On 9 January 2018, the European Court of Human Rights decided against a decision by the Federal Tribunal, Switzerland’s highest court, and demanded the Swiss government pay 35,000 euros. The case relates to the publication of a speech leading up to the Swiss vote to ban the construction of minarets in 2009. On 5 November […]
Archives for January 2018
Avalanche cuts Zermatt off from outside world
Yesterday, avalanche dangers in parts of Valais, including Zermatt and Saas Fee reached 5, the highest level, before shifting back to 4, according to the WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research. Heavy snowfall strands 13,000 tourists in Swiss Alps https://t.co/tzllxV9FgJ #Zermatt pic.twitter.com/sIgeob96LV — AFP news agency (@AFP) January 9, 2018 Access in and out […]
Swiss Rail cuts train heating to save electricity
During January and February, Swiss Rail is experimenting with lower train temperatures in the hope of cutting its electricity bill. Dubbed the temperature reduction test project, the experiment will be run on the double-decker S-Bahn trains running from Zurich. During winter Swiss Rail heats carriages to 22 degrees. The project, run with Lucerne University, will alternate […]
Life satisfaction in Switzerland by age, money and household makeup
A recent report by Switzerland’s Federal Statistics Office shows how life satisfaction varies based on life situation. Life satisfaction in Switzerland, measured on a scale of zero to 10, sits just below 8 across all age groups. It peaks at an age of 16-17 at around 8.7. Then it’s all down hill to around 7.8 […]
My Swiss story – a volunteer from Texas in Montreux
Everyone has a story. My Swiss Story is a series that looks at lives in Switzerland. Lynn Denton is a volunteer. She volunteers for Be My Guide, showing visitors around her adopted home of Montreux, she volunteers for the Association pour le français à Clarens to help people with their French, she volunteers annually for Carton […]
FILM: Darkest hour – Churchill, Dunkirk, Gary Oldman…4 stars
5 January 2018. DARKEST HOUR (Les Heures Sombres) **** Churchill, Dunkirk, Gary Oldman…quite a combination, and it all comes out brilliantly, thanks to tight direction from Joe Wright (“Pride and Prejudice”, “Atonement”), and of course a historical event that surpasses any fiction. Oldman is unrecognisable as he becomes Churchill at one of the most difficult […]
Why storm Eleanor had two names
The area of low pressure that became a storm was first spotted in early December by experts at the Metrological Institute at the University of Berlin who named it Burglind. The institute has been naming storms since 1954. However, the UK Met Office and Met Eireann, its Irish counterpart, have a pre-agreed list of storm names. Eleanor was next […]
How storm Eleanor was made
Weather expert Christophe Salamin from Swiss Meteo spoke to Swiss broadcaster RTS about storm Eleanor (Burglind in German). He says these storms are created at high altitude. The principle driver is the temperature difference between masses of air at the north pole and the tropics, the same force driving the jet stream, a high altitude […]
Storm Eleanor leaves trail of destruction across Switzerland
As high winds from storm Eleanor (Burglind in German) blew across Europe and through Switzerland, flights were disrupted, trucks overturned, trees blown over, buildings damaged and a train derailed. Here are some images from Twitter. Après Eleanor, la Suisse fait ses comptes https://t.co/TbJARJH1F4 #Suisse — Tribune de Genève (@tdgch) January 4, 2018 The image above […]
Switzerland’s new president animates the executive
Every year, Switzerland gets a new president. It also gets a new photograph of its seven-member executive, known as the wise seven (sept sages) in French. This year incoming president Alain Berset has broken with photographic tradition and come up with an animated image, which presents things typically Swiss. The moving background designed by two […]