Liquidation of Bill Hwang’s Archegos Capital Management sparked a fire sale of more than $20bn assets
Financial regulators across the world are monitoring the collapse of the New York-based billionaire Bill Hwang’s personal hedge fund.
The sudden liquidation of Hwang’s Archegos Capital Management sparked a fire sale of more than $20bn assets that has left some of the world’s biggest investment banks nursing billions of dollars of losses.
Continue reading...Muslim groups criticise move, which they say will further stigmatise and marginalise their community
Switzerland will follow France, Belgium and Austria after narrowly voting in a referendum to ban women from wearing the burqa or niqab in public spaces.
Just over 51% of Swiss voters cast their ballots in favour of the initiative to ban people from covering their face completely on the street, in shops and restaurants.
Continue reading...Two people caught in avalanche in Switzerland were rescued after their dogs barked for help
Two people caught in an avalanche in Switzerland were rescued after their dogs barked for help, attracting the attention of nearby snow-shoers who were able to dig them out, the air ambulance service Rega said on Sunday.
The avalanche swept the pair off a hiking trail in the Avers Valley of south-western Switzerland, near the Italian border and west of St Moritz, shortly after 3pm on Saturday, Rega said in a statement.
Continue reading...Philipp Wilhelm knows local people rely on forum’s revenue – but still thinks world must change
In his youth, Philipp Wilhelm was at the forefront of protests against the World Economic Forum’s annual “extreme capitalism” gathering of the business and political elite in Davos, the Swiss mountain resort where he grew up.
Now, however, Wilhelm is the mayor of the town and his central mission is to ensure the return of the WEF jamboree, which had been scheduled to start next week but was cancelled this year due to the pandemic.
Continue reading...Hundreds left Verbier after discovery of new Covid variant despite order to self-isolate
Only about a dozen British tourists out of about 420 appear to be left in the Swiss ski resort of Verbier after an undisclosed number fled a mandatory quarantine, many under cover of darkness, risking a 10,000 Swiss franc fine (£8,300) and drawing widespread condemnation on social media.
Asked about the runaway tourists, the Swiss health minister, Alain Berset, said: “We are aware of that. It’s obviously a problem. There was an order to quarantine that has not been respected.”
Continue reading...About half of the 420 visitors ordered to self-isolate left Verbier in ‘cloak and dagger’ operation
Hundreds of British tourists fled the upmarket Swiss ski resort of Verbier in a “cloak-and-dagger operation” this week, breaking quarantine rules retroactively put in place to contain the spread of the coronavirus variant first discovered in the UK.
Following the detection of the new mutation of Covid-19 in Britain, Swiss authorities announced on 21 December that all people who had arrived from the UK since 14 December would need to self-isolate for 10 days from their date of arrival.
Continue reading...Government says deal allowing Beijing officials to interrogate Chinese nationals was standard ‘technical arrangement’
The Swiss government has strongly rejected accusations that a deal allowing Chinese officials to enter Switzerland and interrogate Chinese nationals put dissidents at risk.
Switzerland entered into a so-called re-admission agreement with China back in 2015. The deal expired on Monday.
Continue reading...Agents travelled from China at Swiss taxpayers’ expense to interview deportation targets
The full text of a secret deal between Switzerland and China that allowed Chinese security officials access to the country at Swiss taxpayers’ expense has been revealed for the first time as the government pushes to renew it.
The five-year “readmission agreement”, which was signed in 2015 and expired on Monday, lay out terms for Chinese agents to travel to Switzerland and interview suspected Chinese nationals that Swiss authorities wished to deport.
Continue reading...Coronavirus clusters in Alpine resorts played key role in early spread of virus in Europe
France will carry out random border checks over the holiday season targeting French skiers on their way to and from foreign resorts – particularly Switzerland and Spain – where slopes stay open, the prime minister, Jean Castex, has said.
“The goal is to avoid French citizens getting contaminated. That will be done by performing random checks at the borders,” Castex told French television, adding that returning holidaymakers would be ordered to quarantine for seven days.
Continue reading...British tourists, chalet owners and resort staff wait for winter season decisions across Europe
British holidaymakers, chalet owners and resort staff are in limbo as countries across Europe decide whether or not this winter’s ski season will go ahead.
This week, Britain’s biggest ski operator Crystal Ski Holidays was forced to cancel all its French ski trips in December after President Macron ordered the nation’s resorts to stay shut until the new year.
Continue reading...Germany, Italy and France in favour of resort closures but Austria and Switzerland fear economic damage
Governments are at odds over a Europe-wide plan to bar ski holidays over Christmas and new year, with Germany, Italy and France in favour but Austria and Switzerland reluctant to damage a sector worth billions to their economies.
The German chancellor, Angela Merkel, on Thursday joined Italy’s prime minister, Giuseppe Conte, and the French president, Emmanuel Macron, in calling for a Europe-wide shutdown of winter sports until 10 January to avert a fresh coronavirus wave.
Continue reading...BLM protests and fresh historical evidence are raising questions over the legacy of the founder of modern Switzerland, Alfred Escher
Alfred Escher wielded so much power and influence during his lifetime that he was nicknamed King Alfred I. An immense bronze statue of modern Switzerland’s founding father stands, fittingly, in front of Zurich’s main train station. Escher was a politician, but he was also an entrepreneur who founded the country’s railway network along with its leading university and the banking giant Credit Suisse.
The statue in Zurich has memorialised Escher for more than 100 years, but it may not be there much longer. A recently published study on Zurich’s involvement in slavery details problematic connections to Escher. The Escher dynasty owned a coffee plantation in Cuba with more than 80 slaves and Escher himself was involved in its sale.
Continue reading...Switzerland makes masks mandatory as continent struggles to contain infections
Police fought anti-mask protesters in the Czech Republic, Ireland prepared to announce tough new restrictions and Switzerland made masks mandatory indoors as European governments struggled to contain continuing record Covid case numbers.
As Italy on Sunday reported 11,705 new infections over the past 24 hours, its largest ever figure, and France on Saturday set a new high of 32,427 cases, police in Prague’s historic tourist district fired teargas and water cannon after demonstrations against strict anti-coronavirus restrictions turned violent.
Continue reading...Mayors will be able to impose 9pm curfews; Senior PLO negotiator Saeb Erekat in hospital; Switzerland to introduce more measures on Monday – follow live
Here’s a snapshot of the countries with the highest coronavirus cumulative cases on the African continent, via the WHO African Region dashboard.
Over 1.6 million confirmed #COVID19 cases on the African continent - with more than 1.3 million recoveries & 39,000 deaths cumulatively.
View country figures & more with the WHO African Region COVID-19 Dashboard: https://t.co/V0fkK8dYTg pic.twitter.com/MzKYRI4gyY
The Australian state of Victoria has reported four new coronavirus cases and one further death, taking the state’s toll 817 and the national figure to 905.
It comes as the state eases its Covid restrictions, including expanding Melbourne’s 5km travel radius to 25km.
Yesterday there were 4 new cases & sadly the loss of 1 life reported. Condolences to all those affected. Cases with unknown source & average in Regional are stable, Metro average decreased slightly. More info available later today. https://t.co/eTputEZdhs #COVID19VicData pic.twitter.com/hJpnTBpQ76
Continue reading...Sunday’s referendum with echoes of Brexit proposes limits on number of foreign workers
Switzerland will vote on Sunday whether to end its agreement with the EU on the free movement of people, in a referendum with echoes of the pro-Brexit campaign that led to Britain’s decision to leave the bloc.
The largest party in the Swiss parliament, the rightwing, anti-immigration Swiss People’s party (SVP), has called for the vote, arguing that the country must be allowed to set its own limit on the number of foreigners coming in to work.
Continue reading...Tighter measures are being imposed, but they vary across the continent
Continue reading...Fine particles dust the ground around Lindt & Spruengli factory in town of Olten after ventilation defect
A real-life Willy Wonka would have been proud. But residents of a Swiss town got a bit of a shock when it started snowing particles of a fine cocoa powder after the ventilation system at a chocolate factory malfunctioned.
The Lindt & Spruengli company confirmed local reports on Tuesday that there was a minor defect in the cooling ventilation in an area making roasted “cocoa nibs” in its factory in Olten, between Zurich and Basel.
Continue reading...Officials say mystery passenger has five years to present ‘justified claims’ of ownership
If you happened to leave more than £150,000 worth of gold bars in a Swiss train, you can now come forward to claim it.
Authorities in the central city of Lucerne have said a package containing bars worth about 182,000 Swiss francs was found in a train that arrived from the northern town of St. Gallen in October, and efforts to find the owner failed.
Continue reading...Thousands of marchers screamed for a minute at 3.24pm – the time of day when women in effect start working without pay
Women across Switzerland have let loose with screams during a national protest demanding equal treatment and an end to violence at the hands of men.
Last year half a million people marched to highlight the nation’s poor record on women’s rights. This year’s version of what organisers call the Women’s Strike was more subdued on Sunday due to coronavirus restrictions.
Continue reading...Photographs of an unusual situation by Roland Schmid. Switzerland and Germany have been divided by the coronavirus pandemic. Fences, concrete obstacles or barrier tapes separate them after the borders were closed to slow the spread of the virus. But love cannot be locked away
“Look, we even marked the border on our blanket,” laughs Sabrina. And indeed; just below the barrier tape a black line divides the cloth in half. Lying on one half is Sabrina, from Basel; on the other, Davor from Wiesbaden. We are in Riehen, the rich suburban community of Basel.
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