In 2018, 18.1% of Swiss citizens 15 years old or older living in Switzerland held another nationality, according to figures recently published by the Federal Statistical Office. Over 8 years this percentage has risen by 4.3 percentage points. In 2010, the same percentage was 13.8%. The percentage in 2017 was the same as in 2018. […]
Swiss authorities set up Coronavirus helpline
Switzerland’s Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) has set up two helpline numbers to provide information to the public. They have also set up a page on their website with regular updates. So far no one in Switzerland has been diagnosed with the Coronavirus (nCoV) based on the samples analysed, but experts believe the risk […]
Swiss government wants to quickly change laws to allow gay marriage
Switzerland’s Federal Council announced that it would like to quickly give gay couples the right to marry, according to RTS. It also said that it did not think the change would require changing the constitution and could be achieved by changing laws. It would like to see legal changes that would make it easy for couples […]
A quick guide on the Coronavirus
Since the initial outbreak of the virus in the city of Wuhan in December 2019, the Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) has spread rapidly. The Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) is from the coronavirus family that contains SARS, MERS and some common colds. As of 29 January, 5,974 cases of infected individuals had been recorded in China, with 132 […]
5G protests continue in Switzerland, following inconclusive report
On 25 January 2020, further protests against the roll of 5G mobile technology took place in 16 towns across Switzerland, according to protest organisers. The protests follow the publishing of an inconclusive Swiss report by experts on the health risks of the radiation emitted by the technology published on 28 November 2019. Some hoped the […]
Heavy snow falls in Swiss resorts
This week, Switzerland’s mountain resorts are experiencing heavy snowfall. By Wednesday evening between 20 and 50 centimetres of fresh snow will have fallen at altitudes above 1,000m, reaching a depth of 70 centimetres in some places, according to Meteo Swiss. The snow line will be between 600 and 900m, according to the weather service. The […]
Swiss cancels all flights to China
Today, Swiss announced it was temporarily suspending all flights to and from mainland China. Flights to Bejing Capital Airport (PEK) and Shanghai Pudong Airport (PVG) are affected, it said. The announcement is a response to the global spread of the Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV), a contagious virus that can lead to life threatening pneumonia. The virus […]
New commemorative Swiss franc Federer and Einstein coins
Following the success of the pre-sale of Roger Federer coins at the beginning of December 2019, a further 37,000 will be issued by Swissmint in various minting qualities on 23 January 2020. The coins are commemorative. In addition to coins featuring the well-known tennis star from Basel, there is a tiny (3mm diameter) gold coin […]
International hot air balloon festival takes to the air in the Swiss Alps
The international hot air balloon festival runs from 25 January to 2 February 2020 in the picturesque pre-Alpine town of Chateau d’Oex in Vaud, Switzerland. This year is the event’s 42nd anniversary. The festival, which is spread over 9 days spanning two weekends brings together pilots from around the world with around a hundred hot air balloons. There is […]
Switzerland makes the short list of full democracies in 2019
The Economist Intelligence Unit’s 2019 Democracy Index includes only 22 out of 167 countries in the category of fully functioning democracies. 15 were in Europe. Notable countries missing from the list were the US, Belgium and Italy, which were all classified as flawed democracies. This year the average global score fell from 5.48 to 5.44, […]
