If you forgot to shut a window when you left your house this morning, no worries, there’s an app for that. Home security is becoming increasingly advanced, and more Swiss households are buying in as crimes rates rise. Data from the Federal Office for Statistics shows that property theft rose approximately 11 percent from 2011 […]
Archives for February 2014
Future brightens for solar energy
GENEVA As Switzerland moves away from nuclear energy, experts are looking into ways to encourage people to switch to renewable energy sources for their homes, such as solar power. The clean energy source is more environmentally friendly than many others, they say, but this is not what led to a 33% increase in solar-panel sales […]
More time to shop
BERN The Federal Council’s proposal to homogenize the opening hours of retail businesses throughout Switzerland will rescind existing cantonal and municipal laws. Given growing cross-border competition, where prices can be 20–30% less, and the strong Swiss Franc, the project seeks to address strident economic realities hindering the country’s retail market. If the plan passes, communes […]
Champ-Dollon prison violence
GENEVA Tensions remained high at Geneva’s Champ-Dollon prison, which holds inmates from 100 different nationalities, after three days of fighting. Last Sunday afternoon a brawl involving a hundred prisoners broke out resulting in seven injured, including one guard. More fighting erupted on Monday. On Tuesday morning, prison authorities called in ambulances after two further fights. […]
Economic sentiment weakens
ZURICH In February Swiss economic expectations fell from near their highest level in more than three-and-a-half years, amid concerns by financial analysts that the vote to re-impose quotas on European Union workers could hurt growth. A survey by the ZEW Institute and Credit Suisse published last week shows the headline index of investor and analyst […]
Going green by burning wood
ANZÈRE It may not be the best-known destination in the Valais, but the 43-year old ski resort of Anzère is among the greenest, possessing one of Europe’s largest wood-pellet heating systems, after Denmark and Sweden. A similar heating facility for Le Brassus Bois SA was built in Le Sentier, Vaud in 2009. Local Swiss energy […]
Phone tapping fears
BERN The Federal Council is seeking the same surveillance tools used by those who spy on Switzerland. If approved as expected by parliament later this year, Switzerland will have a new surveillance law giving intelligence services greater powers to tap the internet and private phone lines in the name of countering military and industrial espionage […]
CHF 4000 minimum wage proposal
GENEVA The proposal by Swiss unions to raise the minimum wage has sparked debate as to whether the initiative offers a durable option for the country. By increasing it to CHF 4,000 a month, Switzerland will have to adapt its fiscal policies accordingly. This in turn will affect Swiss businesses. They will have to contend […]
Fasnacht’s music, fun and colour
Masks, lanterns and music are at the ready for the three mystical nights of Basel Fasnacht from 10 to 13 March. People begin filling the streets for the annual festival well before dawn at 4.00am on Monday with the party continuing until 4.00am on Thursday. Switzerland’s largest carnival, has origins dating back to the Middle […]
Life is nothing like a lifestyle blog
I love lifestyle blogs. I’ve spent hours poring over the lives of strangers: looking at photos of their furniture, pictures they’ve taken of interesting trees, close-ups of their dinner, served in charmingly mismatched tableware. In fact, I love these blogs so much that I thought my family should start one. We live in a beautiful […]