Bitesize News

If you’ve found the wind strong these past few days, brace yourself, as it’s about to get worse.

The franc has hit record highs against the euro – 93 centimes will buy one euro.

The outlook for the Swiss economy is turning gloomy, according to the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs.

In Switzerland, organ donation is currently not practiced after assisted suicide - unlike in countries such as Spain, Belgium, or the Netherlands.

Switzerland must build its own drone industry, warns Thomas Rothacher, deputy director general at armasuisse.

A bus driver had a narrow escape Monday afternoon in Saint-Julien-en-Genevois.

Geneva is expanding its subsidy program for electric vehicles.

The federal government is still owed CHF 6bn from Covid loans to businesses.

More people are leaving Switzerland than at any time in the past decade.

The City of Carouge has banned bicycles, e-bikes, and electric scooters in part of Old-Carouge.

Mushroom picking is becoming increasingly popular in Switzerland - especially among young people.

Eating a balanced diet just got simpler, at least according to Bern.

The snow in the Alps is getting thinner.

The Green Party beat the Swiss People’s Party in yesterday’s run-off election for a seat on the Geneva Council of State.

In a major blow for humanitarian Geneva - the International Committee of the Red Cross is cutting 240 jobs at its Geneva headquarters.

Nearly 2,000 people marched through Geneva yesterday in a pro-Palestinian demonstration calling for multinational corporations to be held accountable for their role in what protesters described as genocide in Palestine.

The Swiss Radical-Liberal Party has come out in favour of the new package of agreements between Switzerland and the European Union.

For many of us heading to the Haute-Savoie ski resorts, the familiar stop at the A40 toll booths will soon be a thing of the past.

British pop star Robbie Williams has taken a major financial hit on his Geneva property.

The Geneva Grand Council’s Education Committee has doubled down on its decision to end school education for those families who live outside the canton.

The food giant Nestlé has announced that it plans to sack 6% of its global workforce in an effort to save CHF 1bn.

TPG passengers in Annemasse will face disruptions on tram line 17 from this Monday, for the next two weeks.

Booking an Uber in Zurich could prove difficult on Monday. Around a thousand drivers plan to strike, to protest their working and pay conditions.

After two decades of delays, the long-awaited outlet village in Bellegarde in neighbouring France is finally moving ahead.

Geneva’s police dog handlers are sounding the alarm over the working conditions of their animals.

Many of us are sniffling our way through autumn with sore throats, coughs, and fatigue on the rise.

Confusion spread yesterday over the future of Switzerland’s popular half-fare travel card.

Will easyJet soon be flying under Geneva’s flag?

Geneva’s crackdown on reckless electric scooter use has led to hundreds of violations and dozens of confiscations.

If you want to be a manager in a company – then you should know how to do the job that you’re supposed to be managing.

Eating healthy only works if you do it regularly.

A coalition of politicians, NGOs, and civil society has launched an initiative calling on Switzerland to recognize the State of Palestine.

Swiss products are losing ground to foreign competition, even on home turf.

A rape case linked to Michael Schumacher’s home in Gland in canton Vaud is making headlines, though the family is not involved.

Geneva, like the rest of the country, is preparing for future crises with a new network of “emergency meeting points,” known as PRUs.

In Publier, near Thonon-les-Bains in neighbouring France, residents of Rue de la Tour are facing a strange form of sabotage.

The Federal Council is firmly rejecting the initiative that would require all Swiss women to perform military or civilian service for the community.

The Federal Council has launched its campaign against the Socialist Youth’s “For the Future” initiative, which will be voted on November 30.

Business owners in the centre of Lausanne are sounding the alarm over conditions around the drug consumption room at Place de la Riponne.

More and more bakeries are shutting down, and now discount giant Aldi is turning up the heat.

Young adults in Switzerland are staying longer in the family home.

Electricity from renewable sources is gaining ground in Geneva. It rose by 7% last year and now covers 37% of the canton’s total electricity consumption, according to figures released from the Canton and the Geneva Industrial Services.

Around 5,000 people marched through Bern on Saturday afternoon in a pro-Palestinian demonstration that later turned violent.

The Association of Swiss Police Officers has strongly condemned the violent riots during Saturday’s unauthorized demonstration in Bern.

Swiss authorities foiled an Islamist terrorist attack last spring, preventing an 18-year-old from carrying out a knife attack.

Some Genevans living abroad had trouble casting their votes in last weekend’s ballot.

The Geneva International Film Festival returns for its 31st edition from October 31 to November 9.

In Neuchâtel, the constant sound of bells could soon quiet down.

A naked woman caused a stir on the A9 autoroute near Lausanne Friday afternoon.

Geneva is becoming less popular for businesses.

The much-awaited national plan for transport is angering many politicians in Geneva as they say it favours the German speaking regions and western Switzerland is being pushed to one side.

The Federal Court has sided with the Geneva government in a dispute over Sunday shopping before Christmas.

The investigation into a group of young people who hunted suspected pedophiles in the Lugano area has wrapped up.

In Geneva, cycling and pedestrian groups are demanding safer space for bikes on the Mont-Blanc Bridge and Quai du Général Guisan.

A duck chomping catfish is in the sights of a restaurant owner in canton Bern.

Around 300 people gathered at Geneva Airport to welcome home nine Swiss activists from the Gaza flotilla yesterday.

Starting November 1st, Switzerland will tighten its asylum rules for Ukrainians.

An unauthorized pro-Palestine demonstration in Basel on Wednesday evening led to clashes with police.

The Swiss National Bank has released the six finalists for the competition to design the next series of bank notes.

Genevans will vote on whether to boost funding for culture.

What began as a peaceful pro-Palestinian rally in Geneva last night ended in violent clashes at Cornavin station.

The debate over 125cc motorcycles is heating up in Switzerland.

Geneva is finally getting a grip on construction chaos.

The Swiss Federal Railways, SBB, is under fire after a photo circulated online showing a train ticket printed with the word “Hamas” instead of the passenger’s name.

One of Europe’s most breathtaking autumn train rides runs through Switzerland – says the New York Times.

Business circles in Geneva are consolidating their support for the Swiss People’s Party candidate for a seat on the cantonal Grand Council.

The Geneva-based UN Refugee Agency says it needs at least USD 300m by the end of the year to avoid a budget deficit.

Switzerland’s labour market remains resilient despite a slowing economy and the impact of US tariffs.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says Swiss-made components have been found in Russian drones shot down over Ukraine.

It wasn’t an earthquake, and no, the Swiss Air Force didn’t forget to turn off the afterburners - that mysterious boom over eastern Vaud last Wednesday was, in fact, out of this world.

Health experts are once again recommending masks this autumn, more than three years after the end of the pandemic.

Milk producers are under pressure like never before. Prices are plunging, and some farmers have already sent healthy cows to the slaughterhouse, reports the NZZ am Sonntag.

In Geneva, restaurants, cafés, and hotels will soon be required to accept cash payments.

Health insurance cold calls are banned but far from gone.

It’s finally official, Lancy’s “Zero Advertising” policy is here to stay.

If you saw a hot air balloon sink into the lake yesterday morning – everyone is OK – it was an exercise.

More than three thousand people rallied in Geneva last night in support of the Freedom Flotilla, after Israeli forces began boarding humanitarian boats on Wednesday.

Health insurance premiums are set to rise faster than officially announced.

An unusual train ride from Geneva to Bern brought together politicians, business leaders, and journalists yesterday.

The Place Neuve, outside the Grand Théâtre, and some other roads in the area are being dug up at the moment to lay a new sound absorbing road surface.

Audio

Winter is coming and it's nearly time to make sure your car is ready.

Geneva’s legal minimum wage will rise slightly next year. From January, the rate will increase from 24.48 francs to 24.59 francs per hour, an 11-cent adjustment.

Students across Switzerland took to the streets yesterday to protest education cuts.

In Geneva, the Council of State wants to simplify online administrative procedures with the “once only” principle.

As the Swiss skiing elite prepare for a new season, there’s a concern about safety.

**** APRIL FOOL**** Many thanks for all your comments!

Residents in the threatened village of Brienz in Graubünden were allowed to visit their homes briefly yesterday.

Courtesy of the Interlaken tourist office, you can win 2 nights for two people at the Hotel Metropole in Interlaken with fantastic views of the Jungfrau.

WRS normal programming back in January