Double-headed eagles and medieval skeletons

Hochbauamt, Kanton Zürich

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 the most interesting statistics to appear in the past week’s stories.

Monday

25,000

The total sum, in francs, that three Swiss footballers were fined by FIFA for “unsporting behaviour contrary to the principles of fair-play”, referring to their “double-eagle” hand gesture during a match against Serbia at the World Cup. 

Tuesday

29

Canton Bern’s Office of the Attorney General opened a criminal investigation into suspected irregularities surrounding the funding of Switzerland’s merchant navy, which comprises 29 ocean-going cargo vessels. 

Wednesday

125,000

The numbers of signatures collected by the rightwing Swiss People’s Party for an initiative to stop the free movement of people between Switzerland and the European Union. The signatures still need to be validated (100,000 valid ones are required), but it look like the issue will at some point end up being put to a nationwide vote. 

Thursday

40

Choir practice is on hold until archaeologists finish digging up more than 40 skeletons buried beneath a school auditorium in Zurich. The graves date back to the Middle Ages.  

Friday

30

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the main United Nations body for assessing climate change, needs greater support, a Swiss official told a celebration in Geneva marking the body’s 30^th anniversary.