Swiss Info

Wed, 22 Jul 2026 07:20:51 GMT
Drownings in Swiss water bodies on the rise again
At least 15 people have died in swimming accidents over the past 30 days. This figure is higher than last year’s. Up to July 21, the number of deaths was higher than in 2024 and 2025, but still lower than in 2022 and 2023, according to a spokespers...

Tue, 21 Jul 2026 14:24:09 GMT
Nestlé to close Hungarian factory at end of year
Swiss food manufacturer Nestlé plans to close a Hungarian factory specialising in the production of hollow chocolate figures, such as those sold at Christmas or Easter. This type of confectionery, which is also sold in Switzerland, will in future be...

Tue, 21 Jul 2026 14:00:44 GMT
Swiss conservationists want Basel zoo gorilla breeding to stop
The Fondation Franz Weber (FFW) nature conservation foundation is calling for an end to the gorilla breeding programme at Basel Zoo after two animal deaths. The foundation is also demanding that the zoo provide clarification on the circumstances that...

Tue, 21 Jul 2026 12:41:34 GMT
Switzerland abstains from German-style train station alcohol ban
Swiss Federal Railways will continue selling alcohol at train stations despite a complete ban in Germany. Deutsche Bahn, Germany’s leading railway company, has imposed the ban to improve safety for passengers and staff. In Switzerland, the sale of ...

Tue, 21 Jul 2026 12:06:12 GMT
UNHCR set for Geneva Palais Wilson move following cuts
The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is set to replace the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights at the Palais Wilson, an iconic landmark of ‘International Geneva’. The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights is movin...

Tue, 21 Jul 2026 11:02:56 GMT
Open drug use in Zurich city centre on the rise
Zurich has responded with more intensive police checks and social work initiatives as drug users are increasingly drawn to public spaces. The Swiss city said there has been an increase in the number of people seen using drugs, particularly around the...

Tue, 21 Jul 2026 10:16:12 GMT
Headless woman found in Swiss field has been identified
The body of the person found without a head or limbs just over two weeks ago in a field in Switzerland has been identified. She was a 71-year-old woman who had been suffering from health problems and had been reported missing several weeks earlier. T...

Tue, 21 Jul 2026 10:12:28 GMT
Cyberattackers demand CHF10m from Swiss train maker Stadler
Cybercriminals have demanded a ransom of CHF10 million from Swiss rail equipment manufacturer Stadler Rail to return data stolen from one of its suppliers during a cyberattack. Stadler says its own IT systems were not compromised and production is co...

Tue, 21 Jul 2026 09:58:35 GMT
Switzerland’s stork population growing again
The white stork population in Switzerland has been growing again for 25 years. After these migratory birds were considered extinct in Switzerland, 1,300 pairs are now breeding. The organisation Storch Schweiz attributes this resurgence to a change in...

Tue, 21 Jul 2026 09:54:05 GMT
Swiss Rhône Glacier suffers one extreme year after another
The snow reserves that built up this winter on Switzerland’s glaciers have already been used up. The Rhône Glacier in canton Valais is a testament to the scale of this phenomenon. Matthias Huss, director of Glamos, the Swiss glacier monitoring net...

Tue, 21 Jul 2026 09:37:54 GMT
Rising June Swiss watch sales bucks 2026 trend
Following the sharp decline in April and the stabilisation in May, sales of Swiss watches abroad began to rise again in June. According to figures released today by the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry (FH), exports in the sixth month of 2026 s...

Tue, 21 Jul 2026 08:43:57 GMT
Swiss drought aids fight against Japanese beetle
The current drought is helping to prevent the spread of Japanese beetles in Switzerland. Measures against the invasive pest are working despite discovery of new populations Bern and cantons St Gallen and Zug. The Japanese beetle has established itsel...

Tue, 21 Jul 2026 08:15:01 GMT
Swiss Julius Bär private bank posts record half-year profit
In the first half of 2026, the Swiss private bank Julius Bär increased profits to a new record high, thanks to higher revenues and the absence of one-off charges. But new money inflows to the Swiss private banking giant remained modest. At CHF673 mi...

Tue, 21 Jul 2026 08:02:12 GMT
Conservationists oppose Eiger North Face tourist attraction
Nature conservation groups are opposing plans by Jungfrau Railways to develope the Eigergletscher station tourist destination in Switzerland. Jungfrau Railways generated almost CHF200 million in revenue from the Jungfraujoch mountain tourist service ...

Tue, 21 Jul 2026 07:38:27 GMT
Life sentence sought for Swiss ex-politician accused of raping women and child
Prosecutors are seeking a life sentence for a former Swiss cantonal politician who is accused of drugging and sexually abusing several women and a child. The man is accused of multiple counts of attempted murder, aggravated rape, aggravated sexual as...

Tue, 21 Jul 2026 06:56:24 GMT
Swiss exports to US boomed in second quarter
Switzerland’s foreign trade picked up significantly in the second quarter, driven mainly by strong sales of pharmaceutical products and a rebound in trade with North America. Between April and the end of June, exports rose by 8.8% compared with the...

Mon, 20 Jul 2026 15:10:22 GMT
Car crash closes Swiss San Bernardino tunnel
A car accident in the San Bernardino tunnel in southeast Switzerland led to the route being closed for several hours. Other cars were diverted via the San Bernardino Pass, whilst heavy goods vehicles and buses were held at the service areas in Campag...

Mon, 20 Jul 2026 14:00:35 GMT
Swiss petition calls for six months’ maternity leave
New mothers in Switzerland should be able to claim six months’ maternity leave, according to a petition submitted to the Federal Chancellery with 110,000 signatures. According to Campax, the organisation behind the proposal, the measure would impro...

Mon, 20 Jul 2026 13:53:19 GMT
Fifty passengers evacuated from Zurich airport Skymetro
Around 50 passengers were evacuated from Zurich airport's Skymetro after it came to a halt in the tunnel due to a technical fault. The fully automated metro linking the airport’s main building to Terminal E came to a halt on the 1.1-kilometre route...

Mon, 20 Jul 2026 13:45:44 GMT
Anti-abortion campaigners dispute Zurich rally route
The organisers of the anti-abortion 'March for Life' have challenged Zurich’s decision to hold the rally in the suburb of Oerlikon instead of the city centre. The rally intends to appeal the city’s decision in the courts. Zurich had once again al...

Mon, 20 Jul 2026 13:39:29 GMT
Nestlé investing CHF520m in Italian animal feed plant
Swiss food manufacturer Nestlé is expanding its pet food business and investing around CHF520 million in a factory and logistics centre in northern Italy. From 2029, the site will serve as a hub for wet food for dogs and cats, as well as providing l...

Mon, 20 Jul 2026 11:25:29 GMT
Helicopters supply water to Swiss Alps
Over the past few weeks, water has been transported by helicopter to the Alps in the Swiss canton of St Gallen. However, according to a new motion tabled in the St Gallen cantonal council, it is unclear who is responsible and when the offers of assis...

Mon, 20 Jul 2026 11:07:51 GMT
EU steps up antitrust case against Swiss chemicals firm Sika
The European Commission is stepping up antitrust proceedings against the construction chemicals group Sika and other manufacturers. The Commission has sent statements of objections regarding suspected price-fixing in relation to chemical additives fo...

Mon, 20 Jul 2026 10:46:10 GMT
James Gray wins Locarno Film Festival lifetime achievement award
American director James Gray will be presented with the Pardo alla Carriera lifettime achievement award at the Locarno Film Festival. The director will receive the award in Piazza Grande on Sunday August 9, before presenting his new film, Paper Tiger...

Mon, 20 Jul 2026 09:04:30 GMT
Swiss plan to turn snow cannons onto forest fires
Snowmaking infrastructure at Swiss ski resorts could be adapted to meet the growing threat of forest fires. The ski region of Adelboden-Lenk in the Bernese Oberland offers an example of how this could work. Dry soils, low water levels and limited rai...

Mon, 20 Jul 2026 08:52:26 GMT
Climate change exacerbates ozone pollution: Swiss research
The increasing frequency of heatwaves is impacting ozone concentrations in the lowest layer of the atmosphere, according to Swiss research. Sunny and dry weather promotes the formation of ground-level ozone, as the Swiss Academy of Sciences (SCNAT) n...

Mon, 20 Jul 2026 08:26:17 GMT
German car crisis hits Swiss manufacturing industry
The closure of a Swiss factory that manufactures precision components shows that the crisis in the German car industry is also having an impact in Switzerland. The St Gallen-based industrial group SFS has decided to close its plant in Flawil by the e...

Mon, 20 Jul 2026 06:53:05 GMT
Korean firm bids CHF1.5bn for Swiss pharma supplier Polypeptide
The South Korean contract biopharmaceutical manufacturer Samsung Biologics intends to acquire the Swiss active pharmaceutical ingredient manufacturer Polypeptide. The company is offering CHF44.31 per share in cash, valuing Polypeptide at around CHF1....

Sun, 19 Jul 2026 11:16:00 GMT
Dog owners protest proposed restrictions in Zurich’s largest off-leash zone
The city of Zurich plans to close off part of the Sihl riverbank on the Allmend Brunau to dogs. Several dozen people protested against this with their dogs on Saturday afternoon. A section of the right bank of the Sihl, approximately 450 metres long,...

Sun, 19 Jul 2026 10:08:00 GMT
New Swiss nuclear plants could put thousands of renewables jobs at risk
If nuclear power stations were to be authorised again in Switzerland, this would have a negative impact on employment in the construction and renewable energy sectors. A recent study by the Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW) suggests that t...

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