Parliament approves the new version of electronic ID; stalking will become a criminal offence in Switzerland; and other news in our Friday roundup.
MPs speak out in favour of the proposed electronic identity
As the spring session of the parliament is drawing to an end today, a broad parliamentary alliance reaffirmed its support on Thursday for the new electronic identity law, which will be put to a referendum on September 28th.
They stressed that despite early opposition to this measure, the new e-ID is based on a “secure, state-owned, and pioneering infrastructure for Switzerland.”
The group, composed of elected officials from all parliamentary groups, emphasised the unanimous support for the project, which they said is of “national importance.”
READ ALSO: What you need to know about Switzerland’s controversial ‘electronic-ID’
Stalking will become a criminal offence in Switzerland
MPs have also decided on Thursday to include ‘obsessive harassment’ in the Criminal Code, which means perpetrators could be sentenced to up to three years in prison.
Until now, stalking was not considered a criminal offence in Switzerland, but a ‘civil’ one instead, so victims had limited means to pursue this type of harassment.
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International survey shows most Swiss like and trust their government
According to a new study carried out by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), 62 percent of respondents in Switzerland have a ‘strong ‘or ‘fairly strong’ level of trust in the Federal Council — a finding which contrasts sharply with the average of 39 percent for the other 37 member states.
Also in Switzerland, 81 percent of the population is satisfied with the work of the authorities, compared to the OECD average of 66 percent.
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Heatwaves are becoming more intense in Switzerland
If you feel that there are increasingly more scorching-hot summers in Switzerland, you are correct.
The country’s official weather service MeteoSchweiz reported on Thursday that over the past 50 years, “extreme temperatures have increased faster than the average temperatures.”
Today, the hottest day of the year is on average 3.4C warmer than it was 50 years ago, MeteoSchweiz said, adding that “ln lowland areas, the increase is often greater than at higher altitudes.”
Higher temperatures also spill over to winter months.
“Even particularly cold days today are much less icy than they were a few decades ago,” the weather service pointed out.
And that brings us to the weather forecast for the weekend: it will be mostly sunny and hot, with temperatures between 29C and 33C
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