Swiss court wants Basel traffic to slow down; Valais residents want to break French Raclette record; Switzerland voted world's smartest country

New for 11 February, 2025

In its new ruling, the Federal Administrative Court agreed with local residents that, in order to lower the noise level on the A9 motorway near Basel, the speed limit must be reduced to 60 km-per-hour (from the current 100), between the hours of 10 pm and 7 am.

“What the decision shows is that the courts are attaching increasing importance to noise protection," said Jérôme Jacky, spokesperson for the Federal Roads Office. But, while hundreds of people living near this noisy stretch of the motorway will be able to sleep better at night, the automobile lobby fears that the ruling could set a precedent for lower noise levels in areas of Switzerland as well. "Other motorways also go through urban areas, but if you decrease the speed to 60 km/hour everywhere, it will eventually cause delays,” this according to Andreas Dürr, president of the Automobile Club of Switzerland.

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In March 2024, France won the prize for the world’s largest raclette-eating event, with 2,236 people showing up to partake in the feast. Valais residents found this distinction hard to swallow, as raclette was originally created in their canton, so they say nobody, and certainly not the French, knows more about this cheese.

The Swiss also turned up their noses at the way the French prepared the dish, because rather than scraping the melted cheese off the grill, they simply used the electric machine which, according to the Valais contingent, “is like making an Italian person eat pasta carbonara mixed with chicken and cream.” To prove their superiority in the field of raclette, the Valaisans are organising an even bigger event, with the participation of 3,000 people.

"We're just doing it to beat the French, it’s a matter of national pride," organisers said, adding that “France has magnificent products, but raclette, they must leave to us.” The event will be held on April 5th at CERM in Martigny, but the tickets can be purchased now. The price is between 25 and 35 francs per person, and includes all-you-can-eat raclette — the Swiss version, of course.”

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Switzerland was voted the world’s smartest country. Though the company which compiled the survey, the World of Card Games, is not exactly known for scientific studies, it based the results on data culled from renowned sources, such as the Nobel Prize organisation, the World Population Review, and the World Bank.

It based the research on the number of Nobel Prize nominations per country, education level, as well as average IQ. With a score of 92.02 out of 100, Switzerland got the top position as the most intelligent country in the world. It counts 1,099 academics nominated for the Nobel Prize and an average IQ of 99.24, the study found. In the field of education, 40.02 percent of the population have at least a bachelor's degree, and 18.05 percent have a master's degree or equivalent qualification — which also boosted the country's overall ranking.