Prosecutors have demanded a six year prison sentence without parole for the former head of Raiffeisen bank and and his ex-business partner at an appeal court hearing. Pierin Vincenz and Beat Stocker were found guilty of fraud, aggravated breach of tr...

Swiss Farmers’ Union president Markus Ritter estimates that losses caused by the heatwave will be higher than the CHF500 million of 2003. Losses are certain to be higher this year as the heat and drought has affected all regions of the country, sai...

A live hand grenade that was spotted by swimmers in Zurich's river Limmat has been removed by army specialists. The small bomb from the former Yugoslavia was revealed when the water level dropped at the Unterer Letten outdoor river pool in the Swiss ...

The United States is imposing news tariffs of up to 100% on imported drones and their components. The import duty targets Chinese manufacturers in particular, as they dominate the US market. According to a White House statement, the 100% tariff appli...

The documentary Qui vit encore (Who is still alive) is representing Switzerland in the race for an Oscar. In it, Geneva-based director Nicolas Wadimoff has survivors from Gaza tell their stories in an abstract setting. Qui vit encore is a film that d...

The exceptionally low water level of the Rhine is causing difficulties for fuel logistics to Switzerland, with transport costs soaring from CHF22–28 ($27-34) to as much as CHF240 per tonne from Rotterdam to Basel. According to the Swiss Touring Clu...

The teachers’ umbrella organisation is sounding the alarm: a lack of staff, funding and time is jeopardising the Integrative School project. According to a survey, teaching staff are almost exactly split down the middle between those in favour and ...

The hot summer is taking its toll on Switzerland’s glaciers. Glaciologist Matthias Huss expects this to be one of the years with the most melting since records began – and anticipates that dozens of small glaciers will disappear completely. "We a...

Interpharma, the association of research-based pharmaceutical companies in Switzerland, believes that access to innovative medicines is worsening since the US introduced policies to lower drug prices in line with peer countries. A survey of member co...

The Swiss parliament can decide on the Compass Initiative, which calls significant legislative provisions related to international treaties to be approved by the people and the cantons. Back in November, the Swiss government decided to recommend a "n...

The Legionella outbreak in Basel has come to an end according to local health authorities. No further cases have been reported for more than a week. Tests confirm that the correct source of the outbreak has been identified. One person remains in hosp...

Rivers and streams in Switzerland have exceptionally low water levels due to the ongoing drought. In July, the Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN) even recorded historic lows at eleven monitoring stations. Between April 1 and 31 July 31, around...

Despite being legally obliged to do so, doctors’ practices, hospitals and pharmacies do not always pass on discounts on medicines to health insurance funds and patients. This is the finding of the Swiss Federal Audit Office, which is calling on the...

In 15 out of 26 Swiss cantons, proposed rents fell in July, whereas the opposite usually happens, according to the property platform Homegate. Overall, however, the national average has remained stable compared with June, while asking rents continue ...

The Zurich "Night-time Peace" initiative, which calls for greater protection against aircraft noise, is being withdrawn. However, there is disagreement within the initiative committee over this decision. The citizens’ organisation called Fluglärms...

A 38-year-old from Ukraine, who served a prison sentence in Switzerland, is allowed to remain in Zurich despite being ordered to leave. This was the ruling of the Zurich Administrative Court. As there is a risk of forced conscription, the chronically...

Applause rang out across Switzerland as the solar eclipse reached its peak at around 8:20pm. Armed with solar eclipse glasses, camping chairs and high spirits, many people turned out to watch the sky on Wednesday. The spectacle began in the north-eas...

The Swiss government wants to hold bank executives more accountable and prevent risks arising from high bonuses. Stricter regulations on this matter have been put out for public consultation that would also force banks to be better prepared for crise...

Eleven years after the launch of a project to reintroduce the osprey in Switzerland, a pair of these migratory birds has returned to nest for the first time since 1914. Three chicks hatched in the spring between May 25 and 29, reveals Wendy Strahm, c...

The government has set out the broad outlines of a summit on artificial intelligence (AI), which Switzerland will host in Geneva in June 2027. The event is expected to cost around CHF6 million to stage. Fabiola Gianotti, former director of the Europe...

Electricity production in Switzerland is declining because low water levels are reducing output from run-of-the-river hydropower plants. However, abundant solar power generation is helping to prevent supply bottlenecks. Unlike just a few years ago, s...

Switzerland has stopped short of declaring a state of emergency due to the ongoing drought and heatwave. The situation can currently be managed with existing structures, the government says. The government is in dialogue with the cantons and other au...

Swiss retail sales rose in the first half of 2026, with turnover increasing by 2.6% compared with the previous year, according to market research firm NielsenIQ (NIQ). Both main segments contributed to this positive performance. The food sector grew ...

The Swiss government is set to recommend that parliament rejects a popular initiative “for a sustainable and forward-looking Swiss financial centre”, without putting forward a counter-proposal. It took this decision on Wednesday, arguing that it ...

Switzerland will cover 80% of the security costs of a Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) conference in Lugano on December 3-4. Wide-ranging security measures will be put in place to ensure the safety of attendees, including nu...

In Switzerland, the number of corporate bankruptcies rose sharply in the first half of 2026. This increase is partly due to economic factors and partly to a change in the law. From the start of 2025, public creditors such as tax and social security a...

The Swiss summer of 2026 has already broken many of the temperature records set in 2003, the weather service Meteonews announced. The current summer has so far notched up higher temperatures, more days of extreme heat and more tropical nights in many...

Three major Swiss business organisations are backing a popular initiative to impose limits on federal staffing costs. The Swiss Business Federation economiesuisse, the Swiss Trade Association and the Swiss Employers’ Association are supporting the ...

Following the discovery of a drone laden with explosives at Leipzig airport in Germany, Europe is asking itself how to protect infrastructure from increasingly sophisticated aerial threats. Switzerland, a country at the forefront of drone research, i...

The trial of two ski tour guides has begun in Switzerland, three and a half years after a fatal avalanche accident in the Bernese Oberland. The prosecution has charged both defendents with multiple counts of manslaughter through negligence. The regio...