This week, Vaud Police warned a scam using QR codes has been discovered. The scam is simple and effective. Criminals cover the original QR code on parking ticket distributers with another which directs the user to a fake website resembling the original one. From there the user is asked to enter payment details, and the […]
Switzerland faces England on Saturday in Euro quarter final
At 6pm on Saturday 6 July 2024, Switzerland’s football team will face England’s in the quarter finals of the Euro 2024. The game will be played in Dusseldorf, Germany. England are the favourites, with one estimate giving them a 43% chance of victory compared to a 25% chance of Switzerland prevailing. In an interview on […]
More than half of buildings in Switzerland at flood risk
Currently, Switzerland’s mountain regions are suffering badly from flooding following thunderstorms and exceptionally heavy rain. However, Switzerland’s plateau is not immune to flooding, reported SRF. New calculations suggest more than half of Switzerland’s buildings are at risk of being damaged by storms and floods. As the climate changes, devastating thunderstorms are becoming more frequent everywhere, […]
Swiss smoking rate declines but remains high
In 2022, 24% of Switzerland’s population smoked, according to data published on 2 July 2024 by the Federal Statistical Office (FSO). This percentage is down 3 percentage points from the rate in 2017 when the survey was last done. The smoking rate has fallen most significantly among people with tertiary education. The proportion of heavy […]
Swiss electricity prices set to fall in 2025
The price of electricity is set to fall in 2025 according to a survey run by the Swiss Electricity Suppliers Association, reported RTS. As many as 75 out of 83 suppliers surveyed said they definitely or probably expect price cuts next year. Price data from 52 companies generating more than a third of Switzerland’s electricity […]
Famous Swiss Post bus horn turns 100
Swiss Post buses are equipped with horns to warn on coming vehicles as they navigate tight corners on Switzerland’s mountain roads. The horns sound out the first few notes of the Andante of the overture to Gioacchino Rossini’s opera William Tell. These notes were first heard on Swiss roads 100 years ago. In 1919, when […]
Swiss life expectancy reaches an all time high
This week, Unisanté published calculations showing Swiss life expectancy of 84 years for 2023, the highest level ever reached. Life expectancy at birth was 82.2 for men and 85.6 for women, said Unisanté, referencing its calculations based on Federal Statistical Office (FSO) data. These figures are higher than they were in 2019, before the Covid-19 […]
Swiss trade unions argue against pension reform
On 22 September 2024, Swiss voters will decide whether or not to accept the latest round of government reforms to employee based pensions known as the second pillar pensions. Swiss trade unions are against the reform, which reduces the annuity rate from 6.8% to 6.0%. Instead they are calling for a higher rate to compensate […]
Swiss Alpine motorway to reopen on 5 July 2024
After recent flooding took out a stretch of the road in the Misox region the A13 Alpine route connecting northern Switzerland to the south has been closed. On 27 June 2024, the Federal Roads Office (FEDRO) said that it expects the damaged stretch of road to reopen as a single lane, reported SRF. Reconstruction of […]
European immigration into Switzerland rises by 29%
Data published by Switzerland’s State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) show a sharp rise in the number of people moving to Switzerland from EU/EFTA nations. In 2023, 68,000 people arrived in Switzerland from EU/EFTA countries to live, the highest number since 2008 when 72,100 arrived. The 2023 figure is 29% higher than the number of […]
