The soaring price of some food staples resulting from the war in Ukraine has stirred concerns in some political corners about Switzerland’s inability to meet its own food requirements. Switzerland imports around half of the food it consumes making it heavily reliant on the rest of the world. Some members of Swiss People’s Party (UDC/SVP) […]
Swiss unions call for compensation for public holidays that fall on weekends
Last year, Christmas and Swiss national day (1 August) fell on weekends. Switzerland’s unions are calling for compensation for these “lost” holidays, reports the newspaper 20 Minutes. In Switzerland, when public holidays fall on weekends no extra day off or extra pay is provided by employers. Swiss unions are calling for these missed holidays to […]
Electric bike theft jumps in Switzerland (and locking tips)
Recently published Federal Statistical Office (FSO) figures show a sharp jump in the number of electric bicycles stolen in Switzerland. In 2021, 8,919 electric bikes were stolen in Switzerland, 47% more than in 2020. At the same time the number of regular bicycles thefts fell by 11%, reflecting in part the shift away from regular […]
Tips for cutting energy bills
As the prices of fossil fuels skyrocket and further supply and price uncertainty looms, many are seeking ways to cut the amount they spend on home energy. A publication by the Swiss Federal Office of Energy (SFOE) shows where savings can be made. Recent rises in the prices of fossil fuels highlight the paradox at […]
Average annual healthcare costs hit 9,600 francs in Switzerland in 2020
Statistics published on 26 April 2022 show health expenditure in Switzerland rose to CHF 9,648 (US$ 10,8001) per person in 2020, making Switzerland (probably) the second biggest per-capita healthcare spender in the world – the OECD has not yet published 2020 expenditure for the US, which is typically the world’s highest spender. Healthcare spending rose […]
FILM: DOWNTON ABBEY: A New Era ***1/2
29 April 2022. By Neptune DOWNTON ABBEY: A New Era ***1/2 All is well with the world when one sees such a wonderfully satisfying film. One that is both familiar and new, about decent people whom we’ve been following over the years on TV. Creator and scriptwriter Julian Fellowes and director Simon Curtis have outdone […]
Geneva hospital opens centre to tackle obesity in Switzerland
Next week, Geneva’s HUG hospital will open a centre focused on adult and child obesity, reported RTS. According to the hospital, people with obesity suffer from a diverse range of illnesses and the new centre aims to bring together treatments for the panopoly of illnesses related to the condition. While obesity is problem that is […]
All entry restrictions into Switzerland to go on 2 May 2022
On 21 April 2022, Switzerland’s State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) announced that all entry restrictions into Switzerland related to the Covid-19 pandemic will disappear from 2 May 2022. All travellers from abroad will be able to travel subject to normal visa requirements from 2 May 2022. Currently, most countries outside the Schengen zone remain on […]
Homelessness much higher in French-speaking Switzerland, shows study
According to a study by the University of Applied Sciences of Northwestern Switzerland (FHNW) undertaken between 2020 and 2022, there are large differences in homelessness between French-speaking Switzerland and the rest of the country. The study, which researched homelessness across Switzerland’s eight largest cities (Basel, Bern, Geneva, Lausanne, Luzern, Lugano, St. Gallen and Zurich), identified […]
CERN collider restart could revolutionise physics
On 22 April 2022, the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), the world’s largest and most powerful particle accelerator located on the outskirts of Geneva, restarted after a break of more than three years for maintenance and upgrade work. One hope is that the LHC, a machine that smashes protons together, can find evidence of a fifth […]
