Switzerland. Lugano: Streets, Art, Monte San Salvatore.

Jan 19, 2024

🇨🇭Glacier Express: Switzerland's World’s Most Scenic, Luxurious & Expensive Train Ride

Jan 10, 2024 | The Glacier Express connects the two famous resorts in the Swiss Alps in a unique way. The Glacier Express is a direct train connecting railway stations of the two major mountain resorts of Zermatt and St. Moritz via Andermatt in the central Swiss Alps .The classic panoramic train is a source of excitement for young and old alike. The journey takes you over daredevil viaducts, through countless tunnels and unique landscapes. The panorama train meanders gently through valleys and over passes, and the constantly changing views of mountains, lakes and glaciers
This video cannot be embedded on external websites. So here is a link to the video on YouTube, where you can enjoy this beautiful and scenic winter train ride. Enjoy! – Mark

Documentary about the City of Zürich, Switzerland | 2015

Jun 22, 2015 | Documentary about the city of Zürich (Switzerland). A presentation of MTA Switzerland Studios.

Swiss Cocaine So Cheap and Widely Used They’re Considering Legalising It

THE TELEGRAPH: As prices halve on ‘highest quality we’ve ever seen’, Bern says ‘war on drugs has failed’ and looks at it being sold for recreational use

Switzerland has one of the highest levels of cocaine use in Europe
Switzerland’s capital is considering legalising cocaine after admitting the “war on drugs has failed”.

Bern is weighing up a pilot scheme to allow the sale of the class A narcotic for recreational use – a radical approach which is thought to be a worldwide first.

Switzerland has one of the highest levels of cocaine use in Europe, according to the levels of illicit drugs and their metabolites measured in waste water, with Zurich, Basel and Geneva all featuring in the top 10 cities in Europe. » | James Crisp, Europe Editor | Thursday, December 21, 2023

Blood Money: Switzerland's Nazi Gold

Nov 26, 2020 | The only documentary to tell the full story of the Swiss Banks, Jewish money, and Nazi gold. It has been called the most cynical bank robbery in history, the ultimate inside job. Swiss banks accepted Jewish life-savings -- smuggled to neutral Switzerland for hiding from Nazi terror, only to use the very same secrecy laws to prevent Jewish survivors of the Holocaust and their heirs from recovering their rightful money.

"Blood Money" reveals Switzerland's Faustian bargain to become Hitler's bankers, financing the Nazi war machine, and ultimately prolonging World War II.

In a moving, true-life tale every bit as breathtaking as a best-selling international thriller, "Blood Money" reveals previously unknown details of history's biggest swindle, including an examination of the role of the secretive Bank of International Settlements, run by American, Thomas McKittrick, and the part that the bank played in laundering gold for the Nazis in Switzerland.

The film leads the viewers through the extraordinary events, up through the shredding of documents by the Swiss banks, to the resignation of the Swiss Ambassador to the United States, and the exclusively recorded summit of Jewish, Swiss and U.S. officials as they meet for the historic resolution.

Official Selection Berlin Film Festival
Official Selection Haifa International Film Festival, Israel
Boston Jewish Film Festival
Encontros Internacionais Documentary Film Festival, Portugal
Silver Plaque, Chicago International Television Competition
Winner, Emmy Award for Outstanding Research>br />
Directed by Stephen Crisman
Co-produced and written by Gaylen Ross
A&E Investigative Reports

This important documentary cannot be embedded on external websites; it must be viewed on YouTube itself. This is a link to this very informative, but disturbing, documentary. – Mark

Ein kurzer Blick ins Paradies | #shorts

Nachdem Gott die Schweiz erschaffen hatte, warf er die Form weg!

The Beauty of Switzerland | #shorts

If you want a sneak peek into Paradise, then click here.

Exit Polls Show Rightwing SVP Making Gains in Swiss Federal Elections

GUARDIAN EUROPE: Public broadcaster SSR reports party on track to win 29% of vote, an increase of almost 3.5 percentage points on 2019 results

The rightwing populist Swiss People’s party (SVP) was set to further strengthen its position as the largest political force in parliament, exit polls have suggested, as voters appeared to back the party’s hardline stance against mass migration and what it called “woke madness”. » | Ashifa Kassam and agencies | Sunday, October 22, 2023

Sophia Loren Has Emergency Surgery after Falling at Swiss Home

NEW YORK POST: Sophia Loren has undergone emergency surgery after a fall at her home.

The actor, 89, was left with multiple fractures to her hip and leg after falling at her home in Geneva, Switzerland, over the weekend.

The incident occurred on Sunday in the bathroom of her residence. She suffered several fractures, including to her femur and hip. » | Stephanie Webber | Monday, September 25, 2023

Former Algerian Minister of Defence Indicted in Switzerland on War Crime Charges

THE GUARDIAN: Khaled Nezzar is to be tried for war crimes and crimes against humanity during 1991-2002 Algerian civil war

Khaled Nezzar (pictured here in 2016), a former minister of defence in Algeria, is to stand trial in Switzerland. Photograph: Nacerdine Zebar/Gamma-Rapho/Getty Images
Victims of the 1991-2002 Algerian civil war have been given hope that they will finally receive justice after the highly unusual announcement by Swiss authorities that a former Algerian minister of defence is to stand trial in Switzerland on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Khaled Nezzar is set to be the highest-ranking military official ever tried for war crimes under the principle of universal jurisdiction, which allows states to investigate and prosecute people suspected of having committed international crimes regardless of where they were committed, their nationality, or the nationality of the victims.

Switzerland’s office of the attorney general (OAG) filed an indictment in the federal criminal court against Nezzar on Monday. » | Kate Connolly in Berlin | Tuesday, August 29, 2023

The Bernina Express | ARTE.tv Documentary

Aug 26, 2023 | From Chur, Switzerland’s oldest city, to Tirano in Northern Italy, the Bernina Express winds its way through deep valleys and wild gorges, crossing some 196 bridges and going through 55 tunnels in its journey through the Graubünden Alps.

A journey to discover one of the most spectacular railway lines in the world and an audacious feat of engineering.

The Bernina Express | ARTE.tv Documentary
Available until the 04/11/2023

France Protests Spread to Switzerland

THE TELEGRAPH: Police say violence has begun following calls on social media as young people 'inspired by situation in France'

Days of unrest and rioting in France have spread overnight to neighbouring Switzerland, after spilling over into Belgium earlier in the week.

In the Swiss city of Lausanne, there were clashes between police and groups of protesters, most of them young – an echo of the profile of many of the rioters in France. Seven people were detained, most of them teenagers, after several shop windows in Lausanne were smashed.

Around 100 people gathered on Saturday night in the centre of the city, which is located in the mainly French-speaking western part of Switzerland. Young people threw paving stones and at least one Molotov cocktail at officers, police said in a statement.

“Echoing the events and riots raging in France, more than a hundred youths gathered in central Lausanne and damaged businesses,” the Lausanne police said in a statement. » | Nick Squires | Sunday, July 2, 2023

Giant Rockslide Stops Shy of Burying Entire Swiss Village | DW News

Jun 17, 2023 | In Switzerland, caution and fate have averted a disaster. One month ago, the residents of the tiny Alpine village of Brienz were evacuated because of the risk of a devastating rockslide. The rocks have tumbled down the mountain as predicted, but have miraculously missed the community by a few meters.

[The Late] Tina Turner Talks about Living in Switzerland (1996)

Listen to this #short of Tina Turner being interviewed.

Swiss Academic Tariq Ramadan Goes On Trial Accused of Rape

THE GUARDIAN: Islamic studies scholar, who took leave of absence from Oxford University in 2017, is also accused of sexual coercion

Tariq Ramadan arrives at court in Geneva on Monday. Photograph: Pierre Albouy/EPA
The prominent Swiss academic and Islam scholar Tariq Ramadan has gone on trial in Geneva on charges of rape and sexual coercion.

The 60-year-old told the court he denied allegations that he carried out an attack on a Swiss woman in a Geneva hotel in 2008.

Ramadan was a professor of contemporary Islamic studies at the University of Oxford before taking a leave of absence in 2017 when rape allegations were first made against him by French women, in what was seen as the biggest repercussion of the #MeToo movement in France. He has also denied those allegations.

The complainant in the Swiss case, who had converted to Islam in her youth, was 40 at the time of the alleged attack. She says she has faced threats and therefore wishes to be known under the assumed name of “Brigitte” during the trial. » | Angelique Chrisafis in Paris | Monday, May 15, 2023

A Swiss Village Is Warned to Flee Its Shifting Mountainside

THE NEW YORK TIMES: Scientist say a rockslide could be imminent, but they can’t predict exactly what it will look like and whether the village of Brienz will survive.

The threat of the mountain above the tiny Swiss village of Brienz has loomed for centuries.

But state geologists and engineers warned on Tuesday that parts of the mountain were dangerously close to collapse. And the roughly 85 people who live in Brienz and in the path of a possible landslide or mountain collapse were told to evacuate by Friday night.

Geological engineers starting monitoring the situation on the mountain closely in 2017. In recent weeks, they have seen movement accelerate in the more than 70 million cubic feet of dirt and rocks that make up the parts of the mountain that could fall. » | Christopher F. Schuetze | Wednesday, May 10, 2023

How to Make an Authentic Cheese Fondue | A Typical Dish from Switzerland

Feb 19, 2022 | In Switzerland cheese fondue is one of the most popular dishes. Well, it is a national dish after all.

Gruyère and Vacherin are the most common cheeses used for fondue recipes. Here we have the recipe explained to us - and lucky for you, it's quite simple.

Traditional Zurich Ragout – One of Switzerland’s Most Common Dishes

Zürcher Geschnetzeltes
Oct 29, 2022 | Zürcher Geschnetzeltes is the classic king of Zurich cuisine, though it's a dish with a relatively short history. It was only in a 1947 Swiss cookbook that the terms 'Zürich' and 'Geschnetzeltes' (or 'sliced') paired up for the first time – at the time without the mushrooms that are these days a must. These days, the dish can be found on the menu of almost every home-style Swiss restaurant.

Zürcher Geschnetzeltes is typically made with veal fillet, mushrooms, butter, shallots, white wine, bouillon, cream, sauce stock, and a little cognac. Veal kidneys are an optional addition. The meat is seared briefly, and then kept warm while a sauce is prepared from the other ingredients, which is finally pureed. This is then poured over the meat, and the whole dish is then typically served with rösti – potato pancakes.

Report: Jens von Larcher
Camera: Dirk Frenkel
Edit: Eva Luenig

Cheesy Delight: How to Prepare an Authentic Swiss Raclette

Mar 18, 2023 | Say Switzerland and one of the things that'll probably spring to mind, as well as mountains, Alpine pastures and chocolate, is cheese. Aside from fondue, another popular dish in the country is raclette, a dish made mainly of cheese and potatoes. Find out how an authentic Swiss raclette is prepared and why there's no tabletop grill involved!

Elisabeth Kopp, Swiss Politician Who Made History, Dies at 86

THE NEW YORK TIMES: In 1984 she became the first woman elected to the country’s governing council, but a scandal prevented her from being the first woman to serve as president.

Elisabeth Kopp being sworn in as the first female member of the Federal Council, Switzerland’s governing body, in 1984. Her political foes had tried to deny her a seat by stirring up dirt about husband. | Keystone, via Associated Press
Elisabeth Kopp, who in 1984 overcame accusations involving her husband to become the first woman elected to Switzerland’s governing Federal Council — but who could not overcome another scandal a few years later, also related to her husband, and resigned when she had seemed likely to be the country’s first female president — died on April 7 in Zumikon, southeast of Zurich. She was 86. » | Neil Genzlinger | Saturday, April 22, 2023