SwissInfo

A Swiss International Air Lines (SWISS) plane that made an unscheduled stop in Kazakhstan last Wednesday arrived back in Zurich on Friday morning with 221 passengers on board. The aircraft was forced to land in the central Asian country because of a medical emergency involving the co‑pilot. +Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox The Airbus A350 touched down at Zurich Airport at 6:45am, the airline said in a statement on Friday. The original flight was en route from the South... Читать дальше...

The conclusion of a trade agreement between Switzerland and the United States remains the Federal Council's top priority, regardless of Thursday's US court ruling that President Trump's tariffs are illegal. +Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox A US trade court has dealt another blow to President Donald Trump's tariff strategy, ruling on Thursday that his latest 10% temporary global duties are unjustified. "This decision has no impact on the ongoing negotiations between Switzerland... Читать дальше...

Switzerland is planning to step up its fight against domestic violence by introducing round‑the‑clock, real‑time electronic monitoring of perpetrators, 24 heures and Tribune de Genève reported. Canton Vaud is set to launch a pilot project in the second half of 2026. +Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox At a meeting in Bern on Thursday, members of the Electronic Monitoring (EM) association, which brings together all 26 cantons except Valais and Ticino, confirmed plans to introduce an active system by 2027. Читать дальше...

Most people in Switzerland are considered middle class, yet financial insecurity is common: roughly one in four people in the lower middle class could not meet an unexpected CHF2,500 bill ($3,200), according to the Federal Statistical Office (FSO). +Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox The findings are based on the FSO’s household budget survey and a survey on income and living conditions. Using income levels adjusted for household composition and housing costs, the FSO divides the population into several income groups. Читать дальше...

Solar Impulse 2, a solar‑powered aircraft built in Switzerland that completed a landmark round‑the‑world flight in 2016, has been destroyed after crashing in the Gulf of Mexico. No one was on board. +Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox Sold in 2019 to a Spanish‑American company and later tested by the US Navy, the aircraft went down on Monday, according to a safety report released by US authorities, confirming information reported by Swiss broadcaster RTS on Friday. The US... Читать дальше...

A planned reform of unemployment insurance rules for European Union cross‑border workers could prove costly for Switzerland. According to estimates by the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), the change could result in additional annual costs of between CHF600 million and CHF900 million ($771 million-CHF1.1 billion). +Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox The EU is seeking to redefine responsibility for paying unemployment benefits to cross‑border workers. Under the proposed reform... Читать дальше...

Swiss consumer confidence edged up in April, but economic expectations remain cautious and job insecurity elevated amid persistently high prices. +Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox In April, the overall consumer confidence index calculated by the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) stood at -40.0 points, up 2.9 points from -42.9 in March, when sentiment had deteriorated sharply from -30.4 in February. On a year‑on‑year basis, the index improved by 2.4 points but... Читать дальше...

Swiss glaciers received little snow this winter, with sizeable deficits in the Upper Valais, Ticino and Graubünden regions – a shortfall that could accelerate glacier melt this summer. +Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox A warm and dry April partly explains the low snow cover, the Swiss Glacier Monitoring Network (GLAMOS) said on Friday. Last month, the organisation measured winter snow accumulation on 25 glaciers across Switzerland. Compared with average levels recorded between 2010 and 2020... Читать дальше...

Only one Swiss national remains hospitalised abroad in connection with the Crans-Montana fire tragedy. He will be able to return to Switzerland next week. A total of 41 people died in the disaster, and 115 were injured; 38 remain in hospital or are receiving specialist treatment. +Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox This situation has prompted the Swiss Federal Office for Civil Protection (FOCP) to stop publishing a weekly count of the number of people injured in the New Year's... Читать дальше...

The Geneva-based World Health Organization (WHO) says further cases of hantavirus are possible beyond the handful recently confirmed but insists this is “not the start of an epidemic”. +Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox So far, eight hantavirus cases have been identified, five of which are confirmed, after an outbreak on a cruise ship. Three people have died. Hantavirus is usually spread by rodents but can in rare cases be transmitted person-to-person. There is no vaccine or specific treatment for this virus. Читать дальше...