Recently Switzerland’s States Council, or upper house, supported a proposal to review the current practice around expelling failed asylum seekers, in particular those who are radicalised or have broken the law. The proposal, put forward by Damian Müller (PLR/FDP) must now be discussed by the Federal Council, Switzerland’s executive body. After the attacks in Manchester […]
Switzerland makes top 10 most peaceful countries
The 2017 Global Peace Index places Switzerland in the top 10. The Global Peace Index, produced by the Institute for Economics and Peace ranks 163 countries covering 99.7% of the world’s population. The index looks at 23 indicators covering the level of safety and security in society, the degree of domestic or international conflict, and […]
Jet ski use authorised on Lake Geneva
20 Minutes. According to 20 Minutes, jet ski operator Pascal Guarnieri, based in Amphion, France, is over the moon after an administrative tribunal in Grenoble overturned two rulings, clearing the way for jet skis to be used on the French portion of Lake Geneva. After a legal battle lasting ten years, Pascal Guarnieri has achieved his […]
Swiss government to look at reducing foreigners’ rights to social welfare
On 8 June 2017, Switzerland’s Federal Council said it would look at possibilities for reducing access of non-EU citizens to social welfare payments. At the same time it dismissed a federal level proposal to make non-european residents wait 3 to 5 years after their arrival before gaining entitlement to social welfare on the grounds that […]
Swiss government rejects environmental call to cut meat advertising subsidies
Those concerned about the environment know the huge cost meat production exacts on the planet. By one measure producing animal protein requires up to 17 times as much land as vegetable protein, up to 26 times as much water, and up to 7 times as much phosphate, a dwindling natural resource. One study calculates that one […]
Backpacks to be banned at Swiss concerts
20 Minutes. After the terrorist attack in Manchester Swiss concert organiser abc Productions has decided to ban backpacks and most other bags. Only handbags bags up to A5 size (14.8 x 21 cm) and bum bags are now allowed. According to 20 Minutes, these restrictions have been triggered by the attack in the Manchester Arena on 22 […]
An earthquake shook Fribourg a bit yesterday
24 Heures. Some in the Swiss canton of Fribourg might have felt the earth wobble on Tuesday morning when a quake of 3.3 on the richter scale occurred. The exact location of the quake was 9.8 kilometres north west of the Schwarzsee, according to the Swiss seismological service in Zurich. 09:18 Séisme de magnitude 3.3 […]
Swiss study shows how much males dominate crime
A recent study from the Swiss Federal Statistical office, which followed young lawbreakers from 1999 until 2015 found a number of things that predicted the likelihood of someone committing another crime. A study of 6,649 young lawbreakers born in 1992 found the chances of crime as an adult rose significantly with the number of juvenile […]
Two thirds of population want cuts in Switzerland’s pesticide use, says survey
A recent survey conducted by GFS Zurich shows strong support for cuts in pesticide use in Switzerland. The survey, requested by BirdLife Suisse, Greenpeace, Pro Natura and WWF Switzerland, found that 65% of the close to 1,000 surveyed would like pesticide use reduced in Switzerland. In addition, 49% favoured restricting government support payments to only […]
Swiss vote on paternity leave gets enough qualifying signatures
20 Minutes. Before a Swiss popular vote or referendum can be launched 100,000 valid signatures must be collected within the space of 18 months. The group behind a vote to introduce paid paternity leave of four weeks recently announced it had collected more than 120,000 signatures, 6 months ahead of the 18 month deadline, suggesting there might be […]
