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Border guards unlock a crossing between Switzerland and France Keystone / Martial Trezzini On June 15 Switzerland re-opened its borders with many other European states after improvements t...

Seven Swiss cities feature in the Expat City Ranking 2019exteal link by InterNations. They all come in the top 20 in the world for quality of life, receiving mostly high marks for safety, local tran...

Meat may be a delicious staple for most Swiss but it is not so good for the climate.(Keystone) The latest UN climate re...

Public broadcasting models around the world vary greatly in terms of funding models and govement influence.(swissinfo.ch) On March 4, Switzerland will decide on the future of its public service radio and TV. If voters tu out in favour of abolishing the licence fees that finance public broadcasters, the Swiss media scene will change drastically. What’s the situation for public media around the world?SWI swissinfo.ch tapped its inteational network to find out what kinds of media systems exist elsewhere and how they are maintained.Switzerland’s federal govement should stay out of the media altogether. So say those promoting the "No Billag" ...

'One is a lonely number': US president Donald Trump disembarking from Marine One in Davos.(Keystone) African delegates are plaing to boycott United States President Donald Trump’s closing speech at the World Economic Forum’s flagship aual meeting in Davos on Friday. This follows leaks that he called African countries “shitholes” in a White House meeting on immigration this month.Trump arrivesin Davos on Thursday where he will concentrate on boosting trade and business links between the US and other countries as part of his “America First” agenda, according to members of his cabinet who briefed the press. Trump will also meet Swiss Presid...

For many in the US and Switzerland, cost conces and lack of understanding of the benefits of regular screenings and lifestyle changes are barriers to preventive medicine. (Keystone) Preventing or addressing an early-stage medical condition is a big piece of the health care puzzle. But the practice is sporadic in both the US and Switzerland. In our previous articles on American and Swiss health care, much of the focus has been on the costs, consequences, and construction of health care delivery systems in the US and Switzerland. That’s to say, we’ve mostly worried about the particulars of a patient getting treatment for conditions. But health care is not just provided once a condition i...

A section of the cathedral's dome showing Gallus taming a wood-bringing bear. (Keystone) After the fall of the Roman Empire, Europe was plunged into the Dark Ages. It might have fallen further had it not been for the epic efforts of a band of Irish monks. Take a walk through the vast courtyard of St Gallen Abbey. The stone church towers stretch 68 metres into the sky, clichés of clanging bells sound out, a scent of hot waffle drifts from an old cafe. A few bemused Asian tourists stroll around. It’s difficult to imagine things were ever otherwise. But the history of the Abbey—and of founding father Gallus—is one of constant change. Enzo Farinelli, a Dublin-based Italian scholar, says it...

... Print comment Reuse article (PatitucciPhoto) We spent the summer of 2017 primarily doing one thing;ruing trails in the Swiss Alps. We’d taken on a trail ruing book project, a guide to the best trail runs of the Swiss Alps due out in spring 2018.One of the hi...

... Print Reuse article See in other languages: 8 See in other languages: 8 Languages: 8 More than 80% of the foreign population living in Switzerland is from another European country. Immigration from Germany, Italy and, to a lesser ...

Swiss parliamentarian Isabelle Chevalley at theMbeubeuss waste dump in the Senegalese capital Dakar(Courtesy of Isabelle Chevalley) She believes helping Africans to recycle waste, create jobs and clean up the environment can help African countries lea from the mistakes of the West and “go faster” along the path to sustainable development.“I need to see what they are putting there in order to propose a solution,” she says. Obviously, that sometimes causes a stir, like in Liberia where the govement insisted on giving her bodyguards and a nice car with smoked-glass windows. “You should have seen the face of the rubbish dump direct...

What would Switzerland be without its stuing mountains? In this episode Diccon Bewes gives a brief introduction to the Swiss Alps. (Diccon Bewes for swissinfo.ch) subscription form Form for signing up for free newsletter. Sign up for our free newsletter and get the top stories delivered to your inbox. ...

What would Switzerland be without its stuing mountains? In this episode Diccon Bewes gives a brief introduction to the Swiss Alps. (Diccon Bewes for swissinfo.ch) subscription form Form for signing up for free newsletter. Sign up for our free newsletter and get the top stories delivered to your inbox. ...

Swiss Photography Foundation, Winterthur Dominic Nahr “Africa doesn’t exist.” This sentence is posted next to images exhibited by Swiss photographer Dominic Nahr. It is a quotation from joualist Georg Brunold’s reports from Africa – and relevant to Nahr’s work. His photographic oeuvre is now on show at the Swiss Photography Foundation in Winterthur. The exhibition’s title is “Blind Spots”. The dark spots are South Sudan, Somalia, Mali and theDemocratic Republic of the Congo: four African states that can’t provide inhabitants with basic necessities and security. Four countrie...

In many places in Switzerland, the traditional post office is just a memory (Keystone) The Swiss Post’s aouncement to close 600 traditional post offices follows a trend across Europe, although there are marked differences between countries. In detailed presentations released on Wednesday, Swiss Post said it “envisages a network of 800 to 900 traditional post offices by 2020”, down from the current 1,400. The exact number will depend on the outcome of discussions held with towns and cities and the nation’s 26 cantons. “It will avoid closing post offices without replacing them and will provide alteative solutions in all cases,” said an online statement. “By 2020, around 1,200 employees cou...

The free movement of people accord is in the line of fire as Europe battles with its migration crisis. But which European countries have more people leaving than arriving? We took a look at the data. It's over 14 years since the free movement of people accordbetween Switzerland and the European Union came into force. Thanks to this deal, Swiss and EU citizens can study, work and retire in any EU country and in the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) zone of Norway, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Iceland. The free movement of people is one the EU's four basic rights guaranteed by the accrord, along with that of goods, finance and services. Now Switzerland and the UK are both grap...

Many agree that Switzerland should transition to green energy, but opinions differ as to where the plants producing renewable energy should be built. (SRF/swissinfo.ch/cp) At the begiing of June, one chamber of parliament – the Senate – deleted a passage of Switzerland’s energy strategy, and in so doing, put renewable energy on a par with protected landscapes. Raimund Rodewald, head of the Swiss Foundation for Landscape Conservation, says the amendment has endangered untouched areas of the countryside since it could lead to the indiscriminate building of wind parks and hydroelectric plants in areas that should be off-limits. At the same time, he fears that this will pave the way for other in...

In Switzerland there are around 220 police officers per 100,000 inhabitants (Keystone) After an attack on a regional train in canton St Gallen, calls have multiplied to boost security. The system could possibly be improved, some people admit, pointing out that the number of police officers in Switzerland is proportionately lower than that in neighbouring countries. Is this statement true or false? Increase the number of railway police (currently 300), check people at station entrances, reintroduce conductors on regional trains, introduce a wide range of technology: after the attack on Saturday there is no shortage of ideas on how to increase security. Pierre Maudet, the Geneva councillor...

M-Pesa has proved a big hit in Kenya, but there is still plenty of scope for expansion (Bloomberg) Will a financial revolution follow the Jasmine uprising in Tunisia? A Swiss start-up, Monetas, is proposing just that, saying a new mobile phone payment technology will transform people’s lives there. Mobile payments are nothing new; more than half of Kenya’s population currently uses the M-Pesa service, for instance. But Monetas claims to have gone a step further by utilising technology akin to blockchain to dramatically reduce costs and enable cross-border transactions. The Tunisian National Post invited the Zug-based firm to pilot its technology in October in conjunction with local firm...

It takes a lot of work to get ready for a major sports competition–and not just on the part of the athletes. Why do it? This week swissinfo.ch talks to a range of people involved in the 2016 European Gymnastics Championships in Be. Let's block ads! بخوانید...