On Sunday night a fire broke out in an apartment block near the Löwenplatz, the building is used for social apartments and is known for its lax security. Unfortunately 1 person died, 4 others were rushed to hospital and a further 30 were evacuated. It is still unclear what caused the fire.
In Horw, the football club’s house was intentionally set on fire and if it weren’t for the quick thinking of a junior player to call the police the damage could have been much worse. Whether it was a supporter from a rival team or someone bearing the club a grudge who tried to burn the place down remains unclear at this time.
Don’t blindly follow Google Map! An Italian tourist did just this on the weekend and ended up with his car stuck in the stairs in the old town near the Rathaus and Zum Pfistern. Years ago an American tourist ended up parking his car in the Löwendenkmal water display.
38 of the 61 communes in the canton fined for not offering enough beds for refugees are refusing to pay the fine the canton sent them. Arguing that the canton was unrealistic in its expectations, the communes are claiming that they simply do not have the capacity to take in any more refugees.
At the same time the SVP party is putting forward a motion putting a stop to evicting renters to accomodate refugees. But the cases that shook Switzerland a couple of months ago were not as black and white as they seemed. At the time both places were due for complete renovations which is why the tenants were asked to leave, and the refugees were lodged there whilst the owners were waiting for the permits for the renovation work to begin. The Libellenstrasse building where many Ukrainian refugees are currently residing is also due to have renovations begin in September, but with the war in Ukrainian still ongoing the local government is seeing whether the renovations can be put on hold.
Unsurprisingly, Russia was voted as the place with the worst record of press freedom in the world, followed by China, Indian, Iran and Saudi Arabia. Switzerland has improved from number 14 to 12 whereas Norway, Ireland and Denmark occupy the top three positions for having the best freedom of press in the world.
