BERN The question of whether Swiss law should have priority over international law is expected to be decided when the Council of States convenes its next session either this summer or early fall. The issue is whether to go along with suggestions by the Swiss People’s Party (UDC) and others that Swiss law should stand […]
Keep your data private in Switzerland
Companies are increasingly regarding Switzerland as key to security and the protection of private data. Over 140 companies, many of them start-ups, have now established themselves in the EPFL’s Innovation Park in Lausanne. One of the principal reasons for locating to the Lake Geneva region, some maintain, is that Switzerland is one of the few […]
REGA requests investigation into Schumacher files
ZURICH Amid allegations by the French newspaper Dauphiné Liberé that REGA, the Swiss air rescue service, may be involved in the mis-appropriation of the medical files belonging to German Formula One racing driver Michael Schumacher, the Zurich-based non-profit has filed charges against ‘unknown’ persons and requested an official investigation. According to REGA spokesperson Sasha Hardegger, […]
Drones for relief
LAUSANNE Medair, a Swiss aid agency, is using innovative technology to help refugees. Ever since international relief agencies began becoming more involved with helping refugees and other crisis victims worldwide at the end of the 1970s, much of their response has been focused primarily on traditional food, shelter and medical aid. More recently, however, some […]
Tougher Swiss customs allowances – don’t get caught!
Swiss Customs has introduced new regulations for personal importation of food and other goods. This is vaguely good news for true carnivores and pet owners, but bad news for lovers of delicatessen. Whereas a person used to be able to bring 500 grams of fresh meat or fish and 3.5 kilos of other meat products […]
Swiss lead among small arms exporters
According to the latest worldwide Small Arms Survey, Switzerland ranks sixth among exporting countries, following the US, Germany, Austria, Italy and Brazil. The annual survey by Geneva’s Graduate Institute of International Studies said Swiss exports amounted to USD 191 million (CHF 172 million) compared to the US lead of USD 917 million. Survey authors said […]
Cross-border car fines: lousy information
Last week’s front page story by Pamela Taylor on the risk of massive fines for cross-border driving with Swiss or EU-licensed vehicles has produced more vehement reader interest than any Le News story so far. It also appears that such problems are nothing new, but have been a relatively unknown fact of life for years. Furthermore, […]
Swiss army has more support than it has had in 20 years
ZURICH Despite Swiss voters refusing to back the purchase of 22 Gripen fighter planes from Sweden in a national referendum on 18 May, a new study finds that the army has more support than it has had in 20 years. The concept of neutrality was also favoured by a record 96% of respondents, rising to […]
FIFA, headquartered in Zurich, should no longer be based in Switzerland
High-profile Geneva lawyer Charles Poncet thinks FIFA, the world football body headquartered in Zurich, should no longer be based in Switzerland because it is “doing considerable harm to the image of Switzerland, all the more so because its head, Sepp Blatter, is Swiss.” FIFA is under fire for alleged corruption in the choice of Qatar […]
First all-boys boarding school since 1970 to open in Gstaad next year
Switzerland is known for its boarding schools and now the first all-boys boarding school since 1970 will open in Gstaad next year. The Surval Gstaad school aims to educate international students from ages 13 to 19. It will open with just 25 students, with yearly fees expected to be around CHF 90,000. Headmaster and former […]
