Switzerland Today

Greetings from Bern,

Here are the latest news and updates from Switzerland on Thursday.

This content was published on June 23, 2022 - 18:00

2 minutes

I cover food and agribusiness and have a special interest in sustainable supply chains, food safety and quality, as well emerging players and trends in the food industry. A background in forestry and conservation biology led me down the path of environmental advocacy. Journalism and Switzerland made me a neutral observer who holds companies accountable for their actions.

In the news: A foiled bomb plot, mystery gold, paradise cities and corporate tax.

Two Swiss nationals have been arrested by German police for intending to purchase explosives in Stuttgart. Their activity on the so-called darknet alerted the authorities who arrested them on Monday. The motives of the two suspects is not known at this stage.
The import in May of three tonnes of gold into Switzerland from Russia – the first such import since the war in Ukraine began –is calling into question the ethics of Switzerland’s gold refining industry. While not illegal, refiners have deemed Russian gold out of bounds until now. Switzerland’s four biggest gold refiners have denied responsibility. Whodunnit?
Zurich and Geneva have moved up in the Economist magazine’s most liveable cities rankingsExternal link, placing third and sixth respectively. Vienna takes top spot with Damascus coming last in terms of criteria like stability, health care, culture and environment, education and infrastructure.
Finance Minister Ueli Maurer unveiled Swiss plans to toe the line over calls for a global corporate tax rate of 15%External link. Large internationally active companies with sales of more than €750 million but paying less than 15% in corporate tax (around 2,000 firms in Switzerland) will have to fork out the difference from 2024. A quarter of this supplementary tax will go the federal government and the rest to the cantons.

Gaming history: A video game takes you on a journey through 19th-century Lausanne.

University students and historians have joined forces to develop a video game based on archives from the city of Lausanne. Called Lausanne 1830External link, gamers will have to search for clues to complete the missing information in the city’s records. Depending on your skill, you will need 15 to 45 minutes to complete the challenge. If anyone asks, just say you’re doing historical research!

Train vs plane: would you take a direct train between London and Geneva?

Eurostar is planning to run direct trains from Britain to Germany and Switzerland from the early 2030s. Would you favour the train over the plane? If not, why not?

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Jun 13, 2025

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