Swiss healthcare is typically ranked the world’s second most expensive, as a percentage of GDP, after the US. In Switzerland, compulsory health insurance premiums cover 37% of healthcare costs. Much of the rest is covered by tax payers and non-reimbursable out-of-pocket payments by individuals. As part of a plan to reduce costs, this week, the […]
Swiss fact: Ritalin was invented in Switzerland
The drug Ritalin sometimes given to people with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and narcolepsy was first formulated in Switzerland. In 1944, Leandro Panizzon synthesized methylphenidate in Basel while working for CIBA (now Novartis). He tested the drug on himself and his wife Marguerite, nicknamed Rita. Rita played tennis and the drug improved her performance […]
Lights out – most of Geneva to switch off street lights in September
In addition to making it difficult to see stars, artificial light has a negative effect on the natural biological rhythm of plants and animals. It also affects human health and consumes energy, contributing to greenhouse gas emissions. In response to this the Natural History Museum of Geneva, the Geneva Astronomy Society and others came up […]
Violent debris flow sweeps away two people in a car in Switzerland
Last Sunday, a debris flow following a torrential downpour swept away a car containing a 37 year old man and a 6 year old child, according to various media. CLOSE call with a debris flow in Chamoson, Switzerland today, August 11th! Report: Jérémy Monnet / Météo Mettra – Météo Alpes Suisse France pic.twitter.com/iNQH6hMVI9 — severe-weather.EU […]
Germany to reintroduce stiffer Swiss border checks, says minister
Before 2008, when Switzerland joined Schengen, a Europe-wide border-free zone, border checks were the norm. Since then people moving in and out of Switzerland to one of the 26 Schengen countries, which include Germany and Switzerland, have not been subject to routine checks. However, after an Eritrean man living in Switzerland allegedly pushed a boy […]
Swiss apprenticeships – too many places, not enough takers
Figures on unfilled apprenticeship places show the difficulty of matching supply and demand in the labour market. This year there were 12,000 unfilled apprenticeship positions in Switzerland. Switzerland’s apprenticeship model, which helps match workers’ skills with employer demand, is one driver of Switzerland’s low unemployment (4.9%) – 2018 ILO basis. Switzerland has highest underemployment in […]
Taking a trip back in time on a Swiss steam train
Trains run Saturdays and Sundays from 4 May until 27 October 2019. On 21 May 1966, the local rail company closed the line between the two small towns of Blonay and Chamby, in Switzerland’s Riviera region, on the eastern reaches of Lake Geneva. Too few were catching the trains on this stretch of track, that had opened in […]
Temperatures could reach 38 degrees in Switzerland this week
According to the weather forecaster Meteo Swiss, the temperature could reach 38 degrees in Sion on Thursday. High temperatures are also expected in Basel (37), Geneva (37), Zurich (36) and Lausanne (36) on Thursday. The weather service has classified the rest of the weak as a heatwave and issued a degree 3 warning, described as […]
Lake Geneva – tests show beaches with cleanest water
A map published recently by the Commission internationale pour la protection des eaux du Léman (CIPEL), a Swiss-French intergovernmental organisation, rates the water quality at most Lake Geneva beaches as excellent or of a medium to good quality. Only one, Pointe-à-la-Bise – Collonge-Bellerive was rated as having water that is sometimes polluted. The map above […]
Swiss People’s Party provokes left on immigration climate impact
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, […]
