Bitesize News

Switzerland’s economic outlook remains cautious, with the KOF Swiss Economic Institute forecasting growth of around one percent in 2026,although that depends on falling oil prices.

Geneva’s parliament has voted to ban the burkini in public swimming pools, ending months of heated debate.

In response to the fire in Crans Montana, birthday candles have been banned in Geneva’s primary schools.

Switzerland is moving closer to introducing a transit tax for foreign vehicles crossing the country.

A man in his fifties has been convicted in Vaud after impersonating a police officer in several towns, including Rolle and Nyon.

Heavy traffic is expected across Switzerland over the Easter holiday period, particularly on the A2 Gotthard autoroute and the A13 San Bernardino route from March 27.

A cable car crashed to the ground in central Switzerland yesterday morning and a woman died.

The Dengue virus has been detected for the first time in Switzerland, in mosquitoes found in Basel.

Vacant shopfronts are on the rise in Geneva, with commercial vacancies now at their highest level since 1994.

Two men, aged in their twenties, are on trial in Fribourg for attempting to lure a suspected child molester online.

Geneva’s State Council has slightly eased rules on cross-border students, allowing children already in primary school to stay until the end of elementary education.

A new study is shedding light on our intimate habits.

New CCTV analysis has revealed further critical and tragic details in the New Year’s Eve fire at the Constellation bar in Crans-Montana that killed 41 people.

A fire broke out inside a church in Le Sentier in canton Vaud, with a suspect now identified.

Police in Canton Vaud say they will step up road checks this spring to tackle noisy and dangerous driving.

The City of Geneva is launching a new series of guided walks to help residents rediscover their surroundings.

Geneva’s getting a new park.

The line up for this year’s Paleo Festival has been released - and critics say it's one of the best for years.

Justice Minister Beat Jans has launched the federal government’s campaign against the Swiss People's Party initiative known as “No to a 10 Million Switzerland.”

Geneva politicians are urging the cantonal government to rethink planned cuts to projects tackling domestic violence.

Municipal elections in eastern France have seen a clear shift to the right in parts of Haute-Savoie.

Swiss International Air Lines is offering thousands of cabin crew a payout to leave, as it looks to cut costs and reduce overstaffing.

Police say they’ve solved a series of burglaries targeting farms and self-service shops across eight cantons.

Noise is the leading cause of neighbour disputes in Switzerland, according to a new study by ImmoScout24.

A man has drowned in the Rhône River in Geneva after falling into the water during a fight near the Usine night club.

Three American military aircraft involved in the war in Iran have been granted permission to use Swiss airspace.

The Swiss Trade Union Federation has condemned a federal plan to raise the minimum health insurance deductible from 300 to 400 francs.

The City of Geneva has given the go ahead to pedestrianize large areas of Rive.

The Federal Court has ruled that children’s summer camps can qualify as tax-deductible childcare. The decision overturns a challenge by Geneva’s tax authorities.

A petition has been launched calling for the abolition of first-class on trains.

Very heavy snowfall in some areas of the country cut villages off, closed roads and raised avalanche warnings immensely.

Swiss Post has gone ahead with its annual results press conference despite the deadly bus fire in Kerzers that killed six people, including a PostBus driver.

Authorities in Geneva are preparing for possible unrest ahead of the G7 summit in the nearby French town of Évian in June.

SWISS International Airlines has extended the suspension of its flights to Dubai until March 28.

Geneva is organizing a digital detox day on March 20th to highlight the environmental impact of technology.

Investors in the collapsed Swiss energy company Prime Energy say they were aggressively targeted before the firm went bankrupt in November 2024.

A carpool lane is set to be introduced at the busy Bardonnex border crossing between France and Geneva.

The people of Kerzers in Fribourg gathered in the town centre yesterday afternoon to mark the deaths of those killed in an horrific bus fire on Tuesday evening.

Parliament seems to be turning back to nuclear power.

A rockfall is threatening another village - but it won't be buried, but flooded.

Swiss retail giant Migros is pulling out of Germany. It’s selling the Tegut Group, an organic supermarket chain with about 340 stores and more than 7,400 employees, mainly in central Germany.

Thousands of orange emergency call boxes along Switzerland’s autoroutes could soon disappear.

Another fire tragedy has struck Switzerland.

Investigators looking into the New Year’s fire in Crans-Montana are asking Facebook to restore eight accounts linked to the owners, Jacques and Jessica Moretti.

Parliament is considering allowing former soldiers to return to the army on a voluntary basis to help address personnel shortages.

Winter sport injuries are keeping emergency helicopter crews busy.

A study by researchers at Unisanté has found that Switzerland’s summer heatwave in 2022 led to a rise in deaths. The analysis shows excess mortality of about four percent, mainly among people over the age of 80.

Swiss office supplies retailer Office World plans to close all of its remaining physical stores and move entirely online.

The criminal investigation into the deadly bar fire in Crans-Montana has been widened to include the comune’s president, Nicolas Féraud.

Now last weekend's votes are behind us - already eyes are looking towards the next set in June.

The Swiss government says it will not appeal a court ruling ordering the disclosure of Covid-19 vaccine contracts.

One in four people in Switzerland now speaks a non-national language as their main language.

Ten geladas have been euthanised at Zurich Zoo as part of population management.

A new program in canton Geneva is encouraging residents to give up their cars for a month and try more sustainable ways of getting around.

In a series of votes on Sunday - the people followed the advice of the government.

In Geneva, voters passed a law that will allow students to be paid 25% below the minimum wage during holidays.

The Federal Intelligence Service is warning of terror attacks in Switzerland due to the Iran war.

Several hundred people gathered at Europaplatz in Zurich on Saturday evening for a rally calling for political change in Iran.

A Geneva court has sentenced a dermatologist to 14 years in prison for murdering his wife in Vandœuvres in October 2021.

Around 3,000 people marched through Lausanne on Saturday to mark International Women’s Day, responding to a call by the Feminist Strike Vaud collective.

The first set of Swiss nationals have been brought home on a Swiss International Airlines flight from the Middle East.

A big voting weekend coming up.

The practice of jailing people who fail to pay fines is under scrutiny in Geneva.

The war in Iran is hitting Swiss tourism hard.

Geneva’s population continued to grow in 2025, reaching over 537,000 residents by the end of December - 41.7 percent of them foreign nationals.

The government is being criticised for leaving more than 5,000 Swiss nationals stranded in the middle east - while other countries are successfully managing to get their own nationals back to their home countries.

In Bern, the upper house of parliament, The Council of States, has approved emergency federal support for victims of the Crans-Montana tragedy.

A court in Zurich has sentenced a group of four men who tried to smuggle 44 kilos of pure cocaine into the country through the airport - worth CHF 1.5m.

A Lausanne based design company has won the competition to design the new set of Swiss banknotes.

Swiss beekeepers are launching a popular initiative to anchor stronger protection for native pollinating insects in the Federal Constitution.

Students with dyslexia will not be allowed to systematically use computers and adapted software in high schools.

Swiss Federal Railways says assaults on train staff remain a daily reality - and it seems the government is ready to step in.

Switzerland’s Senate has voted to require police to systematically mention the nationality of suspects when communicating about crimes.

The association that represents bars and restaurants in canon Valais - GastroValais - has caused outrage by writing to all cantonal parliamentarians saying no new safety fire laws are needed.

The Swiss logistics firm - Kühne+Nagel - says it will have to lay off 2,000 staff. Around 1,000 more than previously believed.

If you’re voting by post this weekend - get your ballot in the mail.

MeteoSwiss says the winter was significantly warmer than average, despite dense fog on the Swiss Plateau in December and a bitterly cold start to the year.

Bern says it’s not able to repatriate thousands of Swiss citizens who are either resident in the middle east - or stranded as their flights have been cancelled.

Around a hundred people gathered in Geneva yesterday evening to protest the war in Iran.

Swiss President Guy Parmelin met European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Brussels yesterday to advance a new package of bilateral agreements between Switzerland and the EU.

Switzerland is moving closer to abolishing the 30 year statute of limitations for murder.

A worker has died after being buried alive in canton Fribourg.

A woman from Biel in canton Bern has launched an online petition calling for quiet carriages in second class on Swiss trains.

Legal uncertainty is preventing authorities from clearing camps built by the homeless in Geneva.

Swiss prosecutors have dismissed a rare homicide case involving an 87-year-old former family doctor who killed his partner while asleep in September 2024.

Switzerland will prohibit the purchase and import of Russian liquefied natural gas from April.

Geneva has recorded its first fatal traffic accident of the year.

Students and staff in Geneva are mobilising against planned cuts to higher education.

Clocks change at the end of the week - and it could be dangerous - as it sends more people to hospital.

**** 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