After seven years on top, Swisscom has been beaten by Sunrise. The German telecommunications expert and magazine publisher, connect.de and its partner P3, travelled roughly 7,000 km by car around Switzerland testing Swiss mobile networks. Tests were also made while walking and on trains. The results were published on Tuesday. Out of a possible 1,000 […]
Swiss fact: Swiss primary school teachers are world’s highest paid
A recent report by Lausanne-based business school IMD, ranks Swiss primary school teachers as the highest paid in a ranking of 60 countries. On average a Swiss state primary school teacher, after teaching for around 10 years, earns US$ 100,0001 p.a. In the US they are paid US$ 67,0001, and in the UK they get […]
What Brexit did to the iconic Swiss chocolate Toblerone
After Brexit hit the value of Britain’s currency some foreign manufacturers decided to respond. The supermarket Tesco ended up in a dispute with Unilever over the price of one of its products, the yeasty spread Marmite. Then something mysterious happened the Toblerone chocolate bars sold in the UK. British politician John Prescott Tweeted: “Brexit just got real.” […]
Plan to reverse Vaud begging ban contrasts with widespread bans at commune level
24 Heures. On 27 September 2016, the canton of Vaud decided to ban begging after the Swiss People’s Party (UDC/SVP) launched an initiative to make it illegal. Vaud’s state government voted for the move with 60 votes for, 56 against, and 5 abstentions. In response to the ban the Socialist Party and others started collecting signatures […]
Swiss commune that paid to avoid taking refugees does u-turn
20 Minutes. Oberwil-Lieli, a commune in the canton of Aargau, that decided in June 2016 to pay CHF 290,000 to avoid taking refugees, has now decided to offer accommodation to a christian family of five from Syria, that has been given provisional entry. The accommodation will be offered from 1 January 2017. The town’s council has […]
Swiss temperatures turn negative as ‘bise’ wind brings cold snap
Meteo Swiss has warned of low temperatures, particularly in the three lakes region of Switzerland. The overnight low last night was -7 degrees in La Chaux-de-Fonds. While these temperatures are not extremely low, winds of over 100km/h in some places making them feel much colder than they are. This temperature drop is due to a […]
Magic mat to check shoes at Geneva airport
Tribune de Genève You arrive very late at the airport. You run to the security check area lucky enough to find there is no queue. Unfortunately the time it takes to remove your shoes, have them scanned, and put them on again, is enough to make you miss your flight. Or, the person in front […]
Switzerland tops talent table despite high cost of living
Switzerland retains its number one spot in IMD‘s most recent 2016 World Talent Report. Unlike the other 60 nations in the study, which have seen their performance gyrate, a plot of Switzerland’s rank over the last ten years is a perfectly straight line. First ten years in a row. The study looks at three things: investment […]
What you call Lake Geneva really does matter, according to a poll
To non-French speakers the notion might seem odd. In English the big blue watery thing in Western Switzerland has only one name: Lake Geneva. And in German it is der Genfersee. Well in French it is not that simple. Lausanne’s student radio station Fréquence Banane, ran a poll on their Facebook page that was picked up by […]
No more compulsory training for dog owners
24 Heures. Last week, Switzerland’s Federal Council confirmed parliament’s decision to end the requirement for dog owners to undergo training. However, cantons will be able to pass their own laws if they wish. The Zurich politician Ruedi Noser (PLR/FDP) started the move to change the rules. According to him, the courses were expensive, administratively burdensome […]
