2023 Timeline: Year in Review, Britannica

January

Funeral of Pope Benedict XVI

(January 5, 2023)

Pope Benedict XVI is laid to rest. He resigned in 2013, and Pope Francis I was named his successor.

Doomsday Clock advances

(January 24, 2023)

The Doomsday Clock is moved ahead, indicating an unprecedented level of world troubles. The time is now 90 seconds to midnight.

 February

Tom Brady retires again

(February 1, 2023)

Quarterback Tom Brady announces that he is retiring from the National Football League (NFL). Brady led his teams to a record seven Super Bowl titles.

Kahramanmaraş earthquake

(February 6, 2023)

Turkey and Syria are hit by an earthquake and a severe aftershock. These high-magnitude events leave more than 50,000 people dead.

NBA record broken

(February 7, 2023)

LeBron James becomes the all-time highest scorer in the National Basketball Association (NBA), surpassing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s record of 38,387.  

Vermeer exhibit

(February 10, 2023)

The Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam puts 28 paintings by Dutch artist Johannes Vermeer on display the largest exhibition of his work ever held.

March

Taylor Swift’s Eras tour

(March 17, 2023)

American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift launches a hugely successful world tour. Estimates suggest that the tour will generate more than $1 billion.

Donald Trump charged

(March 30, 2023)

Former U.S. president Donald Trump is indicted by a grand jury on 31 counts of falsifying business records, making him the first current or former U.S. president to be charged with a crime.

April

31st country joins NATO

(April 4, 2023)

Finland becomes the 31st member nation of NATO.

SpaceX

(April 20, 2023)

Uncrewed SpaceX Starship rocket successfully launches but explodes after takeoff.

Death of Harry Belafonte

(April 25, 2023)

American singer, actor, producer, and civil rights activist Harry Belafonte was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2022.

May

New most populous country

(May 1, 2023)

India’s population is thought to surpass China’s for the first time, making India the new most populous country.

Hollywood writers strike

(May 2, 2023)

The Hollywood Writers Guild of America strike begins. The strike would stretch to late September.

New vaccine

(May 3, 2023)

The first respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for use in the United States.

British coronation

(May 6, 2023)

King Charles III is crowned in the United Kingdom. His coronation is the first in seven decades, following the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II.

Watch - How long did Prince Charles wait to become King Charles III?

Death of Tina Turner

(May 24, 2023)

American-born singer and longtime rhythm-and-blues icon Tina Turner dies. Turner was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as a solo performer in 2021.

June

Death of Cormac McCarthy

(June 13, 2023)

American writer Cormac McCarthy is known for his dark novels set in the rural American South and Southwest.

Titan submersible implodes

(June 18, 2023)

OceanGate’s Titan submersible is believed to have imploded hours after beginning its descent to the wreck of the Titanic.

Affirmative action ends

(June 29, 2023)

The U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College marks the end of race-based affirmative action in college admissions in the United States.

July

Oppenheimer, Barbie released

(July 21, 2023)

Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer is released on the same day as Greta Gerwig’s Barbie, creating the Barbenheimer phenomenon wherein moviegoers flocked to theaters to see both flicks. Barbie soon becomes the highest-grossing film directed by a woman.

Watch - The true story of Oppenheimer and the atomic bomb

Twitter is rebranded

(July 24, 2023)

Elon Musk rebrands social media site Twitter as X after merging Twitter with his company X Holdings.

August

Maui wildfires

(August 8, 2023)

The island of Maui in Hawaii is struck by a series of wildfires that devastate the historic resort town of Lahaina.

Interact - Use the slider to see before (left) and after (right).

Women’s World Cup

(August 20, 2023)

Spain’s women’s team clinches its first Women’s World Cup.

New space race

(August 23, 2023)

India becomes the fourth country to land a spacecraft on the Moon. Its Chandrayaan-3 probe is the first to land in the Moon’s south polar region.

September

Libya flooding

(September 10, 2023)

A strong Mediterranean cyclone, Storm Daniel, brings catastrophic flooding to eastern Libya. The unusually heavy rains kill more than 4,000 people.

Interact - Use the slider to see before (left)

Record temperature highs

(September 14, 2023)

NASA declares the summer of 2023 to be the warmest on record since record-keeping began in 1880.

Interact - Use the drop-down and hover to view mean temperature.

Global Land and Ocean

Mean temperature (°C) -0.6 1.2

Source: NOAA, CPC

Mass shooting milestone

(September 19, 2023)

The number of mass shootings in the United States this year reaches a new all-time high.

Interact - Hover over graph.

October

Nobel Prizes awarded

(October 2, 2023)

The 2023 Nobel Prizes are awarded this week.

Political showdown

(October 3, 2023)

Republican Kevin McCarthy is vote out as speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, the first time in history a speaker has been removed from office.

Israel-Hamas War begins

(October 7, 2023)

Palestinian militant group Hamas launches an attack on Israel, killing more than 1,200 and leading Israel to declare war for the first time since 1973.

Jack Guez—AFP/Get ty Images

November

Russian invasion of Ukraine continues

(November 18, 2023)

The ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine reaches a grim milestone in its second year, with more than 10,000 civilian deaths.

Interact - Click arrows. and after (right).

Rosalynn Carter dies

(November 19, 2023)

Former first lady Rosalynn Carter dies at age 96. Carter was the first first lady to have a formal office in the White House, establishing the modern Office of the First Lady. She was known later for her charity work.

Watch - How Rosalynn Carter redefined the role of first lady

Cricket World Cup

(November 19, 2023)

Australia defeats India to capture a record sixth title in the Cricket World Cup.

Iceland hit by quakes

(November 26, 2023)

Iceland experiences a series of more than 700 earthquakes, a predictor of major seismic activity, culminating in a volcanic eruption in December.

Watch - Ask a volcanologist: How volcanoes affect humans

Henry Kissinger dies

(November 29, 2023)

American political scientist Henry Kissinger was the first and only person to serve as national security adviser and secretary of state simultaneously.

ChatGPT updated

(November 30, 2023)

Popular AI software ChatGPT celebrates its one-year anniversary. The software was updated to use data up to April 2023 (previously, it was using data that was current up to September 2021).

December

Death of Sandra Day O’Connor

(December 1, 2023)

Sandra Day O’Connor was an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court from 1981 to 2006. She was the first woman to serve on the Court.

Beyoncé’s film released

(December 1, 2023)

American singer-songwriter Beyoncé’s film Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé, chronicling her successful world concert tour, has its world premiere.

Link to Britannica 2023 The Year in Review

‘We should believe’ Jose Ayala Lasso, now 91, the first UN Human Rights Commissioner, ‘We should not lose our faith in the capacity of human beings to act correctly.’

2023 – can things get worse? Inside Geneva

This content was published on December 27, 2023 - 11:13am, Imogen Foulkes

This time last year, I was sitting down with my journalist colleagues at the UN in Geneva to review 2022. There was a chink of hope that the pandemic was (almost over), but big new problems had appeared. A brand new war in Ukraine, continued crises in Yemen, Syria or Afghanistan, and the ever present threat of climate change.

A lot for the UN to deal with then. But wait until you see what 2023 had in store. On this week’s Inside Geneva I’m joined by my UN colleagues again to have a look back at this momentous year – and a quick glance at Inside Geneva’s coverage for 2023 shows just how momentous it was. 

In February, the devastating earthquake in Turkey and Syria. In May the renewed, and brutal, conflict in Sudan. In June, the Taliban’s oppression of women in Afghanistan, and in October, the start of a new war in the Middle East.

When this year started, I and my colleagues highlighted the ongoing war in Ukraine, human rights in China, and the situation in Afghanistan as ones to watch in 23. When we got together for this week’s episode, those topics hardly featured. Not that they are not important, but they had become overshadowed by what Emma Farges of Reuters calls the ‘existential’ challenges the UN, and in particular its humanitarian wing, is now facing.

And it’s not just new wars and crises; the old ones (Yemen or Syria) haven’t gone away. In December 2022 the UN appealed for $56 billion dollars to fund its humanitarian work in 2023. But by this December, it had received only around a third of that. So has it appealed for more in 2024? Actually no. UN aid agencies have realised there’s no point asking for money they won’t get, so instead their budget is smaller - $46 billion, and some programmes are being cut, including food distribution in Afghanistan and Yemen.

Falling apart

‘This is a multilateral system that is absolutely falling apart under the strain of all the extreme events it’s having to deal with,’ New York times contributor Nick-Cumming Bruce tells Inside Geneva.

External Content

But it’s falling part not because aid agencies are doing a bad job. In fact they have become the squeezed middle, expected to do more and more, in longer and longer crises, because global diplomacy is an utter failure. The most recent week long session of the UN Security Council is a prime example. The council finally agreed on a relatively meaningless resolution on Gaza, to ‘create conditions’ for more aid supplies, but didn’t call for a ceasefire. Frustrated aid workers, risking their lives in Gaza, tell us with one voice that there’s no chance of ramping up aid deliveries without at least a temporary end to the fighting.

This latest conflict in the Middle East has, Dorian Burkhalter of swissinfo tells Inside Geneva, been especially hard for the UN. ‘The UN has never lost so many humanitarian workers {in a single conflict}, and just seeing their helplessness, you can really tell that they’ve lost their protection, and they’re totally desperate. It’s very sad.’

It has also been hard for journalists. It’s a not often discussed truth that working out of Geneva is not necessarily the soft number it might first appear. Most of us have spent time in conflict zones, so when aid workers describe the effects of bombing, the desperate search for medical care, the lack of food, and even of water, we know what they are talking about.

We are also given all the graphic reports, and images, of what is happening in conflict zones. Many of my non journalist friends tell me they are no longer watching the news, because it is too distressing. That’s not an option journalists have; to report, we have to look, and we have to read, even if what we learn keeps us awake at night long after our story has been handed in to the editors.

Emma Farge tells Inside Geneva that she now sees her journalism as ‘before and after’ the war in Gaza, and describes covering it as ‘personal for everyone. It’s been difficult for journalists to navigate this information war and to really navigate it with your composure.’

Human rights – where are they now?

We also started 2023 with an interview with the new UN Human Rights Commissioner Volker Türk, who told us he wanted the year to be a global recommitment to human rights, in the year the Universal Declaration on Human Rights marked its 75th anniversary.

At year’s end Türk admitted the challenges were huge – there are currently 55 conflicts ongoing around the world, he told me – but insisted this was a reason not to abandon our human rights standards as outdated and unworkable, but to uphold them with even more determination.

Perhaps we can take a note of hope from that, and from the vision and experience which all the former UN Human Rights Commissioners offered Inside Geneva in our series of exclusive interviews with them. ‘We should believe’ Jose Ayala Lasso, who, now 91, was the first commissioner.
‘We should not lose our faith in the capacity of human beings to act correctly.’

So despite all the distress that 2023 has brought, Ayala Lasso’s advice is what I’m holding onto as 2024 dawns.

Join host Imogen Foulkes on the Inside Geneva podcast to listen to the full interviews.
Link: Podcasts from Inside Geneva
Link: This article and others by Imogen Foulkes

Dementia, “Just a Minute: I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue!”

Dementia Strategy Summary:

- Contradict: Never!

- Responses: Vary them...

- Start: With their Key Event;

- Keep it Simple, Stupid: no more than the last 5 words will be retained.

To a relative by marriage.

Your great-niece provides occasional updates—the last one came in March this year—sharing insights and anecdotes about your elder sister’s progressive memory issues. It’s hard to deal with, isn’t it? Especially when faced with situations like her belief that your (late) eldest sister is still alive. In her world, of course, your eldest sister “is” still around, and each morning she wakes up with that certainty. If you asked when she last saw her, she probably wouldn’t quite recall—but she’d be sure it was sometime last week.

Frankly, exasperating as it can be, trying to contradict her makes no difference to her reality. Even if she accepts the truth in the moment, it will be forgotten within minutes. Worse still, correcting her often leads to confusion and distress. The approach that usually worked with your late sister was to play along—gently encouraging her to share happy memories about the person or place she was focused on, and then slowly trying to move the timeline forward, step by step, from there.

Ironically, what helped most with your late sister, almost until the end, was asking her about events she had shared with her younger sister. Their life-changing WWII evacuation together was often a good starting point, opening up several routes to edge the conversation forward. If she could recall a song, a tune, or a radio broadcast from that time, it seemed to ground her a little.

Another surprisingly helpful tactic was applying the rules from the BBC Radio 4 panel game “Just a Minute”, chaired for many years by Nicholas Parsons (and later Sue Perkins). The trick is for you to avoid hesitation, deviation, and especially repetition—even when faced with the same question over and over. In your eldest sister’s case, it was usually, “How’s the family?”, which she used to ask me every three to ten minutes. You may find, as I did, that giving a different answer each time can sometimes steer the conversation briefly in a new direction. Although, as the saying goes, all roads eventually lead to Rome—in her case, Rome came back around rather quickly!

It’s been suggested that a more fitting BBC Radio 4 panel game might be “I’m Sorry I Haven’t a Clue”—if only for the title! Among the wonderfully silly things that Humphrey Lyttelton used to encourage the panellists to do, one standout was “One Song to the Tune of Another”. Humming, whistling, or scat-singing a popular song from the person’s era (for example, “It’s a Long Way to Tipperary”)—and then asking them to join in or guess the title—can sometimes produce astonishing reanimations in someone who otherwise seems quite distant and lost.

Even without such brief respites, approaches like these are a lot more engaging and stimulating than repeating the same old answers to the same old questions over and over. And certainly much better than attempting to contradict the person's version of reality... So, good luck—try to find the fun in your time together, however fleeting it may be. And after all, even if it goes badly, she’ll have forgotten it soon enough (if only we were all so lucky).

Best seasonal greetings to all—including those who are still wondering: “How come the decorations are still up from sometime last week… or whenever?”

Cursed 2Move film, Tango for Parkinson's

Me again!  if you have three and a half minutes to see what I’ve been up to, here is a link to a recent film. 

Pre-release Cursed2Move : zum Bewegen verdammt

Cursed2Move film

You’ll notice that not only do I get selected for an interview session, but also get to dance with my much appreciated instructress and the lady doctor who produced the film, thereby introducing her to the Tango! Subtitles are available as usual for YouTube, if you click on the wheel for “Settings”. 

Once you arrive at the Brooklyn couple speaking, that’s the end of the contribution from my group.

Link to article in Brain Sciences 2022: Benefits of Tango Therapy in Alleviating the Motor and Non-Motor Symptoms of Parkinson’s

Conclusions from the above article:

In summary, the literature reviewed confirms the effectiveness of a home-exercise tango program and adds additional evidence to validate the possible usage of tango to enhance motor function in patients with Parkinson’s disease. The findings of this study imply that dancing could be an efficient, entertaining, and effective approach for controlling the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease. While home-based exercises would not be a reasonable replacement for certain facets of a live lesson, including group interaction and tactile and motor responses of another person, a residence physical therapy method utilizing tango might just have favorable impacts on posture and gait, and therefore a decrease in the financial impact of Parkinson’s disease. While delivered in an organized atmosphere with expert training, adapted tango can gradually enhance mobility and confidence for participation in everyday activities, hence leading to an improved quality of life for those with Parkinson’s disease.

Dance treatments in clinical practice may help patients maintain elevated levels of daily mobility and social activity by providing joyful and attractive experiences through and with their bodies. We believe that tango dancing, as a multitasking activity that incorporates auditory, visual, and sensory signals, provides a pleasurable method of rehabilitation for Parkinson’s disease patients by enabling them to engage with motion via the melody of music.

Citations: 134 References

The United Kingdom going from failed energy privatisation to partial renationalisation

12 October 2023
6 minutes read

In March 2022, Russia’s attack on Ukraine instigated a global energy crisis. In the UK, this compounded a domestic energy crisis underway since winter 2021 – a disaster that was decades in the making and that can be traced back to Margaret Thatcher’s fateful decision to privatise the country’s energy sector in the 1980s.1

Authors

Longread by

Louisa Valentin

Lavinia Steinfort

Illustration by Fourate Chahal El Rekaby

As a consequence of privatisation, UK consumers and workers have suffered from increasing energy prices, fuel poverty and thousands of job losses. Between the early 1990s and 2001, 60 per cent of jobs in the energy sector were lost to efficiency gains and downsizing.2 Meanwhile, private firms are recording ever-growing profits. Transmission grid operator National Grid, for example, paid out record dividends of £1.4 billion in 2021.3

While the fragmented and liberalised energy market fails to meet the people’s basic needs, unions, activists, and some within the opposition Labour Party are putting forward proposals to restructure the country’s energy sector around public ownership, democratic governance and just transition.

Link to article The United Kingdom going from failed energy privatisation to partial renationalisation

Comments follow from AngloSwiss, representing my personal views on this matter.

The allocation of responsibility for this stupidity:  

(Professor) Stephen Littlechild; even as late as 2014 he appears to have failed to grasp that his ideas were fatally flawed (link);

2.      (Lord) John Wakeham; totally incompetent and maybe corrupt, unlike (Lord) Nelson 200 years earlier he had no previous injury to use as an excuse for turning a blind eye… (link);

3.      (Lady) Margaret Thatcher; whose enthusiasm for free markets might have worked for grocers’ market stalls in Narrow Westgate, Grantham, (link) but not for an island nation with an unclear future for generating energy.

The real fatal flaw in my view is pretending (to themselves?) that removing all relevant regulation and control is “freedom”. To me, that’s like abolishing all laws preventing criminal activity, thereby removing freedom from crime from all (previously) law-abiding citizens. The effect on UK energy supply has been to encourage fly by night (presumably requiring lighting, therefore now crashing) cowboy companies springing up, supported by organisations like GoCompare whose only role is to spend loads of dosh promoting “switching”, from which the only benefit is to allow an otherwise out of work Welsh would-be Opera singer to air his skills to the general public. None of the companies involved (especially the switching sites) have any infrastructure on their balance sheets, so in a diminishing market they are worthless in every sense.

Most other countries have remained with public ownership for utilities, or mixed partnership owners. Here, the Swiss energy supply companies are usually at least part-owned by the Canton in which they are based, and have a monopoly of the delivery infrastructure, including an obligation to share electricity via a Federal organisation, Swissgrid, but with a nod to free markets, total freedom to bid for energy supply from anywhere, including internationally. Electricity generators based in Switzerland are commercial companies, subject to significant regulation, especially limiting pollution. That has resulted in stats (for 2020):

·        28 percent from hydroelectricity on rivers

·        29 percent from hydroelectric dams in the mountains

·        35 percent from nuclear power

·        6 percent from solar, wind and biomass

·        2 percent from fossil fuels

Swiss price increases for electricity are regulated, and for 2023 residents of most cantons paid between 25-30% more than 2022, self-generators saw their credits approximately double. Heating oil was a relatively common but fast declining source of home heating, the price curve has been extremely volatile and is not controlled by regulation. Gas heating had seen quite significant recent growth, like many EU countries influenced by Nordstream (link), again the prices are not regulated so quite volatile, but (luckily?) growth in heat pump systems has been the highest.

The Southern European heatwave from Spain, Italy and Greece.

Personal accounts of the Southern European heatwave heatwave from Spain, Italy and Greece.

For any lover of Tuscany or Greece it is well worth clicking on "listen" when you have 28 minutes so to do, or "read more" for the much less personal or poetic summary text if you have only 2 minutes.

Link: In the Jaws of Cerberus

The Inner Game of Horsejumping

With a visiting teenager on 16^th September coached for 5 minutes on the inner game of tennis, particularly:

·        the need to quieten any critical inner voice,

·        focus with intent but relaxed concentration on the next ball and how you want to hit it,

·        allow the play to be done by your trusted self which has the instinct to make the best shot,

·        welcome any errors as a part of your development.

Link: The Inner Game of Tennis, by W. Timothy Gallwey

A bit less than 2 days later, a public holiday in parts of Swizerland, here is the WhatsApp exchange, initially with the proud and yet anxious mum who was sending me nearly live videos:

Mum: 6 out of 61, First round🙈🥲

Higher jump🙌😂👍🥰: The airbag went off with a bang….

£30 for new cartridge🙈 We’re so glad no injuries

First fall in a competition I think? Although gutted got back on and beat most of them

7 out of 61 in the end; All older

Zero Faults 2nd jump round!!

Jim: Great job, I’m happy and relieved that unhurt. It was a truly sudden refusal that the mount pulled, the laws of Physics gave only one possible consequence.

So very impressive to remount and finish well, not least in the second round after a wait when it would have been possible to sabotage oneself by dwelling on it. Bravo 🙌 👏

Jim

Teenager: Hi Jim this is me, thank you very much 😃

Took one jump at a time on the second round like a tennis match 😂

Jim: You can feel very proud of that, not many people can focus on their inner game as you did, and I feel sure that recalling the experience will serve you long into the future.

Very best wishes,

Jim

P.S. For much fuller equestrian coaching, maybe consider: 
The Equestrian Mental Coach - How to let go of self criticism and improve your mental game

Oh, sh!t!

Over the top we go...

Riding boot with leg is high in the air!

“Lame at fast….”

“Lame at fast….” *

Link: RTS Couleurs locales, Parkinson Tango

The above recording is downloadable.

Also on the RTS site: 

Le Tango pour lutter contre la maladie de Parkinson 

Jim

* With acknowledgements to The Reverend William Archibald Spooner

23 reasons why 2023 will be a good year, Global Geneva

Probably we Swiss are unique in such OCD attention to detail as to find a number of reasons matching the last two digits of the year…

Some are peculiar (in every sense) to Switzerland, such as higher tax deductions for childcare, up to CHF 25'000, more than double the previous 10'100 francs per child. However, even Swiss coins have two sides, is there another country where it would be normal and tax deductible to have care costs for each child which exceed £20’000 p.a. ??

Although it doesn’t feature in the list, you will notice in “Related News” that the SBB (Federal Railways) are renovating part of their stations for CHF 500 million. In a first step there are new toilets. Apparently a prestige project for SBB boss Vincent Ducrot: one wonders what sort of year he is predicting, if he believes that we will feel the need for his toilets…

P.S. Link to: Swiss finance minister wins 2023 obfuscation award

Felix MMXXIII

From: The Switzerland Times, originally in Global Geneva, 23 reasons why 2023 will be a good year

Sunday, January 1, 2023

SUBSCRIBE for €1

The holidays fall better in 2023. Means: more vacation days! (See 7. below).

1. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights celebrates its 75th anniversary. It was adopted by the United Nations on December 10, 1948. The first article reads: “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights” – without regard to race, sex or religion.

2. Once again, Switzerland lives up to its reputation as an island: While the world slides into a recession, the local economy continues to grow – at a snail’s pace, but still. The State Secretariat for Economic Affairs expects the Swiss economy to grow by one percent in the coming year.

3. New album by Iggy Pop.

Not a bit tired, not a bit quiet: The original punk rocker Iggy Pop (75) will release his new album “Every Loser” on January 6th. Pop promises: “The music will kick your ass.” Guns N’ Roses bassist Duff McKagan (58) and Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith (61) also play on the album. Rock’n’Roll! The old rockers from Metallica have also announced a new album for April.

4. After the “annus horribilis” with the death of the Queen, allegations of racism, expressions of dissatisfaction in various Commonwealth countries and a historic low in popularity for the monarchy, the climax for all royalists follows on May 6th: the ceremonial coronation of the new King Charles III. (74) in London. In any case, it will be Charles III. fare better than his predecessor Charles I (1600-1649): he was a wicked tyrant and was beheaded.

5. Higher deductions for child care.

Good news, at least for higher earners. In the case of direct federal tax, higher deductions can be claimed for childcare by third parties, up to CHF 25,000 per child. That is more than double, previously it was only 10,100 francs per child.

6. Corona is weakening.

The German virologist Christian Drosten (50) told the German “Tagesspiegel”: “In my opinion, the pandemic is over.” With this sentence he explains his conclusion that the “first endemic wave” is currently being experienced. Incidentally, SonntagsBlick already announced the P-ende-mie on February 6, 2022.

7. After the bridging days were somewhat unfavorable in recent years, things will definitely be better in 2023. Only a few public holidays fall on a weekend, so there is a little more leeway when it comes to holiday planning.

8. More enthusiasm in the Federal Council.

Toni Brunner (48), the Sünneli from Toggenburg, did not dare to enter the Bundesrat race. With Albert Rösti (55), the SVP now has a real sympathizer in the state government.

9. Minorities become majorities.

With the first female Federal Councilor from Jura, the Confederation also succeeds in finally integrating the canton founded in 1979. Instead of the rather stiff social democrat Simonetta Sommaruga (62), the accessible Jurassic Elisabeth Baume-Schneider (59) is now on the Federal Council.

10. mRNA technology takes off.

According to the WHO, more than 600,000 people died from malaria last year. An mRNA vaccine developed by the German company Biontech is said to help in the fight against the infectious disease. The first clinical tests will start shortly.

11. The big party follows the pandemic. In Basel, for example, the harbor festival in Kleinhüningen is celebrated (June 2nd to 4th). In Zurich, around 2.5 million people are expected to attend the Züri Fäscht (July 7th to 9th). In Baden AG, the celebrations for the 100th anniversary of the Badenfahrt (18th to 28th August) are on.

12. Soccer World Cup in summer.

Another World Cup in 2023? Yes, the ninth women’s World Cup, for which the Swiss have also qualified. They play against teams from New Zealand, Norway and the Philippines. The World Cup takes place between July 20th and August 20th in Australia and New Zealand. (More on that in Sports.)

13. The Gurten Festival turns 40.

The first festival on Bern’s local mountain took place in 1977, but still under the name International Folk Festival Bern-Gurten and with headliner Ralph McTell (78). Every two years until 1987, two issues were canceled due to corona. The birthday celebration in 2023 and thus the 40th anniversary also makes mathematical sense. Somehow anyway.

14. The neo-noir thriller with the working title “Early Birds” is the first Swiss Netflix co-production. Directed by Michael Steiner (53), with Anatole Taubman (52), shooting started in Zurich at the beginning of December. In Switzerland, “Early Birds” should also be shown in cinemas.

15. Fighting the climate crisis.

In 2020, the Swiss climate seniors filed their lawsuit against Switzerland at the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR). They accuse her of doing too little to protect older women from the climate crisis. In 2023, the ECtHR will examine the lawsuit: From March 29, the public hearing will take place in Strasbourg.

16. different resolutions.

The «How are you?» campaign of the Pro Mente Sana foundation raises awareness about the topic of mental health. For the year 2023, she suggests slightly different resolutions: saying no when something is getting too much, daring to accept help, or hugging someone every week.

17. Another successful Swiss book.

After the huge success of Kim de l’Horizon (30), a Swiss book could also cause an international sensation this year. “The Magician in the Kremlin” is a novel based on real people and true events by Giuliano da Empoli (49), a Swiss-Italian. The work has already been sold over 300,000 times in France.

18. How is dark matter distributed in the universe, or how did the universe expand? The Euclid space telescope is scheduled to launch in 2023 to answer questions like these. It will explore space for six years and search more than a third of the entire sky. (More on that in the magazine.), (see separate post on Zwicki).

19. With13 races, a total of 39 medals: The Alpine Ski World Championships will take place in France in 2023, with Courchevel and Méribel hosting the competitions. And Switzerland has several trump cards: first and foremost the ski sensation Marco Odermatt (25), who is fighting for medals in three disciplines. (More on that in Sports.)

20. More space for pedestrians and cyclists.

With immediate effect, the cantons are required to plan and implement more cycle path networks. The federal government must also create cycle paths along its streets. In addition, the procedure for the introduction of 30 km/h and meeting zones will be simplified.

21. In Switzerland, 2023 is an election year! Means: The citizens can provide a breath of fresh air in Parliament – and vote out those politicians who have disappointed in the last four years. In view of the historical shifts in 2019, the starting position is exciting.

22. The year 2023 is the first year in the 21st century without parliamentary or presidential elections in a G7 country, that is the group of large industrial nations. From a global perspective, this could result in politicians acting a little less nervously.

23. On January 28, an exhibition of works by Joan Miró (1893–1983) will open at the Zentrum Paul Klee in Bern. The Catalan artist’s paintings are known for their vivid colours, bold forms and complex compositions – the exhibition in Bern promises to be a feast for the eyes.

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