A spectacular 197.80-carat Romanov sapphire, linked to the Russian imperial court, drove up the bidding at Sotheby’s in Geneva, selling for CHF4.1 million ($4.9 million) – more than double its estimated price. The vivid blue Ceylon sapphire, meas...

Debates in Parliament on the 2027 budget are set to be complicated. The House of Representative's Finance Committee has recommended that it be rejected, by 15 votes to 9. More than a hundred proposals are on the table. According to the committee chai...

On Thursday, the European Commission informed Bern of a change to the division of responsibilities regarding unemployed cross-border workers. The change is relevant to Switzerland due to existing agreements and is likely to result in additional costs...

Swiss energy provider BKW Group is continuing its acquisition spree. Having recently expanded its electricity generation operations, the Bern-based energy company is now expanding its building engineering division by acquiring the German architectura...

Some 45 heads of state and government are in Dublin on Thursday for the European Political Community (EPC) summit. Swiss President Guy Parmelin is among those attending. The advantage of the EPC is that, unlike the European Union, it brings together ...

The Swiss stock market continued its upward trend on Thursday. In early trading, it reached a new all-time high of just over 15,200 points. "Investors have clearly been gripped by 'summit fever' once again," said one investor. According to market sou...

The Swiss woman with Ebola has been discharged from Geneva University Hospital. The hospital has confirmed this in response to an enquiry from the Keystone-SDA news agency. The Tribune de Genève paper was the first to report on this. The woman was a...

After years of growth, the market for co-working spaces in Switzerland has seen its first decline. In August 2026, there were 455 co-working spaces across the country, 9% fewer than a year earlier. This is according to a study published today by the ...

The decline of a popular wager involving the Swiss franc is adding fuel to the currency’s gains, prompting speculation about how far the nation’s central bank will let it appreciate. The franc, which is used as haven by investors during times of ...

Swiss authorities have arrested 41 people during an international crackdown on drug trafficking. The operation targeted an alleged organisation involved in cocaine smuggling and money laundering, according to a statement from the Office of the Attorn...

Every year in Switzerland, around 5,000 babies are born before the 37th week of pregnancy. On Sunday, to mark World Prematurity Day, hospitals and voluntary organisations are organising a range of awareness-raising events. According to the latest fig...

The centre-right parties in Zurich City Council want to prevent the Northern Irish band Kneecap from performing. They have called on the City Council to push for entry bans on the band over its solidarity with the Palestinian cause. The concert at th...

At the end of October, the Independent Commission of the Winterthur Foundation for Art, Culture and History launched two investigations into provenance. One of these concerns Albert Anker’s painting Der neue Wein I. The second work is the sculpture...

Last year, the Swiss banking sector generated CHF74.5 billion ($89.56 billion) in value added, both directly and indirectly. According to a study by BAK Economics, this corresponds to a total of around 338,700 full-time jobs. According to the study, ...

Hanurij Lee, a 20-year-old from South Korea, has won the composition final of the 80th Geneva International Music Competition (Concours de Genève). His piece, entitled "Stuff #1", was performed on Wednesday evening at the Victoria Hall. In addition ...

Although the scorching summer of 2026 seems a long way off, water levels in Zurich’s waterways have hardly recovered so far. A few days of rain are not enough to bring them back up. The water level of Lake Zurich currently stands at 405.4 metres ab...

Swiss railway equipment manufacturer Stadler Rail is expanding its presence in Kazakhstan. The company has put its first “Charme” sleeper carriages - produced locally in Astana - into service on behalf of the Kazakhstan Railways (KTZ). The contra...

Swiss tourism is set to demonstrate its resilience once again against the backdrop of the crisis in the Middle East. Swiss hotels are expected to see only a slight decline in overnight stays in 2026, according to estimates from Switzerland Tourism. T...

A rare 24-carat "Bulgari Pink", regarded as the "Mona Lisa" of pink diamonds, changed hands for CHF12.1 million at auction in Geneva. Max Fawcett, head of the auction house’s jewellery department, used the name Mona Lisa as a metaphor for the excep...

Swiss International Air Lines (SWISS) has postponed the planned resumption of its flights to Dubai until the end of the winter timetable on March 27. The decision was taken jointly with Lufthansa for operational reasons. SWISS said that the original ...

Ukrainians with special S status permits are allowed to continue to freely travel abroad from Switzerland. The Swiss government submitted its message to parliament on Wednesday. Travel restrictions will apply to asylum seekers and other nationalities...

Switzerland is losing ground in terms of digital competitiveness, slipping to ninth place in a ranking compiled by the Institute for Management Development (IMD). Switzerland has frequently featured on the podium in recent years (third in 2025). + Sw...

Financial worries of employees in Switzerland have increased significantly over the past two years. According to a survey by the consultancy firm WTW, 38% of those surveyed say that financial problems are having a negative impact on their lives. Two ...

The Zurich District Court has acquitted Saïda Keller Messahli, a critic of Islam, of the charge of defamation. She had made critical remarks about political Islam and Muslim organisations. It remains to be seen whether the actual statement was defam...

A pile of debris is thought to have delayed the rockslide in the Swiss village of Brienz in June 2023 by several weeks. The debris at the foot of the unstable slope slowed down the sliding rock masses, thereby making it more difficult to predict when...

Switzerland has moved up two places in the Climate Change Performance Index, reaching 24th place. Despite this slight improvement, it remains in the middle of the rankings, which were presented today on the sidelines of the 31st United Nations Climat...

A fresh court appeal hearing is set to take place in Italy for the Swiss businessman Stephan Schmidheiny, who is accused of multiple counts of aggravated manslaughter related to asbestos. This was decided by the judges of the Fourth Section of the Su...

Nearly 300 staff and former employees of the International Labour Organization (ILO) have staged an unprecedented protest in Geneva in response to budget and job cuts. Supported by Geneva-based trade unions, protestors said they want their proposals ...

The Federal Criminal Court in Bellinzona has sentenced a 59-year-old man, accused of acting as the logistical and financial hub of the ‘Ndrangheta in Switzerland, to six years and three months’ imprisonment. He will also be deported from the coun...

On Tuesday around 50 people gathered in Bern to call for the announced cuts at Swissinfo to be reversed. The consensus was that Swissinfo is indispensable for Swiss citizens living abroad and for Switzerland’s links with the rest of the world. In t...