20 Minutes. In January, a young man from Valais, was excluded from Swiss military service because of his diet and beliefs. Because he is a vegan and won’t eat meat or wear boots made from leather he was declared unfit. Last Tuesday, the 19 year-old announced that his legal challenge had succeeded. The military has […]
Swiss support gay marriage but not so keen on adoption according to recent survey
According to recent survey results published by Pink Cross, around 7 out of 10 of those interviewed in a Swiss poll were in favour of same sex marriage. The results were stable and in line with the last survey. 69% responded favourably to the question: “Should civil union be open to homosexual couples?” 25% were […]
Roger Federer skips the US Open and heads to the Swiss mountains
Roger Federer has had a painful year. In July, the 35-year-old tennis champion said he would sit out the rest of the 2016 season to recuperate from knee surgery. On 22 August he posted a photo of himself on Twitter training with the comment: “Did some tennis training this week. Feeling great.” Right now he is […]
Expats in Switzerland aren’t feeling the love, says a new survey measuring quality of life
By Bill Harby In some ways, Switzerland is the envy of the world, which brings expats here from around the globe, hoping to ski, eat superb chocolate and open their very own Swiss bank account. In fact, now nearly 25 percent of people living in Switzerland are foreigners, says the Swiss Statistics Office. That’s a […]
Most popular Swiss baby names in 2015
Today, the Swiss government released statistics on the most popular baby names in 2015. The Swiss statistics office has been crunching this data for 30 years. Noah was the most popular boys’ name across Switzerland. 443 out of the 44,650 baby boys born in Switzerland in 2015 had this name chosen for them. However, while […]
Olympic medal rankings adjusted for population – Switzerland gains 8 places
Updated version following the end of the Olympic Games. It is no surprise that the United States and China feature at the top of the 2016 Olympic medal league table. With populations of 324 million and 1.34 billion they have enormous numbers to draw on when searching for athletic talent. Smaller countries like Grenada and […]
How two dog bones cost a family 17 francs in Swiss customs charges
Tribune de Genève. A family from Geneva was recently hit with an unexpected bill at the Swiss customs post at Bardonnex according to Tribune de Genève. Returning from their holiday in Italy, the family was hit with a customs bill of around ten times the value of the bones they had bought for their dog. […]
Swiss gay divorce rate higher than heterosexual
20 Minutes. Since 1 January 2007, gay couples in Switzerland have been able to register their partnerships under Swiss federal law. At a federal level, same sex partnerships are governed by rules known in French as LPart and in German as PartG, rather than by laws covering heterosexual marriage. A number of Swiss cantons offered […]
Euro 2016 – Swiss brothers play against each other
The start was key to Switzerland’s win against Albania in yesterday’s UEFA Euro 2016 match, according to Switzerland’s coach Vladimir Petković. Speaking to John Atkin at Stade Bollaert-Delelis, after the teams 1-0 win against Albania, he said “We handled the emotion of the occasion better. We used the nervous energy very positively. I think we played […]
Switzerland’s most expensive footballer
Last week, Swiss-born footballer Granit Xhaka, transferred from German football club Borussia Monchengladbach, to the English club Arsenal, ahead of the start of the European Championships on 10 June 2016. The Swiss mid-fielder, born to Kosovar Albanian parents in Basel, was transferred for £33.8 million according to London’s Evening Standard, the highest sum ever paid for a […]
