Bitesize News

It went smoothly, some say it was even a bit dull – but from the perspective of the Swiss organisers of the summit between Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin, that will be seen as positive.

Both leaders also had meetings with Swiss president Guy Parmelin and foreign minister Ignazio Cassis.

Two men from Geneva currently on trial for being members of Islamic State both now claim to have turned their backs on the terrorist organization.

Geneva is handing over CHF 326m to the neighbouring French departments of Haute Savoie and Ain.

An elderly woman in Zurich failed to stop after a car tire burst and she was just driving on a rim.

In the hot weather – its good to get out on the water. But the heat already means the boats that cruise the Limmat River in Zurich have had to stop.

Geneva will spend today in another type of lockdown. Security is tight ahead of the meeting between the US and the Russian presidents.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to land at around 12.30 and then go directly to the Parc La Grange for the summit. 

Geneva authorities are under fire from many sides following the decision to ban all marches in the city today.

The advice is to avoid the centre of Geneva today if you can.

The Federal Health Office is updating its advice on how long the vaccine will protect against the coronavirus – it’s lifting the current 6 months to a year.

US president Joe Biden will be arriving in Geneva later today ahead of his meeting with the Russian president Vladimir Putin tomorrow.

Audio

Organisers say permission to hold the protest was initially given for today outside on the Place des Nations, but that was later changed.

Thousands of women took to the streets yesterday around the country for the national women’s strike.

As the effects of the pandemic lift and the economy starts to open up – staff shortages are becoming urgent.

Rescuers in Graubünden called out over the weekend to the site of a crashed glider which had killed the pilot, also found a light aircraft which had crashed nearby – killing 4.

In a major setback to the environmental cause – voters have rejected, narrowly 51.6%, the law to cut CO2 emissions.

More barbed wire and closures are spreading across Geneva as the city prepares for the meeting between US president Joe Biden and the Russian leader Vladimir Putin on Wednesday.

In Geneva, voters in the city have very narrowly rejected plans for a major new development focused on music.

Police made several arrests on Saturday during an anti-lockdown demonstration in Lucerne.

More and more people are missing their appointment for the second dose of the vaccine.

It was the hottest day of the year so far in Visp in canton Valais. Temperatures hit 30 degrees on Saturday afternoon.

Ahead of a weekend of temperatures expected to reach 32 degrees, the SSS, the Societé Suisse de Sauvetage would like to remind us to take care in the water.

Temporary security fencing is already in place around Parc La Grange and the adjacent Parc des Eaux Vives.

This weekend voters will be deciding on a wide range of federal and local issues. 

Potential blood donors are being urged to get ready to roll up their sleeves on Monday as part of a massive blood drive by Geneva University Hospitals, the HUG, to increase their blood supplies.

Geneva has brought in tight restrictions for demonstrating ahead of the US Russian summit.

US president Joe Biden will meet the Swiss president Guy Parmelin and the foreign minister Ignazio Cassis next week before the summit with Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

After a bumpy start, canton Zurich is marking it’s one millionth vaccination. That means nearly half of the adult population has had at least one jab.

The continuing uncertainty over covid restrictions means many communes are reluctant to start to organize celebration for Swiss National Day on August 1st.

Yet more violent storms swept across the country last night, causing flooding and closing roads.

Police forces in Vaud seems to have broken an unwritten rule – advertising for recruits in another canton.

The first Covid certificates have been issued. The documents – either electronically or on paper – will allow more international travel and holders to access more activities.

There are signs the economy is picking up as we start to head out of the pandemic. Cases are down and vaccination rates are climbing.

Despite the airspace restrictions that will be in place when presidents Biden and Putin meet in Geneva next week, the airport is confirming it will not affect scheduled airlines.

At a press conference in Bern yesterday, the Federal Health Office says the protection time given by the vaccine may be extended to 10 months. Currently the official advice is that boosters may be needed after 6 months.

An amateur diver made a grim discovery at the bottom of Lake Annecy – a body in a car.

Vaud police say they’re ready to handle large crowds that are likely to form at the end of each Euro 2021 game.

With the vaccination programme in full swing many people are reporting side effects with the second dose more than the first.

Torrential rain and flash floods hit several areas of canton Zurich yesterday evening. Forecasters had issued a level three warning, out of five, but only less than an hour beforehand.

A number of Filipino domestic workers have launched legal action against the Pakistani Mission in Geneva, claiming they haven’t been paid for years.

Residents in Eaux-Vives in Geneva may have felt they were in an action movie yesterday afternoon.

And in unexciting news – a partial solar eclipse will be visible from Switzerland this Thursday. This is when the moon comes between the sun and the earth.

Starting today, anyone in Geneva who has been fully vaccinated could get a text message telling them how to get the formal vaccine certificate which could allow them to travel and maybe grant more freedoms than those who have not had two jabs.

Geneva and Neuchatel have held test events to measure potential infections.

The first details of the security clampdown Geneva will be under next week are beginning to emerge.

A new transport plan worth half a billion francs for the Greater Geneva region has been sent to Bern.

The government wants us all to take the train – or at least a tram.

While bars and restaurants are open again – customers may have to wait a little longer for their food and drink – and there’s a chance when it arrives it may be wrong.

Switzerland could recover from the economic crises caused by the pandemic faster than many other European countries – things could be back to normal by the end of the summer.

A new study shows that twice as many people could have caught coronavirus than previously thought.

Young people in the Swiss Romande believe they have not had the support they need during the pandemic.

A man is in serious condition after falling 50 meters from a cable car pylon in Graubünden.

A report from the Electricity Commission says this country needs to generate more of its own power so not to rely on imports.

Zurich airport wants to extend the lengths of both of its runways.

The latest figures from the Federal Health Office shows there were no Covid related deaths in the last 24 hours. On Tuesday 6 died and Monday there were 9.

The Federal Council is being accused of making a major strategic error on scheduling two important – although different – environmental laws on the same day.

How the new Covid certificate will work and what it will look like has been released by the Federal Office of technology.

It will come as no surprise, but Geneva traffic on the major roads was down significantly during lockdown – but less so in towns.

Canton Geneva has given the green light to an initiative to pedestrianize a large chunk of the city.

Fines have been handed out to several people who attended a football match in May last year while strict limits on meetings were in place.

In another sign of life returning to normal, canton Zurich is allowing brothels to reopen.

Those who were vaccinated early in the campaign, mainly the elderly and those with underlying medical issues, may soon need a third booster jab.

A website tracking vaccination rates suggest Switzerland will reach herd immunity in October.

The Post Office is apologizing after it delivered 22 ballot boxes containing the votes of 7,000 people outside the Geneva cantonal chancellery office on Saturday 22nd May during the long weekend.

This year’s Montreux Jazz Festival will be going ahead. Relaxation of the rules means a down sized event will be possible.

One of the votes – out of a series of them – due in a couple of weeks is a referendum which will provide direct democracy cover to the Federal Council for the raft of laws it’s brought in during the pandemic.

So far so good – is the message from canton Geneva as work gets underway on the Mont-Blanc Bridge in the centre of town.

Canton Geneva has put forward a plan for the development of an area around Acacias which will be a mixture of green spaces and new housing.

The pandemic and associated lockdowns is driving the market for high end at home coffee machines. The company Zuriga says demand for its machines has never been so high – and is recruiting more staff for its assembly line.

An investigation is underway to find out where a large block of ice which fell onto a house in Haute-Savoie came from.

We’re all a little bit freer today. New rules now in force mean restaurants and bars can serve customers inside, but everyone has to be seated and there are limits to 4 people on a table inside and 6 outside.

It’s expected regulators in Switzerland will allow those over 12 years old to be vaccinated from the middle of June.

Switzerland has one of the best vaccination rates in the world. Last week 80,000 people received a dose – that works out as almost 1 dose per 100 people.

Around 200 health professionals demonstrated outside the offices of the World Health Organization in Geneva on Saturday demanding climate change be listed as a global health emergency.

The motorcycling world is mourning the death of 19-year-old Swiss rider Jason Dupasquier.

The government has added the United Kingdom to the list of countries that travellers arriving from have to quarantine.

Despite falling coronavirus cases and a successful vaccine roll out – the organisers of the Zurich Street Parade have cancelled this year’s event.

A Geneva based company is offering to clone your pet.

A puppy in Vaud will be euthanized under instructions from the canton.

If you jump a red light – you’re going to get fined. Any driver will know that. But it also works the other way around.