Swiss polytechnic institutes are vetting and rejecting dozens of foreign students; right-wing party is becoming more popular among Swiss voters; and more news in our Monday roundup.
Top Swiss universities reject dozens of foreign students
The Department of Defence is investing more than ever in the research and development of new military technologies at two federal polytechnic institutes – in Zurich (ETH) and Lausanne (EPFL).
As a result, both have tightened their security screening of international students in order to prevent espionage and a drain of knowledge with military potential.
So far, the ETH alone has already rejected 80 foreign applications for this very reason – primarily from China, Iran, Russia, and Pakistan.
Right-wing party becoming more popular, a new survey reveals
According to a new analysis carried out by public broadcaster SSR, 30 percent of people in Switzerland would vote for the populist Swiss People’s Party (SVP) in the next parliamentary election in 2027.
The SVP is the leading party in almost all socio-demographic categories, except among people with the highest level of education.
All the other major parties lag far behind the SVP: Social Democrats are favoured by 18.8 percent of voters, while the Centre (13.6 percent) and the PLR (13.3 percent) are on equal footing.
If the situation is still the same in 2027, the right-wingers may get a third seat on the seven-memeber Federal Council, becoming a majority party in Switzerland’s politics.
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SBB is testing a cashless train bistro
Starting today, the test operation of ‘Cashless Payment in SBB Restaurants’ will begin on the IC51 line between Biel and Basel.
Customers will no longer be able to pay with cash when ordering food or drinks; instead, only credit and debit cards, as well as mobile payments, will be accepted.
Another new development is that from October 23rd, Reka checks will no longer be accepted either, though it will be possible to continue paying with Reka card.
According to the SBB, the goal of this cashless system is to optimise internal processes.
With these measures, the company expects shorter waiting times, quicker service, and improved hygiene.
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Municipality collects 100,000 francs in fines per day
The town of Birsfelden in Basel-Country found a way to beef up its municipal coffers: it introduced an automatic passage control system, which has led to a real windfall.
Since September, driving bans have been in effect on certain neighbourhood streets in Birsfelden.
The system detects vehicles that drive through the neighbourhood streets for a short time in order to avoid the traffic jam on the highway.
Cameras installed at the community’s entrance and exit, record license plates of drivers who leave the area within 15 minutes of arriving – a sign that they merely want to bypass the bottlenecks on the motorway and create congestion in Birsfelden instead.
Over 1,000 violations are recorded daily – totalling totals more than 100,000 francs each day – and the municipality can barely keep up with issuing the fines.
“We have clearly signaled the driving bans. We cannot explain why they are so frequently violated,” said local official Desirée Jaun.
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