Last weekend, around 300 demonstrators gathered outside Syngenta’s chemical plant in Monthey, Switzerland, on Saturday as part of an international day of action against the agrochemical giant under the banner “Stop Pesticides”. Protests also took place in Basel and several other countries, reported RTS. The protesters warned of the health risks associated with pesticides, including […]
The three winners of this year’s Swiss cheese awards
Switzerland crowns three cheese champions, celebrating a craft that combines tradition with commercial ambition. The Swiss take cheese seriously. So seriously, in fact, that choosing the country’s finest requires more than 200 judges, over 1,000 contenders and an expert panel to settle the final scores. At the 14th Swiss Cheese Awards in Fribourg, three cheesemakers […]
Switzerland considers doubling police detention period after Bern riots
Police want more time to investigate violent protests. Human-rights groups fear that suspects’ legal protections could suffer. A year after a pro-Palestinian demonstration in Bern turned violent, Swiss lawmakers are moving to double the time suspects can be held in police custody. The riots in Bern on October 11th 2025 were unusually violent by Swiss […]
Swiss parties submit referendum to preserve ban on new nuclear power plants
An alliance of left-wing and centrist parties has submitted more than 131,800 signatures in an effort to prevent Switzerland from lifting its ban on building new nuclear power plants, reported Greenpeace. Representatives of the Socialist Party (SP), Greens, Green Liberals (GLP) and parts of the Centre Party submitted the signatures in Bern on Tuesday. The […]
Swiss minister defends VAT rise to fund higher state pension
Swiss social affairs minister Elisabeth Baume-Schneider has defended a proposed increase in value-added tax (VAT) to help finance the 13th annual pension payment. Voters will decide on the measure in a referendum on November 29th. “A ‘no’ would have serious consequences,” Ms Baume-Schneider warned at a press conference in Bern, reported RTS. Without additional revenue, […]
Crans-Montana fire: bar owners warned of danger years earlier
WhatsApp messages from 2019 suggest that Jacques and Jessica Moretti knew sparklers could set their bar alight, raising questions about whether they should face more serious criminal charges, reported RTS. Jacques and Jessica Moretti, the owners of Le Constellation, a bar in the Swiss ski resort of Crans-Montana, warned staff about the risk of fire […]
Theft convictions fall in Switzerland, but foreign nationals still account for more than 80%
More than 80% of those convicted were foreign nationals, and around two-thirds were not permanent residents of Switzerland, according to new federal statistics. As autumn brings shorter days and longer nights, Switzerland enters the season when burglaries tend to rise. Theft, which includes burglary, is among the most common offences recorded in the country’s latest […]
FILM: DIGGER **** Tom Cruise has gone out on a limb
7 October 2026 DIGGER **** This is a love-it or hate-it movie. Tom Cruise has gone out on a limb this time, for he’s not playing his usual big hero, movie-star role, but rather digging into a character-actor part and doing it with great panache. He’s done it before, in such films as “Rainman”, “The […]
Language requirements for Swiss citizenship and visas – what you need to know
Brought to you by Swiss French School. On 1 January 2019, Switzerland’s federal government tightened and harmonised the rules on language requirements to qualify for some residence permits, B and C permits in particular, and naturalisation. Before 2019, formal testing of language ability was not typical. Since then it has been formalised and standardised across cantons […]
