On 10 March 2016, Switzerland’s administration published numbers on asylum requests in February 2016. 2,705 requests were made during the month. Most came from citizens of Afghanistan, Syria, Iraq and Eritrea. February’s number is more that 25% lower than January, when 3,618 requests were filed. The same countries, Afghanistan (651 requests), Syria (244 requests), Iraq […]
Geneva wants old French nuclear reactors shut down
20 Minutes. The Bugey nuclear power station in France is under attack by the canton and city of Geneva. At around 75 km from Geneva, as the crow flies, its condition continues to deteriorate according to the French lawyer representing Geneva. The lawyer, Corinne Lepage, a former French minister for the environment, said the plant is suffering […]
Products tested on animals to be banned in Switzerland
Switzerland’s government plans to ban the sale of cosmetics and cleaning products that have been tested on animals abroad. Maya Graf of the Green party called on the government to ban the sale of cosmetics and cleaning products containing ingredients tested on animals. The EU has already banned such products. Other tests can be used to avoid […]
No laughing matter – French satirist makes fun of Switzerland’s president
The French satire news show Le Petit Journal recently made fun of a speech made by Swiss president Johann Schneider-Ammann. The speech, made to commemorate Switzerland’s day of the sick on 1 March 2016, recommends laughter to those suffering from illness. The message however, is delivered with no trace of humour. This absence of humour now has […]
News inequality – why Switzerland needs more female reporters
It’s a sexist world. Women and their efforts are poorly covered by the media. A recent 2015 report by the Global Media Monitoring Project shows how women’s airtime progress has stalled. In 2015, women were mentioned in only 24% of news stories seen in newspapers, on television or on radio, exactly the same percentage as 2010. Some […]
How immigration makes Switzerland the world’s most inventive nation
Swiss resident companies and individuals applied for more patents than those in the UK in 2015. The European patent office’s recently released annual report, shows there were 7,088 Swiss-based european patent applications compared to the UK’s 5,037. On the face of it these numbers are not too far apart. On a per capita basis there is a more than tenfold […]
Around 60 frozen skiers rescued by helicopter from a Verbier lift
While enjoying a warm drink in Verbier’s Carlsberg restaurant, which sits at 2,500 metres, a group of us noticed that one of the chair lifts across from the restaurant wasn’t moving, and that most of the chairs had people on them. Two of our group had been turned away from this lift, that connects La Ruinette with La Chaux, when […]
Bad news for Swiss commuters
Last year the Swiss government decided to increase the fees train operators, including Swiss Rail, must pay to run their trains on Switzerland’s rail network. Switzerland has 4,641 km of track running as high as 3,454 metres, and one of the densest rail networks in the world. Maintaining all of this track costs a lot of money, […]
Financials and miners drive SMI gain despite drag of one Swiss heavyweight
4 March 2016 – Swiss and global market roundup. Brought to you by Investec Switzerland. The SMI is set to close higher this week but lagging behind gains of global equity markets after heavyweight Roche fell almost 5% on Thursday after paying its dividend. Stock markets around the world extended their rally this week, continuing to […]
Bern wants shops to stay open longer
Le Matin. The National council thinks shops should stay open until 8pm across all of Switzerland. 115 members against 68 would like to see shop opening hours harmonised across the country. The proposal would mean that retailers across Switzerland would be allowed to open from 6am until 8pm from Monday to Friday and from 6am until 6pm on […]
