Bitesize News

Police had to use water cannon and rubber bullets in Bern again last night as crowds opposed to Covid restrictions gathered outside the Federal Parliament building.

The agreement which allows Swiss based staff to work from their homes in France will be extended to the end of the year.

A compromise over free tests may be reached between parliament and the government later today.

Parliament has rejected any new tax on airline tickets or aviation fuel.

Large concerts are beginning to return. The Geneva Arena will be hosting a series of events from October until Christmas.

The requirement of a Covid pass to enter certain public spaces means many vaccination centres are now overrun.

Two women have been arrested for pickpocketing several victims who had come out of a currency exchange office near the Geneva main train station.

Thousands of Geneva commuters faced delays yesterday afternoon after an accident cut tram services in the city.

A hunter in canton Schwyz is facing a large fine after shooting a llama which was protecting a herd of sheep.

A man in canton Fribourg faces charges after admitting to throwing several garbage bags into a local river since the beginning of the year.

The Federal Health Office is upping its efforts to persuade non-Swiss residents to get vaccinated after figures show more than half of those in hospital in Bern with Covid are not Swiss and not vaccinated.

The much-maligned tax which home owners have to pay is finally being abolished.

Police searching for two people who went missing in the Rhine River over the weekend say they’ve recovered two bodies in Schaffhausen.

Around 2,000 students protested in Lausanne last night. They‘re calling for an end to the use of the Covid pass in universities.

A teenager is warning others about the danger of energy drinks after she collapsed with heart problems because of her habit of drinking 12 cans a day.

After last week’s corona riots outside the Federal Palace in Bern, the city wants to make sure any further demonstrations have to be planned and registered by the police ahead of time.

Almost 20,000 students at the University of Geneva returned to school – and to attend classes, they had to show either a vaccination certificate or a negative test – which is only valid for three days.

Mysterious signs have been stuck on shop windows across Geneva. Written in block lettering on a red background the signs say ‘Forbidden for Dogs and the Unvaccinated’.

Could generalised mask wearing mean this winter’s flu epidemic will be worse than normal?

A primary school in Lignon had to be evacuated yesterday afternoon after teachers reported smelling gas with smoke coming from the kitchen.

Stricter rules on entering Switzerland come into force today.

There are calls for the government to place orders for the single shot vaccine from Johnson and Johnson.

The Geneva University Hospital is cancelling operations and redeploying staff as it’s hit with an unprecedented absentee rate.

Rescuers have relaunched a search operation for two people who have gone missing on the Rhine in canton Thurgau.

The French are denying press reports that a meeting between the French president, Emmanuel Macron and his Swiss counterpart, Guy Parmelin has been cancelled as the French are upset Switzerland is buying US fighter jets and not European.

Volunteers took nearly two tonnes of rubbish from Lake Geneva over the weekend.

Bern police used water cannon, tear gas and rubber bullets last night to keep crowds back from the Federal Palace. Thousands had gathered to protest against the use of the Covid pass and any move towards compulsory vaccination.

No, it is not illegal for restaurant owners to ask for ID to back up the vaccination pass.

A man is in custody in Geneva after being caught with cocaine worth around a million francs at the border in Veyrier.

The body of a young girl who went missing after falling into the Reuss River while on a dinghy trip at the beginning of the month with her family has been found.

The Balexert Shopping Centre in Geneva had to be evacuated yesterday afternoon after a fire broke out on the section that spans the route de Meyrin.

Passenger traffic this summer at Geneva airport has met expectations.

The Bern Onion Market is back. The traditional event was cancelled last year due to Covid restrictions.

Parliament has agreed to the broad intention of an initiative to ban arms sales to countries involved in conflict or those that violate human rights.

Should shops in Geneva be using the English word ‘Sale’ to announce a bargain or stick with the French word ‘Soldes’?

In what appears to be a U-turn, the Swiss People’s Party is now backing the continuation of free Covid tests.

The main hospital in the small central canton of Schwyz had to bring in security staff to handle the larger than expected crowds looking to get vaccinated.

Parliament has passed a law that will allow authorities to search mobile phones, tablets, and USB drives of those claiming asylum if their identity can’t be determined in any other way.

A man has died in canton Solothurn while trying to free his model aircraft that had got caught on a powerline.

Leon the peacock has had an untimely end. Very likely a fox is to blame.

The final bill for Switzerland hosting the summit between presidents Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin in June has been revealed – CHF 5.2m.

Football fans in Bern were celebrating last night after Young Boys beat Manchester United 2-1 in a Champions League Group F match.

Zurich is now vaccinating people on a tram. A special vaccination tram is running across the city which allows no-reservation jabs.

Still the majority of people believe breast-feeding in public is unacceptable.

A private swimming pool owner is facing a large bill to clean up a local river after they emptied it onto a field.

A study of sleeping habits across the country show some differences in the language regions on bed times, who dreams the most and we like a weekend lie in.

More and more people, are choosing to get vaccinated.

Geneva unions and the authorities are calling on companies to allow staff paid time off to get vaccinated.

More people moved into Geneva than left last year – and the biggest foreign group arriving are the French.

The Swiss foreign minister says the international community has to deliver targeted and rapid aid to Afghanistan.

A base jumper has died after leaping from the north face of the Eiger in the Bernese Oberland.

A man known as the ‘fake American plumber’ has been arrested in Zurich and retuned to Geneva where he faces several charges of fraud and robbery.

The new Covid rules kick off today. Anyone wanting to enter an indoor public space, such as a restaurant, concert hall or other leisure activity will have to show a vaccine certificate.

Around 30,000 went to the Pride March in Geneva this Saturday. It was cancelled last year and postponed from earlier this year.

The emergency payments to businesses that have suffered due to the pandemic look set to end this year.

The emergency agreement which allows cross border workers to work from home in France without registering with French social security is to be extended yet again.

The Swiss National Bank says it is concerned about the rise of property prices, which show no sign of abating.

Demonstrations continued yesterday in Bern following the announcement that the COVID certificate will be required to access indoor areas of restaurants, bars, cultural and leisure venues, as well as indoor entertainment venues such as concert halls or theatres. 

Switzerland’s Interior Minister Alain Berset was in London yesterday signing an accord ensuring continued access for British citizens to healthcare, pension provisions and social security benefits when working or visiting Switzerland.

Police are calling for witnesses to a collision between a motorcycle and a pedestrian that occurred at a crossroads by the Place des Eaux-Vives in Geneva. 

The Swiss hotline  ‘143’ has reported receiving an increase in calls for suicidal thoughts since the beginning of the pandemic, particularly from minors. 

This week is Geneva Pride week and tomorrow the Pride March will flow through the city, for the first time since the summer of 2019. 

The Top 100 Swiss Start Up awards were held last night in the presence of a selected audience of startups and investors.

The latest report of the Service for Combatting Racism (SCRA) in Switzerland states that there has been an increase in racial discrimination in all aspects of life, particularly online, and particularly in relation to employment. 

The government has agreed to send CHF 33m to bolster aid in Afghanistan. The Federal Council approved the amount yesterday and said that overall, they planned to send over CHF 60m in the coming 16 months. 

The Federal Council announced yesterday that they are considering ways to update measures for unvaccinated people arriving in Switzerland. They are looking at two possible options. 

The Federal Council announced yesterday that employers may only ask whether employees have a certificate if it is in order to implement protective measures, or a testing plan.

From this coming Monday the COVID certificate, or “pass sanitaire”, will be required to access indoor areas in bars, to dine inside in restaurants, access cultural and leisure centres, as well as attend any indoor events, such as concerts.

This time it’s very likely to happen. The Federal Council is expected to extend the use of the vaccine passport to more venues – such as bars, cinemas, indoor swimming pools and other cultural and social centres.

It’s likely the Federal Council is responding to concerns from the Health Office that the current rate of vaccinations is too slow and this country is falling behind others.

In an effort to boost the vaccination rates in Geneva, the centre at the University Hospital will be open throughout the weekend for the next 4 weeks at least.

A cyclist was killed in the Charmilles area of Geneva yesterday afternoon. The 59-year-old was hit by a truck on the rue de Lyon just after 3pm.

Billboards on public land in Geneva could disappear – but not just yet.

Maintenance work will close the Gotthard tunnel for a total of ten nights over the next two months.

The initiative to stop compulsory vaccines has collected 100,000 signatures in record time and it's likely voters will be asked their opinion in the near future.

It should be harder for tenants to sublet their property and easier for landlords to hike rents.

A young girl is still missing after an accident on the River Reuss near Mülligen in canton Aargau on Sunday.

A woman in Morges has been given a three-year suspended prison sentence for staging a burglary at her home.

Swiss Federal Railways says they will make more space for bikes on the trains – but cycling groups are still not satisfied.

The Swiss Paralympians have returned home with a clutch of medals - 22 in total including 7 golds.

The Geneva Grand Council has backed a decree issued by the cantonal government last month which forces all staff and visitors to the University Hospital to show a Covid vaccination certificate or negative test result.

Around 20 anti-vaccine protestors surrounded a vaccination bus in canton Thurgau over the weekend and one protestor physically assaulted a worker.

Switzerland has sent a convoy of aid trucks to the conflict zone in eastern Ukraine.

A British woman has died in a rockfall just above Verbier in canton Valais.

A small ceremony was held in Versoix on Saturday, to mark the end of four years of roadworks.

Hundreds swam across Lake Geneva yesterday morning as part of ‘La Traversée’.