A Swiss hotel has caused outrage with a guest notice. A photograph of a notice posted in the hotel Aparthaus Paradies in the Swiss town of Arosa spread rapidly on social media after a Jewish family staying in the hotel noticed it. The notice singles out Jewish guests asking them to shower before swimming. SWITZERLAND: […]
Farm subsidy cuts for animal mistreatment supported by Swiss Farmers’ Union
According to 20 Minutes, Jacques Bourgeois, the director of the Swiss Farmers’ Union, supports sanctioning farmers who fail to treat their animals properly by cutting the farm subsidies they receive from the Swiss government. In 2015, producer support in Switzerland amounted to around 57% of farm revenues according to an OECD estimate. Swiss farm subsidies are second to only […]
Swiss initiative to grant more paternity leave given official green light
20 Minutes. The 100,000 signature mark required to launch a popular vote was reached in June 2017. Yesterday the Swiss Federal Chancellery validated 107,075 of the 107,455 signatures collected completing the first significant official milestone. The initiative is demanding four weeks of paid leave for fathers, to be taken within the first year of the […]
Super high-speed train between Zurich and Milan unveiled
20 Minutes. Dubbed the “Superveloce”, the new high-speed journey is expected to start operating between now and 2020. Made possible by the opening of the new Gotthard train tunnel, the trip should take only 2 hours and 45 minutes. Since the world’s longest train tunnel was opened in December 2016, 2.3 million passengers have passed through […]
Geneva councillor Pierre Maudet ready to give up French nationality
Tribune de Genève. According to Tribune de Genève, Geneva councillor Pierre Maudet is ready to give up his French nationality. Maudet recently put himself forward to replace Didier Burkhalter, the federal councillor, equivalent to cabinet member, who announced his resignation in July. The issue of Maudet’s dual nationality was raised by Céline Amaudruz, a Geneva-based […]
More than 3 planets needed if we all lived like Swiss residents
If every one the world’s 7.5 billion people lived like the residents of Switzerland we would need 3.1 planets to live sustainably according to calculations by the Global Footprint Network. In aggregate, humanity has been living on credit since 2 August 2017. This means we are depleting earthly resources available to future generations of humans and everything […]
Geneva lags well behind Zurich in airport ranking
A recent airport ranking by Handelszeitung ranks airports around the world. 65 aviation experts looked at airport architecture, atmosphere, passenger flow, staff friendliness, relaxation, recreation, restaurant and shopping areas. Geneva airport at rank 50 is far behind third-placed Zurich. Two asian airports, Singapore (first) and Hong Kong (second) take the top spots. Changi Airport in Singapore offers free-to-access […]
Swiss Rail advert triggers accusation of sexism
According to various newspapers, Swiss Rail placed an advert on a job portal at ETH, a university in Zurich, offering work to cunning vixens, “schlaue Füchsinnen” in German. Successful applicants need to dress up as foxes, including fox tails, and run around train stations with posters informing travellers of alternative train connections. 20 Minutes reported […]
46 percent of Switzerland’s plant and animal life at risk from human activity
A recent government report sets out a long list of fungi, plants and animals that are extinct or at risk from human activity. 3% of the 10,350 native species studied have already disappeared, 5% are on the verge of extinction, 11% are in danger, 17% are vulnerable, and 10% are potentially threatened. These percentages add up to 46%. The […]
Median Swiss salaries by occupation, region, gender and immigration status
If you have ever wondered how much employees in Switzerland get paid you can check with the online tool Salarium, created by the Swiss government. The information is compiled from a database of numbers from a salary survey done in 2014. After entering five required bits of information: region, business sector, occupation, professional position and working hours, the […]
