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All of a sudden, everyone is talking about it: the 2019 Nobel Prize won by Michel Mayor and Didier Queloz has reminded the Swiss that the country’s astrophysicists are at the forefront of the hunt for...

In this episode of Inside Geneva,exteal link we go behind the scenes at the world's most important gathering on human rights, now underway in Geneva.It's the UN Human Rights Council, where...

Gredig wants to defend the interest of future generations in parliament.(Thomas Ke/swissinfo.ch) Switz...

Bo in 1979, Switzerland’s youngest canton still owes much of its political and economic fate to the federal system that houses it. Four decades ago in Delémont...

Filming the most-watched Swiss film of 2018, "Wolkenbruchs wunderliche Reise in die Arme einer Schickse" (Wolkenbruch's Wondrous Jo...

US President Donald Trumpat the WEF Congress Center on January 25, 2018 (© KEYSTONE / LAURENT GILLIERON) United States President Donald Trump will attend the aual meeting of the World Economi...

At 91, she's the oldest elected politician in Switzerland: Marlies Näf-Hofma from Arbon in canton Thurgau. And she's still going strong. Swiss Public Television, SRF looks back at an often controversial political career. (SRF/swissinfo.ch)She represents the Christian Democratic Partyin the Arbon city parliamentexteal link, where she campaigns on behalf of the elderly, in particular. But she has changed her political allegiances several times.For 20 years, Näf-Hofmaexteal link worked as a lawyer for the the right-wingconservativeSwiss People's Party on the cantonal council of Thurgau, and was party member for 50 years. After a brief stint with the Green Liberals, the lawyer joined the city pa...

The number of Eritreans applying for asylum at the Swiss border has fallen dramatically in recent years. In 2015 there were 8,523 new requests, whereas in 2017 there were just over 400. (RTS/swissinfo.ch)This is explained by the changing asylum situation in the Mediterranean and Italy, but also by a more restrictive Swiss reception policy.In 2012, Switzerland was the most popular country among Eritreans. It accounted for 37% of all asylum applications made by Eritreans on the European continent.Five years later, the situation looks quite different. Last year, Switzerland received only 12% of these requests. There were fewer applications than inGermany (36% of requests) and in Italy (23%).Acc...

'One is a lonely number': US president Donald Trump disembarking from Marine One in Davos.(Keystone) Almost every article published by swissinfo.ch containsa percentage, an age, an amount of money or some other figure.Here’s a round-up of the most interesting statistics to appear in the past week’s stories. Exteal Content Formatting classes Sunday190The estimated length in kilometres of the Hölloch cave network where eight men were trapped from Sunday to Friday. The cavers had plaed to spend only a day exploring what is one of Europe's largest natural underground systemswhen they were pied ins...

Hundreds of Christians protested in Delhi when a Catholic church was set on fire in 2014 just after the BJP party came to power(Keystone) Christian charities supported by foreign donors, including Swiss ones, are finding it increasingly difficult to operate in India due to administrative hurdles. They allege selective implementation of regulations and blame this on the rise of Hindu fundamentalism.“It is unfortunate, these days fundamentalism is growing in the country with our govement itself supporting the ‘Hindutva’ agenda of the communal forces,” said Indian bishop Robert Miranda in his speech(PDF) in the Swiss city of Fribourg in Oct...

Trump tried to reassure the WEF audience his "America first" agenda also benefits the rest of the world(Keystone) United States President Donald Trump told World Economic Forum (WEF) delegates on Friday that America is “open for business” under his leadership, while reassuring theaudience that"America Firstdoes not mean America alone”.In his highly-anticipated keynote speechexteal link, Trump said he had come to the Swiss mountain resort of Davos to deliver a simple message.“It has never been a better time to hire, to build, to invest and grow in the United States,” he declared. “America is open for business and we are competitive again....

Until 1992 Swiss expatriates wishing to take part in votes and elections in Switzerland had to retu to their country of origin to cast their ballot(Keystone) The right to take part in votes and elections for Swiss citizens living abroad was hard to come by. Critics regularly call for restrictions but that would be tantamount to curtailing fundamental rights, according to a democracy expert.The history of suffrage in Switzerland is complex. Women won full political rights only in 1971, and Swiss citizens living abroad had to wait until 1977.These Swiss were long considered second class citizens despite numerous attempts since 1874 to intr...

"If Switzerland caot say, 'under no circumstances will we use nuclear weapons', how can we expect North Korea to do that?"This is the question posed byBeatrice Fihn, executive director of the Nobel Peace Prize-wiingInteational Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weaponsexteal link(iCAN),speaking to swissinfo.ch from the WEF aual meeting in Davos. For Fihn, it's high time that Switzerland signed and ratified the United Nations'inteational nuclear disarmament treatyexteal link, adopted in July of last year and supported by some 50 nations - especially considering global nuclear threats that have caused theso-called Doomsday Clock tomovetwo minutes closer to midnight.exteal linkUnited States President ...

The Solar Impulse round the world flight is one example of how technology can be put to good use in the environment(Keystone) Transforming smoke-belching, river-polluting industrial dinosaurs into environmentally-friendly businesses is key to achieving the targets of the Paris climate accord, the World Economic Forum is hearing in Davos.“The good news is that this is the biggest business opportunity that we have ever seen, but it is only an opportunity if we are able to harvest it in time,” Christiana Figueres, who has switched from leading the United Nations' climate efforts to the NGO Mission 2020, told swissinfo.ch. “If we are too lat...

«Funky Claude» Nobs and Jean-Paul Marquis help fight the fire at Montreux Casino.Blame it on Zappa. Montreux 1971. (©Alain Bettex) Celebrating the 50th aiversary of the Montreux Jazz Festival, the National Museum of Zurich has opened a memorabilia exhibition mainly focused on its founder, the legendary Claude Nobs (1936-2013). With a carefully selected set of objects, videos and sounds, "Montreux. Jazz Since 1967" gives form to one of the richest immaterial treasures of humanity. Before organisinghis first humble festival in 1967, Nobs had begun meeting established and promising performers while working as an accountant in the tourism office of Montreux, then a sleepy holiday destinati...

Playing to a vanished audience: Basel's Valentin Stocker celebrates. (Keystone) As the Swiss national team goes from strength to strength in preparing for the World Cup in Russia, we dig into the numbers toexplore the struggles of the domestic league. On the surface, Swiss football is enjoying something of a purple patch. The national side ‘Die Nati’ (unfortunately pronounced ‘Nazi’) has qualified for the fourth World Cup ruing, and will fly to Russia in summer with what’s widely acknowledged as its finest generation in years. The team currently sits eighth in the FIFA world rankings. Meanwhile, domestic powerhouse FC Basel (wiers of the Swiss Super League for the past eight years) qua...

Flexible arrangements exist for Swiss workers (Keystone) More than 41 hours and 10 minutes? That’s the average in Switzerland for people with full-time jobs – relatively few compared with most developed countries. How did Switzerland get to this seemingly happy situation, and why are unions and business associations getting all worked up? After the General Strike of 1918exteal link (in which over 250,000 workers downed tools, resulting in the troops being sent in), a 48-hour week for workers on contracts was introduced in Switzerland in 1920. This story is part of our"Curious Switzerland"series where we report on questions from our readers about Swiss politics, culture or life in t...

Keeping a bucket of water close by is a necessary ritual when using real candles to light a tree.(Keystone) A bright ChristmasOn December 24, 1999, the year that swissinfo.ch came into existence, we reported that nine out of ten Swiss households put up a Christmas treeexteal link, with most preferring real candles rather than electric bulbs.In 2008 we wrote that candles not only illuminate trees in family homes but also in many churchesexteal link, even though open flames are baed in public places where more than 100 people can gather. The article stated that candles caused some 1,000 fires a year.Electric bulbs may save property an...

Protesters against the overtuing of net neutrality laws carry a sign to the Federal Communications Commission headquarters in Washington, DC earlier this month(Keystone) The decision “creates a world in which ‘you must be at least this tall to play’,” says Brian Trammell of the United States Federal Communications Commission’s vote last week to overtu regulations that kept inteet service providers from charging content providers money for better access to their networks.Since the US inteet is no longer required to be “neutral” – or a level playing field for all seeking to use and access it – Trammell foresees that large companies li...

... Print Reuse article (PatitucciPhoto) We started our day at the Turtma Hut with headlamps on, negotiated crevasses on both the Brunegg and Turtma glaciers, climbed 1700 meters to the summit of the Bisho, and finally skied some much deserved powder until re...