Six big news stories from Switzerland you need to know about this week
Russia's cyberattacks on Swiss government websites and deadly explosion near Zurich are among the Swiss news The Local reported this week. You can catch up on everything in this weekly roundup.
Government will have to implement measures to cut the cost of health insurance
After Swiss voters rejected two initiatives to curb the price of obligatory health insurance premiums on June 9th, it is now up to the Federal Council and the cantons to step in with their own counter-proposals.
These measures provide for various ways to curb the cost of premiums, including earmarking a portion of public budgets for premium reductions for low-income families, as well as setting up a commission for monitoring costs and quality of health insurance.
Switzerland’s international schools are most expensive in Europe
Ninety-four schools in 10 Swiss cities are geared specifically to students whose parents are foreign nationals and want their children to get an international education that is recognised abroad more widely than a solely Swiss schooling is — especially outside the EU.
But according to a new survey carried out by International Schools Database, which researches and compares schools in cities across the world, the cost of tuition and other services at these schools (such as extra-curricular activities, for instance), is higher than in international institutions across Europe.
READ ALSO: Why are international schools in Switzerland the most expensive in Europe?
Russia launches cyberattacks on Swiss government websites
Just as Switzerland is preparing to launch a high-level summit on peace in Ukraine, its websites had been hit by a wave of cyberattacks.
Russia is suspected to be at the origin of these actions.
The government said, however, that these attacks were expected and are presumed to be in connection with the summit. They resulted in minor outages but the operation of the affected units was not significantly affected.
READ ALSO: Swiss government hit by cyberattack ahead of Ukraine peace summit
Deadly explosion in an underground garage
Two people died, and 11 were injured in a town near Zurich when powerful fireworks exploded in the underground car park of an apartment building.
The incident happened in Nussbaumen, in canton Aargau.
But while the cause of the blast is known, investigators are looking into how exactly the incident occurred.
READ ALSO: Two killed after explosions in Swiss underground garage
Buying property could become less expensive
Thanks to falling mortgage interest rates — due mostly to two key rate cuts still expected from the Swiss National Bank (SNB) — mortgages are now significantly lower than they were at this time in 2023.
Many are now below 2 percent and they are expected to drop further by the beginning of 2025.
This is already the case in the cantons of Bern, Solothurn, Aargau, Schaffhausen, and Thurgau, as well as in certain areas of Vaud, Fribourg, and Valais, where buying a home is also already cheaper than renting.
READ ALSO: Property prices in Switzerland set to become (slightly) more affordable
And also:
Have you caught football fever yet?
It is not dangerous to our health but its cure is straight-forward: you must watch the EURO 2024 games.
Whether indoors or outside, there are many opportunities to cheer on the Swiss ‘Nati’ which, depending on the linguistic region where you live could be ‘Hopp Schwiiz,’ ‘Hop Suisse,’ or ‘Hop Svizzera.’
READ ALSO: Where you can watch Euro 2024 in Switzerland
Comments
See Also
Government will have to implement measures to cut the cost of health insurance
After Swiss voters rejected two initiatives to curb the price of obligatory health insurance premiums on June 9th, it is now up to the Federal Council and the cantons to step in with their own counter-proposals.
These measures provide for various ways to curb the cost of premiums, including earmarking a portion of public budgets for premium reductions for low-income families, as well as setting up a commission for monitoring costs and quality of health insurance.
Switzerland’s international schools are most expensive in Europe
Ninety-four schools in 10 Swiss cities are geared specifically to students whose parents are foreign nationals and want their children to get an international education that is recognised abroad more widely than a solely Swiss schooling is — especially outside the EU.
But according to a new survey carried out by International Schools Database, which researches and compares schools in cities across the world, the cost of tuition and other services at these schools (such as extra-curricular activities, for instance), is higher than in international institutions across Europe.
READ ALSO: Why are international schools in Switzerland the most expensive in Europe?
Russia launches cyberattacks on Swiss government websites
Just as Switzerland is preparing to launch a high-level summit on peace in Ukraine, its websites had been hit by a wave of cyberattacks.
Russia is suspected to be at the origin of these actions.
The government said, however, that these attacks were expected and are presumed to be in connection with the summit. They resulted in minor outages but the operation of the affected units was not significantly affected.
READ ALSO: Swiss government hit by cyberattack ahead of Ukraine peace summit
Deadly explosion in an underground garage
Two people died, and 11 were injured in a town near Zurich when powerful fireworks exploded in the underground car park of an apartment building.
The incident happened in Nussbaumen, in canton Aargau.
But while the cause of the blast is known, investigators are looking into how exactly the incident occurred.
READ ALSO: Two killed after explosions in Swiss underground garage
Buying property could become less expensive
Thanks to falling mortgage interest rates — due mostly to two key rate cuts still expected from the Swiss National Bank (SNB) — mortgages are now significantly lower than they were at this time in 2023.
Many are now below 2 percent and they are expected to drop further by the beginning of 2025.
This is already the case in the cantons of Bern, Solothurn, Aargau, Schaffhausen, and Thurgau, as well as in certain areas of Vaud, Fribourg, and Valais, where buying a home is also already cheaper than renting.
READ ALSO: Property prices in Switzerland set to become (slightly) more affordable
And also:
Have you caught football fever yet?
It is not dangerous to our health but its cure is straight-forward: you must watch the EURO 2024 games.
Whether indoors or outside, there are many opportunities to cheer on the Swiss ‘Nati’ which, depending on the linguistic region where you live could be ‘Hopp Schwiiz,’ ‘Hop Suisse,’ or ‘Hop Svizzera.’
READ ALSO: Where you can watch Euro 2024 in Switzerland
Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.
Please log in here to leave a comment.