So far Switzerland’s government has not stripped any jihadists of Swiss nationality. However, various reports suggest the government is set to do so. One case is currently being looked at, with others set to follow, according to Federal Councillor Karin Keller-Sutter who was questioned by parliament. The process starts by ensuring those involved have another […]
Archives for 2019
How Swiss view foreigners
A survey published by Switzerland’s Federal Statistical Office in February 2019 shows how Swiss regard the role and attitude of foreigners towards Swiss institutions. Foreigners are considered by most (64%) as necessary for the proper functioning of the economy and needed to finance social security. It is also felt they do work others won’t do […]
Swiss cities near top of expensiveness ranking
In this year’s Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) survey, Paris, Hong Kong and Singapore tied for the the position of the most expensive. The survey looks at 160 items including food, drink, rent, transport and utility bills, in 133 cities. New York, the base city, came in 7th, alongside Seoul and Copenhagen. Zurich and Geneva were […]
Swiss government wants a drone register
Switzerland’s Federal Office of Civil Aviation (FOCA) has decided to further regulate drones by forcing owners to register them, according to the newspaper NZZ am Sonntag. The new requirement, which will probably start in 2020, was suggested in 2017. Drone registration would be done online by the owner. How the police would access the database […]
Question of the week: might political debate do more harm than good?
Debate, the art of finding narratives to support a chosen position or ideology, sits at the heart of much in politics. But competing narratives can be far apart and at odds with reality. In such cases, how useful is debate? For more stories like this on Switzerland follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
Global Geneva launches young journalists and writers competition
The Geneva-based magazine Global Geneva is running a writing competition for young writers (14 to 19 year olds). A total of 2,450 francs of prize money will be awarded to the best entries – 1st 1,200 francs, 2nd 750 francs, 3rd 500 francs. To enter, write a compelling article or short story (1,000 words) on […]
Switzerland tops OECD gender index
For the fourth year, the OECD has ranked 120 countries on their political commitments and laws aimed at eliminating gender discrimination. The percentage based scores measure the remaining discrimination, so the lower the score the better. Overall scores range from 8% in Switzerland, down to 64% in Yemen. Some countries had gaps in their data […]
Three Swiss cities ranked in world’s top 10 most livable
Mercer’s 2019 livability ranking looks at 231 cities across the globe. Vienna comes top for the tenth year in a row, while Bagdad ranks last. Three Swiss cities are among the global top ten. Zurich is 2nd, Geneva 9th and Basel 10th. Bern, a fourth Swiss city, is not far behind in 14th place. No […]
Few grandchildren of immigrants applying for fast track Swiss citizenship
One year after simplified naturalisation was offered to the grand children of immigrants to Switzerland, few have taken up the offer, according to the broadcaster RTS. This right was granted after a successful referendum on the subject on 12 February 2017. 60.4% of voters were in favour of the plan, which came into effect in […]
Swiss health insurance deductibles to rise automatically
Today, Switzerland’s parliament decided to bring in a system of regular increases in the deductibles for basic compulsory Swiss health insurance, according to the newspaper Le Matin. However, a plan to raise the the minimum deductible to CHF 500 was rejected by a clear majority. Between 1996 and 2004, the minimum deductible went from CHF […]
