The heat wave sweeping across parts of Switzerland is expected to last through Saturday, according to Météo Swiss. Certain regions including Geneva, Nyon, much of the canton of Valais and nearly all of the canton of Ticino could experience temperatures as high as 38 degrees, according to Switzerland’s weather service. The meteorological service issued a […]
Referendum launched against SwissCovid app
A group in Switzerland has decided to launch a vote against Switzerland’s contact tracing app, an application designed to make it easier to know whether someone has been in contact with someone infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus. On 25 June 2020, Switzerland’s contact tracing app, known as SwissCovid, became available for download. Created by a […]
More chlorothalonil found in Evian water than in Lake Zurich
Researchers at the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (Eawag) accidentally found traces of chlorothalonil in Evian bottled water, according to the newspaper SonntagsZeitung. Chlorothalonil is a substance found in agrochemicals used by farmers to control mold, mildew, bacteria and algae. The substance was banned from use in Switzerland at the beginning of […]
Swiss court set to drop case on Iranian assassination in Vaud
On 24 April 1990, Kazem Rajavi, Iran’s former ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva, was gunned down on his way home to Coppet, a town in canton Vaud near Geneva. A number of years before, after becoming critical of the Khomeini regime, Rajavi resigned from his diplomatic post and become the representative of the opposition National Council of Resistance […]
Swiss unemployment falls in June 2020
The number unemployed in Switzerland at 30 June 2020, fell 5,709 in June to 159,289, according to the State Secretariat for the Economy (SECO). Switzerland’s unemployment rate fell from 3.4% to 3.2%. However, despite improving on May 2020, the number unemployed was 53,067 (+54.6%) higher than at the end of June 2019. Switzerland’s official unemployment […]
The shame of John Calvin: will “Black Lives Matter” force Switzerland to acknowledge its own history of human rights abusers?
By Andy Cohen Often referred to as the human rights or humanitarian capital of the world, Geneva has for decades managed to revere an ugly truth in the form of an authoritarian, if not murderous, religious abuser. The legacy of Reformist John Calvin – Jean Calvin in French, born Jehan Cauvin in Picardy – is […]
Immigration slowdown hits Swiss rents
In 1999, Switzerland signed a deal with the EU allowing free movement of people between Switzerland and the bloc. The deal came into force in 2002. This led to a rise in immigration into Switzerland, which in turn eventually led to rising rents. However, since 2014 there has been a marked slowdown in EU immigration […]
Switzerland’s list of 29 compulsory quarantine countries
Anyone arriving in Switzerland from a state or area with an increased risk of infection is legally required to quarantine themselves for 10 days. If you enter Switzerland and have spent time in a country or region where there is an increased risk of infection in the past 14 days you must go to your […]
Swiss government forecasts 2021 deficit but no tax hikes
The coronavirus is set to knock a CHF 1 billion hole in Switzerland’s federal budget for 2021, according to a press release. Without the virus the budget was CHF 2.2 billion in the black. Post virus the budget is now CHF 1 billion in the red. The virus is expected to add CHF 2.0 billion […]
Swiss salaries rise faster than inflation for the first time in 2 years
In 2019, Swiss salaries were on average of 0.9% higher than the year before. A nominal rise of +0.9% combined with low inflation of 0.4% delivered a real boost of 0.5% to someone earning an average salary in Switzerland. This is the first time in two years that the average Swiss salary has grown faster […]
