Tue, May 10th 2022
Why Apple employees are roaming through Swiss cities, ‘Russophobia’ in Switzerland and more in our roundup of Swiss news from May 4 – 10.
An anti-war protest earlier this year drew thousands to the streets of Bern.
Russians in Switzerland ‘walk a fine line’
Amid increasing reports of “Russophobia” in Switzerland from a group of Russian expats, reporters at SwissInfo investigated and found that there have been no reported incidents to the International League against Racism and Anti-Semitism. Moreover, a claim that a Russian student was harassed in Montreux has proven to be false. Russian conductor Valery Gergiev – who has been an open supporter of Russian President Vladmir Putin – was fired as the musical director of the Verbier Music Festival. Meanwhile, Thurgau cancelled a concert for Russian cellist Anastasia Kobekina, although she has been outspoken against the war. In reply, a group of local Russian artists penned an open letter saying that “Not all Russians are for Putin, and Putin is not all of Russia.” Read more.
Swiss watch breaks auction record
An Audemars Piguet Royal Oak watch sold at auction for 1,058,500 CHF ($1.1 million), a new record for a steel Swiss sports watch. The Gerald Genta-designed timepiece sold for five-times its pre-sale estimate, according the auctioneer. It was the second Royal Oak watch ever made and was presented at the 1972 Basel watch fair. Watch experts say the prices for Swiss watches are at an all-time high. Read more.
Apples Maps scouring Swiss cities
Apple employees will be walking around the streets of Zurich, Geneva and Basel this spring, taking continuous photos for Apple Maps. The employees are wearing oversized backpacks (some as heavy as 20 kg) equipped with cameras and tablets to collect information about the cities for the iPhone application. Despite the teams having all of their paperwork in order, the typically private Swiss citizens living in these cities say the monitoring makes them nervous. Read more.
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