On Wednesday afternoon, the Swiss franc suddenly rose sharply in value against the US dollar, but also against the euro. The main reason is an announcement by the US Treasury. The dollar/franc exchange rate fell from over 0.81 to just under 0.80, whi...

In response to Russia's ongoing war against Ukraine, the Swiss government has approved the 20th package of sanctions against Russia, thereby aligning itself with the European Union. Currently, around 2,790 individuals, companies and organisations in ...

The foreign ministers of Switzerland and Germany reaffirmed the close partnership between the two countries during a gathering in Bern. Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis said that foreign policy is shaped to a particular extent by relations with neighb...

Individual taxation in Switzerland will not come into force until 2032 with the government opting for the latest possible date to implement the measure approved by voters earlier this year. The decision was taken to grant cantons the longest possible...

Lake Zurich in Switzerland has reached its lowest water level since records began. The water level of lake Zurich now stands at 404.45 metres above sea level at the federal government’s measuring station on the Zürichhorn. This broke the previous ...

The S status protection granted by Switzerland to Ukrainians will continue until at least March 4, 2028. The government has extended this status by one year, judging that the situation in Ukraine did not appear to be stabilising in the long term. How...

The Swiss armed forces needs an additional CHF970 million to invest in air defences this year, the government has told parliament. The government has announced the extra funding, which has been made possible by higher-than-expected tax revenues. It c...

Asylum applications in Switzerland continued to fall in 2025. The Alpine state recorded 25,781 applications, which is 7.1% fewer than in 2024. Applications for S status permits by Ukrainians also fell by nearly a quarter. In total, 12,897 application...

The Swiss government has announced a CHF800 million budget surplus for 2026, having initially forecast a large deficit. The revised figures come after parliament approved an austerity plan to prevent losses in the coming years. The government had for...

Some Swiss farmers have already brought their livestock down from the mountain pastures earlier than planned due to drought conditions. The Jura Arc, French-speaking Switzerland and parts of eastern Switzerland have been particularly hard hit, said S...

Swiss manufacturing output returned to growth in the second quarter of the year. The construction sector also recorded growth, said the Federal Statistical Office (FSO). Overall, between April and June, production rose by 5.1% and turnover by 0.4% ye...

Swiss dental implant manufacturer Straumann has named Christopher Norbye as its new CEO from December 1. Norbye will succeed Guillaume Daniellot, who has decided to leave the company after nearly 20 years of service, including seven years at the helm...

The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is “far from being brought under control”, warned Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the head of the Geneva-based World Health Organisation (WHO). He warned of a “high” risk that the e...

Refugees from Afghanistan can again be returned to their country after the Swiss Federal Administrative Court ruled repatriations possible under “favourable individual circumstances”. The court made the ruling as it dismissed an appeal against re...

The bodies of two Belgian mountaineers, aged 39 and 41 when they went missing in 1992, have been discovered in the melting Trift Glacier in Switzerland. The remains were discovered on July 26 in the municipality of Saas-Grund, canton Valais. A recove...

A Swiss professor of theology is to advise the Vatican on social and socio-ethical issues for a period of five years. Pope Leo XIV has appointed Peter G. Kirchschläger as an adviser to the ‘Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development’, ac...

A Swiss court has ruled that two victims of alleged sexual crimes can stay in the country. A mother and daughter have complained of being subject to sexual violence by a former politician in canton Aargau. They also lodged an appeal against the revoc...

Swiss manufacturer Burckhardt Compression has announced up to 220 job cuts, of which 150 will be in Switzerland and 70 at international sites. In addition to the job cuts, the organisational structure is to be simplified, selected functions consolida...

After a break of almost four years, Switzerland is resuming the transfer of asylum-seekers arriving from Italy. "The first flights have been booked," Magdalena Baker, spokesperson for the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM), confirmed to Swiss publ...

A study by Agroscope Zurich and the University of Hohenheim, Germany, shows a significant decline in wild honeybee colonies in Europe. The honeybee is classified as critically endangered, the Swiss organisation FreeTheBees announced on Tuesday. The o...

A Ukrainian man who was arrested in Switzerland and extradited to Germany was sentenced on Tuesday to 15 months’ imprisonment for espionage. According to the prosecution, he had been planning arson attacks on behalf of Russia. The Stuttgart Court o...

The Swiss Senate’s Political Institutions Committee has gone further than the government on the issue of the safeguard clause relating to immigration within the Switzerland–EU package of agreements. It has introduced an incentive tax as an additi...

Around 70 Swiss civil society organisations working in the climate, health, environmental and agricultural sectors have launched the ‘No 50°C summers!’ alliance, calling for immediate action against climate change and heatwaves. United under the...

People in Switzerland prefer to do sport outdoors. Hiking, cycling, swimming, skiing and jogging are the most popular activities. However, strength training at the gym and yoga are becoming increasingly common. On Tuesday in Bern, the defence ministr...

The number of people in employment rose in Switzerland in the second quarter. At the end of June, 5.4 million people were in employment across the country, 0.8% more than a year earlier, the Federal Statistical Office (FSO) said in a press release on...

The Valais Public Prosecutor’s Office has decided to extend the list of defendants in the case of the fire at the “Le Constellation” bar. The local councillor responsible for security in the municipality of Crans-Montana between 2017 and 2020 i...

The number of vacant flats has risen slightly in canton Zurich. Nevertheless, housing remains extremely scarce in the two Swiss cities. The cantonal vacancy rate has risen from 0.48% to 0.52%, the canton announced on Tuesday. As was the case last yea...

In Switzerland, around 80 kilograms of food per person is thrown away every year. To raise public awareness and encourage people to take action, businesses, NGOs and public authorities are organising the first National Week Against Food Waste from Se...

The Twint payment app is set to introduce direct debit from 2027. The new service is supported by Switzerland’s largest banks and is intended to offer an alternative to the traditional LSV+ direct debit scheme, which is due to be phased out at the ...

Three people were rescued by helicopter from the Joli Gorge near Niedergesteln in southwestern Switzerland on Friday. To carry out the rescue, a rescue specialist was lowered on a 50-metre rope into the gorge, which is up to two metres wide in places...