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Microsoft benefits from the home office
American computer company Microsoft benefits from the fact that many people currently work from home with videoconferencing and documents from the cloud. The company generated 15 percent more sales in the first three months of the year. It was a total of $ 35 billion. Profits grew 22 percent to $ 10.8 billion. Therefore, the negative effects of the Corona crisis were barely noticeable, the company said.
According to Microsoft, the business with location-independent teamwork software and online learning was particularly good. “In two months we experienced a digital transformation that would have otherwise taken two years,” said Microsoft chief Satya Nadella.
One joy, the other suffering: Microsoft is happy that many have to work from home.
Keystone
Austria: Foreign Minister Kurz insists on considering AUA aid
In the fight for state aid for Lufthansa’s subsidiary Austrian Airlines (AUA), Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz insists on protection. A stake in parent company Lufthansa is also a possible scenario, Kurz said Wednesday night.
“Help without benefits for Austria, without a stake in Lufthansa, just like that, there will be none,” said the chancellor after a first meeting with Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr at night in Vienna. After all, Lufthansa is a German company and should therefore be considered as State aid.
In an interview with ORF, Kurz again noted that the Austrian government wanted to make the most of Austria as a place of negotiations with Lufthansa and protect jobs at Austrian Airlines. The AUA wants aid in Austria of more than 767 million euros.
Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz does not want to help “just like that”.
Keystone
Double crisis for sex workers in Amsterdam
Amsterdam’s red light district is notorious and has recently become extinct. As in Switzerland, brothels in the Netherlands must remain closed due to the crown crisis. Escort services are prohibited. Sex workers plunge into illegality to continue making money. A sex worker told SRF that it was dangerous, but many had no other choice. “Some left for their country of origin due to the crisis, but others did not want to go home.”
What is the future of flying?
The airline industry is particularly affected by the corona crisis due to all travel restrictions. Therefore, the Federal Council has provided financial aid to Swiss and Edelweiss airlines today. Yes, the future of aviation remains uncertain. What will the flight be like in the future? What do passengers have to adapt to? Will flying get more expensive? Consultant Bruno Dobler, who was the chief pilot for Crossair and directed Helvetic Airways, is convinced that the industry needs to adapt. “I imagine that in the future you will come to the airport with a protective mask and you will have to measure your fever at the door.”
The concept of protection poses great challenges for schools.
Starting May 11, elementary and secondary schools can also reopen, the Federal Council announced today. Yes, they must comply with a protection concept for classroom instruction. Children 10 years and older must comply with hygiene rules and distance rules. This sometimes puts schools in dire straits. Giuliano Picciati, the principal of a Bern school, says that it is difficult to comply with distance rules. Now he is waiting for further instructions from the canton. Picciati said he could imagine dividing classes and teaching half in the morning and half in the afternoon.
The last plane of the historic return campaign landed
On Wednesday night, the last plane chartered by the Department of Foreign Affairs with Swiss passengers stranded abroad arrived in Zurich. It has brought travelers from Ghana, the Ivory Coast and Burkina Faso. This puts an end to Switzerland’s “biggest return campaign” to date. The Swiss airline Helvetic Airways’ plane landed in Zurich shortly before 8:40 p.m., as announced by the airline and the foreign department on Wednesday night.
There were 46 Swiss passengers on board, 24 of whom resided in Switzerland. 46 passengers came from other countries. With the arrival of this aircraft, the active return action of the shipping department ends. As part of its return campaign, the FDFA organized a total of 35 flights from Latin America, Africa, Asia, Oceania and within Europe, bringing around 4,200 Swiss travelers and around 2,500 foreign travelers back to Europe. For those who are still abroad and cannot return, EDA offers consular support and protection whenever possible.
Keller-Sutter: “At the border, the focus is on economic openness”
Since May 11, anyone with a Swiss or EU passport can bring their closest family to Switzerland, the Federal Council announced at today’s press conference. In addition, applications for foreign workers submitted through March are now being processed. Border controls remain in place. Compared to the initial steps in Germany, those on the border are very small. Justice Minister Karin Keller-Sutter said in an interview with SRF that the goal of the Federal Council is economic openness. “The openings at the border are related to the labor market.”
Children with mysterious inflammatory disease in Geneva
Three children with a mysterious inflammatory disease are currently being cared for at the Geneva University Hospital. A possible connection to the corona pandemic is not excluded. One of them tested positive for the corona virus. Federal delegate for the crown pandemic, Daniel Koch, spoke at a Federal Council news conference today about an immune response as a result of infection with the crown virus.
The clinical picture in children is similar to that of so-called Kawasaki disease, said a spokesman for the Geneva health department. Similar cases related to the coronavirus have been found in several countries, the World Health Organization said today. The vast majority of children have mild symptoms and recover quickly. However, a small number develop these rare symptoms of inflammation.
How are you doing with sports now?
Where distance and hygiene rules can be followed, training can start again from May 11, this is the decision of the Minister of Sports, Viola Amherd. The Federal Council does not want to allow large events with more than 1,000 people before September. In major events, the risk of transmission increases dramatically and an infection cannot be traced.
The US Federal Reserve USA Sticks to negative interest rates
The United States Federal Reserve keeps interest rates close to zero in the crown crisis and wants to step up its fight against a recession if necessary. In “these difficult times,” the full range of instruments must be used to support the economy, Fed chief Jerome Powell’s monetary authorities said in a message. Powell had previously assured that the central bank could keep the economy afloat as long as necessary. Among other things, it has already launched a $ 2.3 billion emergency program. Currency holders left the key interest rate in the range of zero to 0.25 percent.
Many experts assume that the United States faces a major recession. Unemployment has already increased dramatically in a few weeks due to the crown crisis. Before the pandemic, it was at its lowest point of all time, and now more than 26 million people have registered to receive unemployment benefits.
Regret and criticism
The Federal Council decided today: There are no events with more than 1,000 people until the end of August. This decision is regretted and sometimes criticized in the event industry.
265,000 employees breathe easier
As of May 11, the lock will be closed more than previously announced. The catering industry in particular, with its more than 500 companies, is taking deep breaths. “Swiss News” met Casimir Platzer, president of the Gastrosuisse industry association, “the largest employer in Switzerland with 265,000 workers”, as he says.
Easyjet requires suspension of flight taxes
After Easyjet Switzerland did not receive state aid from Bern, the low-cost airline is now asking the federal government to take steps to get more people to fly after the crown pandemic. Among other things, aviation-related taxes should be temporarily suspended or airport charges reduced, Easyjet wrote in a statement Wednesday night.
Such measures should ensure the connection of Swiss air traffic. Easyjet will continue the exchange with the Swiss government to ensure fair competitive conditions are guaranteed for all airlines, he said. Easyjet Switzerland is a Swiss company that employs 1,000 people on Swiss contracts at its two locations in Geneva and Basel.
Easyjet plane parked at Basel airport due to the Corna crisis.
Keystone
New dreaded crown wave in summer
The researchers warn: easing measures in the fight against the coronavirus in Switzerland could increase the number of infections and cause a setback in the summer.
High risk or just reasonable?
Bourgeois federal councilors are pushing the pace with easing. Is the state government taking too high a risk? The analysis of the editor of the Federal Parliament, Gion-Duri Vincenz.
“Historic event”: St. Gallen MPs gather in sports hall
Due to the crown virus, the city parliament of St. Gallen met for the first time in the Kreuzbleiche sports hall instead of the Waaghaus. This allowed parliamentarians to comply with the distance rules.
After the March 23 parliamentary session had to be canceled due to the crown pandemic, the city of St. Gallen legislature is now making decisions again.
“Relocation is a historic event,” said city secretary Manfred Linke. All the technology was linked by the Waaghaus to a cross bleaching. “It will be possible to vote wirelessly,” said Linke. Because the audience had to be excluded, the session was broadcast live.
Placement comes at a price. The session in the sports hall costs around CHF 14,000. With the cancellation of the March meeting and the waiver of a snack, the city will save about 7,500 Swiss francs, the city secretary said.
Keystone
Britain has to correct figures up
The official number of crown deaths in Britain changed significantly on Wednesday to 26,097 from just over 20,000 the day before. For the first time, this also included deaths in nursing homes and private homes in England and Wales. Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s conservative government has been criticized for weeks for responding to the pandemic. They accuse her of waiting too long to take steps to contain the situation. Protective clothing for medical personnel is also lacking. The goal of evaluating 100,000 people every day by the end of April should no longer be possible.
Upset young climbers
The youth of the Swiss climate is outraged by financial aid to airlines. “Climate strike Switzerland” writes in a press release: After a year of protests over a climate-friendly policy, one is frustrated that “the Federal Council will grant Switzerland and Edelweiss 1,275 million without any ecological guidance.” Compared to other Corona aid packages, like those for culture or sport, this is a gigantic sum.
Switzerland “grateful” for federal aid
Swiss appreciates the federal financial aid he presented at today’s press conference. The airline writes on Twitter: “Swiss and Edelweiss are grateful for the Federal Council’s decision to support Swiss aviation with the liquidity necessary to survive the crown crisis.” Swiss and Edelweiss are subsidiaries of the German group Lufthansa. The Federal Council guarantees up to 1.3 billion Swiss francs for the two companies in the banks.
Several festivals cannot take place
The Federal Council also decided today to ban events with more than 1,000 people safely until the end of August 2020. This decision makes the main music festivals that take place every summer. The organizers of numerous music festivals have officially canceled this year’s editions. At the Gurten Festival, for example, cancellation is said to hurt, but it is “clearly the only correct decision.” It sounds similar at the other major festivals, the Open Airs St. Gallen, Frauenfeld, Gampel, the Greenfield Festival and the Zurich Open Air.
