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!
Switzerland weather flash
Time for hours to come – in the blink of an eye!
27.06.2024
Today’s highlights
CONSEIL FEDERAL : The Federal Council begins its traditional annual excursion on Thursday. Led by the President of the Confederation Viola Amherd, the federal government will spend two days in Valais. On the program for today, a meeting with the authorities and the population in the morning in Sion, then in the afternoon in Brig. On Friday, the seven wise men will enjoy their school run without public obligation.
RAIL TRAFFIC: SBB will provide an update on the progress of work on the Gotthard base tunnel on Thursday. The west gallery of the structure was heavily damaged during the derailment of a freight train on August 10, 2023. The tunnel is scheduled to return to service in September.
WORK : The Travail.Suisse union takes stock on Thursday of the professional reintegration of women who have interrupted their careers for family reasons. Believing that little has changed since he published recommendations ten years ago, he presents a series of demands on this subject. From the point of view of equality policy, but also in the context of the shortage of qualified workers, this topic is more topical than ever and requires urgent measures from political and economic circles, believes the syndicate.
FRANCE : The Paris Court of Appeal rules Thursday on Tariq Ramadan’s appeal against his referral to the departmental criminal court for rape. The Geneva Islamologist is contesting his dismissal for the rape of four women between 2009 and 2016, ordered in July 2023. His lawyers are asking for “a total dismissal of the case”.
AMERICAN PRESIDENTIAL: After months of invective, the time for confrontation has come in the United States of America. US President Joe Biden and his predecessor in the White House Donald Trump, neck and neck in the polls, meet on Thursday for the first debate of the November presidential election. The two men will debate from 9:00 p.m. (3:00 a.m. Friday in Switzerland) in Georgia, one of the most contested states in the election. Their duel, expected to last 90 minutes, will be moderated by two CNN journalists. To avoid the cacophony of the first debate of 2020, the show will take place without an audience and without a teleprompter and, above all, Joe Biden’s microphone will be cut off when Donald Trump speaks and vice versa.
TODAY IT’S… : Like every June 26, today is micro, small and medium enterprises day. It provides an opportunity to discuss and exchange ideas on how to support these businesses to advance the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda and achieve its goals. All information on the UN website: https://www.un.org/fr/observances/micro-small-medium-businesses-day
Seen in the press
FRENCH LEGISLATIVE: The tense climate in France ahead of Sunday’s early legislative elections is encouraging the wealthiest French people to deposit part of their financial assets in Switzerland, the Tribune de Genève and 24 Heures reported on Thursday. “We are seeing strong demand from French people who are worried about political instability and who say they are looking for security for their savings,” Arthur Jurus, of the private bank ODDO BHF (Suisse) SA, declared in the newspapers. . “The movement was clear, from the days following the European elections, marked by the success of non-traditional parties, and the dissolution of the national assembly” by French President Emmanuel Macron, he adds.
ARMY : Swiss Defense Minister Viola Amherd wants to increase the equipment of the army through a special law with a fund of ten billion francs financed by debt, the Basler Zeitung, the Berner Zeitung, the Bund and the Tages-Anzeiger, citing “well-informed people close to the Federal Council”. The army would then have to repay the debts from 2045. This proposal has sparked criticism within the Federal Council, the newspapers indicate. The question of how the army could reimburse such a large sum was notably asked. Federal advisers also demanded better information on how the army intended to use this money. The project was returned to Ms. Amherd for improvement.
MIDDLE EAST : Questioned in Le Temps on Thursday, the commissioner general of the UN Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA), Philippe Lazzarini, does not think it is possible to have a headquarters in Geneva, as some suggest. “We will not be able to operate in East Jerusalem and the West Bank from Geneva,” he adds. “Our schools are there, our health centers are there and it is there that we must work.” If the agency is expelled from Jerusalem and the Palestinian territories under Israeli control, “it will be difficult for us to operate,” continues the Neuchâtel resident.
MUSIQUE : The city of Bern, which plans to organize the Eurovision song contest, estimates the costs of the competition at 40.4 million francs, the Aargauer Zeitung, the Luzerner Zeitung and the St. Galler Tagblatt wrote on Thursday. The security bill alone is estimated at 27 million. The city of Bern wants the canton to cover these costs, but the cantonal authorities are only prepared to do so if the Confederation finances 60% of the security costs. The Confederation has not indicated whether or not it will contribute to the costs. Other cities could present concepts that do without federal money.
Birthdays and jubilees
– One year ago (2023): A Munich court sentences former Audi boss Rupert Stadler to 21 months in prison and a fine of 1.1 million euros for fraud in the rigged diesel engine affair. Mr. Stadler had decided to plead guilty. He was accused of having knowledge of the installation of illegal software without intervening to stop it.
– 10 years ago (2014): death of American soul musician Bobby Womack (“Fly me to the Moon”). He was born on March 4, 1944.
– 15 years ago (2009): death of American actress and singer Gale Storm.
– 25 years ago (1999): birth of American actor Chandler Riggs (“The Walking Dead”).
– 40 years ago (1984): birth of American starlet Khloé Kardashian.
– 75 years ago (1949): The Security Council adopts a resolution establishing the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
– 80 years ago (1944): death of German-speaking composer Werner Wehrli. He was born on January 8, 1892.
Saying of the day
“Saint-Fernand’s Day time, warmth and laughing sun”.
bas, ats
