Swiss Federal Office of Public Health. This week the Swiss Federal Office of Public Health (OFSP) announced the results of its analysis of the medicinal effects of cannabis. They concluded that cannabis is useful for reducing chronic pain related to cancer, spasms due to multiple sclerosis, nausea caused by chemotherapy, AIDs related weight loss, sleeping […]
Why is Swiss French so similar to Standard French, but Swiss German so different from Standard German?
Quora.com – where questions are asked and answered by a community of users. Martin Strohmeier says “it is more about culture and attitude towards the countries than the languages itself….by the time of WW1, Swiss German proved to be a useful way of differentiation from other German speakers and to establish their own identity.” Richard […]
Plan to turn the canton of Schaffhausen into a single municipality
20 Minuten. The Mayor of Neuhausen am Rheinfall, Stephan Rawyler, wants to merge all 26 communes in the canton of Schaffhausen into a single municipality. If the proposal is implemented Scahaffhausen would become the first Swiss canton to have only one municipality. The idea however, has not gone down well with some local residents and […]
Strong Swiss franc driving hotel closures
Tages Anzeiger. One of the largest hotels in the Swiss resort region of Lower Engadine in the canton of Graubünden will close after the summer, reports the newspaper Tages Anzeiger. The Hotel Robinson Club Schweizerhof in Vulpera has 130 rooms and represents 55,000 overnight stays a year. According to the parent company Robinson Club GmbH, […]
Hopes dashed for French residents living under the noise of Geneva airport
Tribune de Genève. Neighbouring residents of the French communes of Chens-sur-Léman, Messery and Nernier had their pleas for aircraft noise reduction rejected by the Swiss Federal Tribunal. Resident groups have been fighting for years to have the landing flight path into Geneva airport moved so it is over the lake instead of above their homes. […]
Southern European arrivals surpass German migrants into Switzerland
24heures. According to the newspaper 24heures fewer Germans and more Spanish, Italians and Portuguese are moving to Switzerland. These southern Europeans are more likely to move to Italian speaking Ticino and the French speaking lake Geneva regions. They are putting downward pressure on salaries in these places, in particular areas with high numbers of cross-border […]
Switzerland has no plans to ban sprays such as Roundup despite health warnings
Tribune de Genève. The newspaper reported that the Swiss federal council said last Friday that it did not consider it necessary to ban the use of sprays containing the active ingredient glyphosate found in around 70 sprays (including Roundup) available in Switzerland. In March 2015, the International Agency for Research on Cancer, an agency of […]
Swiss consumption up in May
The newspaper 20 Minutes reported that the UBS Swiss consumption index was up in May 2015. The index increased from 1.67 to 1.73 driven in part by an increase in new car sales. The strong franc is dampening sales of some retailers however, who have to compete with lower retail prices across the border in […]
UN international Yoga day 2015 – learn about this ancient art at events in Switzerland
“By proclaiming 21 June as the International Day of Yoga, the General Assembly of the United Nations has recognized the holistic benefits of this timeless practice and its inherent compatibility with the principles and values of the United Nations.” Ban Ki-Moon, Secretary General, United Nations. In December 2014, the 193-member United Nations General Assembly approved by consensus a […]
The Swiss National Bank braced for Grexit
Bilan The Swiss National Bank decided to maintain the interest rate on sight deposit account balances at -0.75% on Thursday. It still believes its monetary policy is effective and defends its use of negative interest rates, which it believes should weaken the Swiss franc over time. While the bank’s base scenario does not involve Greece […]
