Author: switzerlandtimes.ch

This week, Switzerland’s Office of the Attorney General (OAG) announced it had fined and closed its criminal investigation against the mining company Glencore International AG. After a four year investigation, OAG closed its criminal investigation against the Swiss-based company and imposed a CHF 2 million fine for failing to take all necessary and reasonable organisational measures with regard to the bribery of foreign public officials in connection with the acquisition of stakes in two mining companies in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in 2011. The summary penalty order issued on 5 August 2024 holds Glencore criminally liable for failing…

In March 2024, 58% of voters voted in favour of paying an additional 13th month of state pension. That triggered a fierce debate on how to fund it. This week, Switzerland’s Federal Council said it planned to fund the increase with higher VAT with no rise in salary taxes. The news was delivered by Elisabeth Baume-Schneide, Switzerland’s minister of internal affairs, a role that covers pensions. The Federal Council’s argument for funding higher pensions entirely with a VAT increase is centred on ensuring that everyone, including pensioners contribute to their funding rather than increasing the burden more exclusively on those…

This week, a group in the Lake Geneva region against the federal government’s plan to expand key stretches of the A1 motorway in Switzerland, launched its campaign against the idea ahead of a vote on 24 November, reported RTS. The federal government recently announced a plan to add lanes to six stretches of Switzerland’s A1 motorway. Whenever the government accepts a plan a vote can be called if 50,000 signatures are collected. This happened in response to a federal government plan to expand sections of the nation’s main trunk route. The resulting referendum will be held on 24 November 2024.…

Last Sunday, a new temperature record was broken in Bisaca in the canton of Ticino. At 3:20 pm on 11 August 2024 the temperature reached an annual high of 36.3 degrees Celsius, the highest temperature ever recorded in the town, reported RTS. Temperatures reached uncomfortable levels in other parts of Switzerland too, hitting 35 degrees in parts of the canton of Valais. Recent high air temperatures are associated with high water temperatures. The mediterranean sea is unusually warm, as are Switzerland’s lakes. On 11 August 2024, the average temperature in the mediterranean reached 28.16 degrees, the highest recorded since measuring…

This week, an error was found in the government’s calculation of the future hole in state pension funding. While the error, which overstates the shortfall by CHF 4 billion, is substantial, it does not change the trend, according to Stéphane Rossini, head of the Federal Statistical Office (FSO), reported RTS. The CHF 4 billion error is highly embarrassing for the government, which has used the figures to argue in favour of pension reform, including a successful referendum to lift the state retirement age for women to 65 in line with that of men. Since the mistake was discovered, the Green…

Thirty years ago, Switzerland introduced rules making it compulsory to wear seatbelts in any seat where seatbelts are fitted. This made wearing seatbelts in rear seats compulsory for the first time, reported RTS. Adding a requirement to wear rear seatbelts was met with little resistance. However, in 1980 when a referendum was run on whether to make wearing seat belts compulsory in Switzerland, 48.4% of voters were against the idea. And in July 1981, when the rules were introduced, compliance with the new law was comparatively low when compared to today. On 30 November 1980, 51.6% of the nation voted…

Switzerland’s economy grew slightly more than expected in the second quarter of 2024, reported SRF. Between April and June 2024, Gross domestic product (GDP) rose by 0.5%. A survey of economists had expected growth for the quarter to be between 0.2% and 0.4%. The biggest driver of growth during the quarter came from industry, which grew at a faster rate than the service economy. Second quarter growth (+0.5%) outstripped growth in the first quarter of 2024 (+0.3%) by 0.2 percentage points. The Q2 growth figures are not definitive. Switzerland’s State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) provides early flash estimates, which…

A popular criticism of electric cars is the toxic battery waste they create. In response to this criticism and for the benefit of the environment a new factory in the Swiss town of Biberist in the canton of Solothurn is aiming to recycle 97% of the components of a range of car batteries, reported SRF. The company Librec AG, aims to eventually process 10,000 tons of used batteries a year. It will recycle batteries from a range of vehicles. 10,000 tons is the forecasted annual amount of car battery waste in Switzerland by 2035. As a first step the company…

Around 600 hiking trails covering 1,300 km of path have been closed across Switzerland after storm damage, reported the organisation Suisse Rando. Due to the weather conditions, there are currently many Swiss hiking trails that have been damaged and have been closed or diverted, said the organisation. The most affected regions include Goms, Binntal, Saas Valley, Zermatt, Val d’Anniviers, Misox, Maggia Valley, Val Bavona, Val Lavizzara and Valle di Peccia, in the Leventina and in the Bedretto Valley. Areas affected by closures have been generally been cordoned off by cantonal hiking trail organisations. Closures can be viewed at the online…

From 1 August 2024, Switzerland will begin contributing to a fund supporting the protection of the borders of the Schengen zone, a group of European nations with combined land borders of 8,000 km and sea borders of 43,000 km, reported RTS. A total of CHF 300 million has been budgeted to cover the period between 2021 and 2027. The money is a contribution to strengthening external border protection of the Schengen zone and to prevent illegal entry, said the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM). The sum is calculated based on national GDP. During the same period, Switzerland is expected to…