Bitesize News

The Rhône was unusually quiet yesterday evening after all swimmers were ordered out of the water around 5:25 p.m. due to an oil spill.

Police teams working at the devastated village of Blatten in canton Valais have found human remains.

Anti-roads campaigners are crying foul as it seems the widening of the autoroutes is now back on the agenda despite being rejected by the people in a tightly fought vote in November.

Finding an apartment in Switzerland’s big cities remains a real challenge, but a new report reveals that construction has actually surged in recent years.

Over 100 animals have died near Bern after a fire broke out in an animal shelter yesterday afternoon.

Shoppers at Migros may have noticed several dairy products are missing from the shelves – but charities are benefitting.

The mother of a 15-year-old girl murdered by her 14-year-old school mate in canton Aargau says she feels abandoned after she discovered the perpetrator may only serve a few days in jail for the crime.

Canton Geneva has issued a forest fire alert – it’s raised the level to three, out of five.

A TGV train heading or Geneva smashed into a tractor near Russin yesterday morning.

A Scottish wingsuit flyer has been killed after a jump in canton Uri.

Two politicians in canton Fribourg want to remove the right of parents to have their children exempted from sex education classes.

The growth in artificial intelligence is using more and more electricity to an extent it could take an entire nuclear power station to run data centres in Switzerland in just 5 years’ time.

Thousands marched in Bern over the weekend to express their solidarity with Gaza and demanding the Federal Council back a ceasefire in the region.

The announcement by the French president, Emmanuel Macron, that the next G7 summit will be held in Evian is worrying many who remember the last time the meeting was held on the lakeside town in 2003.

A surprise inspection of electric scooters in Geneva led to several machines being impounded.

Big changes ahead for Google in Switzerland. Until now, the tech giant could use Swiss media content for free – but that’s about to change.

The Foreign Ministry’s telephone hotline for travel advice has been immensely busy for the past few months.

After it’s record-breaking tax haul, Geneva has to pay the most into the national inter-cantonal equalization fund – more even than Zug and Zurich.

As expected, the Swiss National Bank has lowered interest rates to zero.

Switzerland is warming fast, and humans are to blame.

Geneva airport is preparing for a busy summer – and will be opening security earlier.

It’s the Fete de la Musique this weekend – and Geneva has one of the biggest programmes it's ever had.

In Geneva, the canton has decided it needs to take a far more hands-on approach to roadworks.

Switzerland is the richest country in the world, according to a new study by UBS.

The tenants’ association, ASLOCA, is collecting signatures to change the law and bring in far stricter rent control.

Geneva is the fifth best city to live in – in the world.

Two people on a small boat on Lake Thun had to jump into the water when it caught fire.

A new housing estate in Zurich is causing controversy as the owners have banned cats from the start.

Five diplomats, and their families, working at the Swiss Embassy in Tehran have left the country.

France is being rocked by another sexual abuse scandal, this time not far from the Geneva border in Bonneville.

Geneva police have arrested 6 people on suspicion of human trafficking after raiding several Indian restaurants.

The Geneva based United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees is to sack 3,500 worldwide – including nearly half based in Geneva.

The Geneva minimum wage could be ended by Bern.

The sudden and heavy snowfalls in Valais in April will cost the canton millions of francs and work is still underway clearing the damage.

The right-wing Swiss People’s Party is calling for an end to the protected status of Ukrainians who fled the war and are living in Switzerland.

Economic growth in Switzerland will likely be lower for the rest of this year than previously forecast.

The village of Brienz in Graubünden has been sealed off to its residents once again.

Geneva municipal police officers have launched a petition to give them more powers, the right to carry a sidearm, and use blue lights on their vehicles.

The French rail company, the SNCF, is warning of a scam – which is affecting its Swiss customers as well as the French.

This weekend is expected to be particularly hot again, with temperatures above 30 degrees.

A major storm yesterday afternoon around Biel in canton Bern seriously injured one person, caused thousands of francs of damage, felled trees, and led to the cancellation of an outdoor music festival.

Only a few days after the train operator Eurostar announced it had plans to run a service from London to Geneva, a group of experts are already pouring cold water on the idea.

Thousands marched in Geneva on Saturday afternoon as part of the Feminist Strike.

School locker rooms need a design overhaul to take into account new fears of surreptitious photography, heightened self-awareness, gender diversity, as well as physical differences and disabilities.

Parliament is discussing how to get more car charging points in apartment building car parks.

Dust from the Sahara Desert is now mixing with the smoke particles from the Canadian wildfires to create an orange haze in the sky over Switzerland.

The tourist office for the Lötschental Valley in canton Valais is emphasising that it is safe for visitors and it’s open for business.

Both houses of parliament have unanimously passed an emergency bill, giving CHF 5m to the destroyed village of Blatten.

As Genevans suffer from all the roadworks currently underway, many will be frustrated at the news that a recently completed section will have to be re-opened.

Do you want to take part in the Escalade races this year?

Temperatures across the country are hitting highs in the thirties - with Geneva being one of the hottest areas.

The Upper House of Parliament, the Council of States, has taken the first step of loosening the laws restricting the re-sale of Swiss-made arms and munitions.

The City of Geneva is preparing its heatwave plan.

Protestors who invaded the train tracks at Geneva and Lausanne stations on Monday could face a lengthy jail term.

A man accused of sexually abusing his step-daughter has been acquitted by a Geneva court.

One of Donald Trump’s closest confidants will soon be in Bern.

A Swiss man has broken the world record for the longest time being buried naked in the snow.

Temperatures are set to soar over the next few days - but don’t expect blue skies.

The train company that runs services through the channel tunnel says it wants to develop a route from London to Geneva.

Executive head hunters are back at work to find a new head of Geneva Airport after only eight months.

Strike action will hit the cross-border buses running from Gex to Geneva, through Ferney Voltaire from today.

The roofing scam seems to be back in Geneva after a 96-year-old woman was fooled.

Even though we want to make sure cash will not go away – we’re not using it.

Pro-Palestinian protestors invaded the train tracks at Geneva and Lausanne stations yesterday evening.

French police were called to the Lycée International in Ferney-Voltaire when an end of year party descended into chaos last Friday.

The boats running on Lake Geneva are in crisis.

Geneva police are calling for witnesses after a cyclist was found semi-conscious and bleeding on a street near the Plainpalais in the early hours of Sunday morning.

The cross-border authority, Grand Genève is asking the Confederation for more than half a billion francs to boost public transport for frontalier workers.

Protestors are gearing to fight the installation of a ground station for Starlink, Elon Musk’s direct to satellite home internet system.

Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis is under fire from several parliamentarians for comments equating violations of international law by both Israel and Hamas in Gaza.

Zurich is reporting a measles outbreak.

An elderly woman has been trampled to death by cattle in canton Graubunden.

The medical treatment of homeopathy could be excluded from basic health insurance.

An automated system designed to cut traffic jams on the autoroutes is being rolled out on the A1 between Geneva and Lausanne.

Swimming in Lake Geneva has been banned in Vengeron and Pregny-Chambésy after a sewerage pipe burst.

More than 150 Geneva taxi drivers protested yesterday in the middle of the city, claiming that Uber is operating illegally and should be banned.

Geneva public transport is very slow compared to the rest of the country, but the operator, the TPG, says it runs a dense network with plenty of stops which makes the service extremely useful.

Members of the City of Geneva Council have voted themselves a pay increase of 25%.

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