Switzerland News in English - Expat Guide to Switzerland

June 24, 2019

Insights into people’s knowledge about vaccination

Medical staff plays a key role in advising people in Switzerland about vaccinations, according to new studies commissioned by the government. Doctors and pharmacists are considered the most reliable sources of information, the Federal Health Office said. Researchers also found…

June 24, 2019

Voters to have final say on arms export ban

Campaigners for a ban on Swiss arms exports have handed in the necessary number of signatures to force a nationwide vote on the issue. A decision by the government a year ago to ease restrictions on weapons sales to countries…

June 24, 2019

What ‘dangerously hot’ means in Switzerland

High temperatures expected across the nation this week have caused MeteoSwiss to issue the highest heatwave warning since 2015. How hot is considered a health hazard in Switzerland? Remarkably hot weather is forecast from Tuesday to Thursday, including record-breaking temperatures…

June 24, 2019

Swiss poised to retaliate against EU stock market access

The Swiss finance ministry has reaffirmed that it is ready to ban stock exchanges in the European Union from trading Swiss shares – in a worsening row with Brussels over the future of bilateral relations. “In the event of stock…

June 24, 2019

Switzerland to return millions in laundered funds to Uzbekistan

The Office of the Attorney General said on Monday it would return CHF130 million ($133 million) after securing a conviction in its six-year investigation into allegations of money laundering involving the eldest daughter of the former Uzbek president, Islam Karimov….

June 24, 2019

Nearly 70,000 gymnasts perform at rare event

The 76th edition of the Federal Gymnastics Festival in Aarau, northern Switzerland, ended on Sunday with a colourful closing ceremony. The organising committee spoke of a successful festival with 69,000 gymnasts and around 200,000 visitors. At the two-hour closing ceremony,…

June 24, 2019

Swiss gamblers to lose access to websites of foreign casinos

The provision of the new Swiss gambling law which restricts online gambling to a few authorised Swiss-based casinos comes into effect on July 1. Last June 73% of voters approved the overhaul of the country’s gambling law despite claims by opponents of government censorship. The law came into effect in…

June 24, 2019

Increase in deportation rate of foreign offenders

In 2018, Swiss courts issued expulsion orders for 71% of all convictions that qualified for mandatory expulsion. The number of foreigners convicted of a crime who received expulsion orders was 1,702, according to information released by the Federal Statistical Office on…

June 24, 2019

How Vevey organises its once-in-a-lifetime winegrowers’ festival

Throwing the Fête des Vignerons, a traditional winegrowers’ festival held roughly every 20 years in the lakeside town of Vevey, is no small endeavour. The colourful local pageant, set to attract a million visitors, has grown into a Rio carnival-scale operation…