https://www.thelocal.ch/ Switzerland's news in English en-us editor@thelocal.com (TheLocal) webmaster@thelocal.com (TheLocal) TheLocal RSS Feed Generator A young girl in the northern Swiss city of Schaffhausen was fined recently after she failed to buy a bus ticket. https://www.thelocal.ch/20190815/five-year-old-fined-100-swiss-francs-for-travelling-on-bus-without-ticket Thu, 15 Aug 2019 12:55:44 +0200 https://www.thelocal.ch/20190815/five-year-old-fined-100-swiss-francs-for-travelling-on-bus-without-ticket Ten days after a Swiss train conductor was killed after being caught in a defective train door and dragged along, the national rail operator SBB has identified problems with a number of other doors of the same type. https://www.thelocal.ch/20190815/sbb-find-problems-with-swiss-train-doors-after-deadly-accident-public-transport Thu, 15 Aug 2019 11:10:40 +0200 https://www.thelocal.ch/20190815/sbb-find-problems-with-swiss-train-doors-after-deadly-accident-public-transport The Swiss government wants drivers in the country to have a choice between using a new electronic motorway sticker or the current physical sticker from 2022 onwards. https://www.thelocal.ch/20190815/swiss-drivers-set-to-get-electronic-motorway-sticker-option-toll-roads-switzerland Thu, 15 Aug 2019 09:40:41 +0200 https://www.thelocal.ch/20190815/swiss-drivers-set-to-get-electronic-motorway-sticker-option-toll-roads-switzerland New Swiss labour rules introduced last year in a bid to give Swiss-based workers in certain industries preference over workers from other parts of the EU have led to a much higher than expected number of job ads. https://www.thelocal.ch/20190814/boom-in-job-ads-after-rules-favouring-swiss-based-workers-launched Wed, 14 Aug 2019 11:01:27 +0200 https://www.thelocal.ch/20190814/boom-in-job-ads-after-rules-favouring-swiss-based-workers-launched There was good news for non-smokers on Tuesday as Zurich's 'Hauptbahnhof' train station went all but completely smoke-free. https://www.thelocal.ch/20190814/at-last-zurichs-main-train-station-goes-smoke-free-switzerland Wed, 14 Aug 2019 09:58:24 +0200 https://www.thelocal.ch/20190814/at-last-zurichs-main-train-station-goes-smoke-free-switzerland On Thursday, Switzerland's tiny neighbour Liechtenstein will be celebrating its national day. To mark the occasion, we have chosen some of the key figures that shed light on the sixth smallest country in the world. https://www.thelocal.ch/20190814/285-unemployed-people-and-2-accidental-invasions-the-numbers-that-tell-the-story-of-liechtenstein-history-300-anniversary Wed, 14 Aug 2019 08:39:36 +0200 https://www.thelocal.ch/20190814/285-unemployed-people-and-2-accidental-invasions-the-numbers-that-tell-the-story-of-liechtenstein-history-300-anniversary Services on the new Léman Express network which will soon link greater Geneva with neighbouring France will run all night on the weekend, it has been announced. https://www.thelocal.ch/20190813/genevas-new-regional-trains-to-run-all-night-on-weekend Tue, 13 Aug 2019 11:03:28 +0200 https://www.thelocal.ch/20190813/genevas-new-regional-trains-to-run-all-night-on-weekend Switzerland’s historic capital, Bern, has been included in a list of 20 beautiful European cities with "hardly any tourists compiled" by US broadcaster CNN. https://www.thelocal.ch/20190813/hardly-any-tourists-swiss-capital-bern-gets-cnn-nod-of-approval Tue, 13 Aug 2019 10:01:13 +0200 https://www.thelocal.ch/20190813/hardly-any-tourists-swiss-capital-bern-gets-cnn-nod-of-approval Hundreds of people lined up in Zurich's District 4 on Monday night for a chance to get their hands on an apartment with a monthly rent of just 1,148 Swiss francs (€1,055). https://www.thelocal.ch/20190813/hundreds-queue-for-bargain-1000-apartment-in-zurich-switzerland-property Tue, 13 Aug 2019 08:49:18 +0200 https://www.thelocal.ch/20190813/hundreds-queue-for-bargain-1000-apartment-in-zurich-switzerland-property What percentage of people in Switzerland can speak three national languages fluently? How many native English speakers are there in the country? And what exactly is Romansh? Here is what you need to know about languages in Switzerland. https://www.thelocal.ch/20190812/heres-what-you-need-to-know-about-languages-in-switzerland-bilingual-culture Mon, 12 Aug 2019 20:02:00 +0200 https://www.thelocal.ch/20190812/heres-what-you-need-to-know-about-languages-in-switzerland-bilingual-culture A 37-year-old man and a six-year-old girl remain missing on Monday after their car was washed away during violent storms in the southern Swiss canton of Valais on Sunday. https://www.thelocal.ch/20190812/man-and-girl-missing-after-car-swept-away-in-violent-storm-in-switzerland Mon, 12 Aug 2019 14:06:03 +0200 https://www.thelocal.ch/20190812/man-and-girl-missing-after-car-swept-away-in-violent-storm-in-switzerland Swiss police have arrested a man in connection with fake pipe bomb parts found in a backpack during Zurich’s huge Street Parade dance music event on the weekend. https://www.thelocal.ch/20190812/man-arrested-over-fake-bomb-at-zurich-street-parade-dance-party Mon, 12 Aug 2019 11:04:07 +0200 https://www.thelocal.ch/20190812/man-arrested-over-fake-bomb-at-zurich-street-parade-dance-party Not sure what to do in Switzerland this weekend? From the world's biggest techno festival to a modern art exhibition. Switzerland has a lot on offer. https://www.thelocal.ch/20190809/whats-on-five-thing-to-do-in-switzerland-this-weekend Fri, 09 Aug 2019 15:45:20 +0200 https://www.thelocal.ch/20190809/whats-on-five-thing-to-do-in-switzerland-this-weekend It's considered one of the best cities in the world, but what's life in Zurich really like? We asked our readers to give us their insights. https://www.thelocal.ch/20190809/readers-verdict-what-are-the-best-and-worst-things-about-life-in-zurich Fri, 09 Aug 2019 12:16:22 +0200 https://www.thelocal.ch/20190809/readers-verdict-what-are-the-best-and-worst-things-about-life-in-zurich An Iraqi woman, who despite living in Switzerland for 20 years and being well integrated, was denied citizenship in the canton of Schwyz after it emerged she responded "uh" over 200 times in the citizenship interview. https://www.thelocal.ch/20190808/iraqi-woman-who-was-refused-citizenship-said-uh-over-200-times-during-test Thu, 08 Aug 2019 12:06:44 +0200 https://www.thelocal.ch/20190808/iraqi-woman-who-was-refused-citizenship-said-uh-over-200-times-during-test The Israel National Library on Wednesday unveiled a missing batch of Czech Jewish writer Franz Kafka's papers, ending more than a decade of legal wrangling over ownership in Israel and Europe. https://www.thelocal.ch/20190807/saved-from-a-swiss-bank-vault-missing-kafka-papers-finally-home-in-israel Wed, 07 Aug 2019 15:30:37 +0200 https://www.thelocal.ch/20190807/saved-from-a-swiss-bank-vault-missing-kafka-papers-finally-home-in-israel Local authorities in the Swiss resort of Zermatt have dismissed calls for the Matterhorn to be closed after a mountain guide said the peak was too dangerous. https://www.thelocal.ch/20190807/switzerlands-matterhorn-mountain-will-not-be-closed Wed, 07 Aug 2019 10:14:07 +0200 https://www.thelocal.ch/20190807/switzerlands-matterhorn-mountain-will-not-be-closed Zurich's Street Parade is one of the world's biggest techno parties, with around a million people a year taking part. Here’s what you need to know about the event being held this Saturday. https://www.thelocal.ch/20190806/what-you-need-to-know-about-zurichs-amazing-street-parade-dance-party Tue, 06 Aug 2019 11:49:42 +0200 https://www.thelocal.ch/20190806/what-you-need-to-know-about-zurichs-amazing-street-parade-dance-party UPDATED: Two Swiss International Air Lines flights were forced to return to Zurich after being hit by lightning as wild storms hit Switzerland on Tuesday. https://www.thelocal.ch/20190806/violent-storms-cause-chaos-in-northern-switzerland Tue, 06 Aug 2019 09:48:01 +0200 https://www.thelocal.ch/20190806/violent-storms-cause-chaos-in-northern-switzerland A new court ruling changes the situation for addicts in Switzerland in terms of their eligibility for sickness benefits. Here’s what you need to know. https://www.thelocal.ch/20190806/explained-why-swiss-drug-addicts-may-now-be-able-to-claim-disability-insurance Tue, 06 Aug 2019 08:35:59 +0200 https://www.thelocal.ch/20190806/explained-why-swiss-drug-addicts-may-now-be-able-to-claim-disability-insurance