From 1 August 2022, doctors in Switzerland will be able to prescribe cannabis without the need for authorisation, announced the Federal Council on 22 June 2022, reported RTS. The introduction of the change, which allows cannabis to be prescribed for medical reasons without the authorisation of the federal health authorities, follows updates to Switzerland’s drug […]
FIFA: Blatter and Platini get 20-month prison sentences
On 15 June 2022, Switzerland’s public prosecutor issued Sepp Blatter (86) and Michel Platini (66) with 20-month suspended prison sentences in connection with accusations of fraud against the football organisation FIFA, reported RTS. The week before, the two defendants had rejected all of the accusations, which included the improper transfer of CHF 2 million from […]
Stalkers using online licence plate database to get addresses in Switzerland
Until 4 April 2022, anyone wanting information on the owner of a vehicle in the canton of Vaud had to make a formal application to the cantonal vehicle registry and pay CHF 20. However, from that date anyone can instantly get an owner’s name and address using the free online Auto-Index system. Other Swiss cantons, […]
“Boys Do Cry” – Swiss entry makes Eurovision final
The Swiss entry into the 2022 Eurovision contest has made it through to the final, which takes place on 14 May 2022. Marius Hügli, a 29 year-old from the canton of Appenzell-Innerrhoden known professionally as Marius Bear is representing Switzerland in the 2022 Eurovision Song Contest in Turin, Italy with the song “Boys Do Cry”. […]
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 […]
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 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 […]
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 […]
Swiss births reach highest number since 1972
In 2021, 89,400 births were registered in Switzerland, a number not seen since 1972. Switzerland’s population increased by 0.8% compared to 2020, reaching more than 8.7 million by the end of 2021. The number of births in 2021 was 4.1% higher than in 2020, reported Switzerland’s Federal Statistical Office on 5 April 2022. All cantons […]
Swiss eat more cheese in 2021
A report published on 25 March 2022, showed average annual cheese consumption in Switzerland hit 23.17 kilos per person in 2021, up from 23.07 kilos in 2020 (+0.4%). Residents of Switzerland consumed a total of 203,896 tonnes of cheese in 2021, a year-on-year rise of 1,089 tonnes (+0.5%). The most popular cheeses were fondu and […]
