Switzerland Today
Dear Swiss Abroad,
Following a 2-0 win against Iceland last night, the dream continues for the Swiss women's football team and its fans – at least until Thursday, when the “Nati” take on Finland.
In today’s briefing, we also look at the Porrentruy swimming pool, which is at the heart of a cross-border discrimination controversy, and a life-saving Chihuahua.
Enjoy the read!
Switzerland rekindled their hopes of reaching the quarterfinals of the UEFA Women’s Euro on Sunday night. The “Nati” beat the Icelanders 2-0 in Bern in a match that had been uncertain for a long time.
Fans had to wait until the last 15 minutes to see the Swiss make the difference. Géraldine Reuteler and Alayah Pilgrim scored the two Swiss goals in the 76th and 90th minutes. “I promised myself I’d score today, because I missed a huge chance in the first game against Norway. I’m happy and proud of the team,” Reuteler told Der Bund newspaper.
“Step by step, we got carried by our fans,” said Switzerland captain Lia Wälti. “It was an incredible atmosphere. In the end we created the chances to win that game, I’m so happy. We have a really young team and in some actions we are a little bit rushed, we waste a lot of chances… We got a couple of good chances and we finally scored.”
Providing the Swiss don’t stumble against Finland in Geneva on Thursday, they should finish behind Norway in Group A and reach the knockout phase of a European Championship for the first time. “No matter that they may well end up facing Spain in the last eight,” wrote The Guardian. “All the indications are that this young team have started to lose their initial inhibitions and really enjoy themselves.”
Defence Minister Martin Pfister wants to provide better protection for Swiss military air bases against espionage, he announced in an interview with the Sunday newspaper NZZ am Sonntag. Here again, the American F-35 fighter jets are involved.
Pfister explained that the security of military airfields had to be strengthened because of the current security situation, but also because of the conditions imposed by the Americans as part of the purchase of the F-35. “The conditions for protecting this sensitive weaponry are more stringent than we had originally imagined,” he acknowledged.
The defence ministry plans to put in place a range of additional measures. “This includes, in particular, a no-fly zone for drones, more camouflage and visual barriers. There may also be a widening of the no-fly zone around air bases,” Pfister said. The additional costs of these measures could amount to CHF60 million ($75 million).
According to the Federal Intelligence Service (FIS), the greatest espionage threat comes from Russia and China. Both countries have a significant intelligence presence in Switzerland.
The Federal Commission against Racism (FCR) has criticised the decision by the border town of Porrentruy to ban foreigners who do not have a Swiss residence or work permit from its swimming pool. The controversy is heating up.
“A blanket bathing ban for foreigners is problematic,” said the FCR in Blick. It could contravene article 8 of the Federal Constitution, which establishes a principle of non-discrimination. The FCR believes that “the municipality must check whether the general ban is really proportionate and whether there are less restrictive measures, such as individual bathing bans”.
“The Federal Commission against Racism is doing its job, and we are doing ours,” replied Philippe Eggertswyler, the mayor of Porrentruy, in northwestern Switzerland. He explained that he had taken this decision in response to repeated incivilities and after having tried to find other solutions, including prevention, increased staffing and security, and temporary exclusions of certain individuals from neighbouring France.
The affair is also causing a stir in France. According to Blick, the French embassy in Switzerland is considering intervening in Bern. French politicians have also denounced the measure as “discriminatory and disproportionate”. But some voices, such as the mayor of French town Montbéliard and the right-wing French television channel CNews, have welcomed the decision.
A heart-warming story to start the week. A Chihuahua helped save a man on a glacier above Saas-Fee in southwestern Switzerland.
On Friday a hiker was on the Fee glacier with his little dog. A snow bridge suddenly collapsed, throwing the man into a crevasse. He was able to raise the alarm using his walkie-talkie.
Initially, however, the emergency services had difficulty locating the victim, as the crevasse was barely visible. They did, however, see a slight movement on a rock: the Chihuahua, which was right next to the crevasse.
The rescue company Air Zermatt believes that the dog’s behaviour was responsible for locating the accident. The hiker was rescued. He was taken with his dog to hospital in Visp.
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