Bitesize News

A CHF 50m foundation to help international Geneva is being set up by the canton and the Wilsdorf Foundation.

Health insurance rates will go up next year – but not has much as previous years.

A Catholic lay preacher has been acquitted in the death of a 73-year-old diabetic worshipper.

Swiss Federal Railways have released the details of the 2026 timetable, and there’ll be several changes in the Lake Geneva region.

There are thousands of cars on the road in Switzerland which should have had their technical check – but haven’t.

More young adults than ever are hitting the marathon trail in Switzerland.

Could Geneva lose its position as the centre for international cooperation?

Military organizations are calling on a further CHF 100 bn for the defence budget in the light of the security situation in Europe.

Geologists watching the mountain which threatens the village of Blatten in canton Valais say so far most of the rocks which they believe could crash down, have fallen in smaller bursts, as experts had hoped.

Severe thunderstorms across the central parts of the country yesterday caused major damage.

If you want a pay rise, you should ask for it.

Another village has been evacuated on fears that tonnes of rock could fall.

A lay preacher is on trial in Geneva for murder after a 73-year-old woman died after attending a spiritual retreat run by the man.

The Geneva University Hospital is straining under the pressure of social admissions as there are no spaces to look after vulnerable children in the canton.

We’re being warned to be careful of quicksand.

The Mont Blanc Tunnel will be closed this autumn for major renovation.

A new bus line will start later this month – serving the beaches around Geneva.

A year in the planning and now it’s all over. The Eurovision Song Contest reached its crescendo on Saturday night – Austria won and Switzerland came 10th.

Geneva voters have given the green light to massively extend solar power in the canton.

Geneva voters have roundly rejected the idea that residents’ communal taxes should be only for the commune where they live and not be shared with their place of work.

A man died yesterday afternoon when he fell from a leisure boat on Lake Geneva.

Two people have died and a five more injured after an avalanche on the Eiger on Saturday.

Five cantons – all with external borders - are calling on the Federal Council to prioritize transport links with neighbouring countries.

The government is reassuring people a rise in the retirement age is off the table – for the moment at least.

The second Eurovision Semi-Final took place last night – and now the final running order for tomorrow is ready.

A joint French/Swiss project is underway on the border of Geneva and Haut-Savoie.

A new video leak has reignited criticism of the “Titlis 3020” project near Engelberg in canton Obwalden.

A combination of US government cuts in green technology and teething problems in Iceland is causing problems for the Swiss start-up which has ambitious aims to remove carbon from the atmosphere.

Three Ukrainian nationals have been arrested on suspicion of planning acts of sabotage.

The army is considering reactivating bunkers scattered around the country.

Geneva’s encrypted email service, Proton Mail, is threatening to leave Switzerland if the government implements a proposed new surveillance law.

A 31-year-old man suspected of fatally stabbing his 65-year-old father in Plainpalais on Sunday is reported to be suffering from mental illness.

In Geneva, the legal battle over urban speed limits is heating up.

Geneva police shot dead a man in the Paquis district yesterday afternoon.

The first semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest was held last night in Basel.

Social attitudes to same sex parenting are changing fast in Switzerland.

No Swimming in the Rhône just yet.

A Dutch couple living near Zurich have been refused citizenship as the local municipality believe they haven’t made enough Swiss friends.

Good news for drivers wanting to cross the Alps – the Gotthard Pass will open this Friday.

A teenage girl was killed on Sunday in Berikon, canton Aargau.

In response to growing security concerns in Europe, Swiss authorities are considering distributing a practical war-preparedness guide to everone.

It seems the meeting between US and Chinese trade offcials in Geneva has paid off for Switzerland.

Swiss glaciers saw 13% less winter snow than the 2010–2020 average, according to the Swiss Glacier Monitoring Network.

We each throw away, on average, 2.7 plastic items every day – and its most likely to be food packaging.

A lone wolf was spotted in the middle of the town of Thun in canton Bern over the weekend.

One person died and two others are in a serious condition in neighbouring France in two separate, but related instances.

It’s going to be a good week for Basel.

The weekend’s marathon races in Geneva are being hailed a success as record numbers took part.

Basel police have refused permission for a stand-up protest against antisemitism during the Eurovision Song Contest, which starts this week.

The Swiss government was forced to intervene after a Swiss national was denied entry into the United States.

Parents who’d taken their children to what was supposed to be a fun outing in canton Appenzell had a shock when a gust of wind picked up a bouncy castle and lifted it into the air while children were on it.

Switzerland is stepping up its international aid efforts with a new funding package for key UN agencies.

Financial authorities have fined the Geneva based Mirabaud Bank and confiscated some profits after it was determined they didn’t report suspicious money transfers which could be linked to laundering or tax evasion.

The quantity of illegal drugs seized in Geneva surged by 35% last year, according to new police figures.

Residents in canton Valais were given a jolt on Wednesday afternoon as a loud bang reverberated around the canton.

A motorist is facing a large bill for forgetting about a roof rack on her car.

Alchemy – the dream of mankind for centuries. Turning a base metal into gold.

Switzerland is telling Germany that the law must be upheld and says it will not accept systematic rejection of asylum seekers at the border.

Voters will have the final say on the new e-ID law.

One of the leading figures in Geneva politics for many years, Antonio Hodgers, says he’s resigning from government and will not be standing for re-election.

No more pressure tactics from Temu.

If you go wandering along the waterside in Switzerland, there is a chance you’ll come across more snakes.

It could have been far worse traffic jam on the A1 autoroute in Aargau yesterday morning.

Two men from Naples, aged 36 and 39, have been sentenced to jail by a Geneva court following a violent attempted robbery in May last year.

Geneva’s Tunnel des Nations is seeing far less use than anticipated, with just 11,000 vehicles passing through daily — well below the 17,600 projected in its 2016 building permit.

Free legal advice will be available in Geneva tomorrow and the day after.

A 79-year-old man from Fribourg has fallen victim to a WhatsApp scam, losing nearly CHF 19,000 after being tricked into thinking his son needed urgent financial help.

Around 250 litres of diesel leaked from a truck’s damaged fuel tank and nearly made it into Lake Constance.

Switzerland could see the return of negative interest rates after the April inflation figures show a rate of zero.

A row has broken out in Geneva over this year’s annual mayors’ trip, as concerns about climate change clash with travel plans.

A pensioner from Fricktal in Aargau has been ordered to pay nearly CHF 14,000 for a book following a doorstep sales visit.

Canton Nidwalden will bring in a ban of mobile phones in Schools.

With the Eurovision Song Contest set to kick off in Basel next week, emergency services are preparing for an unprecedented operation.

Biological particles like pollen and bacteria from forests can help trigger heavy rainfall, according to a new Swiss study.

Pro-choice activists and anti-abortion Catholics held rival gatherings Saturday morning on Rue du Mont-Blanc in Geneva.

A jogger in Bern has been fined nearly CHF 7,000 after spitting on the sign outside the Russian Embassy.

The Eurovision Song Contest starts in Basel next week - and security is already being ramped up.

Two men posing as police officers carried out fake traffic stops in Ramsen, Canton Schaffhausen, early Friday morning.

Parents in Winterthur's Heiligberg district are on alert after a man was spotted stealing used baby diapers from a residential bin.

The final stage of the Tour de Romandie was held in the middle of Geneva yesterday.

Canton Vaud is donating ten fire engines to Ukraine.

The summery weather is luring sun seekers to the side of the rivers and the lake around Geneva - but be warned, the water is still cold.

After nearly 30 years on air, World Radio Switzerland (WRS) - Switzerland’s only 24/7 English-language radio station - will close at the end of 2025 unless new ownership is secured.

**** 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