On Saturday, a plane constructed in 1939 crashed in the Alps while flying from Locarno to Dübendorf, just outside Zurich, leaving all 17 passengers and 3 crew dead. The Junkers JU-52 aircraft, flown by the company Ju-Air, crashed at 2,540 metres on the side of Piz Segnas in the Swiss canton of Graubunden. The aircraft, […]
Prisoner in Bern requests assisted suicide
A 64-year-old in prison in the canton of Bern recently asked the organisation Exit for suicide assistance. It is rare for someone in a Swiss prison to make such a request, although Pierre Beck of Exit told RTS that a gravely ill prisoner in Geneva made a similar request last year. Exit is taking the […]
How mathematicians solved glacier death mystery after 86 years
On the 4th of March 1926 three brothers and a fourth man set out on a hike to Koncordiaplatz on Switzerland’s Aetsch glacier, the largest in the Alps. They never returned. When their bodies were discovered in 2012, scientists and mathematicians were able to work out what happened to the men 86 years earlier. The […]
Football – Switzerland goes through to next round
On 27 June 2018, Switzerland drew 2:2 to Costa Rica. This gave Switzerland a total of 5 points, placing it second in Group E, behind Brazil with 7 points. Brazil won 2:0 against Serbia in the other final Group E match. This sends Switzerland through to the next round. At 90 minutes, Switzerland was set […]
Football – Xhaka and Shaqiri cleared to play next world cup matches
Swiss footballers Granit Xhaka and Xherdan Shaqiri both received a warning and a fine of 10,000 Swiss francs for unsporting behaviour by FIFA’s disciplinary panel, according to numerous reports. Details of FIFA fines for Swiss trio who celebrated scoring v Serbia with hand gestures of Albania’s national eagle symbol. Stems from Xhaka & Shaqiri having […]
Football – star Swiss players face sideline after political gestures
Xherdan Shaqiri and Granit Xhaka, two star Swiss footballers, risk being sidelined. The two goal scorers in the pivotal win against Serbia last Friday, could find themselves banned from playing in the next two world cup matches. On Saturday, FIFA’s disciplinary committee announced that it had opened disciplinary proceedings against the players. In a statement […]
Football – Switzerland beats Serbia
On 22 June 2018, Switzerland won 2:1 against Serbia, following a 1:1 draw against Brazil last Sunday. Switzerland’s two goals were scored by Granit Xhaka and Xherdan Shaqiri. Both of these Swiss players are of Kosovan descent, so winning against Serbia, a country that refuses to recognize Kosovo, would have had an additional emotional dimension […]
Toilet tantrums – some Swiss toilets charge women more than men
Public toilets in some Swiss train stations charge 2 francs for a toilet and 1.5 francs for a urinal. The sit-down price is the same for both men and women, but given only men can use urinals, they have an option unavailable to women, to pay less for a number one. Why the price is […]
Reaction to Swiss newspaper article on Serena Williams’ tennis outfit goes viral
A reaction to an article in the print edition of the Swiss newspaper le Nouvelliste, which has a photograph of the tennis star in her latest tennis costume and the headline: Tennis : Serena Williams, a real lack of taste1, has gone viral on Facebook. Catsuit anyone? For all the moms out there who had […]
Switzerland’s highly contrasting divorce rates
Switzerland is a varied patchwork of languages and cultures. Divorce rates are no different varying by as much as 27.1% depending on the canton. Across Switzerland the rate was 41.5% in 2016, far higher than 32 years earlier in 1984 when it was 28.9% – a percentage increase of 44%. An average marriage in Switzerland […]
