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 […]
40 percent of Swiss prepared to fly less to spare the environment
Surveyors asked 1,000 people in Switzerland aged from 16 to 74 about their flying habits across both French- and German-speaking Switzerland. 27% said they have already avoided flights over the last two years for environmental reasons. Switzerland’s residents are big air travelers, flying three times as often as the average european, according to WWF. When […]
Parliament votes against stripping serious criminals of Swiss nationality
Last week, a majority of the National Council, Switzerland’s parliament, voted against stripping serious criminals of Swiss nationality, according to Le Matin. A motion to take Swiss citizenship away from those who have committed serious crimes and who have more than one nationality, was put forward by Lorenzo Quadri, a member of the Lega party […]
Heatwave expected in Switzerland next week
According to Meteo Swiss next week will be hot in Switzerland. In an article published yesterday it said the likelihood of high temperatures next week seems to be confirmed. Temperatures on the plateau could rise to between 32 et 35°C. Anyone hoping to find sub zero temperatures will need to get above 4,500 metres high, […]
Swiss government approves further GM crop trials
Last week, the Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN) gave a green light to trials of genetically modified (GM) barley in Switzerland. Permission was given to the University of Zurich to plant GM barley at a controlled site in the canton of Zurich. The barley has been modified to resist fungal diseases. The experiment aims […]
Switzerland 5th most skeptical of vaccine safety
A recently published survey by the Wellcome Trust, which surveyed people around the world on their vaccination beliefs, found that 22% of those surveyed in Switzerland strongly or somewhat disagreed that vaccines are safe. Only France (33%), Gabon (26%), Togo (25%) and Russia (24%) had higher percentages of people strongly or somewhat disagreeing that vaccines […]
Swiss-EU friction rises in lead up to expiry of stock market equivalence
In 2018, Switzerland and the EU struck a deal to extend Swiss stock market equivalence until 30 June 2019, a date fast approaching. Stock market equivalence makes a trade on the Swiss stock exchange equivalent to a trade on an exchange in an EU country. This allows trades to be pooled across countries, something that supports […]
Question of the week: is this 1953 video on how to make a true man helpful?
Back in 1953 the Puerto Rico Department of Health created the Mental Health Film Board Series on the Emotions of Everyday Living. This one entitled Roots of Happiness offers advice on how a father might make a true man of his son while showing how another appears to get things wrong. While it is unlike […]
Lake Geneva region Switzerland’s jihadist hotspot
A recent study by the Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW) shows the geographic distribution of known radicalized jihadists across Switzerland. According to figures in the report the Lake Geneva region is a hotspot with significantly higher radicalisation rates than the rest of the country. The region’s overall rate of 2.7 radicalized inhabitants per 100,000 residents […]
Swiss health insurance deductibles to remain changeable annually
One idea for containing rising healthcare costs was to remove the possibility of changing health insurance deductibles every year, making it possible only every three years. If people are able to switch from high to low deductibles annually then they can save money by opting for a high deductible one year, while postponing visits to […]
