Switzerland Today

Dear Swiss Abroad,

those of us on news duty have a tough time in summer. With most Swiss away on vacation there is hardly any news to write about. However, one item we can always count on is people falling off mountains. Not a week in summer passes with at least one hiking or mountaineering fatality. Sometimes there is even a drowning in some Swiss lake or river thrown in.

It is rather unpleasant to write about such deaths but they serve as a sober reminder that Switzerland can be a deadly playground even if the tourism promotion campaigns don’t come with a disclaimer in small print.

Do be careful if you’re visiting the motherland, especially if you’re hiking up a mountain.

¬Ti-Press

In the news: Covid vaccine shortages, electric car recycling, mountaineering death and invasive pests.

Switzerland is currently experiencing a summer wave of Covid-19. However, Swiss pharmacies and doctors’ surgeries are facing vaccine shortagesExternal link ever since the government ended its procurement responsibility since July 1.

Switzerland’s first large-scale electric car battery recycling facilityExternal link will soon become operational. The Librec plant in Biberist plans to recycle batteries from the end of October and will have a capacity to process 12,000 tons of car batteries per year.

An Italian mountaineer fell to his death on the Matterhorn on Monday. At around 3,650 metres above sea level, the alpinist was caught off guard by a rockfall during the ascent and fell 100m.

Switzerland is facing a migrant wave from the animal kingdom. Invasive species like Japanese beetle, tiger mosquito and Asian hornetExternal link are making life difficult for local humans and animals.

Nicola Vigilanti/Interpol via AP

Human trafficking: An invisible problem in prosperous Switzerland.

Today is the World Day Against Trafficking in PersonsExternal link and a good moment to reflect on the problem in Switzerland. Reported cases are rising with the majority involved being women and Africans.

Earlier this year, SWI swissinfo.ch published an in-depth investigation series on how young women from Albania are being trafficked to serve as nannies in middle-class Swiss households. Another example that highlights the problem is a recent landmark verdict by a Geneva court involving a billionaire of Indian origin and underpaid household help brought in from India.