Switzerland has authorised the release of up to 30m litres of jet fuel from compulsory stocks over the next fortnight to avert a shortage at Zurich airport. The volume represents 6.5% of the country’s aviation-fuel reserves. The release of reserves was approved after disruptions to river and rail freight threatened deliveries. The main bottleneck is […]
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 […]
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 […]
Switzerland’s upper house puts its stamp on the EU deal
After 24 hours of debate, senators backed much of the new bilateral package—but toughened the rules on referendums and immigration. After roughly 24 hours of debate, Switzerland’s Council of States has finished its first examination of most of the country’s sprawling new package of agreements with the European Union. Its verdict was broadly favourable, but […]
Swiss passport ranks ninth worldwide — but several European neighbours beat it
The Swiss passport remains one of the world’s most powerful travel documents, ranking ninth globally in the latest Passport Reports index. Swiss citizens can travel visa-free to 119 destinations. Another 54 allow entry with a visa on arrival or an electronic travel authorisation. Only 25 destinations require Swiss travellers to obtain a visa in advance. […]
Swiss voters look set to reject neutrality and food initiatives
A clear majority of Swiss voters oppose both initiatives due to be put to a referendum on September 27, according to the second poll conducted by gfs.bern for the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC). More than 60% now say they intend to reject the neutrality and food-security proposals. Support for the two initiatives has fallen sharply […]
Support for an immigration levy grows in Bern
Switzerland may one day charge employers an “entry fee” for recruiting workers from the European Union. The idea, long dismissed as anti-business and potentially incompatible with the country’s agreements with Brussels, is gaining support in Parliament. The Federal Council now backs it too. The proposal forms part of Parliament’s debate over Switzerland’s new package of […]
Swiss court rules citizenship can be revoked despite statelessness risk
Revoking Swiss citizenship requires compelling grounds. Support for terrorism can provide them. Switzerland’s Federal Administrative Court has now upheld denaturalisation in an unusual case, reported SRF. The case concerns a 36-year-old man who was born in Bosnia and Herzegovina and became a naturalised Swiss citizen as a child. Five years ago a French court sentenced […]
Russia seeks to influence Swiss vote on neutrality
The Kremlin has repeatedly sought to influence the campaign over Switzerland’s neutrality initiative in recent weeks, reported SRF. Swiss voters will decide on the neutrality initiative on September 27th 2026. Among other things, it would write into the constitution a broad ban on sanctions against states involved in armed conflicts. Switzerland’s obligations under the United […]
