In a newly launched campaign, the Swiss People’s Party (UDC/SVP) is calling parties on the left climate devils (“klimateufel”) for their stance on immigration. It argues that more immigration leads to greater strain on the environment, citing more cars, higher electricity consumption and more construction. The UDC, a party with a focus on controlling immigration, […]
Overnight trains could return to Switzerland
Last week a spokesperson for Swiss Rail told Swiss broadcaster SFR that the rail company was discussing reintroducing long distance overnight sleeper trains. 15 years ago, Switzerland had an extensive overnight train network with destinations including Rome, Barcelona, Brussels, Amsterdam, Berlin, Hamburg, Copenhagen, Vienna, Budapest, Prague, Graz Zagreb and Moscow. Progressively nearly all of these […]
Geneva blocks the erection of 5G mobile antennas
Last week, Antonio Hodgers, the head of Geneva’s executive, announced a ban on the erection of further 5G mobile antennas in the canton, according to an interview on RTS. Motivated by uncertainty on the potential health effects of the new technology, the temporary freeze is the most the cantonal government can do to stop the […]
Swiss vote could cause chaos at Swiss airports
A referendum aimed at rejecting changes to Swiss gun laws scheduled for 19 May 2019 could cause major disruption at airports in Zurich and Geneva if it succeeds, according to various newspapers. If the vote is successful it might eventually lead to the exclusion of Switzerland from the Schengen area. If this happened, immigration staff […]
Swiss chocolate consumption slides
In 2018, Switzerland’s population consumed around 87,000 tonnes of chocolate. However, average chocolate consumption dropped from 10.5 kg per person in 2017 to 10.3 kg in 2018, a decline of roughly 2%. This decline reflects last year’s longer hotter summer, according to the industry association Chocosuisse. The fall in consumption of Swiss chocolate in Switzerland […]
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 […]
Swiss unemployment lowest in 10 years
Switzerland’s unemployment rate, now 2.6%, hasn’t been so low for 10 years, according to the latest figures from Switzerland’s State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO). A weakening of the Swiss franc helped boost Switzerland’s economic growth, creating more jobs. The unemployment rate among young workers (15-24) dropped 0.7% to 2.4% as did unemployment among the […]
The Swiss town on the 2019 New York Times’ places-to-visit list
Every year the New York Times assembles a list of 52 recommended places to visit. This year it lists Vevey at number 49. 2019 is a big year for Vevey. It is the year of the Unesco-recognized Fête des Vignerons, an event held every 20 to 25 years. This spectacular wine festival, which began in […]
Question of the week: do we need a retirement age?
Reaching the official retirement age1 is an important milestone for many people. Some look forward to it while others dread it. Some dreading it would prefer to continue working either because they enjoy their work or would like the extra income. Some feel they are being systematically and unfairly labelled too old to work. A […]
FILM: MIA AND THE WHITE LION – about a girl and lion growing up together
28 December 2018. By Neptune MIA AND THE WHITE LION *** (vo English) As a fictional story, this may seem simplistic and somewhat contrived, but as a feat of filmmaking it is truly phenomenal. For French director Gilles de Maistre (of such documentaries as “Le Premier Cri” and “The Quest of Alain Ducasse”) took a […]
