According to the bank Raiffeisen, a future rental housing crisis is likely in Switzerland as the home vacancy rate moves below 1% in 2024, reported 20 Minutes. The combined forces of higher construction costs and higher interest rates have reduced the number of homes being built, said the bank. This combined with the continued growth […]
Qatar 2022: Swiss broadcaster reveals evidence suggesting vote buying
An inquiry presented this week by RTS reveals evidence of likely vote buying related to the choice of Qatar for the 2022 Football World Cup due to start on 20 November 2022. A cloud of corruption has hung over FIFA since 2010 when Qatar was chosen by 14 votes to 8 as the place for […]
Initiative launched aimed at restoring Swiss neutrality
Switzerland’s government says the nation remains neutral. However, some believe that the adoption of sanctions against Russia implemented by the EU has undermined the country’s neutrality. To redress this, a group has started the process of collecting signatures to launch a federal vote on the issue, reported RTS. Switzerland’s current approach to foreign policy is […]
Switzerland and UK strike science deal
On 10 November 2022, Switzerland and the UK, two nations outside the EU, signed an agreement deepening the relationship between the two nations’ research and innovation communities. The agreement was signed by UK Minister of State for Science, Research and Innovation, George Freeman MP, alongside Federal Councillor Parmelin, Head of Switzerland’s Federal Department of Economic […]
Huge Covid test fraud potentially uncovered in Switzerland
While checking statements from health insurers a number of people have noticed Covid tests that were never administered. One individual in St. Gallen discovered 30 Covid tests billed by a doctor in Vaud on their statement, reported RTS. A spokesperson for Santésuisse, a health insurance association, said the organisation estimates that 1% of Covid tests […]
Swiss environment and energy minister resigns
On 2 November 2022, Simonetta Sommaruga, Switzerland’s minister for the Environment, Transport, Energy and Communication, a role she’s held since 2019, tendered her resignation. Sommaruga said the reason for her departure was personal and related to the health of her husband. The minister had already taken a week away from her duties to be with […]
Month of October the hottest ever recorded
According to Meteo Swiss, Switzerland experienced its hottest October since weather records began in 1864, surpassing the monthly average maximum by 1 degree. The unusually high average temperature was caused by a persistent air current from the west and southwest. In addition to higher temperatures, this led to less rain than normal and longer sunshine […]
Swiss inflation stable in October
Switzerland’s consumer price index (CPI) remained stable in October 2022 compared with the previous month, reported Switzerland’s Federal Statistical Office (FSO) this week. This left year-on-year inflation at the end of October 2022 at 3%, the same level that it was at the end of September 2022. The stability of the index compared with the […]
Swiss pay rises don’t keep up with inflation
Recent data from Switzerland’s Federal Statistical Office (FSO) show recent collective pay rises fall short of inflation. Switzerland’s key labour agreements between employers and unions included a nominal pay rise of 0.8% for 2022 and a 0.6% nominal rise in minimum wages, wrote the FSO on 31 October 2022. However, set against inflation of 3% […]
Switzerland breaks record for longest train
On 29 October 2022, Switzerland ran the longest passenger train in the world from Preda to Alvaneu in the mountainous canton of Graubunden in eastern Switzerland, reported RTS. The train, made up of 100 carriages and measuring close to 2 km long (1,910 metres), made the 25 km journey in around 45 minutes. The train, […]
