According to the price comparison website Comparis.ch obligatory Swiss health insurance premiums are set to rise by an average of 5% in 2023, in some cases as much as 10%. Key drivers of the rise are the impact of the pandemic and pressure by the federal government on insurance companies to refund reserves to policy […]
Swiss canton rejects smacking ban
Many nations have laws that ban parents from spanking their children. Despite much political discussion, Switzerland does not. This week, the government of the canton of Jura voted against introducing such a law, reported Le Matin this week. More than 60 nations have made smacking children illegal after Sweden led the way by banning it […]
Swiss government concludes discussions on cutting social welfare for foreigners
As part of a revision of the rules related to foreigners in Switzerland the federal government has concluded discussions around cutting welfare entitlements for nationals from much of the world, reported the newspaper Le Matin. Discussions on restricting the welfare paid to some foreigners, which have been going on for some time, concluded on 3 […]
Geneva terraces to close at midnight from 1 June
Outdoor diners and drinkers in Geneva will soon need to move inside at midnight under new rules aimed at cutting nighttime noise in the city, reported the newspaper 20 Minutes. The rule, to be introduced on 1 June 2022, will apply from Sunday until Thursday. On Fridays and Saturdays outdoor dining and drinking will be […]
Pilot glides from Swiss Jura to southern England
On 1 May 2022, pilot Yves Gerster glided 516km from the Jura mountain range in Switzerland all the way to Lasham in the south of England. Gerster took off from Courtelary at 7:35 am and landed in Lasham at 4:44 pm, a little over 9 hours later, according to the website weglide.org. During the first […]
Swisscom fixed and mobile networks out on Tuesday
Swisscom’s telephone network went down on Tuesday for 30 minutes, reported RTS. On Tuesday 3 May 2022 between 22:23 and 22:53 customers across Switzerland using Swisscom’s fixed and mobile networks were unable to access the internet. According to Swisscom, the outage was related to maintenance work. Much to the frustration of football fans the outage […]
Recent price rises only the beginning, says Swiss consumer association
Food, energy and housing costs are rising in Switzerland and consumers are beginning to change their spending habits. So far inflation in Switzerland has been moderate with annual inflation of 2.5%. However, according to FRC, a consumer association in French-speaking Switzerland, recent price rises are only the beginning, reported RTS. The biggest driver of Swiss […]
Swiss consumer sentiment drops sharply in April
A survey published on 2 May 2022 shows a marked weakening of consumer sentiment in April in Switzerland. Consumers’ outlook for the general economic situation has turned far more pessimistic, said Switzerland’s State Secretariat of Economic Affairs (SECO). In April 2022, the consumer sentiment index plunged to -27, well below the long-term average of −5, […]
New initiative aims to create compulsory universal service for men, women and foreign residents
In Switzerland military service is compulsory for all young men with Swiss citizenship. Women and foreign residents are not required serve. An initiative to create a universal community service obligation that would include women and to some extent foreigners living in Switzerland was launched on Tuesday. Vote organisers have until 26 October 2023 to collect […]
Swiss government adds billions to fight against road noise
Switzerland’s federal government will provide the cantons with an additional CHF 52 billion to cut road noise, reported RTS. The additional CHF 52 billion will be added to an existing funding package of CHF 26 billion. The main source of noise in Switzerland is from road traffic. More than a million people, over 10% of […]
