As 2015 draws to a close we pulled together ten of our most read stories this year. At the same time the Le News team wishes all of its readers the very best of wishes for 2016.

1. Government makes getting a Swiss passport harder

In June 2014, Swiss citizenship requirements were tightened allowing only those with permanent residency permits (e.g. a C permit) to apply, excluding anyone on a different permit such as a B permit. On 19 August 2015 the federal council issued a proposed ordinance which tightens requirements further. Read more.

 

2. New Swiss driving rules that could have you locked up and deported

Some people are unaware of the severe new driving penalties in Switzerland. A new body of Swiss laws called Via sicura is being introduced in stages, the most recent lot at the beginning of 2015. Penalties for speeders and drink drivers are particularly severe. Read more.

3. First high powered particle collision photos from CERN

For the first time, on the night of 20 May 2015, protons collided in the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN at the record-breaking energy of 13 TeV. Read more.

 

4. Poke your head out of a Swiss train and it could get whacked by a broom

In the United States you might get sued for this. But this is Switzerland and Swiss Rail has decided that getting your head hit by a broom from time to time is far better than getting it knocked off by something harder like a tunnel entrance or a piece of construction equipment. Read more.

 

5. Five myths about Switzerland

A selection of five commonly believed Swiss myths busted. Read more.

 

6. A look inside the IKEA houses Switzerland plans to use for refugees

Instead of housing refugees in army tents, one Swiss canton has decided to experiment with flat-pack IKEA houses. Read more.

 

7. Switzerland’s coldest places are not where you’d expect

Many of the coldest places in Switzerland are towns with shivering inhabitants living well below 2,000 metres. Three towns on the list, are at altitudes of around 1,000 metres. Read more.

 

8. Could Switzerland break apart?

Christophe Büchi discusses the country’s language divisions and why we should worry about Italian-speaking Ticino. Long time correspondent in French-speaking Switzerland for the Neue Zürcher Zeitung, the journalist and writer is fascinated by the complex relationship between Switzerland’s French and German speakers. He spoke with Thibaut Kaeser of Echo magazine about Switzerland’s language divisions and what it means to be Swiss. Read more.

 

9. The world’s best restaurant is in Switzerland

Switzerland has two of the world’s top five restaurants according to recently published rankings by “La Liste”. The Schauenstein restaurant in the small town of Fürstenau, a village of around 300 people sitting at 650m in the mountains of Graubunden in Switzerland, came in at number five, and the Restaurant…Read more.

 

10. Why Switzerland ranks near the bottom for working women

Earlier this year the Economist ranked OECD countries on workplace gender equality. Switzerland ranked near the bottom scoring last on one measure and third last on another, pegging it as the forth worst place for women to work. Here’s why.

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