On 25 November 2018, Swiss will vote on whether to accept laws allowing detectives to uncover welfare fraud. Currently, there is nothing specific in Swiss law covering the practice. In the past, investigators have been used to gather evidence on disability and accident beneficiaries. Between 2009 and 2016, detectives were used on around 220 investigations […]
Archives for 2018
Halloween in Switzerland
Many expats, particularly north Americans, may be surprised to discover that Halloween is not widely celebrated in Switzerland. Long before Halloween existed, a Gaelic festival known as Samhain marked the end of the harvest season and the descent into winter darkness. Some believed it was the time when the souls of the dead roamed the […]
Flu vaccination season begins in Switzerland
Every year, Switzerland has a nationwide flu vaccination programme ahead of the winter season. The best time to get vaccinated is between mid-March and mid-November. The vaccination programme started on 23 October and will run until 9 November 2018. This year is the first with vaccinations offered simultaneously in doctor’s surgeries and pharmacies. Last flu […]
Swiss clocks go back one hour this Sunday
Early on Sunday 28 October 2018 Swiss clocks turn back one hour. Officially they are adjusted at 3am. This means you can stay in bed longer and it will be lighter when you get up. On the down side, it will be darker in the evenings. The rest of Europe will adjust its clocks at […]
Swiss arms exports rose almost 18% in 2018
Switzerland exported close to 18% more arms over the first nine months of 2018 than it did in the first nine months of 2017, according to figures published by State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO). According to the numbers, in the nine months to 30 September 2018, Swiss companies exported close to CHF 300 million […]
Swiss Rail plans to test free WiFi on trains
Swiss Rail announced on Thursday that it would test free WiFi, named FreeSurf, on certain routes next year with a plan to extend the offer to all major routes from 2020, according to RTS. Train passengers benefiting from the tests in 2019 will be those travelling on InterCity trains between Lausanne and St. Gallen, Geneva […]
Greenpeace calls on Swiss supermarkets to cut plastic
In campaign entitled: Stop overdressing, the organisation Greenpeace is criticizing Swiss supermarkets for their widespread use of plastic packaging. Protesters, who assembled outside the headquarters of the supermarket Migros in Zurich on Tuesday, proclaimed that fruit and vegetables come in natural packaging and that wrapping them in plastic is a form of over dressing. The […]
Vaud begging ban start date announced
Vaud’s government announced the canton’s ban on street begging will begin on 1 November 2018, according to the newspaper Le Matin. From this date, anyone caught begging in the canton will risk fines of CHF 50 to CHF 100. Anyone organizing dependents or people under 18 to beg will face fines of CHF 500 to […]
Gotthard tunnel speeder finally behind bars
Four years after a reckless life-threatening trip through Switzerland’s Gotthard tunnel, a German speeder was finally put behind bars in Germany on Tuesday. The police went and collected him from his home in Stuttgart, according to the newspaper Le Matin. The judge had tried to convince the 44 year-old to make his way to prison […]
FILM: CAPHARNAUM – an exceptional film about a Lebanese street kid – 4 stars
19 October 2018. By Neptune CAPHARNAUM **** (vo Arabic) Lebanon: a sweet, hard-working little boy (looking much smaller than his age) among far too many poor siblings; his dearest underaged sister bartered off in exchange for their miserable apartment; the strange world of a dilapidated amusement park; a scared African refugee who takes him into […]
