A majority of the Council of States, Switzerland’s upper house, recently agreed to raise the tax on fuel and introduce a tax on flights. The plan was accepted by 37 of the 41 members who voted, according to 20 Minutes. To honour its commitment to the Paris climate agreement, Switzerland needs to cut greenhouse gas […]
Archives for 2019
The Swiss drone that could generate more electricity than a wind turbine
TwingTec, a company spun out of Empa, the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, is developing an alternative to wind turbines for harnessing the power of the wind. Wind speeds increase as you move further from the ground. Wind blows up to eight times faster at a height of 500 metres than it […]
Updated Swiss-US tax treaty goes into force
After years of stalemate an updated double taxation agreement (DTA) between Switzerland and the United States has been ratified and is now in force. American and Swiss representatives signed the necessary documents last week. #AmbMcMullen and State Secretary Daniela Stoffel at the @efd_dff exchanged instruments of ratification of the Protocol of Amendment to the Double […]
Thousands protest against 5G mobile rollout in Swiss capital
Rollout of the next generation of mobile technology, known as 5G, has met with resistance in Switzerland. Last week, a demonstration in Bern, organized by Frequencia against the rollout, attracted thousands, according to RTS. Frequencia claims more than 3,000 people attended the protest. Switzerland is one of the first countries to rollout the new technology, […]
FILM: DOWNTON ABBEY – Royalty visits
27 September 2019. By Neptune DOWNTON ABBEY **1/2 The raison d’être of this film version of everyone’s favorite quality soap opera is the upcoming visit of the King and Queen of England to Downton Abbey. Both the family and the staff are in a tizzy about the honour and the preparations, especially as they have […]
Swiss federal court rules against home schooling
The Federal Tribunal, Switzerland’s highest court, recently ruled that parents have no constitutional right to school their children at home. In 2017, the canton of Basel-City refused a mother’s request to home school her 8 year old son. After a failed attempt to overturn the decision in a cantonal court the woman took her case […]
Swiss government supports ban on live grinding of baby chickens
Both Switzerland’s parliament and executive support a ban on the practice of grinding baby chickens alive, according to the newspaper 20 Minutes. Only female hens can lay eggs. Many of the hens used to produce eggs come from hatcheries that sort and dispose of the male chicks. A government commission said that while the practice […]
Occasional daytime naps may cut risk of heart attack, according to Swiss study
Research done in Switzerland suggests an occasional daytime nap could dramatically reduce the risk of a heart attack. The study, conducted by Nadine Häusler of the Department of Medicine at the University Hospital of Lausanne, followed 3,462 people in Lausanne aged from 35 to 75 for 5 years, according to the American Journal of Managed Care […]
Number of people with debt problems rises in Switzerland
The number of people with debts in default continues to rise in Switzerland. At the end of July 2019, 561,000 people, 6.5% of the population, were unable to service their debts according to the price comparison website comparis.ch. The figures, based on data from the credit analysis company CRIF include those who have failed to […]
Swiss upper house votes to further restrict tobacco advertising
Switzerland is one of a small number of countries that has not ratified the World Health Organisation (WHO) ban on tobacco advertising known as FCTC. Currently, Switzerland only bans tobacco advertising on television and radio. The WHO ban goes much further. 181 countries have already ratified the WHO ban. Andorra, Monaco and Liechtenstein are the […]
