blue News and Keystone-ATS give you a first glimpse of the news, with the latest news unearthed in the press. Without forgetting birthdays and the saying of the day!
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Today’s highlights
DIPLOMACY: The meeting of European leaders continues on Friday. They tried Thursday in Budapest to display a united front in the face of Donald Trump’s resounding return to the White House. This even though Germany’s headquarters remained empty due to the worsening political crisis in Berlin. Several subjects are on the agenda, such as the competitiveness of European companies, facing competition from China and the United States.
ECONOMY : In Switzerland, investors have their eyes on Richemont. The luxury goods group, which owns jewelry brands such as Cartier or Van Cleef & Arpels and watchmaking houses such as Piaget or IWC, has experienced difficult recent months. It is above all the decline in consumer appetite in the important markets of China, Hong Kong and Macau that poses a problem for the entire luxury goods sector. Analysts expect a decline in Richemont’s turnover and profit in the first half.
RAIL TRAFFIC: SBB and Trenitalia will inform on the development of their collaboration at a press conference at Milan station on Friday. The two railway companies jointly operate the Eurocity lines, served by 40 daily trains between Switzerland and Italy.
UNITED NATIONS: The UN Security Council meets to take stock of ransomware attacks (encryption of data rendering it unusable) against hospitals. To speak only of France, thirty hospitals were the subject of a ransomware cyberattack between 2022 and 2023.
Seen in the press
TIMES SQUARE : For one week in June, then another in September, the lake and wine charms of Neuchâtel were entitled to advertising on a giant screen in Times Square, in the center of Manhattan, in New York, we read in ArcInfo. The clip lasts around fifteen seconds. This XXL size publicity stunt is not a first. More broadly, Suisse Tourisme has strengthened its efforts on the American market in recent years with campaigns featuring actors Robert de Niro and Anne Hathaway and, more recently, Roger Federer and comedian Trevor Noah. In Switzerland, American tourists generated more than 3 million overnight stays in 2023. That is 33% more than in 2022.
TRANSPORT : The “half-fare” plus has found takers among around 170,000 people since its introduction in mid-December 2022, Alliance Swiss Pass told the German-speaking Tamedia newspapers. Depending on the amount paid, customers benefit from a higher or lower bonus. Recharging is not easy, because you have to wait until the remaining amount falls below 30 francs. Complaints have multiplied on this subject. To simplify the operation, a new “charging function” will be introduced before the timetable change in December.
SUICIDE AID: The president of the professional association of Swiss doctors spoke on the subject of euthanasia. In an interview with the NZZ, Yvonne Gilli stressed that doctors should play a central role in assisted suicide to ensure that human dignity is protected. Given Switzerland’s liberal system, she called for caution to prevent abuse. She critically sees a possible opening to people who are healthy but tired of life. “It used to be that death had to be imminent if someone wanted assisted suicide, but now we have suffering as the deciding factor,” she said.
ANIMALS : The canton of Bern has decided to cull up to 20 cormorants per year. According to the Berner Zeitung, the announcement appeared in the official cantonal bulletin and concerns the Thun region. From 2025 to 2029, shooting will take place between January and March in order to protect endangered fish, graylings, and their breeding grounds. Between 2020 and 2024, 37 cormorants had already been killed in the region. This measure is criticized by Birdlife Berne, which favors greater protection of habitats rather than felling.
Birthdays and jubilees
– One year ago (2023): The European Commission recommends the opening of accession negotiations with Ukraine, at war with Russia. Before the first round of discussions, however, the country must complete the reforms initiated.
– 5 years ago (2009): Death of Lucette Destouches, second wife and widow of the writer Louis-Ferdinand Céline. She was born in 1912.
– 30 years ago (1994): The American Republican Party once again obtains a majority in both houses of Congress, for the first time in 40 years. This result considerably reduces Democratic President Bill Clinton’s room for maneuver.
– 30 years ago (1994): Creation of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR).
– 70 years ago (1954): Birth of American singer and songwriter Rickie Lee Jones
– 75 years ago (1949): Birth of American country singer and guitarist Bonnie Raitt (“Just like that”).
– 140 years ago (1884): Birth of the Swiss psychoanalyst and psychiatrist Hermann Rorschach. He developed a method of interpreting shapes (“inkblot test”), known as the Rorschach test. This was used as a tool for investigating psychopathological pathologies.
Saying of the day
Big sun, little wind, little sun, big wind.
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