The UN High Commissioner for Refugees believes that the agency is facing an “impossible” task due to a lack of funds. Barham Saleh admitted in Geneva that “times are tough” while announcing a reorganisation. "Efficiency has its limits," said ...

Housing prices in Switzerland rose significantly again in the third quarter of 2026. Both single-family homes and flats saw sharp price increases compared with the previous quarter. Prices for single-family homes rose by 2.0%, while those for flats i...

Regulations at municipal and local swimming pools must prohibit the wearing of glasses fitted with a camera, according to a warning issued by public swimming pools on Monday. In German-speaking Switzerland, the Swiss association of swimming instructo...

Opponents of the proposed amendments to the law on war materiel launched their vote campaign by calling these changes "immoral" and "anti-Ukraine" during a press conference on Monday. Swiss citizens are set to vote on this bill, which aims to facilit...

A new gorilla baby was born last September at Basel Zoo. The father is the dominant male, Yeba, who fatally injured a newborn gorilla and another young male in the group last July. Makala, an 11-year-old female, gave birth to her first baby on Septem...

A handful of Christian churches and organisations in Switzerland have adopted ten "commandments" or guidelines for dealing with artificial intelligence. In their view, technological possibilities should be assessed in terms of their benefit to human ...

The company that runs the Great St. Bernard tunnel has decided to expand its use of renewable energy. It is set to install 7,000 square metres of solar panels. These are currently being installed on the approach road leading to the tunnel, on the Swi...

According to government estimates, the number of university students is set to rise by more than 20% over the next nine years. From 2029 to 2035, the number of primary school pupils is expected to fall as a result of the decline in the birth rate. De...

According to the Swiss Rheumatism League, osteoporosis – a rheumatic bone disease – often goes undiagnosed and inadequately treated in Switzerland. According to the International Osteoporosis Foundation (IOF), around 684,000 women affected by the...

The autumn rains that fell up until the weekend have only temporarily alleviated the drought, which remains severe in Switzerland. The situation remains tense, according to MeteoSwiss. After a long spell of mild weather with summer-like temperatures,...

Around 1,000 people took part in an unauthorised demonstration against capitalism and imperialism in the Swiss capital Bern on Sunday. The police, deployed in large numbers, prevented a march through the city centre. There were no major incidents. Th...

Basel-based pharmaceutical company Roche has presented new data on vamikibart, its experimental treatment for macular oedema associated with uveitis, a condition in which inflammation causes swelling in the macula. The data show that the treatment de...

From Wednesday, skiers will once again be able to hit the slopes on the Theodul Glacier above Zermatt, in canton Valais. The area, which normally remains open throughout the summer, was forced to close temporarily because of the heatwave and rapidly ...

The expert report into the tragedy in Crans-Montana is taking longer than expected. It is now not expected to be published until at least the end of January. “I can confirm that the deadline has been extended because of the complexity of the work i...

Several hundred people took part in the fourth Swiss Mad Pride outside the Swiss Parliament in Bern on Saturday. The event aimed to promote the visibility, acceptance and inclusion of people living with mental health conditions. A 50-metre pink carpe...

Thousands of people took to the streets in some Swiss cities on Saturday to protest against the war in Gaza. Demonstrations in Zurich remained peaceful, but in Lausanne a UBS building was vandalised and police used tear gas against about 60 masked pr...

Dogs from Swiss and other European specialist police units have been training together in Rome this week. The exercises focused on high-risk operations and, for the first time, on emergency treatment for injured animals. According to Italian police, ...

Sporadic sightings of the Northern Lights were reported in the Swiss night sky on Saturday evening. Although the lights were faint, they could be seen clearly, meteorologist Daniel Gerstgrasser wrote in a post on X. The natural spectacle could be see...

The growth of booking platforms such as Airbnb is putting increasing pressure on housing markets in Swiss cities and tourist hotspots. While tenants’ groups and hoteliers are calling for tighter rules, homeowners warn against disproportionate restr...

A 19-year-old Swiss woman has died in an accident in Nicaragua. She drowned along with two other women after their car was swept away while they were attempting to cross a flood-swollen river. The announcement was made on Friday by Nicaragua’s co-p...

The hype around veggie burgers and soya yoghurt has faded in Switzerland. As a result, start-ups focused on plant-based nutrition are shifting their attention to the B2B market, selling protein ingredients rather than finished products. Meat alternat...

The risk of collisions with wildlife on Swiss roads rises sharply in autumn. According to figures from an insurer, Eastern Switzerland and the Espace Mittelland record a particularly high number of such accidents. Over the past five years, insurer Mo...

Despite rising prices, consumer spending habits remain unchanged in Switzerland. In September, the PostFinance consumption indicator, based on card payments made by its 2.4 million customers, rose by 0.9% compared with the same period in 2025. The in...

The United Nations (UN) says broadcasting the execution of a man responsible for a mass killing in the United States would “constitute a form of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment”. Speaking to reporters on Friday, a UN spokeswom...

More than nine months after the Crans Montana fire tragedy, the Swiss government still doesn't know how to settle the bill for the medical care provided to the Italian victims – which amounts to CHF1.5 million, Swiss public broadcaster RTS has lear...

Swiss train manufacturer Stadler Rail has been awarded the second part of a major order from Saudi Arabia. The Saudi Arabian Railways (SAR) has ordered a further ten Intercity trains worth CHF300 million. With this order, the SAR has exercised an opt...

A Swiss popular initiative aimed at loosening planning rules on solar power plants has failed due to a high number of invalid signatures. The 18-month deadline for collecting 100,000 valid signatures has now passed. The construction of solar power in...

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, has hailed Navi Pillay’s Nobel Peace Prize as “a very strong signal” for international justice. This award “is a collective success for human rights”, the Austrian told the press in G...

An external software supplier to the Bern Pension Fund and the Bern Teachers’ Insurance Fund in Switzerland has fallen victim to a cyber attack. The Swiss canton has no evidence that any data has been stolen. The cyberattack took place at the end o...

Eye researchers at the Swiss city of Basel are hopeful of a breakthrough in the treatment for blind people after initial positive indications that a new form of therapy works. Blind people learning to see. What sounds like a fairy tale is becoming re...