According to Meteo Swiss next week will be hot in Switzerland. In an article published yesterday it said the likelihood of high temperatures next week seems to be confirmed. Temperatures on the plateau could rise to between 32 et 35°C. Anyone hoping to find sub zero temperatures will need to get above 4,500 metres high, […]
Swiss government approves further GM crop trials
Last week, the Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN) gave a green light to trials of genetically modified (GM) barley in Switzerland. Permission was given to the University of Zurich to plant GM barley at a controlled site in the canton of Zurich. The barley has been modified to resist fungal diseases. The experiment aims […]
Switzerland 5th most skeptical of vaccine safety
A recently published survey by the Wellcome Trust, which surveyed people around the world on their vaccination beliefs, found that 22% of those surveyed in Switzerland strongly or somewhat disagreed that vaccines are safe. Only France (33%), Gabon (26%), Togo (25%) and Russia (24%) had higher percentages of people strongly or somewhat disagreeing that vaccines […]
FILM: GATEWAYS TO NEW YORK – the Swiss engineer behind New York’s bridges
21 June 2019. By Neptune GATEWAYS TO NEW YORK – Othman H. Amman and his Bridges **** (vo German and English) The beauty of documentaries is that, if well done, they reveal and illuminate facts and information of which we were often ignorant. Here is one perfect example, about the life and career of the […]
Swiss-EU friction rises in lead up to expiry of stock market equivalence
In 2018, Switzerland and the EU struck a deal to extend Swiss stock market equivalence until 30 June 2019, a date fast approaching. Stock market equivalence makes a trade on the Swiss stock exchange equivalent to a trade on an exchange in an EU country. This allows trades to be pooled across countries, something that supports […]
Lake Geneva’s beautiful paddlewheel boats – getting there is way more than half the fun
They say that “getting there is half the fun”. But sometimes it’s more. A lot more. For example: a Lake Geneva cruise on a grand historic paddlewheel steamboat. Destination? Who cares? On a recent gorgeous Sunday afternoon, I, your intrepid reporter, along with my intrepid stepson and two intrepid nephews, provisioned with our intrepid bottles […]
Question of the week: is this 1953 video on how to make a true man helpful?
Back in 1953 the Puerto Rico Department of Health created the Mental Health Film Board Series on the Emotions of Everyday Living. This one entitled Roots of Happiness offers advice on how a father might make a true man of his son while showing how another appears to get things wrong. While it is unlike […]
Lake Geneva region Switzerland’s jihadist hotspot
A recent study by the Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW) shows the geographic distribution of known radicalized jihadists across Switzerland. According to figures in the report the Lake Geneva region is a hotspot with significantly higher radicalisation rates than the rest of the country. The region’s overall rate of 2.7 radicalized inhabitants per 100,000 residents […]
Swiss health insurance deductibles to remain changeable annually
One idea for containing rising healthcare costs was to remove the possibility of changing health insurance deductibles every year, making it possible only every three years. If people are able to switch from high to low deductibles annually then they can save money by opting for a high deductible one year, while postponing visits to […]
Young Swiss no longer on hook for parents’ debts
The National Council, Switzerland’s parliament, supported a motion that would end the transfer of debt from unpaid health insurance premiums to young adults, according to 20 Minutes. Under the current system, when young adults reach the age of 18 they must pay any health insurance premiums that were not paid on their behalf by their […]
