Bitesize News

The medicine regulator Swissmedic has authorized a third dose for those who are at risk.

Mafia activity is widespread across Switzerland and more concentrated in German speaking areas than Ticino.

The police are investigating after an old people’s home in Giswil in canton Obwalden suffered nine deaths in two weeks after Covid swept through the building. Two have died since Friday alone.

A major accident caused traffic chaos on the A1 autoroute between Nyon and Gland yesterday.

A Geneva resident has complained to the press after she ordered a cushion which came packed within plastic air bags.

The number of people vaccinated is creeping up – but it’s still lower than many other European countries and the rate of people being jabbed is falling.

Covid certificates stopped working for a while yesterday evening.

Survey of media consumption in Switzerland show many people are aware of disinformation and mainly blame social media networks.

Two businessmen have been sentenced to four years in jail by a Geneva court for selling property that didn’t exist.

The United States is opening up travel in a couple of weeks to all those who have been vaccinated.

To mark ‘Movember’ this year, the Geneva University Hospital is holding free examinations and consultations for prostate and testicular cancer.

More people who have been vaccinated are being hospitalized with Covid – and the main reason is the effectiveness is beginning to wane for those who were first in the queue when the inoculation programme was started, according to a report in the NZZ newspaper.

In an interview with the SonntagsBlick newspaper yesterday, the president warns that Switzerland may have to adopt a shorter working week due to supply chain issues.

Protestors against a new shopping mall in neighbouring France gathered in St Genis on Saturday calling on the new project, called OPEN, to be stopped.

Several communes in canton Geneva, including the City, are working together to try to stop the worrying trend of increasing violent attacks on firefighters.

A wayward cat is being blamed for a car crash which is going to cost tens of thousands of francs.

A man in Geneva has been arrested after his wife was found shot and killed at their home in the upmarket district of Vandoeuvres.

There are calls for more analysis of what the climate impact could be on the proposed new collider for the particle physics laboratory, CERN.

More and more unused vaccine is having to be thrown away.

A Lamborghini driver who nearly killed a cyclist after a dangerous overtaking manoeuvre in 2019 will go to prison for nearly four years.

Leadership experts from more than 60 countries around the world are gathering in Geneva for the International Leadership Association's (ILA's) global conference, Reimagining Leadership Together.

The Federal Health Office is sounding the alarm as Covid cases are once again on the rise in many cantons.

The campaign against more liberal shop opening hours in Geneva has been launched. Voters will have their say next month.

Two climbers have died on the Matterhorn.

Around 700 people were evacuated from a school in Gex in neighbouring France this week after a student brought in a World War One shell for show and tell.

The main cultural show broadcast on German language television, Tagesschau, caused a stir back in August when it showed clips from a theatre show which featured full frontal nudity.

The high-speed train service running between Geneva and Paris is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year and passengers are flocking back to the train as its seen as more environmentally friendly than the plane.

Students at the University of Applied Sciences in Muttenz in canton Basel-Country complained as they had to wait in line to have their health passes checked.

A fifth person has been arrested as part of an investigation into the selling of Covid certificates at the Clinique des Grangettes in Geneva.

The student union at the University of Geneva is calling for the return of three-franc meals.

Passers-by in Dubendorf in canton Zurich were shocked when a man armed with a rifle shot a duck on a pond during the middle of the day.

Android phone users are being warned of a flood of hacking SMS messages.

We can expect some dramatic sun sets and rises over the next few days – and it’s the volcano in La Palma that’s responsible.

Police in Sankt Gallen say they suspect a father killed his 12-year-old daughter and then himself.

The pandemic has placed enormous stress on them health system, but an initiative to improve the condition of nurses and to allow for more training of new staff is due to go to the vote next month.

Geneva police shut down an illegal party in the Boise de la Bâtie over the weekend.

One in five in the country feel they’re not integrated into society – and it’s most acute in the French and Italian speaking areas of the country.

Beer drinking is down across the country and a new trend is rising.

The Socialist Party has taken the plunge to campaign to maintain the current Covid restrictions with the slogan ‘it’s common sense’.

The former Geneva taxi driver who was extradited to France in 2017 to face terrorism charges has been found guilty and been sentenced to 7 years in jail.

The four people arrested for allegedly selling fake Covid certificates at the Clinque des Grangettes in Geneva have had their pre-trial detention extended.

The new tunnel being built to link the Nations areas of Geneva with the autoroute marked a major phase in its construction on Friday – the two sides met in the middle.

An investigation is under way to find who shot three hedgehogs with a small calibre gun in Confignon in Geneva.

The latest figures from the Federal Health Office shows infections are down and for the first time in many months, there were no new hospitalizations for Covid in the last 24 hours.

Three people have died in a crash on the A1 autoroute near Yverdon. A fourth person has been flown to hospital seriously injured.

Zurich police investigating the death of a woman in the Altstetten area of the city say her husband is a prime suspect.

A mother and son in Lucerne have been charged of scamming lonely men on dating sites, ripping off insurance companies, social security fraud and trading in stolen pornography.

A man in Geneva was stopped and searched as he was spotted near a school carrying a gun in his hand and a knife on his belt.

Police and border guards stopped several cars at the Bardonnex border yesterday morning who had unpaid traffic tickets.

Latest government figures seem to confirm what many have suspected for some time – the pandemic has reduced the attraction of city centers and people are moving away.

The government is to spend nearly CHF 100m on a campaign to persuade vaccine holdouts to get the jab.

Following reports children are acting out scenes of the massive Netflix hit Squid Game in playgrounds, Vaud Cantonal Police have issued a letter to schools reminding parents and teachers that under 16-year-olds should not be watching the violent Korean drama.

Zurich police have launched a murder investigation after a 30-year-old woman was killed on the street last night.

A small rally in Geneva yesterday is an important first step, according to left wing politicians.

A team working at the EPFL in Lausanne and at the Vaud University Hospital say they’ve discovered an antibody which neutralizes all currently known Covid mutations.

Road accidents with wildlife costs CHF 50m a year and some cantons are much worst affected than others.

A suspected jihadist fighter arrested in Geneva in 2017 and deported to France is on trial in Paris.

The latest survey from the Accident Prevention Office says most people are in favour of lower speed limits in towns – and many have stopped using handrails when climbing stairs.

A man has been posing as a police officer in canton Aargau – stopping cars, asking if drivers have been drinking and warning them to slow down.

The commune of Montreux’s computer systems will be down for the rest of the week at least after its systems were targeted by hackers.

No one won the Euromillions lottery last night. The prize of CHF 236m is still there to be taken.

There’s growing unease the campaign pushing for an end to all Covid restrictions could be successful in next month’s vote which many main stream political parties and businesses believe would be a disaster for the economy.

The vaccination rate is slightly up again and the Federal Health Office says now more than 60% of the population are now fully protected.

Hundreds of litres of fuel have leaked into Lake Geneva.

A group of female Afghan cyclists have been granted asylum in Switzerland after support from the International Cycling Union based in canton Vaud.

From today Corona tests will no longer be free. The government hopes it will push more people to get vaccinated.

Four people have been arrested in Geneva for allegedly selling fake vaccination certificates for CHF 400 each.

Geneva police say they’re analysing why there’s been an increase in the number of road deaths over the last few weeks.

Around 2,000 marched in Geneva on Saturday demanding an end to Covid restrictions – especially the requirement to show a health pass for accessing many public areas.

Former Geneva politician, Pierre Maudet, will be back in court today appealing his conviction for illegally accepting gifts from a member of the Abu Dhabi royal family.

A criminal complaint has been opened against a security guard working for the Servette Football Club last month.

Would you ever get KFC confused with ZFC?

Next year’s Geneva International Motorshow has been cancelled. It was hoped the prestigious event was going to take place in 2022.

Police used water cannon and rubber bullets in Bern last night to drive an unauthorized demonstration back from the Federal Palace.

There are calls the protest group Extinction Rebellion should pay for the costs of their recent actions in Zurich.

The Mont-Blanc Bridge was closed for more than two hours last night as police checked a suspicious package found on the Quai de Bergues.

While it’s hoped the worst effects of the pandemic are now behind us, many companies are still suffering from a slump in turnover and Geneva has voted to release a further CHF 35m in aid.

A driver is facing massive fines after entering the Gotthard Tunnel in the early hours of yesterday morning. Ignoring red lights and barriers.

Geneva authorities say no restaurant or bar in the canton has been fined for disregarding the health pass rules.

Property prices are climbing across the country – and the Lake Geneva region has seen the strongest growth.

Geneva police have launched an investigation after an alarm shut down the Nations campus of the International School on Tuesday afternoon.