Switzerland today

Dear Swiss Abroad,

summer is the season for music festivals and there is usually something for all musical tastes.

I like my coffee black and my music classical, which makes me a Verbier Festival kind of guy.

This year is all the more special as it celebrates 30 years of existence. 

Keystone / Jean-christophe Bott

The hills are alive with the sound of music

The Verbier Festival celebrates its 30th anniversaryExternal link today. The opening concert will be led by Zubin Mehta, who conducted the first Verbier Festival concert thirty years ago. Classical music superstars  such as cellist Yo-Yo Ma, tenor and conductor Plácido Domingo and American soprano Renée Fleming will be participating for the first time. 

In this anniversary year, the organisers are pulling out all the stops with a budget of CHF12 million, one of the highest in the festival’s history. With sixty concerts and numerous free events there will be enough music for the most seasoned classical music fans. Between 40,000 and 60,000 people are expected to attend.

© Keystone / Michael Buholzer

Credit Suisse collapse: Parliamentary investigation begins

The cross-party parliamentary commission of inquiry will spend the next 12 to 15 months assessing the crisisExternal link of Switzerland’s second largest bank.

The committee will take until September 11 to establish how it will work within the bounds of its legal mandate and to establish a communications system. It will then set about examining the roles of Credit Suisse, the finance ministry, federal emergency laws, the financial regulator and the central bank in the debacle.

The body has a CHF5 million budget and its 14-person committee is composed of seven members from each parliamentary chamber.

Keystone / Gaetan Bally

Swiss vaccine shortages: The kids are not alright

Disruptions in the supply of vaccines have forced the government to release emergency stocks to ensure that children get their scheduled shots.

The vaccines in question include the quadruple combination vaccine for children aged four to seven years against diphtheria, whooping cough, polio and tetanus. Other vaccines authorised for release from the emergency reserve are those against meningitis and chickenpox.

The situation is expected to improve only by spring 2024. In the worst case scenario, the government may have to modify its vaccine recommendations for children if it becomes impossible to meet the demand.

Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.

Aspartame: Sweet but dangerous?

Aspartame, a popular artificial sweetener found in Diet Coke, chewing gum, yoghurt and other food products, has been making the news  for the wrong reasons in recent months. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has cast doubts on its potential to reduce obesity and even linked it to cancerExternal link.

 Limited evidence of a carcinogenic effect of the artificial sweetener aspartame has been identified, according to a study by the World Health Organisation (WHO). However, the consumption limit of 40 mg/kg per day remain unchanged, based on another assessment published on Friday in Geneva.

© Keystone / Christian Beutler

Bye bye Switzerland: Leaving the golden cage

What made you decide to leave the comfort and order of Swiss life for a new start abroad? A documentary series by our parent company, the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation, follows three Swiss families who are leaving home for Canada, Uruguay and northern Germany.

In each episode, published every Friday, viewers will learn about the latest challenges and surprises facing the three sets of emigrants. The Almeida family are giving up running a B&B in canton Zurich to take over an old motel in eastern Canada; Ruedi and Susanne Althaus, who are heading from Emmental to Uruguay to build a holiday lodge; and the Kunz family from Basel, who are opening a fast-food truck on the coast in northern Germany.