“Auntie, I’m gonna miss you, I feel like I’m gonna die from the storm… I feel like the wind is gonna take me.” This was the last message Simone Aïda Baur, based in Zurich, received from 7-year old Niomi in the British Virgin Islands (BVI). She heard nothing more for three days. Simone met Ann […]
Switzerland’s Federal Council against banning dual nationals from office
When Ignazio Cassis gave up his Italian nationality ahead of his recent election to the Federal Council some celebrated. According to 20 Minutes, Lorenzo Quadri, from the Lega dei Ticinesi, a political party in the Italian-speaking canton of Ticino, put forward a motion to have this made law. He thinks Federal Councillors, parliamentarians and diplomats […]
Where an average Swiss household spends its income
A recent report from Switzerland Federal Statistical Office shows how an average Swiss household spends its income. In 2015, the mean income was CHF 9,946 per month, including all forms of income and any 13th month payment received at the end of the year. This means an average Swiss household of 2.17 people had CHF 119,352 […]
Here’s why the Chateau de Chillon is Switzerland’s most-visited castle
The Chateau de Chillon is the most-visited historic building in Switzerland. There must be a reason, beyond the fact that it’s easy to get to on the edge of Lake Geneva near Montreux. You enter the Middle Ages as you cross the little castle’s covered bridge into its walled courtyards. This is no fairytale castle, […]
Landing blind in the Alps
This video was taken not in the Swiss Alps but in New Zealand’s Southern Alps. This is what the pilot sees and the passengers do not see During landing at Queenstown New Zealand Airport pic.twitter.com/fQa4yEwXTG — Sandeep Varma (@Sandeepvarma787) October 6, 2017 Sandeep Varma, a pilot landing in Oueenstown, offers a rare glimpse of what […]
Where Swiss travelled in 2016 and who went the most
A recent government report shows Swiss residents spent 22.4 million nights away from home in 2016. Two thirds of these nights were spent in six countries. By far the favourite destination was Switzerland, which accounted for 33% of all overnight stays. Next were Germany (13%), Italy (12%), France (9%) and Austria (4%). A long list […]
Glyphosate – Swiss government rejects ban plan. Plus how to avoid it.
Last week, the Federal Council, Switzerland’s executive, rejected the Green party’s plan to ban the use of the controversial herbicide glyphosate, a compound classified as “probably carcinogenic to humans” by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), part of the World Health Organisation. According to 20 Minutes, the Federal Council thinks glyphosate residues in Switzerland are […]
Swiss still richest, according to Credit Suisse
The Credit Suisse 2017 Global Wealth Report, shows total global wealth rose 6.4% to USD 280 trillion in 2016, taking it to the its highest level since 2007, before the financial meltdown in 2008. Globally, average wealth per adult was USD 56,540. In Switzerland, the same figure was USD 537,600 (CHF 533,000), close to ten […]
Deadly effects of flu and heatwave in Switzerland
A recent report shows 67,606 people died in Switzerland in 2015, 6% more than in the previous year. Two the big drivers of the rise were a flu epidemic over spring and a heatwave in July of that year. In 2015, an extra 4,000 people died compared to in 2014. Most of these extra deaths […]
Swiss government moves closer to personal digital IDs
The idea of digital IDs in Switzerland has been kicked around since 2002 when the government decided it was a good idea. Since then it has been hotly debated. Following a process of consultation, the government met on 15 November 2017, and announced it’s aiming to have some form of digital or e-ID written into Swiss […]
