A petition signed by more than 110,000 people is calling for maternity leave in Switzerland to be extended from 14 weeks to six months, reported RTS. The petition was submitted to the Federal Chancellery on Monday. Its organisers argue that the 98 days currently granted are insufficient during the first months of a child’s life. […]
Switzerland braces for fourth heatwave of the summer
The fourth heatwave this summer is approaching. It is not yet clear whether it will match the severity of the spell in late June, but temperatures will be high. Weather models broadly agree that, from the middle of next week, temperatures across much of the lowlands will exceed 30°C.No sustained cooling is in sight. August […]
Swiss town to fine those who don’t wash up dog pee
Dog owners in Chiasso, a town in Italian-speaking Ticino, will soon have to clean up not only their pets’ poop but also their urine. The rule, believed to be the first of its kind in Switzerland, will take effect in mid-August, reported RSI. Walkers will be expected to carry a bottle of water as well […]
Geneva court suspends ban on full-cover swimwear
Long-sleeved swimwear may once again be worn in Geneva’s public swimming pools, at least temporarily, after a cantonal court suspended a ban introduced in May, reported various media. Geneva’s parliament, the Grand Council, approved the measure in March. It came into force on May 30 and prohibited swimwear covering both the arms and legs beyond […]
America imposes new 12.5% tariff on Swiss goods
America has imposed new tariffs of 10% or 12.5% on selected imports from about 60 trading partners, including Switzerland. The White House says the countries concerned have failed to do enough to combat forced labour. The measures, announced on Thursday, took effect overnight. The European Union, Japan and Taiwan are also named in the American […]
Desire for large families fading in Switzerland
Fewer Swiss people want children, and those who do are having them later. Switzerland’s fertility rate has fallen to its lowest level on record. In 2024 women had, on average, 1.29 children, well below the 2.07 needed to replace one generation with the next, wrote the Federal Statistical Office (FSO). There were 78,000 live births […]
Swiss reservoirs at lowest level in two decades
Swiss water reservoirs are unusually depleted for this time of year, reaching their lowest seasonal level in at least 20 years. According to the latest weekly data from the Federal Office of Energy (FOE), they are 46% full—16.4 percentage points below the average for the same point in the year over the past two decades. […]
Swiss plans to tighten foreign property ownership divide opinion
The Swiss government’s proposal to tighten the Lex Koller, which restricts property purchases by foreigners, has exposed a sharp divide between political parties and business groups. Parties on the left and the Swiss People’s Party (UDC/SVP) argue that the reforms would close longstanding loopholes in the law, reported RTS. Business organisations and most centrist parties […]
Food behind bars – veganism qualifies as a protected philosophical belief
This week, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled against Switzerland, finding that public institutions, such as prisons, must provide a fully vegan diet to detainees whose commitment to veganism amounts to a protected philosophical conviction. In a judgment issued in Strasbourg, the court reaffirmed that freedom of thought, conscience and religion is a […]
A third of Swiss Asian supermarket vegetables fail pesticide tests
Laboratory tests in the Swiss canton of Solothurn found excessive pesticide residues in one-third of vegetable samples taken from Asian grocery stores last year, prompting a criminal complaint against an importer. Asian supermarket vegetables tested by Solothurn’s food safety inspectors repeatedly failed compliance checks, according to the canton’s 2025 annual report. Officials analysed 38 vegetable […]
