News from Switzerland: politics, economy, environment and society.
A severe hailstorm and supercell swept northern Switzerland on Aug 28, 2026, leaving insurers with at least a three-digit million-franc bill and tens of thousands of claims.
A gunman opened fire at an annual techno event in Aarau, Switzerland, killing one and wounding five before being arrested the following day.
Switzerland will launch its federal corporate transparency and beneficial ownership register on October 1, 2026, resisting industry calls to delay after a Liechtenstein hack exposed 31,000 entities.
Switzerland's Federal Council requests CHF 970 million in supplementary appropriations for air defense, prioritizing advance payments to secure delivery windows amid global supply chain constraints.
A fire in the Swiss Alpine town of Thusis destroyed a restaurant with apartments above it overnight on 21 August 2026, leaving five people missing and feared dead and eight others injured, with nearly 100 firefighters called in from four area departments after the stairwell collapsed and forced a crane-led roof entry.
Switzerland’s government sees no need for a state of emergency despite weeks of dry weather and record temperatures.
An 11-year conservation initiative in Switzerland has achieved a major milestone with the first successful nesting and hatching of three osprey chicks in the country since 1914.
The Swiss government has formally rejected a popular initiative to enshrine "perpetual and armed" neutrality in the constitution, launching an official campaign against the measure ahead of the September 27 referendum. The rejection, which includes no counter-proposal, leaves a stricter constitutional definition for voters to decide on while polls indicate strong opposition to the idea.
Swiss dairy herds finally face a confirmed diagnosis after a midge-borne virus caused fever and sharp milk drops across the region last summer.
The VZ Retirement Barometer 2026 shows expected Swiss pension benefits have dropped by 16 percent since 2002, with only a quarter of the public believing the first pillar will be secure in twenty years.
Basel-Stadt canceled its Rhine and Bruderholz fireworks for August 1 just 48 hours before the holiday, joining 12 cantons that had already imposed total fire bans as a fourth heatwave pushed forest fire risk to maximum levels across most of Switzerland.
Switzerland's highest temperature of 2026 was recorded in Basel on July 30, matching the northern Alpine record, as drought alerts reached Level 5 and August 1 fireworks were cancelled.
The Swiss National Bank posted a CHF 25.2 billion profit in the first half of 2026, powered by equity gains on foreign currency holdings, with a falling gold price providing the only real drag.
Emergency services reported a peaceable night as all 26 cantons banned private fireworks and several prohibited pyrotechnic sales, though official exemptions in Bern, Lake Zurich, and Zug sparked political backlash.
Three Swiss Super Puma helicopters will continue supporting French emergency forces against wildfires on the Mediterranean island for four more days.
An 11-month rescue dig at Vindonissa traced the complete boundary of the first Roman military camp, built under Tiberius, resolving a 90-year-old mystery about the site's earliest fortifications.
A sweltering July 2026 shattered temperature records across Switzerland, with Basel-Binningen hitting 39.7°C and the month ranking as the hottest since national measurements began in 1864.
Switzerland's Federal Defence Department has ordered Armasuisse to study reactivating disused military bunkers for secure storage of supplies and hazardous materials, launching a public tender focused on speed and cost as protection needs rise.
Ten appeals challenge the flat-rate compensation formula for residents of landslide-threatened Brienz (GR), even after a CHF82.5 million resettlement loan was approved by the Albula municipal council.
Thirty-four firefighters from French-speaking Switzerland departed Geneva on Saturday to reinforce wildfire suppression efforts near Bordeaux in the Gironde department. A parallel request for aerial assets has been processed through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism, including Switzerland as a participating partner.
Bern Pride 2026 drew roughly 10,000 marchers demanding a federal ban on conversion therapy and expanded rights for LGBTQIA+ people, with speakers criticizing Switzerland's record as 'embarrassing.'
Meteo Swiss forecasts 37°C in Geneva this week while the Federal Office for the Environment warns that the ongoing drought is unlikely to ease, with lake levels still falling.