The average temperature in Switzerland in October was eight degrees Celcius, which was 1.4 degrees above the reference period from 1991 to 2020. But the tempertaures were some distance off record highs, said the Federal Office of Meteorology and Clim...

Swiss defence contractor RUAG wants to turn the page on a dark chapter following a spate of serious irregularities dating back to 2002. "The complexity of these projects made the work demanding. However, this investment was a deliberate choice to pre...

Swiss defence minister Martin Pfister says that the first components of the United States Patriot missile defence system would arrive in 2027. He received confirmation of this from the US Ambassador to Switzerland. A fire control unit comprising a ra...

Swiss foreign minister Ignazio Cassis has concluded a two-day visit to Pyongyang, the first by a government minister to North Korea since 2003. The diplomatic visit was aimed at re-establishing political dialogue with Kim Jong Un’s regime. "I am de...

Following a strong summer season, the winter is also likely to be a success for the tourism sector, according to the KOF Swiss Economic Institute. Specifically, the KOF Institute forecasts around 18.7 million overnight stays for the 2026/27 winter se...

The Swiss Federal Supreme Court has upheld a 20 year prison sentence handed down to former Liberian rebel commander Alieu Kosiah. The court acquitted him of crimes against humanity, but the conviction for war crimes stands. In its judgement published...

A planned merger of the regional co-operatives at Swiss supermarket chain Migros will not cost thousands of jobs, according to chair Mario Irminger. "Incorrect figures are circulating in the media," he told the Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ). “It is c...

The presidents of Switzerland and China, Guy Parmelin and Xi Jinping, have signed a modernised free trade agreement in Beijing. Many previous tariffs previously imposed on Swiss exports to China are to be abolished if the deal is ratified by the Swis...

New Year’s celebrations at the Swiss town of Crans-Montana will be more muted than normal as it marks the first anniversary of a fatal bar fire that claimed 41 lives. Thousands of locals and tourists will be celebrating New Year’s Eve in the cant...

A national fundraising day by Swiss Solidarity has raised more than CHF5 million for people impacted by war and famine in Sudan. The fundraising arm of Swiss public broadcaster SRG, Swissinfo's parent company, has been raising money for humanitarian ...

Due to a lack of affordable housing, tens of thousands of people in Switzerland have put off setting up home independently. This is a conservative estimate, as the property consultancy Wüest Partner explained in a study published on Thursday. If the...

Almost all Russian drones and missiles fired at Ukraine contain electronic components from Swiss companies, according to the Ukrainian intelligence service. Ukraine says it has identified parts made by 11 Swiss companies that play a crucial role in m...

Filmmaker Mira Nair, mother of the Mayor of New York and winner of many accolades for her movies, will be honoured for her life’s work at the Geneva Film Festival. Long before Mira Nair’s son, Zohran Mamdani, took office as mayor of the largest c...

The Swiss National Bank (SNB) posted a profit of CHF44,2 billion in the first nine months of 2026. The third quarter alone was also very positive. Following a profit of 25.2 billion in the first half of the year, the third quarter period resulted in ...

The flood of money poured into doctors, hospitals, networks of doctors, professional bodies and patient groups by pharmaceutical companies remains substantial. In 2025, these payments – in the form of conference attendance fees, accommodation expen...

On Thursday, around 100 Yemeni tribal leaders launched a “code of honour” at the United Nations in Geneva, committing themselves to protecting civilians during times of conflict and ensuring access to humanitarian aid. This initiative has the sup...

In the face of a wave of demonstrations across Europe, the Secretary General of the Council of Europe defends the right to demonstrate while strongly condemning the violence. For Alain Berset, these mobilisations reveal a deep malaise: the destructio...

People who take cold showers are less likely to be absent from work. This is the conclusion reached by a study carried out by the University of Basel. According to the study, a daily cold shower reduces the number of days missed from work due to illn...

The digitalisation of the rail infrastructure by 2045 is expected to cost CHF7 billion. This has been confirmed by Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) and the Federal Office of Transport in response to an enquiry from the Keystone-SDA news agency. SBB’s f...

The Swiss stock market hit a new record on Thursday. The benchmark SMI index rose briefly to just under 14,732 points during the morning, surpassing the previous high set in mid-August by a good 50 points. On Thursday, the blue-chip stocks provided s...

The effects of climate change are already being felt in Switzerland, the National Centre for Climate Services (NCCS) announced on Thursday as the “NCCS-Impacts” research project drew to a close. Heat, drought and extreme weather are taking their ...

Three Swiss brands have made it into the world’s top 100 most valuable brands. Zurich Insurance, Nescafé and Nestlé feature in this year’s ranking by the brand consultancy Interbrand. Zurich Insurance comes out on top, ranking 58th with an esti...

The Swiss save money, but for many, their financial reserves are not enough to cope with a prolonged loss of income. Almost one in two people would struggle to maintain their standard of living after just three months without an income. This is the f...

Swiss Solidarity, the humanitarian arm of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation, has launched a fundraising campaign on Thursday for the war-torn population of Sudan. Swiss President Guy Parmelin will open the National Day of Solidarity as a guest on Sw...

UBS CEO Sergio Ermotti issued an unusually clear threat to relocate the Swiss bank as he stepped up his rhetoric over Switzerland’s plans to make it hold billions of dollars in extra capital. “We are assessing the long term consequences for our a...

The Swiss defence ministry has been tasked with evaluating two long-range surface-to-air defence systems - Israel's Barak MX and France's SAMP/T NG - as potential additions to the US-made Patriot system, the government said on Wednesday. The Federal ...

Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis is due to begin a three-day trip to North and South Korea. On Thursday and Friday, he will be in Pyongyang, where he will attend the offiical reopening of the Swiss diplomatic office. On Saturday, the foreign min...

The Federal Council on Wednesday adopted a climate adaptation strategy and action plan for 2026–2031, outlining measures to better prepare Switzerland for the impacts of climate change. This strategy sets out objectives for adapting to climate chan...

Swiss citizens will vote on February 28, 2027, whether new nuclear power stations can be built in Switzerland, ten years after their construction was banned. Four other issues are on the agenda. The Federal Council wants to lift the ban on the constr...

Jacques Moretti will be questioned next Monday in Sion in connection with the deadly New Year's Eve fire at the Le Constellation bar in Crans-Montana. The team of prosecutors handling the case has decided not to summon his wife, Jessica. The Office o...