Switzerland Today

Greetings from Bern,

Parts of Switzerland are experiencing monsoon-like rains while others are as dry as a bone. We can’t deliver the weather of your choice, but we can deliver the news stories of the day to your inbox. 

Keystone / Daniel Reinhardt

In the news: Power shortages, science funding, mentally ill offenders and cheap trains.

• The CEO of Axpo, one of the biggest Swiss electricity providers, has warned that the country could face power shortages this winter. Reduced gas supplies from Russia and offline French nuclear plants are to blame. Rainfall will be a deciding factor as the Swiss grid depends on hydropower. 
• Presidents of the ETH Zurich and EPFL federal technology institutes, along with their UK counterparts, have addressed an open letterExternal link to the European Commission president calling for Switzerland to be reinstated into the Horizon Europe research programme. Both countries have been frozen out due to political disputes with the EU. 
• Almost one in ten convicts in Switzerland are held outside the prison system in private facilities like psychiatric clinics and addiction centres. These placements are justified for medical reasons, such as psychological illnesses or special care required by elderly prisoners.
• The arrival of budget coach company Flixbus in Switzerland in 2016 sent shivers down the spines of pricey Swiss transport providers. The low-cost carrier is now offering a train service called Flixtrain from Berlin to BaselExternal link for just  €10 (CHF10) for the roughly eight-hour journey. The transport unions are not pleased.

Keystone / Alexandra Wey

Swiss democracy hotspots: Heading north for a history lesson.

What is the northernmost Swiss canton? Schaffhausen of course! This canton played an important role in the 1874 reform of the constitution. Pollster and historian Claude Longchamp takes us on a trip to show how Schaffhausen contributed to the birth of referendums and consensus politics in Switzerland.

Keystone / Carlos Mafort

Exotic namesakes: May a thousand Switzerlands bloom.

SWI swissinfo.ch has always covered the Swiss Abroad but occasionally others dip their toes into this diverse and adventurous community. Our sister company SRF has created a fun video showing the popularity of naming places and landscapes around the world after SwitzerlandExternal link. 

Heard of “Switzerland County” in the US state of Indiana or “Little Switzerland” near Haifa in Israel or the “Suiza Peruana” near Huaraz in Peru? Apparently around 540 such spots exist.