Bitesize News
The news stories here are written for radio and designed to be read in under a minute.
-
More jihadist cases reach court
Switzerland's federal prosecutor is running 140 investigations into suspected jihadist terrorism — the highest figure ever recorded.
-
Geneva activates heat alerts - again
Geneva has reactivated its extreme heat plan as scorching temperatures return.
-
Be careful watching eclipse
With tomorrow’s partial solar eclipse, safety experts are urging observers to wear only certified eclipse glasses — and to leave the photography to professionals.
-
Many hikers need rescuing
Nearly 4,000 people needed help in the mountains last year — a record.
-
Plants bloom in lake
Lake Geneva is being taken over by an explosion of aquatic plants this summer.
-
'On the Water Festival' great success
Nearly 3,000 people took to Lake Geneva on Saturday for the second edition of the ‘On The Water Geneva Festival’ — dancing from their boats to music blasted out in 360 degrees from a floating barge.
-
Nearly a million for Zurich parade
Around 900,000 dance music fans turned out for Zurich’s 33rd Street Parade on Saturday — despite the heat.
-
Woman found dead on Mont-Blanc
A Russian mountaineer in her sixties has been found dead in a crevasse on the Glacier du Tour on Mont Blanc.
-
Sugar beet crop wiped out
Sugar beet farmers are facing a disastrous harvest, with drought and extreme heat killing crops before they mature.
-
Summer ski areas close
Saas-Fee has become the latest ski resort to suspend summer skiing because of the heat.
-
Russia gets involved with upcoming neutrality vote
Russia is openly campaigning for a yes vote on the upcoming neutrality referendum.
-
Drought alert reaches critical
Switzerland has moved to its highest drought alert, according to Blick, as rivers run dry and grasslands burn.
-
Bern driver faces jail for speeding
A driver in canton Bern faces up to four years in prison after being clocked at 227km/h on a road limited to 80 — and identified by police thanks to videos he posted on social media.
-
Army needs to be better prepared for war
The army needs to do more to be ready for war, the Federal Audit Office has concluded in a report out this week.
-
Swisscom rings up solid profits after price hike
Swiss customers are paying more for their mobile phones, and Swisscom's half-year profit has jumped nearly seven percent as a result.
-
Ski resorts popular this summer
Many of us are choosing to have our sumer vacations in ski resorts - as they’re cooler.
-
Heatwaves force construction rethink
Three heatwaves in a matter of weeks are pushing architecture schools to rethink how they train the next generation.
-
Customs warn of bringing back fake goods
Swiss customs are reminding holidaymakers what not to bring back this summer.
-
Swiss firefighters replaced in France
The 34 firefighters from French speaking Switzerland deployed to fight the French wildfires are back home, exhausted after a week of fighting fires of rare intensity.
-
Cities remain dangerous for cyclists
Cities remain particularly dangerous for cyclists, according to a new analysis of federal accident data.
-
Govt looks to cut forest protection
The Federal Council is scrapping the CHF 25 million a year that Parliament voted to help forests adapt to climate change, despite two clear parliamentary decisions.
-
Federal Councillors heckled by protestors
Federal Councilors were out across the country marking National Day on Saturday - but not without controversy.
-
Further pressure on Swiss football head
Pressure is mounting on Zurich-based FIFA and its Italo-Swiss president Gianni Infantino after North America's football body demanded a complete overhaul of his presidency.
-
Politicians carry stereotypes
Elected politicians in Switzerland carry more gender stereotypes than the voters they represent, a new University of Geneva and University of Lausanne study finds.
-
Illegal rave hits pastures
A thousand young people left a mountain pasture in the Vaud Jura unsuitable for grazing after an illegal rave.
-
More Swiss firefighters head to France
A second team of 33 firefighters from French speaking Switzerland will travel to south-western France this weekend to relieve colleagues battling the wildfires.
-
French wildfire smoke drifts
Smoke from the wildfires ravaging south-western France has drifted into Switzerland, the federal weather service MétéoSuisse says.
-
Unions demand hot weather orders
Geneva's construction workers remain on the job despite soaring temperatures, prompting fresh criticism from the SIT union.
-
Brighter economic prediction
Switzerland's short-term economic outlook has brightened in July, according to the KOF barometer released yesterday.
-
Annemasse municipal police attacked
Two Annemasse municipal officers have been attacked by a woman this week, in the latest incident to fuel concerns about violence in the cross-border town.
-
Geneva and Vaud have the cheapest pools
Geneva and Vaud have the cheapest public pools, according to a new comparison of 268 sites released as another heatwave bakes the country.
-
Warning of English over national languages
The head of Switzerland's Bilingualism Forum is warning that pushing French teaching out of primary school would put national cohesion at risk.
-
Mysterious meeting with Israel
The head of Swiss military procurement has made a secretive trip to Israel, and the Defence Department will not say who he met.
-
FIFA slammed by UEFA for commercial plans
Zurich-based FIFA is opening its most prized competitions to private investors, in a move already drawing threats of a European boycott.
-
UBS posts sharp rise in profits
UBS has once again beaten analyst expectations, posting a sharp jump in second-quarter profits.
-
Switzerland embraces AI
Swiss workers are the most enthusiastic users of artificial intelligence in Europe.
-
Wasp nests surge
Wasp nests are surging across the country and French-speaking areas the worst-hit region.
-
Fireworks banned this National Day
We’re heading into a fireworks-free national day.
-
Heat blast coming
Switzerland is bracing for another blast of extreme heat, with temperatures set to reach 38°C by tomorrow and stay high well into August.
-
Court stops Geneva tram section
The Federal Administrative Court has stopped plans for extending Geneva's Tram 15 to Saint-Julien-en-Genevois.
-
Football authorities say Swiss red card wrong
Football's rulemakers have confirmed that Breel Embolo should not have been sent off in Switzerland's World Cup quarter-final against Argentina.
-
Russia says Switzerland is not neutral
Russia is publicly attacking Switzerland's neutrality just two months before Swiss voters decide whether to enshrine it in the Constitution.
-
Switzerland may rethink Infantino support
The Swiss Football Association is rethinking its support for FIFA president Gianni Infantino after the controversies of the recent World Cup.
-
Watch makers fight against US tariffs
Switzerland's watch industry is pushing Washington for an exemption from the new 12.5% US tariff that took effect on Friday.
-
Thousands suffering from long covid
Six years after the pandemic, around 400,000 are still living with long Covid, and most of the specialist clinics that treated them have closed.
-
Paléo ends on a high
The 49th Paléo Festival ended on a high, attracting 250,000 people over six days.
-
Switzerland slammed for denying pregnant prisoner visit from the father
The European Court of Human Rights has condemned Switzerland for denying a pregnant detainee her right to family life.
-
Greens continue fight against federal councillor
The Green Party leader Lisa Mazzone is now attaching specific anti-overheating regulations and air-conditioned hospitals to her party's continuing campaign against Environment Minister Albert Rösti.
-
Birth rate lifts in Geneva - slightly
Births are rising again in Geneva after two years of decline.
-
New fibre optic cable under the lake
Hidden beneath the surface of Lake Geneva, a major engineering project is underway.
-
Storms unveil 1970s air crash wreckage
The recent violent storms in central parts of the country have brought back memories of an horrific air crash in 1972 when a piece of debris, which had been lodged in a tree for more than 50 years, hit the ground.
-
Total fire ban in many cantons
Cantons Geneva, Valais, Fribourg, Zurich, Glarus and Schwyz have all imposed total fire bans as the drought pushes wildfire risk into the "high" or "very high" range across most of the country.
-
Cows brought down from mountains early
Fribourg dairy farmers are being forced to bring their cows down from the mountains months ahead of schedule, as the drought leaves nothing left to graze.
-
Man killed by suspected illegal road racers
There’s growing anger following the death of a 30 year old motorcyclist over the weekend.
-
Women rally against growing femicide cases
Dozens of women rallied in Bellinzona on Tuesday evening to protest domestic violence, after Ticino recorded its third femicide of the year on 9 July.
-
Hot weather means more drownings
More than 20 people have already drowned in Switzerland this summer, yet the mood along Lake Geneva's shores remains untroubled.
-
Another heatwave next week
Another heat wave is on the horizon. Our break from extreme heat will continue until Friday, with sunshine and temperatures between 26 and 29 degrees.
-
Businesses wait for US tariff decision
Switzerland is bracing for Donald Trump's tariff decision on Swiss goods, due by Friday at the latest.
-
Vacation days could be raised
A motion filed in the National Council would raise Switzerland's legal minimum holiday from four weeks to five for every employee.
-
Online shoplifting climbs
A US-born scam known as "digital shoplifting" is reaching Swiss online shoppers.
-
Fake police caught after car chase
A retiree in canton Vaud has turned the tables on two fake police officers who tried to scam him at home.
-
Heat slows trains
Train delays are climbing as heat cracks the rails.
-
Geneva court suspends long swimsuit law
Long swimsuits are once again allowed in Geneva's public pools, after the canton's constitutional court suspended the ban.
