blue News and Keystone-ATS give you a first overview of the news, with the latest news unearthed in the press. Without forgetting birthdays and the saying of the day!
KEYSTONE
Today’s highlights
BIENNA: The artist Nemo will be welcomed like a true celebrity on Monday evening in his hometown of Biel, five weeks after winning the Eurovision contest. The public will have two hours to share a moment up close with the Biel star to ask for an autograph or take selfies. But Nemo is not expected to sing his song “The Code”.
HINDUJA TRIAL: The trial for human trafficking and professional usury of four members of the Hinduja family, a family of billionaires at the head of an Indian industrial conglomerate, continues this Monday before the Geneva Criminal Court with indictments and pleadings. The family is accused of having brought domestic workers from India to work on its property in Cologny (GE) with the aim of exploiting their labor force. The accusations are disputed by the defendants.
SWIMMING: After the athletics specialists, the swimmers are also entitled to their European championships, starting this Monday in the large Belgrade pool. If these games only constitute a step before the Olympic Games for Noè Ponti or Roman Mityukov, Jérémy Desplanches wants and must pull out all the stops. The Tokyo 2021 bronze medalist must swim in 1’57”94 or less over 200 m 4 swims to secure an individual ticket to Paris. The Genevan will be competing from Monday in Belgrade in the 100m breaststroke, his favorite swim, and will take the stage in the 200m medley next Saturday for the heats.
TODAY IS…: Like every June 17, today is the World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought. Desertification, land degradation and drought are among the most pressing environmental challenges today, with almost 40% of the world’s land surface already considered degraded. All information on the UN website.
Seen in the press
MEDIA: The Federal Council is expected to approve Communications Minister Albert Rösti’s proposal on Wednesday to lower Serafe’s radio and television license fee, reports Blick. The latter wants to reduce it by around ten percent to bring it to 300 francs.
By means of an ordinance, Albert Rösti could impose the reduction in the fee without going through Parliament. The federal councilor is against the “200 francs is enough!” initiative. Swiss voters will vote on this initiative in 2025.
BÜRGENSTOCK: Claudia Buzzi, the Brazilian ambassador to Bern, explains her country’s position at the end of the summit. “The message of our presence must be understood as a mark of respect for our Swiss friends, for whom it was important that everyone followed the conference, even without participating. I saw that a few countries ultimately did not sign the final declaration,” she told Le Temps. President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva early on distanced himself from the peace summit if Russia were not to be invited.
DIFFERENCE: 57% of the Swiss population rejected the recognition of a third gender, according to a survey. The denial of an official gender for non-binary people was roughly the same across all age groups, Tamedia reports. The press group carried out this survey in collaboration with 20 Minutes and the Leewas Institute.
The answers vary depending on the proximity to a party: Up to two thirds of supporters of the PS, the Greens and the Liberal Greens spoke favorably. With more than 80%, the rejection was strongest within the SVP. Supporters of the PRD and the center also rejected the introduction of a third gender.
Switzerland weather flash
Time for hours to come – in the blink of an eye!
06/17/2024
Birthdays and jubilees
– 5 years ago (2019): death of American millionaire, designer and actress Gloria Vanderbilt. It sold, among other things, jeans and branded perfumes; its distinctive sign was a white swan. She was born on February 20, 1924.
– 15 years ago (2009): death of German-British academic and politician Ralf Dahrendorf. This sociologist was a specialist in social conflicts. He was born on May 1, 1929.
– 30 years ago (1994): the artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude covered the Reichstag in Berlin.
– 30 years ago (1994): arrest of former American football star OJ Simpson, suspected of the murder of his ex-wife and her boyfriend. He was ultimately acquitted. He died on April 11, 2024.
– 50 years ago (1974): the Provisional IRA detonated a bomb at the Palace of Westminster where the House of Commons sits. An IRA volunteer telephoned to issue a warning six minutes before the bomb exploded, allowing the area to be cleared. No one was killed, but 11 people were seriously injured.
– 80 years ago (1944): birth of filmmaker Xavier Koller, first director to bring an Oscar to Switzerland. He won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 1990 for “Journey to Hope.”
– 80 years ago (1944): founding of the Republic of Iceland, which breaks all ties with Denmark.
– 85 years ago (1939): birth of the German-speaking writer Hanna Johansen (“The Illiterate”). This novelist who was the wife of the writer Adolf Muschg was also known for her children’s books.
– 85 years ago (1939): France carried out its last public execution, that of the German serial killer Eugène Weidman, nicknamed “the killer with the velvet eyes”.
– 85 years ago (1939): birth of Polish director, screenwriter and producer Krzysztof Zanussi (“The Constant”, “Persona non grata”, “The Year of the Calm Sun”).
Saying of the day
“Sun at Saint-Hervé portends a great summer.”
low, ats
