Several thousand people marched through Lausanne on Thursday evening to protest against cuts to public services, reported RTS. The demonstration came a month before Vaud’s cantonal parliament begins debating the 2027 budget. The protesters crossed the city centre to the Place du Château, the seat of the cantonal government. Police and Keystone-ATS, a news agency, […]
Striking number of Swiss find discredited conspiracy theories plausible
Nearly half the respondents in a Swiss survey considered it plausible that the coronavirus had been manufactured as a biological weapon in a Chinese laboratory. More than a third gave some credence to an antisemitic claim that Jewish networks secretly control much of Western politics. The findings come from a study by the University of […]
Summer heat linked to nearly 1,260 deaths in Switzerland
An estimated 1,257 deaths in Switzerland between May and August 2026 were attributable to heat, according to a preliminary report by the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, commissioned by the Federal Office of Public Health. The summer was Switzerland’s hottest since records began, surpassing even 2003. The estimated death toll was substantially higher than […]
Ukraine still finding Swiss components in Russian weapons
Ukrainian authorities continue to find components made by Swiss companies in the wreckage of Russian drones and missiles, reports SRF. Vladyslav Vlasiuk, an adviser to Ukraine’s president on international sanctions, told SRF he wants Switzerland to do more to stop the flow. Ukrainians face missile and drone attacks every night. Mr Vlasiuk describes it as […]
Switzerland to vote on five proposals in February
Swiss voters will decide on five federal proposals on February 28th 2027, including lifting the ban on building nuclear power plants and approving a free-trade agreement with Malaysia. The Federal Council confirmed the list on Wednesday for the first of just two federal voting days scheduled for the election year. The other measures are the […]
Single parents struggle to leave social assistance in Switzerland
About a quarter of single-parent households in 20 Swiss cities received social assistance in 2023. They were almost five times as likely to receive it as households overall. Children in single-parent families accounted for 59% of minors receiving assistance, up from 52% in 2010. Women headed about 93% of single-parent households on welfare. Foreign nationals […]
Swiss minister visits North Korea to reopen office
Western officials rarely visit North Korea. On Thursday Ignazio Cassis, Switzerland’s foreign minister, travelled there to try to revive political dialogue. The minister was scheduled to visit North Korea and South Korea from October 29th to 31st as part of Switzerland’s longstanding efforts to support peace on the Korean peninsula, said a government press release. […]
Financial pressure and scandal push Migros to merge regional co-operatives
Financial pressure and the failings of decentralisation have prompted an overhaul. Members will have the final say. Migros is rethinking its structure as financial pressures mount. Its ten regional co-operatives face stiff competition, uneven fortunes and questions about their governance. Last year the Zurich co-operative lost CHF 180m. Its troubled expansion into Germany helps explain […]
New foundation hopes some will donate Switzerland’s extra pension payment
Swiss pensioners will receive a 13th monthly state pension payment for the first time in December 2026. A new foundation wants those who can afford to donate the money to charity. Fondation Chance 13 is asking better-off recipients to pass on the extra payment. It aims to tackle poverty among older people and support younger […]
Switzerland considers 80km/h motorway speed limit amid fuel shortage
Low water levels on the Rhine have strained supplies, prompting the government to draw on compulsory reserves. Switzerland is considering an 80km/h speed limit on motorways to save fuel, reported SRF. The effects of war in the Middle East and persistently low water levels on the Rhine have put fuel supplies under pressure. Petrol and […]
