Switzerland has called on the United Nations in Geneva to uphold the 1951 Refugee Convention, which marked its 75th anniversary on Tuesday. +Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox "We must all feel a sense of duty to uphold the ri...

Swiss bank UBS posted significantly higher earnings in the second quarter of 2026. However, given the ongoing uncertainty surrounding the debate on stricter capital requirements in Switzerland, the major bank is taking a cautious approach to its time...

The Swiss are very loyal to their main bank, but this loyalty comes at a high price. This is revealed in a study published on Tuesday by the online comparison site Moneyland.ch, which analysed the overall costs of Switzerland’s leading credit insti...

Between April and July, volunteers across Switzerland used drones to save 7,590 fawns from being killed by agricultural mowers. This is a new record – over a thousand more than in 2025. Around 800 volunteer drone teams were deployed. They tracked d...

The Zurich Insurance Group has dismissed more than a dozen employees in connection with enforcement proceedings by the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) that have come to light. This was stated by Group CEO Mario Greco in an interv...

The Zurich-based International Football Association Board (IFAB) has clarified the scope of VAR’s intervention. For the time being, VAR (video assistant referee) will no longer be able to intervene regarding the nature of the offence in the event o...

The population of the city of Bern, the Swiss capital, grew by 257 people to 147,124 in the first half of 2026. This was due to a positive net migration figure and a birth surplus, even though the number of births reached a long-term low. The number ...

The ongoing drought and heat are causing grapes to ripen earlier. Lucerne’s wine-growing commissioner, Nicole Theiler, therefore expects this year’s grape harvest to begin “a few days to two weeks” earlier than in an average year. Whether the...

A Swiss International Air Lines (SWISS) flight between Zurich and New York was forced to make an emergency landing in Bangor, in the US state of Maine, due to smoke developing on board. The aircraft landed safely and without incident, the airline con...

The Swiss-American opera singer Barbara Hendricks and 74 international figures have launched a coalition to mark the 75th anniversary of the 1951 Refugee Convention. Speaking in Geneva on Tuesday, they affirmed the right of persecuted people to seek ...

Air travel has become significantly more expensive in Switzerland over the past five years. What's more, airfares are likely to rise even further in the coming months, says comparison service Comparis. Travellers are now paying just under 70% more fo...

FIFA President Gianni Infantino’s close relationship with US President Donald Trump has also raised suspicions in the US Congress. The influential Democrat Jamie Raskin has called for information from FIFA and from Infantino. Raskin called on FIFA,...

Following the historic low recorded in June, the water level of Lake Constance fell to a new record low in July as well. In the Untersee, the water level is 1.5 metres below the long-term average for this time of year. The ongoing drought is particul...

The number of people receiving vocational rehabilitation support under the disability insurance scheme rose again last year. In 2025, mental health conditions remained the leading cause of disability, particularly among young people. Around 61,000 pe...

The two nuclear reactors at Beznau nuclear plant, which are cooled by water from the River Aare, have been reconnected to the electricity grid, albeit at reduced output. They had been shut down on June 26, after the river’s temperature had reached ...

The Swiss Federal Criminal Court has fined the Geneva-based private bank Lombard Odier CHF3 million in the money laundering case involving former Uzbekistan President's daughter Gulnara Karimova. On Monday, the Federal Criminal Court handed down its ...

The city of Zurich’s second attempt to provide financial assistance to undocumented migrants has failed in court. The Zurich Administrative Court has dismissed an appeal by the city council on the grounds that the project contravenes higher-ranking...

The Swiss National Bank (SNB) is set to return to profit in the second quarter, according to economists at UBS. Following a loss of half a billion francs in the first quarter, the central bank is expected to post a profit of between CHF19 billion and...

Ten appeals have been lodged against the rehousing plan for residents wishing to leave the village of Brienz, which is still under threat from a landslide. On July 10, the Albula municipal council approved a loan of CHF82.5 million to resettle villag...

While thunderstorms have lashed the Alpine ridge, they have brought little relief to drought-stricken Switzerland. Now, federal authorities warn that another heatwave is likely to arrive by the middle of next week. Since July 23, people have been tal...

In a Swiss first, the municipality of Chiasso now requires dog owners to wash away their pets' urine from pavements and building façades. Any breach of the regulation is punishable by a fine of CHF100. “The new municipal by-law was adopted in mid-...

A majority of Swiss people believe that the country came into being in 1848 with the creation of the federal state, rather than in 1291. They also regard William Tell as a legendary figure rather than a historical hero, according to a poll published ...

Exactly 10 years ago, on July 26, 2016, the solar-powered aircraft Solar Impulse 2 completed its first round-the-world flight without fuel. During its round-the-world flight, Solar Impulse 2 covered 43,041 km without fuel, thanks to some 17,000 photo...

Several thousand people gathered at the Pride Festival in Bern on Saturday to campaign for the rights and causes of queer people. Alongside political issues, the focus was also on the solidarity within the queer community. Anna Rosenwasser, a Zurich-...

Thirty-four firefighters set off from Geneva on Saturday, heading for Bordeaux. They are to assist their French counterparts who are fighting the fires in the Gironde. Bern is also considering sending four helicopters. It was the Geneva Fire and Resc...

Forgotten for twenty years in a customs warehouse, an engraving by Marc Chagall has finally found its place in a French museum. “The Acrobat with the Violin”, created in 1924, will be on display from September at the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Besa...

The current drought is forcing many local authorities to restrict water consumption. No problems are expected with regard to drinking water, despite the heatwave forecast for next week. The situation is more difficult when it comes to water for agric...

The tense geopolitical situation in Europe is prompting the Swiss defence ministry to reassess the importance of old, disused bunkers. The requirements regarding protection, resilience and decentralisation of the Swiss army have increased, and the ne...

UBS economists have confirmed their growth forecasts for Switzerland following the announcement of new US tariffs. UBS economists still forecast growth in gross domestic product (GDP), adjusted for sporting events, of 0.7% this year and 1.4% year. Wh...

Severe forest fires are currently raging in popular tourist destinations on the west coast of France. Dozens of holidaymakers from Switzerland have had to be evacuated from the area around Cap-Ferret. Around 65 members of the Touring Club Switzerland...