Today in Switzerland: A roundup of the latest news on Thursday
No passports for Swiss-born foreigners, and chaos continues after air traffic glitch: find out what's going on on Thursday in Switzerland with The Local's short roundup of the news.
Young foreigners born in Switzerland will not be Swiss
The National Council rejected on Wednesday a parliamentary initiative to allow children born in Switzerland to foreign parents to become Swiss from the age of 18.
However, while the proposal had the unanimous backing of left-wing parties, their right-wing counterparts argued that “the mere fact of being born in Switzerland and having grown up here is not always a sufficient to guarantee of integration”.
Unlike many other countries like the United States or Canada, being born in Switzerland doesn’t automatically mean the person is Swiss.
If their parents were born abroad and still hold foreign passports, a person will not obtain Swiss citizenship by birth.
READ MORE: Will Swiss-born foreigners be granted automatic citizenship?
Air traffic control failure: “Several days to return to normal”
While a computer glitch that grounded all flights at Zurich and Geneva airports for several hours on Wednesday had been resolved, “after such chaos, it will take days to get back to normal”, according to MP Thomas Hurter, who is also an aviation expert.
That’s because “airlines must repatriate their planes and cabin crews, and take care of the [stranded] passengers”.
While he said a cyberattack is probably not behind the failure — the cause of which is still under investigation — the fact that “such an important system suddenly doesn’t work shows we are ultimately very fragile”.
READ MORE: Why did Swiss air traffic control fail and what’s ahead for passengers?
Government office to examine increases in petrol and diesel prices
Switzerland’s official “Price Monitor” Stefan Meierhans will look into the “massive increase” in petrol and diesel prices in Switzerland in recent months, focusing particularly on profits of the energy sector.
“There are figures showing that refineries are cashing in record margins”, he told public broadcaster RTS, adding that a survey showed that Swiss and Norwegian petrol stations had the highest gross margins in Europe.
READ MORE: Switzerland faces 20 percent increase in electricity costs
Switzerland approves Paxlovid for COVID-19 patients
Swissmedic regulatory body has granted temporary authorisation for the period of two years to Paxlovid, a medication to be used by coronavirus patients who don’t require supplemental oxygen or hospitalisation but are at increased risk of developing a severe form of the disease.
"Treatment should be implemented as soon as possible after diagnosis and within five days of onset of symptoms. Treatment lasts for five days", Swissmedic said, adding that “no specific patient data on efficacy against the Omicron variant was submitted" by the drug manufacturer, Pfizer.
If you have any questions about life in Switzerland, ideas for articles or news tips for The Local, please get in touch with us at [email protected]
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Young foreigners born in Switzerland will not be Swiss
The National Council rejected on Wednesday a parliamentary initiative to allow children born in Switzerland to foreign parents to become Swiss from the age of 18.
However, while the proposal had the unanimous backing of left-wing parties, their right-wing counterparts argued that “the mere fact of being born in Switzerland and having grown up here is not always a sufficient to guarantee of integration”.
Unlike many other countries like the United States or Canada, being born in Switzerland doesn’t automatically mean the person is Swiss.
If their parents were born abroad and still hold foreign passports, a person will not obtain Swiss citizenship by birth.
READ MORE: Will Swiss-born foreigners be granted automatic citizenship?
Air traffic control failure: “Several days to return to normal”
While a computer glitch that grounded all flights at Zurich and Geneva airports for several hours on Wednesday had been resolved, “after such chaos, it will take days to get back to normal”, according to MP Thomas Hurter, who is also an aviation expert.
That’s because “airlines must repatriate their planes and cabin crews, and take care of the [stranded] passengers”.
While he said a cyberattack is probably not behind the failure — the cause of which is still under investigation — the fact that “such an important system suddenly doesn’t work shows we are ultimately very fragile”.
READ MORE: Why did Swiss air traffic control fail and what’s ahead for passengers?
Government office to examine increases in petrol and diesel prices
Switzerland’s official “Price Monitor” Stefan Meierhans will look into the “massive increase” in petrol and diesel prices in Switzerland in recent months, focusing particularly on profits of the energy sector.
“There are figures showing that refineries are cashing in record margins”, he told public broadcaster RTS, adding that a survey showed that Swiss and Norwegian petrol stations had the highest gross margins in Europe.
READ MORE: Switzerland faces 20 percent increase in electricity costs
Switzerland approves Paxlovid for COVID-19 patients
Swissmedic regulatory body has granted temporary authorisation for the period of two years to Paxlovid, a medication to be used by coronavirus patients who don’t require supplemental oxygen or hospitalisation but are at increased risk of developing a severe form of the disease.
"Treatment should be implemented as soon as possible after diagnosis and within five days of onset of symptoms. Treatment lasts for five days", Swissmedic said, adding that “no specific patient data on efficacy against the Omicron variant was submitted" by the drug manufacturer, Pfizer.
If you have any questions about life in Switzerland, ideas for articles or news tips for The Local, please get in touch with us at [email protected]
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