Bitesize News

This Sunday is Swiss National Day ! August the 1st celebrations remember the oath taken in 1291 by the cantons of Uri, Schwyz and Unterwalden, on the Grütli meadow, near Lake Lucerne.

Rising daily Covid cases and the uncertainty posed by returning holiday makers has led to the Swiss Government delaying an announcement on easing Covid-19 restrictions.

People living in or visiting Haute-Savoie in neighbouring France will have to wear masks outdoors again in many places following a rise in the number of Covid-19 cases in the department.

Jean-Pierre Hocké, a Swiss national who was the UN High Commissioner for Refugees in the late 1980s, has died in Lausanne at the age of 83.

The Swiss chocolate favourite, Lindt and Sprüngli’s gold-foil-wrapped Easter Bunny, has been given protected status by a court in Germany.

Senior US and Russian officials restarted talks in Geneva yesterday on easing tensions between the world’s largest nuclear weapons powers and agreed to reconvene in September.

Right-wing voters in Switzerland are more likely to remove candidates who do not have a typically Swiss-sounding name from political party lists, according to a study by the universities of Lucerne and Geneva.

Another shipment of anti-Covid-19 equipment has left Switzerland, this time headed to Thailand, which is facing its worst wave yet of the pandemic.

Swiss nationals living in non-EU countries who have received a Covid vaccine not approved in Switzerland, such as the AstraZeneca vaccine, are not eligible for a valid Covid certificate in this country.

The Jamaican-born sprinter Alex Wilson, who is registered to compete for Switzerland in the men’s 100m and 200m events in Tokyo, has had a provisional ban for an anti-doping violation, which had been suspended by Swiss Olympic, reinstated with immediate effect.

Swiss athlete Jeremy Desplanches will compete today in the Men’s Swimming 200m Individual Medley at the Olympic Games in Tokyo.

A survey has found that people over the age of 65 are choosing to be vaccinated against Covid-19 to protect their own health and the wider population in general, whereas those under the age of 24 view being vaccinated as a way to travel and return to normal life.

US and Russian delegates will hold talks in Geneva today under the Strategic Stability Dialogue which Biden and Putin committed to when they met at the Villa la Grange in Geneva last month. 

Developers have begun felling trees at a controversial building site in the centre of Geneva.

Vineyards in Switzerland are fighting an ever-increasing battle against an attack of fungal disease, brought on by heavy rainfall over the past few weeks.

Vladimir Petkovic, the most successful national football manager in Swiss history, is leaving his post to become the new manager of Les Girondins Bordeaux.

The Federal Office of Public Health said yesterday that some 362 people who had been fully vaccinated have still contracted the virus, adding that this figure is likely to be higher as not all infections are registered.

Following a series of speed checks in Geneva, police have seized six e-scooters that can travel much faster than the legal limit.

Rumours that the manager of the Swiss national football team is in talks with a French football club have been confirmed by the Swiss Football Association.

As Switzerland battled against the Covid-19 pandemic last year, there was a 20% drop in other highly infectious diseases in the country.

Over the weekend, a Swiss cargo aircraft carrying 600 oxygen concentrators left Zurich for Jakarta.

US and Russian delegates will hold talks in Geneva under the Strategic Stability Dialogue which Biden and Putin committed to when they met in the city last month.

Severe thunderstorms, accompanied by heavy rain and hail, hit the cantons of Lucerne and Schwyz early yesterday afternoon.

Rich countries like Switzerland should do more to help poorer countries fight the global pandemic, according to Thomas Cueni, President of the Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA)

There’s bad news for the tourism industry in Switzerland with the president of the national marketing body, Switzerland Tourism, saying that this year is set to be even worse than 2020.

Infections are rising and more people are in hospital.

The Geneva state councillor for health, Mauro Poggia, says Covid tests should no longer be free as he believes they’re giving the population a false sense of security.

There are calls for the income tax agreement between Geneva and France to be renegotiated as some on the French side feel they’re not getting their fair share of the revenue generated by their residents.

Geneva emergency services are raising the alarm that people are not calling them if there’s a problem because they believe someone else has already done it. And young people are not in the habit of making phone calls anyway.

Hedgehogs are being killed by automatic lawn mowers.

Teenagers are taking up the offer of getting vaccines. In Geneva, 400 between the ages of 12 and 15 years old have had their first dose and nearly 2,000 have an appointment.

The Federal Court has thrown out three petitions which argued the government had over stepped its authority when it banned gatherings of more than 30 people and forced mask wearing in shops.

Sankt Gallen police say 12 people will be charged after they raided two marijuana growing facilities at the beginning of the year.

The President, Guy Parmelin, will be attending the Olympic opening ceremony in Japan.

The mayor of Soral in Geneva is furious a new bus service will run through his border village – but not stop.

The Federal Health Office says infection rates are going up, doubling every week and the country is on course to break the 1,000 infections-a-day next week.

In neighbouring France, more people will have to show a vaccine certificate from today to access some leisure activities.

The recent heavy rain is proving to be a major problem for farmers with many crops likely to rot due to soggy fields.

Although the weather for the rest of the week is expected to stay dry and hot – giving the rivers and lakes time to recover from the recent downpours - forecasters are warning of more major storms this weekend.

Safety inspectors are examining what could have been a catastrophic accident at Geneva airport early this month.

Unions and management at Geneva airport are finally meeting in an effort to end long running disputes which have triggered discontentment and walkouts.

More and more people are now accepting the need to be vaccinated – but there still remains caution when children are involved.

It will be a minor revolution in the life of Swiss shoppers – but Migros is confirming it is considering changing a policy it’s had since its foundation and start to sell alcohol.

The National Day celebrations are just two weeks away and the Federal Customs Administration is warning that you need to know what you’re doing if you’re bringing in fireworks from outside the country.

A man is going to jail for five years after causing the death of a passenger in his car following what was described as an ‘insane overtaking maneuver’.

A man has been arrested after a cat was shot and killed by a bow and arrow.

It’s been just in time- the turning of the weather from the rain to the sun is alleviating the pressure on the rivers and lakes.

Although the risk of flooding is lessening – there are still dangers. The weather this week will be perfect for bathing. But we are being told – stay away from the rivers and lakes.

Geneva police used water cannon, rubber bullets and tear gas to quell a demonstration on the Place des Nations on Saturday.

A senior army officer says it's time women were also compelled to serve.

There were major traffic jams heading to the Gotthard Tunnel over the weekend as many schools in German speaking areas and in Germany itself start their summer holidays.

There’s growing pressure to give more freedom to those who are fully vaccinated and make life harder for those who are still holding out.

To celebrate the success of the vaccine roll-out - the Federal Health Office is offering free cake on the Bundesplatz in Bern today. And if anyone still hasn’t had a vaccine yet – there will a truck parked ready to offer one.

Although the forecasters say the worst of the rain is over for now - there are still flood warnings in place and authorities will be on alert across the weekend.

More and more mass vaccination centres will be closing at the end of the month as the amount of people wanting to be jabbed falls away.

Cases of the coronavirus have doubled in a week – and the situation is getting worse.

Medical experts are urging people not to take paracetamol before being vaccinated.

Traffic should flow normally on the A1 at Vengeron from now on as workers have fixed the bulge that formed on the road on Tuesday.

Heavy rain alerts are in force right across the northern areas of the country. The president Guy Parmelin is urging people to be careful.

Geneva police are preparing for large demonstrations this weekend against the Cameroonian president who is currently on a private visit to Geneva.

There were major delays on the A1 autoroute heading into Geneva yesterday afternoon as the roadway formed a bump, raising 22cm.

Large queues formed outside a newly opened walk-in vaccination centre at the La Praille shopping centre, and it seems the French president Emmanuel Macron is to thank.

Passengers at Geneva airport faced delays after staff staged a sudden walkout in a dispute over pay and working conditions.

The head of Swisscom is apologizing for the technical problems that knocked out the emergency numbers last week.

After the devastation of the storm around Zurich yesterday – more rain is on the way and there are flood warnings in many areas.

In Geneva authorities have been checking on those who have been living in tents by the Rhone River, to make sure they’re safe as the levels continue to rise.

A new study shows 67% of people in Geneva have developed anti-bodies against the Coronavirus, reflecting the spread of the disease and the success of the vaccine roll out.

There’s another vaccine we should be getting – that against tick-borne meningoencephalitis or FSME.

A man is going to jail after hitting a worker at a Burger King restaurant near Zurich after being told he needs to put on a mask during Christmas last year.

Zurich has been severely battered by an intense overnight storm. Forecasters issued tweets speaking of ‘unleashed forces of nature’.

Geneva hospitals are calling on blood donors to come forward as reserves are at a critically low level.

We’re taking to the skies once again. The latest figures from Zurich airport show last month numbers were up 200% on the same time last year – and it’s expected to climb even higher this month.

With the rise of airline passengers, the number of people trying to use a fake Covid certificate is also up.

The Geneva Film Festival, CinéTransat has come up with an innovative idea on how to hold outdoor screenings of movies, but yet be able to control how many people attend and still be in compliance of the Covid restrictions.

Spontaneous street celebrations broke out across the country after Italy beat England in the Euro 2020 finals.

There are growing warnings the country’s property market is heading for a crash. Experts say the current high prices are simply unsustainable.

A Geneva cantonal initiative to build more affordable housing has collected more than enough signatures to go to a vote.

A TV journalist has been found guilty of breaking the firearms law – but will not be punished.

The recent heavy rain means Lake Geneva is high at the moment and the dams at Seujet have been opened fully to keep the water level safe. But downstream, the Rhone has broken its banks in a few areas.