An international eye on Swiss news

October 2026

Swiss flu vaccines delayed, but no shortage expected (LINK) — 16 October 2026

Rising crime in Switzerland driven by fraud and property offences (LINK) — 15 October 2026

— The most striking increase relates to fraud: over the course of a year, 15.9% of respondents were affected, compared with 8.4% in 2022. Some 83.1% of the 13,500 people questioned in the survey (aged between 16 and 80 living throughout Switzerland) feel fairly or very safe after dark in their neighbourhood, a figure down from 87.6% in 2022.

Switzerland releases fuel reserves to ease shortage risks at Zurich airport (LINK) — 15 October 2026

Zurich prosecutor charges journalist over former Bank chair revelations (LINK) — 15 October 2026

— Raiffeisen former bank chair Pierin Vincenz and business partner Beat Stocker are alleged to have secretly acquired shareholdings in certain companies, and then arranged for these to be purchased by Raiffeisen Bank or the credit card company Aduno. Stocker was CEO of the latter and Vincenz chairman of the board of directors. Through this scheme, they are alleged to have pocketed millions in profits. They are also alleged to have passed off certain private expenses — such as visits to cabarets and strip clubs — as entertainment expenses. The Zurich District Court had sentenced both men to prison terms at first instance: Vincenz to three years and nine months, and Stocker to four years. Appeal by Vincenz, Stocker and other defendants will be handed down on January 11, 2027. According to Stocker, the business journalist Lukas Hässig had infringed his privacy in the articles about Vincenz's alleged irregularities. The public prosecutor's office had dropped the case against Hässig in December 2025. However, Stocker lodged an appeal and was successful.

EBU: 97th General Assembly scheduled to be held in Geneva on 3-4 December (LINK) — 12 October 2026

Milton Dick, the Speaker of the House of Representatives of Australia, has been elected the 32nd President of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) by hundreds of parliamentarians gathered in Arusha, United Republic of Tanzania, for the 153rd IPU Assembly (LINK) — 9 October 2026

— IPU: Assembly also approved Arusha Communiqué, entitled Enhancing good governance and empowering communities through inclusivity, trust and opportunities for all. It calls for laws, policies and budgets to be informed by evidence, including scientific and quantitative data, official statistics, local and community knowledge, and people's real-life experiences. It also stresses the importance of parliamentarians being present in, and accessible to, the communities they represent, particularly those living in remote areas or affected by crises. The 154th IPU Assembly will take place in Geneva, Switzerland, on 10–14 May 2027.

The three winners of this year's Swiss cheese awards: La Guignarde for its hard cheese Gruyère d'alpage AOP, Fromagerie de la Suze for its Tête de Moine AOP semi-hard cheese, and Fromagerie Fleurette in Rougemont for its Tomme Fleurette soft cheese (LINK) — 9 October 2026

Brainvest Wealth Management expands office in Geneva, the city where it was founded in 2003, and strengthens its position in Switzerland (LINK) — 7 October 2026

Gault Millau Switzerland names vegetarian chef for first time as its Chef of the Year 2027: Dominik Hartmann, from canton Schwyz (LINK) — 5 October 2026

— swissinfo: Hartmann, chef at the Magdalena restaurant in Rickenbach, scored 18 out of 20 points, Gault Millau Switzerland announced today. This chef, who already holds two Michelin stars, completely reoriented his cuisine towards vegetarian menus in 2022. Together with his friends Marco Appert and Adriana Hartmann, he runs a restaurant with an on-site bakery. In 2021, they were named "Discovery of the Year". Gault Millau's director, Urs Heller, has described Hartmann's style as "Vegi 2.0". His cuisine is "tasty and full of surprises", the statement notes.

Wild Solutions makes Geneva a bridge between European and Asian markets (LINK) — 5 October 2026

Breaking Travel News: Discover Geneva's autumn magic this October half term (LINK) — 5 October 2026

Greta Thunberg says Morocco sabotaged her Western Sahara debate in Zurich: all 300 tickets had been reserved, but only 40 people attended. 23-year-old (LINK) — 1 October 2026

— swissinfo: 23-year-old holds Morocco responsible for sabotage, as the country has been in conflict for decades with the Sahrawi people, the indigenous people of Western Sahara. The documentary film My Home of Wind and Sand, which centres on Najla Mohamed Lamin — a Sahrawi woman born in a refugee camp in Algeria and who still lives there — was screened on Tuesday evening at the Zurich Film Festival to a packed house for its world premiere.