In a freak accident 14 youths were struck by lightning last night. The boys were taking part in a football match in St Gallen between FC Abtwil and FC Münsterling around 20:40, when a bolt of lightning struck one of the light masts. After stricking the mast the lighting spread onto the playing field and then into the players. The children had to be rushed to hospital for treatment. During the same storm a house was struck by lightning and caught fire.
The police stepped in to clear the Bundesplatz in Bern of all the climate activists last night. Putting an end to their climate strike action after 48 hours. The activists had set up camp in front of the parliament on Monday morning and had planned to stay there all week in protest of what they perceive as the government’s lack of interest in fighting climate change. Yesterday the first conflict occured when the weekly market was not able to be fully set up as the tents of the occupants blocked the square. According to the police the clean-up took place quite peacefully .
Currently parliament is looking into updating the inheritance laws in the country as they have not been changed in over 100 years. One motion which was not approved was to give the right to life partners to receive a pension upon the death of their partner. This, in order to prevent them from needing social help from the government. The condition would have been that they lived together for at least 5 years. This motion was, narrowly, rejected.
The new rules aim to give the pensioner more freedom as to what happens with their money. Meaning that the children’s part of the inheritance goes from 3/4 to 1/2, parents receive no inheritance, and should a divorce procedure be under way at the time of death then the spouse would not receive anything.
