Switzerland

The Swiss have voted to add the 13th monthly payments for pensioners; a separate proposal to gradually raise the retirement age to 66 and beyond was clearly rejected in a separate nationwide vote

The Graubünden cantonal police have launched an investigation on suspicion of discrimination and incitement to hatred following the decision of equipment rental shops in Davos to stop renting to Jewish people

The man who took over 13 hostages on a Swiss regional train, before being shot dead by police, has been formally identified as a 32-years-old Iranian asylum seeker, who repeatedly tried to contact with a member of staff at an asylum centre

Online streaming services offered in Switzerland, such as Netflix, Disney+ and Amazon Prime Video, have bumped up their subscription fees in recent years, in some cases massively, data published by Moneyland.ch - an online price comparison - reveals

Basel-Mulhouse EuroAirport was closed again morning Sunday 19th due to a bomb threat, after a series of false bomb threats were made at it last October; the terminal was evacuated and flight operations were temporarily suspended

101 army weapons were reported missing last year, of which 95 were stolen, according to the newspaper Blick, including 88 assault rifles and 13 pistols; Swiss army guns disappear every year and 2023 figures are slightly higher than 2022

Around one million counterfeit Swiss watches were confiscated worldwide in 2023, says the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry despite a constant monitoring for fake "Swiss Made" on websites or socials and training for customs officers in many countries

In the midst of a strong COVID-19 wave, COVID cases overtake those of influenza, according to the Federal Office of Public Health; the wave, started in August, intensified at the beginning of November and the latest figures indicate a high level increase

Housing is becoming increasingly expensive in Switzerland: rents rose in almost all municipalities in the third quarter, with the strongest rise in the Zurich area

Almost 300 nurses leave their jobs every month because of difficult working conditions; the phenomenon is affecting young graduates, posing major challenges to Swiss hospitals, though - despite the difficulties - the profession still attracts vocations

The Federal Council ratified an amendment to the 1996 Protocol to the 1972 so-called London Protocol that would allow the export of CO2 for storage in sub-seabed geological formations from 2024, in order to meet net-zero emissions goals

The Swiss population seems to be in favour of placing a salary cap on managers: whereas in 2022 those who favoured this measure were 75% of those surveyed, today those in favour rise to 83%

Chairlifts, T-bar lifts and cable cars in Switzerland are being shut down for economic – and increasingly climate-related – reasons; according to a recent study by NGO Mountain Wilderness, 65 installations in Switzerland are now out of operation