Today in Switzerland: A roundup of the latest news on Thursday
Find out what's going on today in Switzerland with The Local's short roundup of the news.
Cantons divided on ending Covid measures
The cantons had until Wednesday to give their opinion on the two variants proposed by the Federal Council to end current restrictions. Most cantonal authorities said they prefer to do this in one fell swoop, rather than in stages.
The small cantons of central Switzerland — Zug, Schwyz, Uri, Nidwalden, Obwalden and Glarus — are in the greatest hurry, considering that a gradual lifting would be too complicated and difficult for the population to understand.
Valais prefers this approach as well, but only “as long as the number of cases and hospitalisations continue to decrease by mid-February”. Otherwise, the lifting of the measures should be done in stages.
However, Geneva, Basel-City, Neuchâtel and Jura say it is too early to lift remaining measures. “It is too risky at the moment, given the still high load in hospitals”, according to Basel-City, which added that “the effects of the first relaxations, such as teleworking and quarantines, are also not yet known”.
READ MORE: What are Switzerland’s plans to relax Covid measures – and will they happen?
Traffic: In which Swiss cites are bottlenecks the worst?
TomTom GPS has unveiled its statistics for the most congested cities in the world.
Its findings show that Geneva is the 75th worst city globally in terms of traffic jams, but first in Switzerland. Drivers there lose 69 hours each year stuck in bottlenecks.
Zurich follows closely in the 77th place and Lugano in the 93rd.
This TomTom chart shows the congestion level as well as time lost in traffic in Switzerland’s six major cities.
READ MORE: MAPS: Which Swiss canton has the worst drivers?
Taliban's visit to Switzerland sparks concern
Ten representatives of the fundamentalist Islamic organisation that returned to power in Afghanistan in 2021 have arrived in Geneva this week .
The official purpose of the visit is to meet with the Red Cross and other NGOs for talks about a humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan.
Swiss authorities insist the delegation's presence in the country doesn’t imply recognition of the Taliban regime.
However, Afghanistan’s embassy in Switzerland, which still represents the interests of the former government, tweeted it is “disconcerted” by a visit of a Taliban delegation to an European country, “while arbitrary detentions and enforced disappearances of citizens of Afghanistan, particularly young women”, continue to take place.
Statement of the Embassy and Permanent Mission: A Taliban delegation is said to have arrived in city of Geneva.The purpose of the visit, according to the sponsoring Geneva based NGO is a discussion on humanitarian aid and international humanitarian law with relevant aid agencies. pic.twitter.com/GbfVGYKB2A
— Afghanistan in Geneva (@AfghanistanInCH) February 9, 2022
MMS messages are being phased out
Today’s young generation may not even know what a MMS (Multimedia Messaging Service) is, but those of us who remember the turn of the (21st century) are familiar with this service, which has been used to send photos, videos, voice messages, and documents for 20 years.
However, this obsolete, by today’s standards, service is being gradually phased out in Switzerland, and will cease to exist by the end of this year, Swisscom announced.
“MMS was a great innovation at the time,” Swisscom said of the service’s beginnings in 2002.
But it has been gradually usurped by more modern options and instant messaging apps like WhatsApp and Threema.
If you have any questions about life in Switzerland, ideas for articles or news tips for The Local, please get in touch with us at [email protected]
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Cantons divided on ending Covid measures
The cantons had until Wednesday to give their opinion on the two variants proposed by the Federal Council to end current restrictions. Most cantonal authorities said they prefer to do this in one fell swoop, rather than in stages.
The small cantons of central Switzerland — Zug, Schwyz, Uri, Nidwalden, Obwalden and Glarus — are in the greatest hurry, considering that a gradual lifting would be too complicated and difficult for the population to understand.
Valais prefers this approach as well, but only “as long as the number of cases and hospitalisations continue to decrease by mid-February”. Otherwise, the lifting of the measures should be done in stages.
However, Geneva, Basel-City, Neuchâtel and Jura say it is too early to lift remaining measures. “It is too risky at the moment, given the still high load in hospitals”, according to Basel-City, which added that “the effects of the first relaxations, such as teleworking and quarantines, are also not yet known”.
READ MORE: What are Switzerland’s plans to relax Covid measures – and will they happen?
Traffic: In which Swiss cites are bottlenecks the worst?
TomTom GPS has unveiled its statistics for the most congested cities in the world.
Its findings show that Geneva is the 75th worst city globally in terms of traffic jams, but first in Switzerland. Drivers there lose 69 hours each year stuck in bottlenecks.
Zurich follows closely in the 77th place and Lugano in the 93rd.
This TomTom chart shows the congestion level as well as time lost in traffic in Switzerland’s six major cities.
READ MORE: MAPS: Which Swiss canton has the worst drivers?
Taliban's visit to Switzerland sparks concern
Ten representatives of the fundamentalist Islamic organisation that returned to power in Afghanistan in 2021 have arrived in Geneva this week .
The official purpose of the visit is to meet with the Red Cross and other NGOs for talks about a humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan.
Swiss authorities insist the delegation's presence in the country doesn’t imply recognition of the Taliban regime.
However, Afghanistan’s embassy in Switzerland, which still represents the interests of the former government, tweeted it is “disconcerted” by a visit of a Taliban delegation to an European country, “while arbitrary detentions and enforced disappearances of citizens of Afghanistan, particularly young women”, continue to take place.
Statement of the Embassy and Permanent Mission: A Taliban delegation is said to have arrived in city of Geneva.The purpose of the visit, according to the sponsoring Geneva based NGO is a discussion on humanitarian aid and international humanitarian law with relevant aid agencies. pic.twitter.com/GbfVGYKB2A
— Afghanistan in Geneva (@AfghanistanInCH) February 9, 2022
MMS messages are being phased out
Today’s young generation may not even know what a MMS (Multimedia Messaging Service) is, but those of us who remember the turn of the (21st century) are familiar with this service, which has been used to send photos, videos, voice messages, and documents for 20 years.
However, this obsolete, by today’s standards, service is being gradually phased out in Switzerland, and will cease to exist by the end of this year, Swisscom announced.
“MMS was a great innovation at the time,” Swisscom said of the service’s beginnings in 2002.
But it has been gradually usurped by more modern options and instant messaging apps like WhatsApp and Threema.
If you have any questions about life in Switzerland, ideas for articles or news tips for The Local, please get in touch with us at [email protected]
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