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World’s longest suspension bridge opens in Switzerland
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At 494m long, the new suspension bridge that opened near Randa in the canton of Valais is the longest in the world.
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Sitting at 85m above the valley floor at its highest point, the bridge links two sections of the Europaweg two-day hiking trail between Grächen and Zermatt.
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The approximate 750,000 franc cost was sought from private investors.
World’s longest suspension bridge opens in Switzerland
​
At 494m long, the new suspension bridge that opened near Randa in the canton of Valais is the longest in the world.
​
Sitting at 85m above the valley floor at its highest point, the bridge links two sections of the Europaweg two-day hiking trail between Grächen and Zermatt.
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The approximate 750,000 franc cost was sought from private investors.
World’s longest suspension bridge opens in Switzerland
​
At 494m long, the new suspension bridge that opened near Randa in the canton of Valais is the longest in the world.
​
Sitting at 85m above the valley floor at its highest point, the bridge links two sections of the Europaweg two-day hiking trail between Grächen and Zermatt.
​
The approximate 750,000 franc cost was sought from private investors.
World’s longest suspension bridge opens in Switzerland
​
At 494m long, the new suspension bridge that opened near Randa in the canton of Valais is the longest in the world.
​
Sitting at 85m above the valley floor at its highest point, the bridge links two sections of the Europaweg two-day hiking trail between Grächen and Zermatt.
​
The approximate 750,000 franc cost was sought from private investors.
World’s longest suspension bridge opens in Switzerland
​
At 494m long, the new suspension bridge that opened near Randa in the canton of Valais is the longest in the world.
​
Sitting at 85m above the valley floor at its highest point, the bridge links two sections of the Europaweg two-day hiking trail between Grächen and Zermatt.
​
The approximate 750,000 franc cost was sought from private investors.
World’s longest suspension bridge opens in Switzerland
​
At 494m long, the new suspension bridge that opened near Randa in the canton of Valais is the longest in the world.
​
Sitting at 85m above the valley floor at its highest point, the bridge links two sections of the Europaweg two-day hiking trail between Grächen and Zermatt.
​
The approximate 750,000 franc cost was sought from private investors.
World’s longest suspension bridge opens in Switzerland
​
At 494m long, the new suspension bridge that opened near Randa in the canton of Valais is the longest in the world.
​
Sitting at 85m above the valley floor at its highest point, the bridge links two sections of the Europaweg two-day hiking trail between Grächen and Zermatt.
​
The approximate 750,000 franc cost was sought from private investors.
Federer wins record eighth Wimbledon title 2017
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Roger Federer won a record eighth Wimbledon title and became the tournament's oldest champion with a straight-sets victory over injury-hit Marin Cilic, who dramatically broke down in tears midway through the final.
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Federer claimed his 19th Grand Slam title 6-3, 6-1, 6-4 and at 35 is Wimbledon's oldest men's winner of the modern era, succeeding Arthur Ashe, who was almost 32 when he won in 1976.
International marriages dominate in Switzerland
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Only 47 percent of weddings held in 2016 were between Swiss partners; in 36 percent of cases one half of the couple was non-Swiss, while 16 percent of weddings were between two foreigners.
Around a fifth of weddings were between a Swiss man and a foreign woman, while a sixth were between a Swiss woman and a foreign man.
The stats are a reflection of the international nature of a country where some two million residents – a quarter of its population – do not hold a Swiss passport.
ZKB plans new cable car across Lake Zurich
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In celebration of its 150th birthday, Zurich cantonal bank is planing to build a temporary cable car across Lake Zurich.
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The 1.4km cableway will connect Landiwiese with Zurichhorn across the northern tip of the lake and will be able to transport 2,000 passengers per hour in its 14 gondolas.
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The cable car is estimated to cost 40-60 million francs. The expected ticket price for a journey would be 5-15 francs.
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Go to the link and watch the video.
Swiss vote for gradual nuclear phaseout
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58.2 % of swiss voters supported a massive overhaul of the country's energy system by gradually replacing the power from its ageing nuclear reactors with renewable sources.
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The move has been in the making since shortly after Japan's Fukushima nuclear plant was destroyed in the March 2011 tsunami disaster.
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Four of the 26 cantons voted No.
Valais canton launches new local currency
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The Farinet was launched first in the city of Sion. It comes in eight denominations – 1,2, 5, 10, 13, 20, 50 and 100 – and has the same value as the Swiss franc.
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There is no coins, and please note the 13 Farinet note!
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Geneva launched its own currency - the Léman - since 2015.
Swiss guards, loyal soldiers of the pope, take the oath
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Forty new Swiss Guards will take the oath to join the 110 present small army created since 1506 when Pope Julius II recruited the supposedly invincible mercenaries for his protection.
To join, you have to be a practising Roman Catholic, Swiss, single, between 19 and 30 years old and at least 1.74 meters tall.
32 World records held by Switzerland and the Swiss.
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Interesting collection of records from Federer record of most men's grand slam single titles (18 todate) to the smallest inkjet printer to the largest machine in the world to the first solar powered round the world flight.
Ueli Steck famed for his speed ascents of iconic Alpine routes, has died on Everest Sunday morning April 30.
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Steck, 40, was on Everest to acclimatise before attempting to summit the world's tallest peak in May, using a never before climbed route.
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The accomplished alpinist sought to pioneer new routes throughout his mountaineering career, earning the nickname "the Swiss Machine" for his solo record ascents in the Alps.
How to save money in Zurich
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Switzerland is the most expensive country in Europe and Zurich is its most expensive city, it is even expensive for people living in it.
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check the link below for a few tips that may help you save money (specially if you are an old timer who still remembers the 50 rape ticket for 6 stops and less).
Nour El Sherbini maintains her world title in an all Egyptian final at SPA Elgouna Squash pen
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Nour retained her world title for the second consecutive year after beating her compatriot Raneem el Welily 3:0.
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In the same tournament, the French Gregory Gaultier won the men's final against the Egyptian Karim Abdel Gawad 3:0.
The photo shows all four finalists.
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Charlie Chaplin fans set world record in Corsier-sur-Vevey
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662 people set a world record for the biggest gathering of Charlie Chaplins, each donning the black jacket, shoes, bowler hat, toothbrush moustache and cane of the comic's signature creation, the Little Tramp.
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Fans of all ages from all over Europe gathered at Charlie Chaplin's museum at his former home in Corsier-sur-Vevey, western Switzerland.
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The Chaplin's museum opened a year ago and had arround 300,000 visitors in its first year of operation far exceeding previous estimates>
Chaplin was born 1889 and died on Christmas day 1977 aged 88, he moved to Switzerland in 1953 after being accused of being a communist and denied re-entry to USA.
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Charlie received an Honorary Academy Award in 1972 for his role in making motion pictures the art of the twentieth century.
EgyptAir celebrated International Women's Day 2017 by two full women crews and pilots flights
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Two EgyptAir flights took off Wednesday March 22 piloted and fully crewed by women.
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The first flight a long range Airbus 330 landed in Abu Dhabi piloted by Captain Hasnaa Taymour, First Officer Sarah Abdel-Fattah and 10 flight attendants, in addition to two female security officers; the second flight a medium range Boeing 800-737 piloted by Captain Heba Darwish, First Officer Sarah Roshdy and five flight attendants, with two female security officers on board.
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It is worth adding that Egyptair staff includes 12 female pilots and co-pilots.
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Zurich STILL most expensive city in Europe; Geneva second
The survey conducted by the Economist compares more than 400 individual prices across 160 products and services including food and drink, clothing, rents, transport, utility bills and recreation costs.
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Top of the ranking worldwide is Singapore followed by Hong Kong, Zurich, Geneva, Paris, London, New York, Copenhagen, Seoul and Los Angeles.
Swiss study: snow to largely disappear from Alps by 2100
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If global warming is not halted, only ski areas above 2,500 meters will have enough snow for winter sports, said the scientists from the Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research (SLF) and the EPFL Lausanne.
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If humankind succeeds in limiting average global warming to two degrees Celsius over pre-industrial levels, the loss of snow cover would be 30 percent by 2100, the study found.
But if nothing is done, the figure grows to 70 percent.
Roger Federer claims two new tennis records
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Roger Federer won the final Australian Open against Rafael Nadal setting two records.
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This victory is a record 18 Grand Slam title, and aged 35 Federer is the oldest major-winner in 45 years and move four titles clear of Nadal and Pete Sampras on the all-time list.
Roger Federer voted ‘Most Stylish Man 2016
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Swiss tennis ace Roger Federer is used to beating the competition, and now he's done it again by being voted the world's most stylish man of 2016 by readers of Britain's GQ magazine.
The competition, voted for by the public, took place in rounds with big names including Ryan Gosling, Lewis Hamilton, Tom Ford, David Beckham and defending champion Kanye West.
In the final round against British actor Tom Hiddleston, the 17-time Grand Slam champion title was secured by his many fans.
Swiss Giant Supermarket Coop to start selling bug burgers
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The federal food safety office (BLV) announced that as of May 1st 2017; any food product can be sold commercially as long as it respects food safety regulations.
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Coop was quick to respond announcing that said it was working with Swiss startup Essento, which specializes in developing insect-based dishes, to create a range of “surprising” products containing insect proteins, including meatballs and burgers.
Doris Leuthard, the new Swiss president
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Doris, 54 is the fifth female President of Switzerland; she studied law at the University of Zurich and joined parliament as an MP for the canton of Aargau in 1999.
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Doris was elected to the seven-person Federal Council in 2006, becoming its fifth ever female member.
She was previously elected as president in 2010; she also served as Vice President twice, Head of the Department of Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications and Head of the Department of Economics Affairs.
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Nicknamed "Queen Doris", she was voted the most popular politician and is the longest serving member of The Federal Council.
Egyptian women squash team clinshed PSA's top three world ranking
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Egyptian women squash players continue their dominance of the sport, winning the 2016 Women’s World Team Squash Championship title after beating defending champions England 2-1 in Saturday’s final in France’s Issy-les-Moulineaux.
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The victory comes only days after El Sherbini, El Welily, and Gohar were named the top three in the PSA Women’s World Rankings, marking the first time in 20 years that three women from the same country earned the top three spots.
World's shortest international flight of only 8 minutes
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The Austrian People's Air Group started up its new flight connection from St. Gallen-Altenrhein, Switzerland to Friedrichshafen over Lake Constance; travelling just 20 kilometres, the journey takes about eight minutes; a one-way ticket between the two stops costs €40.
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Alternatively, travelers could drive the roughly 63 kilometres between the two airports by car around Lake Constance, which would take an hour or enjoy a two-hour lakeside train ride.
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Check-in, security and boarding time is a factor to be considered.
New Swiss device could help paralyzed people to walk
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A new device has allowed two monkeys to regain use of their paralyzed legs by transmitting brain signals wirelessly, bypassing their spinal cord lesions, a study released on Wednesday by the journal Nature said.
The implantable device, called a neuroprosthetic interface, was developed by an international team led by researchers at the Federal Polytechnic School of Lausanne (EPFL) and may soon be tested as a remedy for paralysis in humans.
UK Toblerone fans outraged over Swiss choc's new shape
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In late October Toblerone – originally created in Switzerland but now owned by US company Mondelez – announced that it would be reducing the weight of its bars sold in the UK toface increasing costs.
Toblerone fans responded with angry comments on facebook; one said "This must be up there with the dumbest corporate decisions of all time," another said "the bar used t
Muslim woman wins headscarf court battle
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A Swiss regional court in Bern has ruled against a company that fired a longtime employee after she began wearing the Muslim headscarf, marking one of the first such rulings in Switzerland.
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The court ruled that the company had violated her constitutional right to freedom of expression, it added that a headscarf can only be grounds for termination in cases where it makes it impossible to carry out duties described in the employment contract or if it "substantially affects" the working environment.
Switzerland is one of the world's ten best countries to be a girl
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Switzerland placed ninth in the table, which was topped by Sweden, closely followed by Finland, Norway, the Netherlands and Belgium in the top five.
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The five indicators used are: child marriage, adolescent fertility, maternal mortality (as an indicator to access to good-quality healthcare), women MPs and lower-secondary school completion.
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The worst places to be a girl are amongst the poorest in the world.
Swiss Need "More Time" to close Nuclear Plants
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On November 27, the Swiss People will vote on the Green Party backed popular initiative ‘For an orderly withdrawal from the nuclear energy program’; Some 40-45 percent of Swiss electricity comes from nuclear power.
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if passed, three of Switzerland’s nuclear power reactors – Mühleberg and Beznau 1 and 2 – will be closed as soon as 2017, with the remaining two being decommissioned in 2024 and 2029; it is worth adding that Beznau 1 in service since 1969 is oldest reactor in the world.
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The Federal Council already has plans to pull the plug on nuclear power by 2050 in its ‘energy strategy 2050’ set in motion after the Fukushima nuclear power disaster in Japan in 2011.
ETH Zurich Best University in Continental Europe
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Now in their 13th year, the annual rankings are compiled by global higher education analysts Quacquerelli Symonds (QS), and rank 916 institutions according to four key pillars: research, teaching employability and internationalization.
For the second year in a row, the Swiss Federal Technology Institute came as the only none USA or UK university amongst the world top 10 universities ranking 8th (the others being 5 from USA and 4 from UK).
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The EPFL of lausanne came in second place for Continental Europe and 14th worldwide.
ETH Zurich Best University in Continental Europe
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Now in their 13th year, the annual rankings are compiled by global higher education analysts Quacquerelli Symonds (QS), and rank 916 institutions according to four key pillars: research, teaching employability and internationalization.
For the second year in a row, the Swiss Federal Technology Institute came as the only none USA or UK university amongst the world top 10 universities ranking 8th (the others being 5 from USA and 4 from UK).
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The EPFL of lausanne came in second place for Continental Europe and 14th worldwide.
Foreigners in Switzerland Surpass the Two Million Mark
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In 2015 there was 2,048,700 foreigners living in Switzerland with a permanent residence of 12 monthys and above; that is 24,6% of the total Swiss population which is the highest percentage of foreigners in Europ (and mnuch of the rest of the world).
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The biggest foreign populations are Italians, Germans, Portuguese, French and Kosovans, which make up more than half (54 %) of permanent foreign residents in Switzerland. PTT delivers about 18 million letters and parcels every day.
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At 41%, Geneva is hosting the highest number, followed by Basel City 35% and Vaud 34%.
Robots to Deliver Parcels in Bern
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The Swiss National Post will launch trial parcels deliveries by Septmeber.
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The famous PTT already trialled drones and self-driving postbuses in its quest for new technology; it has now announced a new partnership with UK-based start-up Starship Technologies, set up by Skype co-founders.
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PTT delivers about 18 million letters and parcels every day.
Robots will not replace the postman, they will be used where delivery needs to be fast, flexible and cheap and within a close radius (enjoy the video).
Mountain Bike Swiss Gold Medal on the Final Day in Rio
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World Champion Nino Schurter was third in Beijing and Second in London and finally took the top spot in Rio.
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That brings the total medals for Switzerland to seven being three gold, two silver and two bronze placing Switzerland at the 24th rank the medal table (up from 33 in London 2012).
Swiss National Day: Five Traditions Expats Should Try
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Learn to Yodel, take up the Alphorn, cook Swiss classics, sing the national anthem and experience farm life.
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These are proud Swiss traditions that are celebrated on Swiss national day; for more details follow the link.
Swiss Post paying Homage to Solar Impulse 2
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The Swiss pilots Bertrand Piccard and Andre Borschberg as well as the Solar Impulse project team succesfully demonstrated the possibilities of solar power use by completing a round the world flight that ended in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday at 4am after touring the globe in 17 stages, the first of which began back in March 2015.
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In total the plane had travelled 42,000 kilometres across four continents, two oceans and three seas, entirely without fuel, using only solar power.
Genevians Approve Lake Crossing
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63 percent of voters accepted the principle of lake crossing which will reduce traffic congestion at city center.
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A lake crossing would create a complete ringroad, they say, allowing drivers to avoid the city centre and therefore reduce traffic by 30 percent.
The plan is still a long way from becoming a reality, financing the crossing – estimated at over three billion francs – is yet to be decided, though supporters suggest a combination of public and private funding.
Nestlé Celebrate 150 Years with Two Museums Opening
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It started in 1867 when the German pharmacist Henri Nestlé invented Farine Lactée, a baby formula for infants that couldn’t take breast milk; over the years it presented some of the world's best known food brands.
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Based in Vevey, the company celebrated its 150th birthday by inaugurating two museums. The first is the new museum Nest which takes visitors on a journey through the company’s history, while second is the renovated Alimentarium, which is a hands-on exhibition and educational space dedicated to food.
The World Largest Poster
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A Guinness Record for the world's largest poster was set on Saturday May 14, by supportters for the controversial June 4th referendum for minimum income (Referendum failed).
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The poster is 8115 square meters and was placed in central Geneva La Plaine de Plainpalais.
CERN Shut Down By a Weasel
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The world's most powerful particle smasher, the Large Hadron Collider, went offline after a weasel caused a short circuit on a 66 kv transformer.
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The spokesman for CERN indicated that it would take a few days torepair the damage, and added that the weasel did not survive the accident,
21 year old Estelle Balet Snowboard World Chmapion Killed by Avalanche.
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The accident happened tuesday 19 April at 8:00 where the 21 year old champion was making a film on the Portalet mountain
Balet came from the Valais region of Switzerland and had been snowboarding since the age of 10. She had been on the Freeride World Tour since the junior level.
Established 1853, Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne is Named Top Young University.
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Times higher Education THE ranked EPFL as the top young university for the second year in a row.
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Providing the French speaking Switzerland with an institution similar to the German speaking ETH of Zurich was a necessity, hence it was decided in 1968 to develop the canton funded university Ecole Polytechnique Universitaire de Lausanne (EPUL), as it was then known to be the EPFL.
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EPFL is certainly well focused on its mission, which is providing good education, good science and efficient technology transfer.
EPFL was named the 11th best institution in Europe by THE; it is currently ranked 31st in the world overall.
University of Basel Project May Lead to the Discovery of Queen Nefertiti Tomb
The project began 2008 aiming at producing a full scale perfect replica of the King Tutankhamun tomb with all its details, cracks and changes that developed over the years.
It is during the assessment of the tomb scans that marks were found indicating the location of two previous doors; a radar scan later confirmed the presence of two adjacent chambers which egyptologists believe might well be the resting place of Queen Nefertiti.
The King Tut replica was inaugurated 2014 at a special underground installation at the carter House in Luxor making the tomb visible to visitors and scholars while protecting the origianl site from destruction by mass tourism.
The project was run by the University of Basel, the Swiss foundation “Society of Friends of the Royal Tombs of Egypt” as well as Spain’s Factum Arte.
More information in "Swiss Emabbsy in Cairo" FB page entry dated March 24 and the Guardian article link below.
Swiss Drumers group "Cliffhangers" in Cairo
The International Drums Festival in Cairo is inviting drummers from around the world! Switzerland’s young drumming group "Cliffhangers" are taking part this year.
The group was founded in 2007 by musicians from the cities of Burgdorf and Thun in the Swiss canton of Bern. Three musicians from the group will participate in the festival, organized by the Egyptian Ministry of Culture.
Alpine Cheesemaking in Switzerland could be as much as 3,000 Years Old
New archaeological evidence dating back to the Iron Age recently discovered by British Researchers in six different places in the Swiss Alps show evidence evidence of heating milk as part of the cheesemaking process.
The pottery fragments residues dating from the Iron Age were found in the ruins of stone buildings similar to those used by modern Swiss dairy farmers working in alpine pastures in summer.
Böögg is Predicting the Worst Summer Ever
The burning of the Böögg is a central part of Zurich’s Sechseläuten spring festival in which a snowman effigy is set alight on a bonfire to symbolically drive away winter.
According to folklore, the longer it takes the Böögg’s head – which is packed with firecrackers – to explode, the worse the summer weather will be.
During this year’s rain-soaked event, held on Monday 18th, the unfortunate Böögg’s bonce took longer than ever before to explode, finally succumbing in a record 43 minutes and 34 seconds, three minutes more than the previous record.
El Sherbiny at 20, Becomes the Youngest Ever PSA World Champion
FWorld No.2 Nour El Sherbini produced one of the greatest comebacks in World Championship history as she overturned a 2-0 deficit to defeat World No.1 Laura Massaro in the final of the Naza PSA Women’s World Championship in Bukit Jalil, Malaysia – overtaking the great Susan Devoy, who won in 1985, to become the youngest winner of the biggest title in Women’s squash.
Zürich by Night
The talented Swiss photographers, Alessandro Della Bella and Christian Mülhauser, present this astonishing short video.
All Egyptian British Open Squash Finals
For the first time four Egyptian players will compete against each other for the women and men world's top squash Title.
Nouran Gohar (top left) will face Nour El Sherbiny both from Alexandria.
Mohamed El Shourbagy world number one from Alexandria will face Ramy Ashour (top right) three time former World Champion from Cairo.
Lara Gut wins Women's Alpine Skiing World Cup title for 2016 season
Lara secured the title last weekend finishing third in the super-combined at Lenzerheide Graubünden.
The 25 years old Lara from Sorengo Ticino secured the title with still four races to go before season end.
This is the first Swiss season title since Carlo Janka in 2010 and Vreni Schneider in 1995.
Charlie Chaplin museum opens April 17th in the village of Corsier-sur-Vevey
Chaplin spent the last 25 years of his life in Switzerland after he was barred from the United States in the 1950s over suspicions that he had communist sympathies, at the height of McCarthy-era paranoia about Soviet infiltration.
Overlooking Lake Geneva, the large manor where Chaplin lived with his wife Oona and their eight children will form half of the museum, while a separate building will house a mocked-up Hollywood studio where visitors can delve into his on-screen work.
Chaplin, who died in 1977, is buried in the nearby Corsier-sur-Vevey cemetery, along with his wife.
Handball: Egypt win African Nations Cup, qualify for Olympic Games.
Egypt's national handball team won the 22nd edition of the African Handball Nations Championship and earned their qualifying ticked for the 2016 Olympics after their win over Tunisia's 21-19 at the final game on Saturday evening in Cairo.
Both teams qualified for the IHF World Championship scheduled in 2017 in France along with Angola who finished third after beating holders Algeria's 25-19 at the placement match.
Duchess of York seeks to become Swiss resident.
Sarah, Duchess of York — the ex-wife of Britain's Prince Andrew — has begun the process of establishing residency in Switzerland.
Sarah Ferguson or "Fergie"said she wants to live in the ultra-chic ski resort village of Verbier, in the Canton of Valais, where she has been a frequent visitor.
She was 16 when her mother brought her to the Southern Swiss village for a holiday, and has regularly returned for family vacations since.
Soprano Fatma Said wins Dublin International Singing Competition.
24-year-old Egyptian singer Fatma Said just won the 8th Veronica Dunne International Singing Competition in Dublin, Ireland, beating out performers from 180 countries.
Interview with Robert Solé (CBC Extra TV chanel).
French journalist and novelist of Egyptian origin. Born in Cairo in 1946, Solé moved to France at the age of 18. He has served as ombudsman of the Parisian newspaper Le Monde. His works of fiction include Le Tarbouche (winner of the Prix Mediterranée in 1992) and La Mamelouka.
Interview in French language 27 minutes.
Switzerland may be the first country in the world to have a guaranteed minimum income for all Swiss residents at a national level.
The initiative aims at a guaranteed basic monthly income of 2,500 francs a month as well as 625 francs a month for each child.
The voting will take place next June 5th; if approved the implementation cost is estimated at a little over 200 bilion francs a year.
Next time in Zurich, dont forget to visit the FIFA new museum.
The project of fallen world football chief Sepp Blatter, will open its doors on February 28th in Zurich, two days after the election of his successor.
The project costed over 140 million Swiss francs and took three years to be completed.
Fifa hopes that the museum will attract 250,000 visitors per year, comparable with the Olympic museum in Lausanne, which drew 300,000 in 2015.
Top Swiss chef Benoît Violier, 44, committed suicide at his home near Lausanne. More than 1,500 people filled Lausanne's cathedral on Friday for the funeral.
His restaurant Hôtel de Ville is one of only three in Switzerland given three stars by the Michelin Guide.
Only last December, La Liste, compiled for the French ministry of foreign affairs and France's tourist board, ranked his restaurant as th best in the world.
Benoît appeared to worry that his success would not last and that customers would not always be prepared to pay the 200 to 300 francs for a typical meal at his establishment, which he had run with his wife Brigitte since 2012.
The 57-kilometre Gotthard railway tunnel, the longest in the world, is set to open.
After 17 years of drilling under the Alps and after spending 12.2 billion francs, the tunnel is set to open on June 1st, linking the cantons of Uri and Ticino.
Every year around 26 million tonnes of freight is transported through the Swiss Alps by rail.
The tunnel, with two tubes, is at the heart of one of Europe’s most important freight transport axes linking Italy to the south with Switzerland and Germany to the north as well as other parts of Europe, including the ports of Rotterdam in the Netherlands and Zeebrugge in Belgium.
Another rail tunnel to the south, the 39.8-kilometre Ceneris Base Tunnel, is scheduled to open in 2020.
Martina Hingis wins her 12th career Grand Slam doubles title by taking the Australian Open title.
The Swiss veteran, 35, and her Indian partner, 29, were pushed hard by Czech duo Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka but came through the battle 7-6 (7/1), 6-3 on Rod Laver Arena.
This victory stretched the top seeds' win streak to 36 matches, the third best in WTA history and the longest unbeaten run since JanaNovotna and Helen Sukova reached 44 in 1990.
Swiss surgeons split youngest Siamese twins.
Five surgeons team headed by Barbara Wildhaber, head of the paediatric surgery unit at the Geneva University Hospital, assisted by two nurses and six anaesthesiologists, carried out the successful, five-hour operation last December to separate the tiny identical twins.
The Swiss doctors have separated eight-day-old conjoined twin sisters fused at the liver and chest -- the youngest ever successfully separated.
"It was magnificent! I will remember it my entire career," Wildhaber said.
