Switzerland News in English - Expat Guide to Switzerland

February 17, 2019

Defence Minister: Swiss must be ready for global threats

Swiss Defence Minister Viola Amherd, who has been attending an international security conference in Munich, says Switzerland must be prepared for cyber and terror threats. She also expressed her concern about the cooling of transatlantic relations. Amherd, the first woman…

February 17, 2019

Prosecutors, Alpine traffic and ski trips

These are the stories from Switzerland we’ll be looking at during the week of February 17, 2019. Monday As part of our series profiling Swiss working in international roles, we talk to Laurence Boillat, a prosecutor whose work has involved…

February 17, 2019

Level crossings: one accident every three days

There is on average one accident every three days at level crossings, according to Federal Office of Transport statistics, which have been seen by the SonntagsZeitung. Since 2010, 1,539 incidents have been reported, the equivalent of 170 per year. Collisions…

February 17, 2019

Federal police investigate former PostBus chief

The Federal Office of Police says an investigation has been started against ex-PostBus boss Daniel Landolf and his former head of finances following a scandal over illegal subsidies. “Criminal administrative proceedings have been opened,” Federal Office of Police spokeswoman Cathy…

February 17, 2019

World remembers Bruno Ganz

The death of Swiss acting star Bruno Ganz has made the headlines across the globe. While the international press praises his unique acting talent, Swiss media have concentrated on Ganz as a person. “Swiss cinema has lost its biggest star…

February 17, 2019

Rethinking art in the context of global turmoil

How do you make art more inclusive and reflective of current political and social realities? This was the subject of the recent Verbier Art Summit, which gathered together leaders in the art world. “We look at current politics and we…

February 16, 2019

Historian casts doubt on Swiss reverence of direct democracy

Even if the symbolic value of citizen participation in decision-making should not be underestimated, the actual importance of direct democracy in Switzerland is often exaggerated, claims leading Swiss historian Thomas Maissen. An interview with the Paris-based academic, published in in…

February 16, 2019

Survey: one in two care workers want to quit

Almost 50% of staff working in care professions in Switzerland want to leave their jobs, according to report by trade union Unia. The reasons: poor working conditions, stress and lack of work-life balance. Unia said the results of survey of…

February 16, 2019

Aerial photography, ‘voice phishing’ and quotas for Brits

Almost every article published by swissinfo.ch contains a percentage, an age, an amount of money or some other figure. Here’s a round-up of some of the most interesting statistics to appear in the past week’s stories. Monday 158,000 Swiss researchers found that…