Switzerland Today
Dear Swiss Abroad,
A fatal shooting kept Switzerland on tenterhooks over the weekend as the unknown perpetrator remained on the run.
A suspect has now been arrested. He is alleged to have shot and killed a young woman in Aarau after a rave had ended, injuring five other people.
Aargau cantonal police announced this afternoon that they had arrested a 43-year-old Swiss man following the fatal shooting at a rave at the horse racing track in Aarau. The man was apprehended shortly before 1am and is the prime suspect. The authorities currently believe he acted alone.
Shortly after 2:30am on Sunday, several shots were fired. A 22-year-old Italian woman died at the scene, while five other people were injured, some seriously. The injured include four Swiss nationals and one German national; none of them is in a life-threatening condition. Police believe the victims were chosen at random.
During the large-scale manhunt, various theories were examined, including a terrorist attack, a shooting spree or a gang-related settling of scores. Police described a terrorist attack as unlikely, as the event had already ended by the time the shots were fired. The specific motive remains unclear. The public prosecutor’s office is investigating the case as intentional homicide.
The Italian government is closely monitoring the investigation. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni emphasised her confidence in the Swiss authorities but called for a swift resolution. The parents of the woman killed are being supported by the Italian Embassy in Switzerland.
The extreme summer drought is posing major challenges for Swiss agriculture: there is an estimated shortfall of 600,000 to 800,000 tonnes of animal feed, leading to increased reliance on imports from Canada, from where hay is being shipped to Switzerland in containers.
Economics Minister Guy Parmelin, who holds the rotating Swiss presidency this year and is also a winegrower by trade, described the current situation facing the wine industry in Le Temps as a “historic crisis” affecting not only Switzerland but the whole of Europe.
Alongside the heat, declining consumption is also taking its toll on the wine sector. Parmelin acknowledges that a proposal to restrict wine imports would be unlikely to secure a majority and instead advocates tapping into new export markets – such as India or China, where free trade agreements could open up new opportunities.
At the same time, Parmelin is seeking long-term solutions for the supply of animal feed. On a farm in canton Vaud, he learnt about drought-resistant crops such as sorghum (fodder millet), which can thrive without irrigation. In addition, the government is examining the use of tree species as livestock feed and has already suspended customs duties on imports of hay and feed maize.
To provide relief to affected farms, the government has announced interest-free loans totalling CHF54 million ($66.8 million) for 2026 and has brought forward some direct payments. Parmelin emphasises that structural adjustments are inevitable – both in agriculture and viticulture. “The coming period will be extremely difficult,” he warns.
Let’s stay with the hot summer of 2026: according to a survey, it has led to a significant shift in attitudes towards air conditioning. Some 91% of 12,780 people surveyed are in favour of installing air conditioning throughout schools, care homes and hospitals.
Two-thirds of those surveyed are also in favour of greater use of private air-conditioning units, with men (71%) slightly more supportive than women (63%), as reported by the SonntagsZeitung. At the same time, a clear majority of 69% are in favour of relaxing building regulations for permanently installed split-system air-conditioning units, with hardly any difference between urban and rural areas.
When it comes to funding, however, the public draws a clear line: 67% reject state subsidies for private air-conditioning systems. Experts also warn that while air-conditioning systems solve one problem, they create three new ones: noise, additional heating of the outside air in cities and increased energy consumption.
Studies predict that the amount of time Swiss homes are overheated could almost double by 2050, rising from 8% today to as much as 17%. While over 90% of homes in the US and Japan are air-conditioned, only 10% of homes in Switzerland have air conditioning, even though an average of around 658 deaths per year are heat-related.
The trial of a 59-year-old Italian man living in canton Aargau began today at the Federal Criminal Court in Bellinzona. He is accused of having acted as a representative of the powerful ‘Ndrangheta clan Anello-Fruci in Switzerland between 2001 and 2020 and of providing logistical support for the clan’s criminal activities.
According to the indictment by the Office of the Attorney General, the horticulturist – who still runs a business in the Freiamt district of Aargau – is alleged to have acted as the clan’s representative in Switzerland. He allegedly procured tap-proof telephones, organised vehicles and accommodation for clan members, and transferred funds and weapons between Switzerland and Italy.
In addition to supporting a criminal organisation, the defendant is charged with involvement in drug and arms trafficking, handling stolen goods, importing counterfeit currency, and breaches of the Weapons Act and Narcotics Act. Switzerland is said to have served as a “vault” and “armoury” for the clan, where illicit funds were laundered and weapons procured for the organisation.
The trial, which is set to last until at least September 9, forms part of the wide-ranging “Imponimento” investigation, which led to more than 70 arrests in Switzerland and Italy in 2020. While clan leader Rocco Anello has already been sentenced to 24 years in prison in Italy, the defendant in Bellinzona is presumed innocent. If convicted, he faces up to ten years in prison.
Translated from German, sub-edited by Alexandra MV Andrist/ts
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