Switzerland ranked the world’s most competitive country, glacier collapse to cost 320 million francs and more news in our roundup on Tuesday.
Switzerland ranked the ‘most competitive country’ in the world
After having lost the title to Nordic and Asian rivals in recent years, Switzerland has been crowned the world’s most competitive country again, Swiss Info reports.
Switzerland pushed Singapore and Hong Kong into second and third place in the latest World Competitiveness Ranking, according to the annual study by the Lausanne-based IMD business school.
The ranking compares the economies of 67 countries around the world.
According to IMD, the key factors for Switzerland’s top ranking this year were its stable political structures, efficient governance, and a first-class infrastructure.
The ranking is based on the evaluation of 170 internationally comparable indicators and a survey of more than 6,000 business executives worldwide. Polarisation and domestic political instability were rated particularly negatively this year.
The United States has sunk four places in the past two years and was ranked 13th this year.
Swiss landslide costs 320 million francs
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The massive landslide that wiped out much of the Swiss village of Blatten in May caused 320 million francs worth of damage, according to an estimates by an association of Swiss insurance companies (ASA).
The dramatic collapse of Switzerland’s Birch glacier, which wiped out a village, was an unprecedented disaster.
The majority of the damage (CHF 260 million) concerned damage to buildings and personal property caused either by the landslide itself or subsequent flooding.
The Birch glacier collapsed at the end of May, sending scree, ice and mud hurtling down into the Lotschental valley in Switzerland’s southern Valais region.
The disaster destroyed most of Blatten, which had been home to 300 people and was evacuated the week before due to the impending danger.
UN refugee agency cuts staff in Geneva
The UN refugee agency said on Monday it will cut 3,500 staff jobs — slashing nearly a third of its workforce costs — due to a funding shortfall, and reduce the scale of its help worldwide.
The agency’s chief Filippo Grandi said the UNHCR would focus “on activities that have the greatest impact for refugees” while streamlining its Geneva headquarters and regional offices.
The agency said it had had to close or downsize offices worldwide and implement a nearly 50-percent cut in senior positions in Geneva and at the regional HQs.
“In total, approximately 3,500 staff positions will be discontinued,” the statement said.
Additionally, hundreds of temporary workers have had to leave the organisation due to the funding shortfall.
“Overall, UNHCR estimates a global reduction in staffing costs of around 30 percent,” the agency said.
It said that programmes ranging from financial aid to vulnerable families, health, education, and water and sanitation had already been affected by cuts.
