Author: switzerlandtimes.ch

The first Ukrainian refugees arrived in Switzerland in early 2022. Roughly two years on only 23% are working. This week, the federal government said it wants to get this percentage to 40% by the end of the year, reported SRF. The benefits of integrating refugees into the workforce are clear. But finding work is not always easy. Some Swiss cantons have acheived higher rates than others. The rates tend to follow rates of employment in the wider economy. The French- and Italian-speaking regions of Switzerland, which have lower rates of employment, also have lower rates of employment among Ukrainian refugees.…

This week, a group calling themselves the Pro Switzerland Group, announced it had collected 133,000 signatures, a number comfortably above the 100,000 needed to call a referendum, reported SRF. The group wants to ask voters whether they want the nation’s neutrality to be strictly set out in Switzerland’s constitution. The initiative calls for a constitutional definition of neutrality that prevents Switzerland joining any military or defence alliance or imposing sanctions on belligerent states. According to the initiative’s text, Switzerland would not be allowed to join any military or defence alliance unless Switzerland is directly attacked. Switzerland would not be able…

This week, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled the Swiss government violated the Human Rights Convention on climate change in a case brought by a climate organisation and four Swiss women claiming to be victims of insufficiently mitigated climate change. Eight years ago, a group of Swiss senior citizens, known as the Climate Seniors, filed a lawsuit against the federal government for failing to tackle climate change. On Tuesday, the ECHR in Strasbourg decided that the Swiss government’s lack action against climate change violated the human rights of the group of senior citizens who were suing. More specifically,…

Switzerland’s Federal Council, or cabinet, announced this week that it does not support two initiatives aimed at banning the importation into Switzerland of fois gras and fur products produced cruelly. In December 2023, the Swiss Animal Alliance submitted the two popular initiatives, one aimed at banning the import of foie gras and one aimed at banning the import of fur products produced cruelly. On 10 April 2024, the Federal Council decided to reject both initiatives. While the Federal Council said that it understood the concerns behind the initiatives it said it would prefer to deal differently with the concerns of…

Since western forces withdrew from Afghanistan life has become increasingly difficult many living there, especially women, who are subjected to a strict dress code and restrictive rules that prevent them from studying, working and travelling alone. These restrictions make it very difficult for women to travel. Asylum in Switzerland can only be sought on arrival, so the only way to legally do this is to obtain a humanitarian visa first allowing travel. However, a Swiss Federal Administrative Court took a decision on a case this week that makes it clear that Afghan women do not automatically qualify for the humanitarian…

By the end of 2023, Switzerland’s population had swelled by 145,000 to reach 8.96 million, according to figures published by the Federal Statistical Office (FSO) this week. The recent annual rise in numbers (+1.6%) was exceptionally high because of the roughly 50,000 Ukrainians who were counted as residents for the first time in 2023. The population grew in all Swiss cantons in 2023. However, the range of growth was significant: +0.9% to +2.4%. Cantons with the lowest population growth included Jura (+0.9%), Neuchâtel (+1.0%), Ticino (+1.0%) and Appenzell Innerrhoden (+1.0%). The canton with the highest rate of population growth was…

This week, the Federal Council recommended voters vote no in the referendum known as the stop compulsory vaccination initiative, scheduled for 9 June 2024, reported SRF. A key criticism of the initiative is its incompatability with law and challenges with enforcement. If it was accepted the consequences would be uncertain. Born from a fear that the population could be forced to have something injected, such as a vaccine or a microchip, the initiative aims to enshrine a fundamental right of individuals to be able to make decisions about their physical integrity without any repercusions, which is defined as professional or…

On Monday 1 April 2024 shortly after 2 pm, an avalanche at the ski resort of Zermatt killed three people and injured a fourth, reported Valais Police. The avalanche occurred in an off-piste area in the Riffelberg area on the Gornergrat side of the resort. The victims include a 15-year old American, a 25 year old Canadian woman and a 58 year old Swiss man. The fourth injured individual is a 20-year old Swiss man. An expert told SRF that he thinks the avalanche was triggered by a skier. On Monday, the avalanche risk was high. A video published on…

Airlines are under pressure to cut short flights between locations that are well connected by rail. The logic being that trains have lower emissions that planes. However, Swiss has no plans to cut flights between Switzerland’s two main cities, reported RTS. Dieter Vranckx, a manager at Swiss, told RTS that the company wants to optimise its network connections to French-speaking Switzerland. Airlines operate via hubs. Passengers from numerous small regional airports, such as Geneva, can be combined in larger airports like Zurich to improve the efficiency of onward flights. Trains could also bring people into hub airports, however, this presents…

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