Author: switzerlandtimes.ch

Swiss water reservoirs are unusually depleted for this time of year, reaching their lowest seasonal level in at least 20 years. According to the latest weekly data from the Federal Office of Energy (FOE), they are 46% full—16.4 percentage points below the average for the same point in the year over the past two decades. The unusually low levels reflect a combination of poor winter snowfall and an exceptionally dry spring. Federal data show that spring 2026 was among the driest since nationwide records began in 1864. Despite the shortfall, the federal government sees no immediate threat to Switzerland’s electricity…

Laboratory tests in the Swiss canton of Solothurn found excessive pesticide residues in one-third of vegetable samples taken from Asian grocery stores last year, prompting a criminal complaint against an importer. Asian supermarket vegetables tested by Solothurn’s food safety inspectors repeatedly failed compliance checks, according to the canton’s 2025 annual report. Officials analysed 38 vegetable samples from ten retailers for pesticide residues. The results were striking. Around one-third (32%) of the samples exceeded Switzerland’s legal limits for pesticides, a broad category covering chemicals used to control insects, fungi and other pests. Inspectors described the findings as sobering. The non-compliant samples…

The Matterhorn has always been dangerous. Intense prolonged heat and the sort of people climbing it have made it more so, according to SRF. Guides on the Swiss side of the peak are avoiding some routes they now consider too dangerous. The risks are growing across the Alps. Guides in Chamonix have stopped taking people up Mont Blanc after two people died on the mountain on Wednesday according to u-trail. Mountain guides in Zermatt are advising climbers to postpone attempts on the summit because of an increased risk of rockfall. High temperatures and scant snow have left parts of the…

For a growing number of Nigerian professionals, access to reliable power has become closely connected to productivity. Freelancers, entrepreneurs, remote employees and online business owners increasingly depend on laptops and other digital devices to complete their work. When electricity becomes unavailable, the effect can be immediate. A laptop battery may be running low just as an important project reaches its final stage. A remote employee may be preparing for an online meeting. A business owner may need to respond to customers or manage an online operation. These everyday challenges are helping to reshape the way Nigerian consumers think about backup…

Between 2023 and 2025, detectives from the Economic Security Bureau of Ukraine, in coordination with the Security Service of Ukraine and the Office of the Prosecutor General—under the leadership of high-ranking SBU official Artem Shilo and Deputy Prosecutor General Dmytro Verbytskyi, each of whom became a defendant in separate anti-corruption criminal proceedings, carried out an unlawful persecution of the management of JSC “iBox Bank” based on suspicions of the bank’s alleged involvement in illegal activities. These actions resulted in the de facto shutdown of one of Ukraine’s most successful banks and an important economic institution, which, during the period…

Switzerland’s purchase of F-35 fighter jets is expected to generate more business for Swiss companies than originally required, reported RTS. Under the procurement deal, the American manufacturer has agreed to place work with Swiss firms as partial compensation for the purchase. According to figures released by Armasuisse on Tuesday, these commitments now exceed the target set by the federal government. The announcement is intended to demonstrate that the F-35 programme will benefit not only the Swiss Air Force but also domestic industry. Under the procurement agreement, offset business equivalent to 60% of the contract value—around $3bn—must be awarded to Swiss…

The heatwave that swept across Switzerland in late June appears to have caused a modest increase in deaths among older people. Mortality among those aged 65 and over exceeded official projections during the week of June 22nd-28th, though it remained well below the levels recorded during the country’s record-breaking heatwave in 2003. According to weekly figures from the Federal Statistical Office (FSO), 1,278 people aged 65 or over died during the week. That was 175 more than the 1,104 deaths expected based on historical trends. The last heatwave of comparable intensity occurred in the summer of 2015, Switzerland’s second-hottest summer…

Real wage growth has slowed sharply for most Swiss workers over the past decade, leaving real disposable incomes stagnant or falling for nearly all households. According to a Swiss Trade Union Federation’s (SGB) 2026 report, only single people in the top 10% of the income distribution and families in the top 1% recorded an increase in real disposable monthly income between 2016 and 2025. The report finds that employees in the lower and middle parts of the wage distribution have seen little improvement in purchasing power over the past decade. Median real wages rose by only around 2% between 2014…

Switzerland does not need new nuclear power stations to complete the energy transition, according to a report by 19 energy specialists from ETH Zurich and the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI), the country’s leading nuclear-research centre. They conclude that a system based on hydropower and solar energy, supplemented by wind power and electricity storage, can provide a secure supply without building new reactors. The researchers do not dismiss nuclear power altogether. They argue that new reactors could reduce Switzerland’s dependence on imported electricity during the winter and therefore remain a legitimate option. But they conclude that the economic and political hurdles…

A pioneering Swiss project to install removeable solar panels between railway tracks has completed its first year of operation with encouraging results, suggesting the technology can generate electricity without disrupting train services, reported the Greater Geneva Bern area (GGBa) investment promotion agency. More than 11,000 trains have passed over a 100-metre test installation in Buttes, in the canton of Neuchâtel, since it was commissioned a year ago. The installation has proved completely stable and safe, according to Sun Ways. The photovoltaic panels are mounted on railway sleepers between the rails and can be removed quickly when maintenance work is required.…