After the Catholic Church another religious institution is being marred by scandal: the Evangelical private school founded by chocolate magnate Mr Läderach. Founded in 1995, the private school has been exposed as a place where students were routinely beaten by the clerics in charge of their education. According to victims, there was a constant feeling of fear in the school as to who would be beaten next. The current manager of the chocolate factory who himself went to this school admits that he was aware of the prevalent atmosphere of fear in the school. He has vowed to make sure that those guilty of any wrongdoing would be found and face justice. The Zurich Film Festival has already dropped Läderach as their sponsor and it is speculated that other institutions will distance themselves. However speculation is that the actual chocolate company will ride out this storm.
You would think that in an effort to reduce our carbon footprint it would be wise to eat local fish, but a recent study has shown that all fish from the lakes of Switzerland contain traces of chemicals (PFAS1 variety). In some cases the levels were so high that these fish would not be deemed fit for consumption under European rules (which do not apply here). Whereas trouts and farmed perch fish had levels that were acceptable, pike fish, lake chub and perch fished in the lake Léman all had levels that were way above the accepted level (under European law). Original article in French here.
There will be more controls at the border between Italy and Switzerland. This is because this is the route mostly used by asylum seekers and there is an expectation of many more asylum seekers wanting to enter the country in the upcoming months.
The Gotthard railway tunnel has been cleared up and repaired after the train derailment which took place on August 10th and affected 8 kms of the tunnel. It is now being insptected before the train traffic resuming to normal.
Enjoy the glorious autumnal weather, sunny days, temperatures in the low 20° celsius and cool nights.
