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Low season, high up After the crowds leave: when you’re alone in the Alps

What’s it like to be in the mountains when the last skiers have gone home and summer hikers have yet to arrive?

By Simon Walther (pictures), Dale Bechtel (text) , Ester Unterfinger (photo editor)

Week in Numbers Staycations, cross-border shopping and press freedom

Here’s a round-up of some of the most interesting statistics to appear in the past week’s stories.

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The following is a list of topics and material that could be useful for you.

News Digest

This content was published on April 20, 2019 3:21 PM Apr 20, 2019 - 15:21 This content was published on April 20, 2019 3:21 PM

Swiss polytechnic hosts international physics competition

This content was published on April 20, 2019 11:33 AM Apr 20, 2019 - 11:33 This content was published on April 20, 2019 11:33 AM

Tamil Tigers return to Swiss court

This content was published on April 19, 2019 7:22 PM Apr 19, 2019 - 19:22 This content was published on April 19, 2019 7:22 PM

Good Friday, bad Gotthard traffic

This content was published on April 19, 2019 5:11 PM Apr 19, 2019 - 17:11 This content was published on April 19, 2019 5:11 PM

Swiss media consider Mueller report fallout

This content was published on April 19, 2019 3:10 PM Apr 19, 2019 - 15:10 This content was published on April 19, 2019 3:10 PM

Rail bosses worried over train punctuality

Bloomberg business

• This content was published on April 20, 2019 8:42 AM Apr 20, 2019 - 08:42 This content was published on April 20, 2019 8:42 AM Swiss Rates Can Be Lowered Further, SNB's President Says
• This content was published on April 19, 2019 5:59 PM Apr 19, 2019 - 17:59 This content was published on April 19, 2019 5:59 PM Mueller Says UBS Executive Told Trump Team of Kremlin ‘Approach’
• This content was published on April 19, 2019 7:12 AM Apr 19, 2019 - 07:12 This content was published on April 19, 2019 7:12 AM Stocks Mixed in Holiday Hit Trading; Dollar Steady: Markets Wrap
• This content was published on April 18, 2019 8:02 PM Apr 18, 2019 - 20:02 This content was published on April 18, 2019 8:02 PM U.S. Stocks Rise Amid Earnings, Economic Data: Markets Wrap

Reuters International

• This content was published on April 21, 2019 4:04 AM Apr 21, 2019 - 04:04 This content was published on April 21, 2019 4:04 AM Fed up with status quo, Ukrainians may elect comedian in presidential run-off
• This content was published on April 20, 2019 4:15 PM Apr 20, 2019 - 16:15 This content was published on April 20, 2019 4:15 PM Yellow vest demonstrators, police clash in Paris
• This content was published on April 21, 2019 3:51 AM Apr 21, 2019 - 03:51 This content was published on April 21, 2019 3:51 AM Environment emerges as major issue for Australian voters
• This content was published on April 20, 2019 12:46 AM Apr 20, 2019 - 00:46 This content was published on April 20, 2019 12:46 AM Democrats make legal bid for all Russia probe evidence, Trump poll numbers drop

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Swiss religious Traditions The medieval Easter ceremony where women weep silently

Veiled women in black mourn the death of Christ in a traditional Good Friday ceremony in the medieval town of Romont.

By Olivier Pauchard, text and Thomas Kern, images

Libyan conflict ‘We haven’t yet learned from the 2015 refugee crisis’

Is Europe set for another migration wave? A complex civil war in Libya, the third since 2011, could spark a new stream of asylum requests.

By Katy Romy

Opinion New gun law stands for ‘more safety and prosperity’

Failure to accept tighter gun control rules could spell the end of Switzerland’s participation in the European security system, warns Pascal Vuichard.

By Pascal Vuichard, president of the ‘Army officers for Schengen’ committee

Opinion Reject the de facto ‘disarming’ of Swiss gun owners

The reform of Swiss gun law implementing EU rules on gun control rules go against the Swiss constitution and the public opinion, says Luca Filippini.

By Luca Filippini, president of the Swiss gun lobby group

Inside Geneva What to do with the children of Islamic State?

Even in Geneva, the world humanitarian capital, there is unease, and a certain reluctance, to say too much about the situation in Syria's Al Hol camp.

By Imogen Foulkes in Geneva

Journalism ranking Swiss press freedom under threat from cuts

When it comes to freedom of the press, Switzerland ranks high. But financial problems in the Swiss media industry could spell trouble.

By Susan Misicka

Crime statistics Why most of Switzerland’s prisoners are not Swiss

Almost three-quarters of all detainees in Swiss prisons are of foreign origin, a study shows. An analysis of the factors behind the numbers.

By Patricia Islas

Opinion Racism: If you see something, say something

Zurich resident Andrew Freeman argues that people in Switzerland need to speak up when they witness incidents of “racial microaggression”.

By Andrew Freeman

In pictures Orell Füssli – the 500-year-old Swiss printer

The Swiss printing house that started out producing Bibles half a millennium ago now makes its money from... making money.

Losing a landmark How would Switzerland rebuild a national treasure like Notre-Dame?

For many Swiss, the fiery devastation of Notre-Dame Cathedral sparks another memory – that of Lucerne’s wooden Chapel Bridge in flames.

By Susan Misicka

Swiss education Are 14-year-olds ready to make a career choice?

Students make big decisions about their professional futures at a young age in Switzerland. Too early, or just right?

By Isobel Leybold-Johnson

Mining and human rights How Glencore does its homework

Swiss commodity giant Glencore is often under fire for its human rights record. Glencore’s sustainability chief explains its due diligence approach.

By Dominique Soguel-dit-Picard

Mining in the DRC ‘Phones come at the price of shattered health and environment’

​​​​​​​A Congolese nun, lawyer and civil rights activist takes on mining giant Glencore on its home turf.

By Katy Romy

Jewish art Swiss government gives disputed Liebermann painting to Berlin museum

Switzerland has donated a Max Liebermann painting to the museum in his former home, after years of doubt about its ownership.

By Catherine Hickley

Exhibition: Switzerland Elsewhere Whatever happened to all those Swiss expats?

Meet “Müller, the Turk”. As a young man, railway worker Jakob Müller travelled from Lucerne to Istanbul – where he embarked on a storybook career.

By Christian Raaflaub (text) and Thomas Kern (photos), in Schwyz

Week in Numbers Exploding heads, corruption money and bankrupt businesses

Here’s a round-up of some of the most interesting statistics to appear in the past week’s stories.

By swissinfo.ch

Fumetto 2019 Swiss festival illustrates the high art of comic books

Leading and aspiring comic artists from all over the world have converged in the Swiss city of Lucerne for the annual Fumetto Festival. 

Design of the times Switzerland and the Bauhaus – 100 years of functional elegance

As Bauhaus, the influential German design school, turns 100, we look at some of the big Swiss names and major exhibitions this year.

By Thomas Stephens

Elections 2019 MPs are the biggest lobbyists in Swiss parliament

Parliamentarians are increasingly, and more aggressively, representing particular interests. It’s a cultural change in the legislature.

By Renat Kuenzi