Новости за 09.04.2024

Far more plastic is floating in the Antarctic Ocean than previously assumed as a large proportion of it was so small that previous studies failed to detect it, researchers from Basel have shown in a study. In previous studies, plastic particles were fished out of the sea using a fine net, explained the University of Basel in a press release on Tuesday. These nets had mesh sizes of around 300 micrometres (a third of a millimetre), but smaller particles would not be caught. In newly analysed seawater samples from the Antarctic Weddell Sea... Читать дальше...

Switzerland exceeded its voluntary gas savings target this winter. Compared to average consumption between 2017 and 2022, the target was to reduce gas consumption by 15%. However, according to provisional government figures, it was 23% less. The target was 3,997 gigawatt hours (GWh) of gas savings, regardless of the weather, over the winter half-year, i.e. from the beginning of October 2023 to the end of March 2024. According to the Swiss Federal Office of Energy’s (SFOE) dashboard, 6,102 GWh have now been saved... Читать дальше...

The number of bankruptcies in Switzerland has increased for three consecutive years for the first time since records began. A total of 15,447 bankruptcy proceedings were opened in 2023 – 2.9% more than in the previous year, according to the Federal Statistical Office (FSO). However, the increase in the number of bankruptcies has slowed significantly compared to 2021 and 2022, the FSO said on Tuesday. In 2022, a year-on-year increase of 6.6% was recorded, while the increase in 2021 was as high as... Читать дальше...

Almost 60% of government expenditure consists of subsidies to cantons, cities, businesses and private households. However, the Swiss Federal Audit Office (SFAO) says not all of them are economical and suitable by a long shot and recommends action be taken. According to the SFAO report published on Monday, the government spent CHF48.5 billion ($53.6 billion) on subsidies in 2022 – 59.7% of its total expenditure. The SFAO said statutory conditions were not always sufficiently met in practice, with a lot of potential for improvement... Читать дальше...

Rapid action is needed as climate change is causing thousands of meteorites to sink into Antarctic ice every year. That is according to an international research team quoted in a study published on Monday in the journal Nature Climate Change. “Meteorites are unique samples of extra-terrestrial objects that provide crucial information about the origin and evolution of our solar system,” the researchers said in the study, which was led by Harry Zekollari from the federal technology institute ETH Zurich... Читать дальше...

40% of the Swiss population possesses a migration background, a proportion noticeably absent in politics. However, a notable development has emerged In canton Basel City, a politician with a migration background secured a seat in the government for the first time last weekend. Mustafa Atici, aged 54, hails from Kurdistan and migrated to Switzerland from Turkey at 23. Underrepresentation in parliament Underrepresentation in parliament remains stark. Indeed, the election of the Social Democratic Party politician marks a significant milestone... Читать дальше...

For the fifth time in a row, the city of Zurich has taken first place in the International Institute for Management Development’s (IMD) ‘Smart City’ index. Two other Swiss cities also made it into the top ten, with Geneva in fifth place and Lausanne in seventh. The capital cities of Oslo and Canberra, meanwhile, completed the podium in second and third place, respectively, as shown in the results of the IMD study published on Tuesday. The top 20 was dominated by Asian and European cities and, for... Читать дальше...

The world's largest watch trade show, Watches and Wonders, began in Geneva on Tuesday. For one week, 54 brands will be presenting new products and bestsellers from the world of timepieces. The industry is on a high, but the upswing is losing momentum. There will be large crowds at the grandiose stands of brands such as Rolex, Cartier, IWC and Patek Philippe, with organisers expecting around 45,000 visitors, compared with last year's 43,000. The fair in the Palexpo International Exhibition and Convention... Читать дальше...

Reconciliation is an important part of peacebuilding, but the people living in exile are often forgotten about in the process. Most recently, Colombia has become the first country to listen to the voices of the exiled population. Jehisson Santacruz, who fled to Switzerland, is one of them. Between 1958 and 2016, the government of Colombia, far-right paramilitary groups and far-left guerrilla groups such as FARC were at war with each other, and the conflict is not yet settled. In 2018, the Colombian... Читать дальше...