News

If Switzerland’s population reaches 9.5 million, the Federal Council would be required to significantly curb immigration; at 10 million, it could even be forced to terminate international agreements. This would constitute “a radical intervention and would severely harm not only the Swiss economy but also research,” Luciana Vaccaro, president of Swissuniversities, told SonntagsBlick. Her warning is based on a legal opinion commissioned by Swissuniversities. According to the analysis, the proposal put forward by the Swiss People’s Party (SVP), which is due to go to a vote on June 14, could trigger the so-called guillotine clause, placing Switzerland’s bilateral agreements with the European Union at risk. “If we reach the 10-million threshold and are required to terminate agreements related to the free movement of persons, we risk once again being excluded from Horizon Europe, Erasmus+, Digital Europe or Euratom – some of the world’s leading research programmes. That would be ...

The Jean-Luc Godard Foundation has ambitious goals: to list, preserve and share Godard’s archive. The French-Swiss film director died in 2022, leaving behind works scattered worldwide and the thorny matter of film rights. On the Rue des Petites Buttes in Rolle, western Switzerland, an ordinary door leads to an apartment. Although the door isn’t much to look at, it was immortalised in several films by the Jean-Luc Godard. It was, in fact, the entrance to his studio, an atelier that has been widely documented in films and photographs and reproduced in exhibitions. On January 16, the studio became home to the new Jean-Luc Godard Foundation. The Foundation’s goal is not “to create a mausoleum to pay homage to the butt of Jean-Luc Godard’s cigar”, says Frédéric Maire, a founding member who was close to the filmmaker. Instead, it aims to keep Godard’s work alive. Close friends and family, including former artistic collaborators and his nephew Paul Grivas, established the Foundation after ...

The Hotel School of Lausanne (EHL) is launching a new programme: an Associate Degree - a two-year university degree - in culinary arts and restaurant management. +Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox The aim is to respond to the shortage of personnel in the sector and to offer young people a comprehensive training that goes beyond the technical in the kitchen. The programme also aims to attract young people to the branch's professions and "make their eyes sparkle," Patrick Ogheard, EHL manager, explained to RTS radio. It is to provide "the tools to be a chef de cuisine, maître d'hôtel or to create one's own business". It will teach 'all facets of the profession, as well as finance, marketing, communication, human resources management and customer management'. The course, aimed at young people with a high school or bachelor's degree, costs CHF 69,000 for two years. The first edition will take 20 students, and will then move on to two annual promotions of up to ...

Switzerland occupies a special place in the world of ichnology, the science that studies the fossilised remains of animals that have been extinct for millions of years. A book takes stock of the situation on the 50th anniversary of a major discovery in the Valais Alps. In 1976, French geologist Georges Bronner discovered fossilised traces on a rock face in the Vieux-Emosson area of the Valais Alps, near the border with France. The fact that this discovery took place that year was no coincidence. Bronner was involved in organising an exhibition on the region’s geology as part of the construction of the Emosson Dam, which was due to be inaugurated on October 1, 1976. In addition, 1976 was marked by an unprecedented drought. In the mountains, this "drought of the century" caused the snow cover to recede more sharply than usual, making it possible to see rocks that were usually covered in snow. In his book Un dinosaure dans la montagne (A dinosaur in the mountain), Pierre-Yves Frei ...

Criticised, sometimes sacked or taken to court, three cartoonists from India, Hong Kong and Turkey are unveiling their work at the Maison du Dessin de Presse in Morges. They were awarded the Courage Prize in 2024 and 2025 for their commitment to defending freedom of expression. +Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox In 2024, India's Rachita Taneja and Hong Kong's Zunzi were awarded the Kofi Annan Courage Prize by the Freedom Cartoonist Foundation, which Chappatte chairs. The following year, Zehra Ömeroğlu from Turkey won the Robert Russel Courage Prize awarded by Cartoonists Rights. All three draw at the risk of their freedom and work under the threat of prison and censorship. For the "Courage Awards" exhibition, the Maison du Dessin de Presse contacted the artists to ask for a representative selection of their work. The exhibition features 90 drawings - 30 per artist - divided into three regions: India, Turkey and Hong Kong, explains the press kit. The exhibit ...