Topics of the week 30

Summer after summer, the same scenario plays out on the Gotthard axis. When lines of traffic build up to 20 kilometers in front of the tunnels, GPS systems look for routes through the villages. The consequences for the residential communities in Uri and Ticino are massive noise, exhaust fumes, and clogged town centers. «You're driving right through our living rooms!», warn the affected residents. The pressure on politicians to finally effectively stop the evasive traffic is growing.

To relieve the main axes and villages, the federal government is examining a dynamic transit fee to reduce peak times ("Alpine toll") at the request of parliament. While those affected and environmental associations are pushing for swift steering measures, constitutional questions and reservations regarding the connection to Ticino remain controversial.

Have you ever wondered why travelers voluntarily put themselves in traffic jams year after year, even though the forecasts are well known?

Since 1850, Switzerland has been losing its eternal ice on a historic scale. The glacier area shrank from around 1,800 to just under 960 square kilometers, while the ice volume plummeted from an estimated 130 to around 45 to 47 cubic kilometers today. Half of the volume has melted away since the 1930s, and a quarter of the remaining mass in the last decade alone. Over 1,000 small glaciers have already disappeared completely. Even the Great Aletsch Glacier in Valais, the most massive in the Alps at just under 20 km long and 80 km² in area, is losing 5 to 6 meters of ice height annually at Konkordiaplatz.

Of the remaining roughly 1,400 glaciers, 176 are systematically monitored today by the Swiss measurement network GLAMOS. Without consistent global climate protection, over 80 to 90 percent of the Swiss ice mass will have disappeared by the end of the century, leaving only isolated remnants in the very highest peak locations.

We make this change visible and document the state of the Swiss glaciers from historical photos to the present.

Since 2011, the «Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office» has served as the mouse catcher at the British seat of government. The world-famous Larry the cat has already seen six residents at 10 Downing Street. During his time in service, the cat has seen David Cameron, Theresa May, Boris Johnson, Liz Truss, Rishi Sunak, and Keir Starmer come and go. With Andy Burnham, the 7th Prime Minister is now moving in with Larry.

Currently, continuity in Whitehall only seems to exist on four paws.

With nearly 111,000 signatures, a broadly supported petition for a six-month maternity leave has sent a strong signal to Bern. The signatories are demanding that paid maternity leave in Switzerland be extended from the current 14 weeks to 26 weeks (six months) to strengthen the health of mother and child in the crucial first months of life, facilitate the return to work, and cushion professional disadvantages for women.

The need for action is also justified internationally: With its current 14 weeks, Switzerland ranks at the bottom of the OECD comparison, while the average is over 50 weeks of paid parental leave. Even direct neighboring countries like Germany, Austria, or France offer a significantly denser safety net with longer time off and expanded maternity protection models.