Author: switzerlandtimes.ch
An iron arrowhead discovered near Lake Biel, probably in 1873, recently surprised researchers at Switzerland’s Paul Scherer Institute and the Natural History Museum in Bern. In February 2021, after many failed attempts, the arrowhead was successfully identified as being of meteoric origin. Analysis showed it had a high nickel content, something indicating it was made from meteoritic iron. Archaeological objects made from meteoritic iron are extremely rare. In the whole of Eurasia and Africa, only 55 meteoritic iron objects from 22 sites are known. 19 of these objects come from the tomb of Tutankhamun in Egypt, leaving only 36 others.…
A study published this week highlights a significant disconnect between Switzerland’s scientists and politicians during the Covid-19 pandemic, reported SRF. Science and politics did not work together sufficiently during the Covid-19 pandemic, wrote the authors of the NRP 78 report. The partnership between the scientific community and government institutions was not sufficiently developed to withstand the enormous pressure of a pandemic crisis, they said. At the beginning of the pandemic there was a lot of chaos and many researchers had no access to the authorities, according to Marcel Salathe, an epidemiologist EPFL in Lausanne. Salathe explained that this was because…
This week, Switzerland announced it is introducing USB-C as a uniform charging standard from 1 January 2024. The revision was approved by the Federal Council on 22 November 2023. From 2024, consumers in Switzerland will be able to use the same charging power supply for devices from different manufacturers. The rules will apply to mobile phones and other radio or wireless communication devices and systems. These will include devices with wireless elements such as tablets, digital cameras, laptops, headphones and e-readers. A key advantage of a uniform charging standard is reduced waste electronic and redundancy. In addition, manufacturers must inform…
This week, Switzerland’s Federal Council announced the introduction of new rules for those caught speeding on Swiss roads. However, the changes will apply only in specific instances. Serious speeders will continue to face sanctions of one year in prison and the loss of their license for a minimum of two years. From 1 October 2023, speeding offenses will continue to be sanctioned with a minimum prison sentence of one year and a driver’s license withdrawal of two years. However, the courts will have more discretion to take into account the circumstances of the individual case and to avoid unnecessary hardship.…
2023 has been a bad year for the tunnels connecting the north and south of eastern Switzerland. On 10 August 2023 a train derailed and forced the closure of one of the train tunnels running between the cantons of Uri and Ticino. Then on Sunday 10 September 2023, parts of the roof of the Gotthard road tunnel began to crumble. On Sunday, shortly after 4 p.m., the cantonal police in Uri received reports that concrete had come loose from the ceiling of the Gotthard road tunnel and fallen onto the road. The tunnel was closed in both directions, resulting in…
A prototype electric car built by a team of students at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) Zurich and the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences has broken the world acceleration record. This week the team announced that their “mythen” car had accelerated from 0 to 100 km/h in 0.956 seconds in a space of 12.3 metres at a military airfield in Dübendorf near Zurich. The car was designed outside of course time by students coming together under the umbrella of the Academic Motorsport Association Zurich (AMZ). 0.956 seconds comfortably beats the previous world record of 1.461 seconds set by…
The A1 motorway, which run between Geneva in the west and St Gallen in the east suffers badly from congestion. On 11 September 2023, Switzerland’s parliament voted in favour of adding an extra lane in each direction along the full length of the key route, reported RTS. The vote was in response to a motion put forward by Erich Hess from the Swiss People’s Party (UDC/SVP). According to Hess, the route, which currently has two lanes in each direction along most of its length and passes by Lausanne and Bern, was designed for a national population of 6 million, a…
During peak times when there is a lot of traffic the maximum speed on Swiss motorways will soon be reduced to 80km/h on some stretches so that trucks and cars travel at the same speed. The lower speed limit aims to reduce traffic jams and improve flow, reported SRF. On Swiss motorways speeds of 80 km/h could be introduced across the board during rush hour traffic within the next two years, wrote the newspaper Tages-Anzeiger. Thomas Rohrbach, a spokesperson for the Federal Roads Office (FEDRO) said that the new 80 km/h limit would be used flexibly. If traffic begins to…
Laws in France require drivers to fit winter tyres or carry chains from 1 November until 31 March in certain mountainous regions of the country. However, Switzerland has different laws on the subject. In Switzerland, there is no legal requirement to fit winter tyres. However, the Swiss Road Traffic Act (Art. 29) requires all vehicles on Swiss roads to be roadworthy, something for which drivers are responsible. Essentially, if you have an accident and the wrong tyres made your car unroadworthy then you could be held responsible for the accident. Switzerland has long considered introducing rules on winter tyres. The…
It will soon be illegal to cover faces in public in Switzerland after the federal parliament voted in favour of a ban, reported RTS. With 151 versus 29 votes, parliament accepted new laws drafted in response to a successful vote known as the anti-burka referendum. On 7 March 2021, a vote to ban face covering was accepted by 51.2% of Swiss voters. The legal changes have now been approved by both parliament and Switzerland’s upper house. Fines up to a maximum CHF 1,000 will be possible once the law is brought into force. A number of exceptions are allowed under the new rules, in…