LUGANO, SWITZERLAND – Canton Ticino is feeling the wrath of mother nature: massive rains and mudslides last week took the lives of a mother and her daughter in a remote area, and Monday night the rain came again, heavily. MeteoSwiss says the canton has suffered from virtually non-stop rain since the start of November. The […]
Archives for November 2014
Second homes law: shift in towns covered
BERN, SWITZERLAND – Nearly one-fifth of Swiss communes have a high enough percentage of second homes for the law restricting vacation residences to apply to them: 440 of the 2,352 total. The federal government Tuesday 11 November issued its third list since the law went into effect in January 2013, bringing up to date the […]
Electronic autoroute stickers backed by lower house
BERN, SWITZERLAND – A project to develop an electronic system to replace Switzerland’s annual highway use sticker is being backed by the lower house of parliament. The only party to oppose a change to electronic from the paper sticker is the right-wing UDC (People’s Party), which successfully led opposition to government efforts to increase the […]
Zap! Ticino sommelier’s speedy champagne uncorking
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – Switzerland’s Mirko Rainier has just entered the Guinness World Records , reports Swiss public broadcaster RTS (you won’t yet find him officially listed there), for uncorking 47 bottles of champagne in one minute, using a saber. Rainier, sommelier and manager of the Atenaeo del vino restaurant in Mendrisio, canton Ticino, carried out […]