Switzerland has signed a first contract with Lockheed Martin for the delivery of eight F-35 fighter jets, marking the first concrete step in its long-planned rearmament programme, reported RTS. The agreement, signed on September 29th, was confirmed this week by Armasuisse, the federal procurement agency. Two further contracts, covering the remaining 28 aircraft, are still […]
Switzerland braces for an early flu wave
Switzerland’s flu season is gathering pace. Last week the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) reported 459 laboratory-confirmed influenza cases—almost twice as many as the week before and more than double the figure recorded at the same point last year. This corresponds to 5.05 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, compared with 2.05 a year earlier. The […]
Switzerland leads much of rich world in integrating immigrants, says the OECD
Immigrants are more successfully integrated into Switzerland’s labour market than in most other rich countries, according to a study commissioned by the State Secretariat for Migration. At 77%, the employment rate among immigrants in Switzerland is well above the OECD average across its 38 member states, which include Germany, France, Britain and the United States. […]
Swiss government weighs VAT hike to fund army
Switzerland’s government is weighing a rise in value-added tax to help fund a rapid expansion of the armed forces, reported RTS. According to the Tages-Anzeiger, the proposal—an increase of 0.5 percentage points—was floated by Martin Pfister, the defence minister, amid growing anxiety about Europe’s security and the risk of further Russian aggression. Pfister argues that […]
A new battle over the veil in Swiss schools
A campaign to ban the Islamic headscarf from all public schools has resurfaced in Switzerland, pushing a local controversy onto the national stage. On Monday a right-leaning group linked to the Swiss People’s Party (UDC/SVP) submitted a petition in Bern bearing 12,000 signatures, reported RTS. The petition follows a heated debate that began last summer […]
Ludwig Minelli, the founder of Dignitas, has died
Ludwig Minelli, the founder of Dignitas, Switzerland’s best-known assisted-dying organisation, has died. He took his own life on November 29th, just days short of his 93rd birthday. Once a correspondent for the magazine Der Spiegel from 1964 to 1974, Mr Minelli turned to law in 1977, enrolling at the University of Zurich. He earned his […]
Swiss voters deliver a double “no” on inheritance tax on super rich and universal civic service
On 30 November 2025 the Swiss electorate decisively rejected two headline proposals: a sweeping federal inheritance and gift tax for the super-rich, and a scheme to make civic service mandatory for all citizens. The inheritance-tax measure — a 50% levy on estates and gifts above CHF 50 million — was turned down by 78% of […]
Switzerland’s median salary surpasses CHF 7,000 a month
The median full-time salary in Switzerland rose to CHF 7,024 (US$8,780) a month in 2024, up 3.5% from CHF 6,788 two years earlier, according to the Federal Statistical Office. Despite nominal gains, the overall shape of the country’s wage pyramid has changed little since 2008. The bottom 10% of earners took home less than CHF […]
Swiss Gaza flotilla activists upset by bills for consular help
Swiss participants in last autumn’s Gaza flotilla have now received an unwelcome follow-up to their detention by Israeli authorities: a bill. The Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) has written to the activists seeking reimbursement for consular protection and emergency assistance provided after their arrest in October, when they attempted to breach Israel’s maritime blockade, […]
Cuts in Swiss bureaucracy could save 30 billion a year
Swiss business and farming groups are stepping up calls for a rollback of red tape, warning that an expanding regulatory burden is stifling productivity just as labour shortages intensify. They are urging the Federal Council and parliament to act before the end of the current legislative term. At a press conference in Bern, economiesuisse, the […]
