Russian President Vladimir Putin says the coronavirus pandemic is under full control in his country, adding that Moscow has all the necessary resources to protect people’s health and support the economy under these circumstances. “All levels of power are working in an organized, responsible and timely way,” Putin said in …
Read More »Swiss prosecutors to drop one of cases against ex-FIFA chief Blatter
Switzerland’s federal prosecutor is about to end its investigation into former FIFA President Sepp Blatter’s deals with the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) to sell World Cup broadcasting rights. The Office of the Attorney General (OAG) said it has informed all the parties of its intention to close the case and …
Read More »WHO confirms two coronavirus cases among its staff
An official from the World Health Organization, the body leading the global fight against the coronavirus pandemic, said on Tuesday that two staff members have been confirmed to be infected with the coronavirus. The cases are the first at the Geneva-based organization and follow a confirmed case at the U.N. …
Read More »Davos 2020: de-escalation in Iraq high on agenda
The de-escalation of tensions in the Middle East, particularly in Iraq, will be high on the agenda at next week’s World Economic Forum Annual Meeting, which is the organization’s 50th yearly gathering in Davos, Switzerland. Taking part in these efforts will be regional leaders including Barham Salih, Iraq’s President, and …
Read More »Syrian refugees try to sneak past airport guards by masquerading as Ukrainian volleyball team.
Greek police have caught a group of migrants from Syria attempting to fool migration control by posing as a volleyball team from Ukraine. Ten Syrian refugees were arrested at Athens International Airport over the weekend, police said. In an attempt to fool migration control, they all dressed in identical uniforms, …
Read More »Switzerland | ODVV: US, UK, and France, should stop military support of Saudi-Led Coalition
Representative of the Organization for Defending Victims of Violence (ODVV) at the Human Rights Council described the situation in Yemen as the most catastrophic man-made crisis of all times and stressed that all armed countries including US, UK, and France, should stop military support of the coalition. “According to the …
Read More »Bitcoin’s energy consumption ‘equals that of Switzerland’
Bitcoin uses as much energy as the whole of Switzerland, a new online tool from the University of Cambridge shows. The tool makes it easier to see how the crypto-currency network’s energy usage compares with other entities. However, one expert argued that it was the cryptocurrency’s carbon footprint that really …
Read More »Swiss police use water cannon, tear gas at Cameroon protesters.
Swiss police fired water cannon, tear gas and stun grenades at Cameroonian protesters outside UN headquarters in Geneva Saturday as the crowd surged towards a luxury hotel hosting Cameroon’s president. Parts of the “city of peace” resembled a war zone, with police wearing gas masks and black riot gear chasing …
Read More »France heatwave: Paris region closes schools.
France is starting to close dozens of schools because of a heatwave, with temperatures expected to climb above 40C (104F) in some regions on Thursday. About 50 schools in the Essonne region, just south of Paris, are being shut, as they lack sufficient air conditioning. On Thursday, French BFMTV says, …
Read More »Swiss to return $133 million to Uzbekistan after money-laundering probe.
The Swiss attorney general’s office (OAG) on Monday announced it was returning 130 million Swiss francs ($133 million) to Uzbekistan which it seized during an investigation involving a relative of the daughter of the country’s former president Islam Karimov. The OAG did not name the relative who was convicted on …
Read More »Coffee not essential for life.
The Swiss government wants to put an end to its emergency stockpile of coffee after declaring that it is “not essential” for human survival. Switzerland began storing emergency reserves of coffee between World War One and World War Two in preparation for potential shortages. It continued in subsequent decades to …
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