Switzerland News in English - Expat Guide to Switzerland

April 19, 2019

Good Friday, bad Gotthard traffic

Long queues have been reported at the Gotthard tunnel in central Switzerland as holidaymakers head south for the Easter break. Queues at the northern end of the tunnel had stretched back 15 kilometres, with an almost three-hour wait at crunch…

April 19, 2019

Swiss media consider Mueller report fallout

United States President Donald Trump feels exonerated by the Mueller report, but major Swiss newspapers are not so sure. The 448-page redacted document came after a 22-month enquiry by US Special Counsel Robert Mueller, who was appointed to investigate alleged Russian…

April 19, 2019

Rail bosses worried over train punctuality

The national railway operator, Swiss Federal Railways, has set up a taskforce to look into train punctuality – currently 90.1% – after the rate slipped slightly last year. News of the taskforce was broken by CH-Media group and confirmed by the Federal Railways…

April 19, 2019

Thousands watch historic Easter Mendrisio processions

Crowds have been out in force to watch the Easter processions in Mendrisio in the southern canton of Ticino – a practice that has been nominated for inclusion on the UNESCO list of intangible cultural heritage. Several thousand people watched…

April 19, 2019

The medieval Easter ceremony where women weep silently

An unusual, almost disturbing spectacle takes place every Good Friday in Romont, a small medieval town in the Swiss canton of Fribourg. Women dressed entirely in black mourn the death of Christ. Modern Western theatre has its origins in the Medieval…

April 18, 2019

Climate picnic blocks Lausanne bridge

Around 300 people have prevented traffic from crossing one of Lausanne’s busiest bridges. Activists from the Extinction Rebellion movement were demonstrating on Thursday against environmental destruction. For one hour from 12.15pm no motorised vehicle could cross the Grand-Pont as students…

April 18, 2019

Swiss call for political solution to Libya fighting

The Swiss government has urged all parties in the military conflict in Libya to agree to a truce that would allow humanitarian operations to proceed. “A peaceful transition in Libya can only be achieved through dialogue and an inclusive political…

April 18, 2019

The Swiss are the world’s fastest marathon runners

The largest study of race results has revealed that Swiss efficiency stretches to marathon running as well, with an average finishing time of 3h50m37s. Statistician Jens Jakob Andersen and mathematician Vania Nikolova analysed over 19 million marathon finishing times from…

April 18, 2019

What to do with the children of Islamic State?

Pictures of suffering children invariably invoke our sympathy, our outrage, and our desire to do something to save these poor young ones caught up in a situation they had no hand in, and often barely understand. In the 1980s the…