
UBS Asset Management launches Ethereum-based tokenized fund. — 4 November 2024 (LINK) — ground.news: 6 media reports (LINK)
Switzerland's first biosphere reserve, the UNESCO Biosphere Entlebuch in the canton of Lucerne, is a family-friendly destination with stunning mountain views. — 3 November 2024 (LINK)
— Designated in 2001, it encompasses the 630km2 Emme River valley between Bern and Lucerne, an easy day trip or two away. It offers a range of educational and interactive experiences "for young and old alike". "These activities provide hands-on learning opportunities about the region's ecosystems and the importance of preserving them, all set against the harmonious backdrop of Swiss mountains."
Switzerland exploring new form of burial: Werde Erde, which means become soil, proposes a process similar to composting. Tests being carried out at the University of Lausanne using dead pigs. — 1 November 2024 (LINK)
— Cremation, the choice of 90% of people, consumes a similar amount of energy to what someone would consume domestically in one month. Emissions add around 400 kg of CO2 to the atmosphere along with pollutants such as the mercury contained in dental fillings.
— The person's remains are laid on a bed of wood chips and straw and then covered with green plants. The bed provides carbon while the green plants provide nitrogen, the two key ingredients required to compost the body. The process takes place in an enclosed container over a period of 30 to 40 days. Microorganisms present on the skin and in the plants transform the body into soil. Like cremation, only the bones remain. These are then ground and added to the soil.
— Traditional burial does not compost. The microorganisms that stimulate decomposition are missing deep under ground at the depth of most burials.