On Tuesday evening, a flash flood of mud engulfed the Alpine town of Grugnay in the canton of Valais in Switzerland, according to RTS. High-altitude mud flows triggered by heavy storm rain hit the village at around 7:15 pm, according to the broadcaster. Some cars and houses were damaged and two roads were closed. The […]
Switzerland’s first blockchain marriage
Dispensing with administrative officials, a couple in the Swiss canton of Vaud, recently tied the knot using block chain technology, according to the newspaper 20 Minutes. The official record of their agreement to marry is a blockchain-based smart contract. Once an agreement is in the block chain it is essentially impossible to alter. Such technology […]
Swiss temperatures hit annual high
On Tuesday, the temperature reached 35.5 degrees in the town of Cevio in Ticino, Switzerland’s highest temperature this year. At the same time Swiss Meteo raised Ticino’s heat wave warning to 4, one level from its maximum 5. The meteorological service’s warning remains in place until 5 August 2018 and comes with a forecast of […]
Switzerland’s young socialists restart the debate on first class train seats
Recently, members of the young socialists raised the debate of the social inequalities associated with two ticket classes again while on trains travelling between Fribourg and Bern. They complain that at periods of peak demand second class carriages are overflowing, while first class ones often have space and spare seats. Yvan Rime, co-president of the […]
Prisoner in Bern requests assisted suicide
A 64-year-old in prison in the canton of Bern recently asked the organisation Exit for suicide assistance. It is rare for someone in a Swiss prison to make such a request, although Pierre Beck of Exit told RTS that a gravely ill prisoner in Geneva made a similar request last year. Exit is taking the […]
Fireworks banned in many parts of Switzerland
Various bans related to fireworks are in place across Switzerland in the lead up to national day festivities on 1 August. Some regions have banned private firework displays, some have banned sales, other could ban all displays. For example, the commune of Chur has banned all fireworks including public displays, according to Tribune de Genève. […]
Heatwave warning for Switzerland
Temperatures are set to climb to as high as 35 degrees in parts of Switzerland this week, according to Swiss Meteo. The meteorological service has issued a level three heat wave warning, which it describes as severe. Warnings are measure on a scale of five. Regions affected include Valais, Lake Geneva, Ticino and Basel. Switzerland’s […]
Accident and emergency patients might soon be charged a pre-treatment fee
The Swiss government is looking hard to find ways to reduce the cost of health care. One idea is to make accident and emergency patients pay a CHF 50 fee before treatment. National counsellor Thomas Weibel put forward a parliamentary initiative to levy a CHF 50 charge at the time of hospital admission. The measure […]
New initiative aims to end age discrimination on pension contributions
In Switzerland, pension rules make it more expensive to employ older workers. The amount employers must contribute to 2nd pillar contribution-based employee pensions increases with age. Workers under 35 only cost an additional 3.5% of salary. From 55, workers cost employers an additional 9% – workers aged 35 to 44 cost employers an additional 5% […]
Majority favours later retirement for women, according to survey
In Switzerland, the official retirement age for women is 64, a year earlier than it is for men. A poll by gfs.bern shows that around two thirds are in favour of raising the retirement age of women to 65. Only 16% are against the idea, with a further 18% somewhat against it. Men (78%) are […]
