Swisscom will change its subscription model, increase prices

From July 24th, Switzerland’s largest telecom will abandon its inOne Home package, which includes the telephone, Internet and television.

It will be replaced by a new service called Basic Home. But as it offers a high speed internet of 50 Mbps instead of the current 10 Mbps, the cost of the subscription will be higher as well: it will increase from 50 francs a month right now to 59.90 francs. 
 
The transition to the new package will be done automatically, so anyone who doesn’t want to pay higher subscription price should notify Swisscom as soon as possible.

United Nations criticises Switzerland’s liberal prostitution law

Reem Alsalem, the UN’s special rapporteur on violence against women and girls, will present her annual report to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva today.

In it, she is particularly critical of Switzerland’s stance on prostitution, which is not only legal in the country, but also treated like any other service industry.

Alsalem said this approach has led to a “significant increase in foreign women” engaged in prostitution in the country, calling Switzerland a “pimp state” which benefits from taxes levied on sex workers and brothels.

In response, PROCORE, the national network for the rights of sex workers, countered that prostitution, as it is practiced in Switzerland, cannot be equated with violence and coercion.

READ ALSO: Five things that reveal Switzerland’s unique attitude to prostitution

Part of Zurich left without hot water

Due to a major pipe damage, there was no hot water in Zurich’s Höngg district on Friday morning, and the whole area was disconnected from the heating network.

Though municipal authorities said that measures to repair the damage “were underway at full speed,” residents were told not to expect to have their hot water supply restored until Monday at the earliest.

TGV train link between Lausanne and Paris ‘celebrates’ its 40th anniversary

The high-speed rail service from Paris Gare de Lyon to Lausanne became the TGV’s first destination outside the French territory in 1984.

Initially wholly owned by France’s SNCF, Swiss national rail company, SBB, now owns a 26-percent share in TGV ‘Lyria’

Seven trains circulate every day in each direction, with travel time of just over 3.5 hours. 
 
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