“Green” funds that finance the biggest polluters, a first Trump-Biden debate that doesn’t suit the Democrats, a new representative for Présence Suisse, a focus on Switzerland at the time of slavery and the impact of AI on language learning: these are RTSinfo’s 5 choices of the week.
SURVEY – How “green” funds finance the biggest polluters
They call themselves “green” but in detail, their investments tell a completely different story. Sustainable investment funds sold in Europe invest tens of billions of dollars in the most polluting industries on the planet without breaking regulations. This is what an investigation conducted by RTS, Voxeurop and its partners in the European network of investigative journalists EIC reveals.
In total, these investment funds, considered green, have invested 87 billion dollars (77.7 billion francs) in the 25 companies with the highest CO2 emissions in eight sectors (oil and gas, coal mining, agriculture, steel and minerals, aeronautics, automobiles, fashion, maritime transport). In the lead, oil and gas, which collected 33 billion dollars.
>> Read: How “green” funds finance the world’s biggest polluters
>> Listen to the subject of La Matinale:
ANALYSIS – A first Trump-Biden debate that makes the Democrats tremble
The more than shaky performance of American President Joe Biden in the first debate between him and Donald Trump shook the Democratic camp, to the point of raising the question of a possible change of candidate, unprecedented at this stage of the campaign, for the November presidential election in the United States.
During a sometimes frankly angry confrontation, the Democrat tried to push his opponent to his limits and to praise his record as well as his vision of America. But his words often fell flat, the fault of particularly muddled speech.
Distressed reactions and calls to withdraw from anonymous Democrats spread as soon as the debate ended. Joe Biden’s performance “was disappointing, there’s no other way to say it,” admitted former White House communications director Kate Bedingfield.
>> Read: The Democratic camp shaken by Joe Biden’s “disaster” against Donald Trump
>> Listen to Jordan Davis’ analysis in Tout un monde:
INTERVIEW – When Swiss clichés are tools of seduction
Présence Suisse, which depends on the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA), is in a way a communications agency whose aim is to sell the image of Switzerland abroad, but also to convey a “sympathetic” image of the country. It was born from the affair of escheated Jewish funds, at the end of the 90s, in order to restore the Swiss image.
Its new boss, Alexandre Edelmann, was a guest this week on La Matinale. For him, the mission of Présence Suisse has not changed. “The trauma was not so much linked to the question of escheated Jewish funds, but to the impact on the image that it could have on Switzerland. The pressure on the image was extremely strong and put our prosperity at risk. economic and our political place in the world. This pushed the authorities to become aware of the need to communicate.
Chocolate, cheese, watches: to accomplish its work, Présence Suisse can rely on the many clichés that surround the country. But Alexandre Edelmann qualifies: “Cliches have never been part of the strategy. Clichés are a means of accessing our target audiences.”
>> Read: Alexandre Edelmann: “The Saint Bernard allows us to open discussions with international leaders”
>> See the full interview with Alexandre Edelmann in La Matinale:
PODCAST – Slavery, this little-known part of Swiss history
In the RTS podcast “Our slaves”, journalist Cyril Dépraz investigated for two years the complex history of Swiss participation in slavery. Through unpublished archives, meetings with historians, but also testimonies from descendants of slaves, he returns to this little-known part of Swiss history, highlighting the denial of the federal authorities regarding their responsibilities. .
Although Switzerland never had colonies or maintained a slave fleet, its merchants and financiers actively participated in the Atlantic slave trade, its colonists exploited enslaved people, and its mercenaries participated in the repression of revolts.
>> Read: How Switzerland participated in and profited from slavery
>> Listen to the interview with Cyril Dépraz in Tout un monde:
TECHNOLOGY – What impact does AI have on language learning?
What is the impact of instant translation, increasingly efficient thanks to AI, on linguistic diversity? Is it an opportunity or an impoverishment? Interviewed Thursday in Forum, François Grin, professor of economics at the Faculty of Translation and Interpreting at the University of Geneva, gives his analysis, as Google has just announced the addition of 110 languages to Google Translate.
The event raises the question of the impact of artificial intelligence on linguistic diversity and language learning. While some view this phenomenon with a negative eye, this is not the case for François Grin. For him, this development is on the contrary an opportunity, particularly for rare languages, such as Breton. “It makes linguistic diversity more affordable, countering the financial argument against its maintenance,” the economist said on Thursday in the RTS program Forum.
According to him, learning a language still makes sense, particularly because machine translation is not yet completely “reliable”. He continues: “We can have some big surprises (…) Direct communication, on the other hand, will remain more fluid”, believes the researcher.
>> Read: Will Instant AI Translation Revolutionize Language Learning?
>> See the interview with François Grin in Forum:
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