Call it “dirty money” if you wish, because there’s about CHF 3 million in gold and silver found each year in Swiss sewage. But no one is going to get rich, according to a just-published report by the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (Eawag). Recovering the estimated CHF 1.5 million in gold, […]
World Obesity Day – how Switzerland measures up
11 October 2017 is World Obesity Day. According to the World Obesity Foundation, 2.7 billion adults worldwide will suffer from being overweight or obese by 2025. Including obese and overweight children pushes the number even higher. A study published in 2016 by Switzerland’s Federal Food Safety and Veterinary Office (FSVO) found that 43% of Switzerland’s population was […]
Flights cancelled to and from Switzerland due to French strike
Numerous flights from Geneva, Zurich and Basel have been cancelled. A strike in France, which starts on the evening of 9 October and runs until the evening of the 10th, will affect flights in and out of France, along with flights through French air space. Easyjet warns some flights will be delayed while others will […]
Switzerland’s gender pay gap – why educational equality doesn’t lead to the same pay
A recent OECD report on the gender pay difference looks at the situation in Switzerland. Across the OECD, young women are better educated than young men, do more work in total – paid and unpaid – yet earn less. In 2015, the average pay difference across the OECD was around 14%. Over the 5 years […]
Standard German works at work but Swiss German rules among friends
A recent study of Swiss German, the largest ever on the subject, was published this week. It offers insights into when and where the language is spoken. Switzerland has three (full) official languages: German, French and Italian, which are used more universally by federal government, and a fourth, Romansh, which is used when communicating with […]
Geneva to Paris for 34 francs
Train operator TGV Lyria is set to launch new fares to compete with low-cost airlines. Prices starting at CHF 34 will be offered on trips from Geneva to Paris. First class tickets at CHF 57 will be offered on the same journey. There will also be a fully-flexible first class business fare priced a bit […]
Talk of cutting Swiss pensions paid to foreign residents
Le Matin. According to Le Matin, Jean-Luc Addor, a parliamentarian and member of the Swiss People’s Party (UDC/SVP), wants to know what savings could be made if pensions paid to those abroad were adjusted for living costs in those countries. According to the newspaper, after the rejection of the vote to reform Swiss pensions, Addor […]
VIDEO: Rock slide in Swiss town of Le Locle, Neuchâtel
On Tuesday, a rock slide in the town of Le Locle was captured on video. The video contains some swearing (in French). The rock slide happened on the outskirts of the town. According to local media no one was hurt. Le Locle, a town of around 10,000 people, borders France and is in the Jura […]
Aging population explains only a small part of rising Swiss healthcare costs
There are many reasons why Swiss healthcare costs continue to climb. One, often cited, is changing demographics, jargon for more older people. But how much of an impact is this having? A set of figures for 2014, estimate that the share of health spending on the 28.5% of the population over 60, was 60.7% of […]
VIDEO: Flowery cows descend on town with cheese named after it
Last weekend, the alpine hamlet of Etivaz, known for its eponymous hard cheese, was overrun by brightly dressed cows. During autumn, cows, which have spent the summer grazing high mountain pastures, are brought down for the winter. Désalpes, or Alpwirtschaft in German, is Switzerland’s way of marking the change of seasons. Cows are dressed up with […]
