This week Swiss physicists Michel Mayor and Didier Queloz, who are based at the University of Geneva, were awarded the 2019 Nobel Prize in Physics for discovering the first exoplanet orbiting a sun-like star in 1995. Exoplanets, or extra solar planets, are planets beyond our solar system. The National Geographic video above explains their discovery […]
New 100 Swiss franc note coming soon
Recently, the Swiss National Bank (SNB) unveiled the new 100 franc banknote. The note’s design is inspired by Switzerland’s tradition of humanitarianism, represented on the note by water. The note remains blue but is much smaller than the existing one, making it easier to fit into wallets. The note is the last one in Switzerland’s ninth series […]
Muslim politician in Geneva quits party after voicing differences on gay marriage
Earlier this year, Sabine Tiguemounine, a parliamentarian from the Green Party, made news when she decided to sit in an area of Geneva’s parliament building open to the public, rather than in the main area where parliamentary members normally sit. Earlier in 2019, the canton introduced rules preventing public officials, including members of parliament, showing […]
Lights out – most of Geneva to switch off street lights in September
In addition to making it difficult to see stars, artificial light has a negative effect on the natural biological rhythm of plants and animals. It also affects human health and consumes energy, contributing to greenhouse gas emissions. In response to this the Natural History Museum of Geneva, the Geneva Astronomy Society and others came up […]
Lake Geneva region Switzerland’s jihadist hotspot
A recent study by the Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW) shows the geographic distribution of known radicalized jihadists across Switzerland. According to figures in the report the Lake Geneva region is a hotspot with significantly higher radicalisation rates than the rest of the country. The region’s overall rate of 2.7 radicalized inhabitants per 100,000 residents […]
Climate change affecting Switzerland at twice the global rate
This week, meteorological bigwigs from around the world meet in Geneva, the home of the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), to discuss meteorology and climate change. Among many things, the WMO is involved in measuring compliance with greenhouse gas emissions using measuring stations around the world. A report by WMO says that the four years from […]
Swiss vote could cause chaos at Swiss airports
A referendum aimed at rejecting changes to Swiss gun laws scheduled for 19 May 2019 could cause major disruption at airports in Zurich and Geneva if it succeeds, according to various newspapers. If the vote is successful it might eventually lead to the exclusion of Switzerland from the Schengen area. If this happened, immigration staff […]
60% of Swiss in favour of framework agreement with the EU, according to latest survey
In a recently published survey done by gfs.bern, 60% were in favour the institutional agreement between Switzerland and the EU. The most popular reason for supporting the agreement is the economic certainty voters think it would bring. However, support for the agreement was fairly luke warm. Only 17% were strongly in favour of it compared […]
How Swiss view foreigners
A survey published by Switzerland’s Federal Statistical Office in February 2019 shows how Swiss regard the role and attitude of foreigners towards Swiss institutions. Foreigners are considered by most (64%) as necessary for the proper functioning of the economy and needed to finance social security. It is also felt they do work others won’t do […]
Geneva Motor Show 2019 – the list of absent car makers
Car technology is transforming. So is the way people find out about new cars. Buyers are increasingly preferring the internet to find out about new models. In addition, presenting at car shows is expensive. Jaguar Land Rover, the maker of the Jaguar I-Pace, 2019’s Car of the Year, seems to have recognised these shifts and […]
