Switzerland Today
Greetings from Zurich!
Happy Birthday to us! For a quarter of a century, SWI swissinfo.ch has enriched the world with our stories and informed our readership about Switzerland. Anyone for cake?
We also bring you a round-up of the other major news of the day.
In the news: Swiss ambassador summoned by Russia, war crimes trial for uncle of Syrian president, EU gives green light for Swiss talks and antisemitism cases rise in Switzerland.
- Russia has summoned the Swiss ambassador after Switzerland stepped up its intent to potentially use frozen assets for Ukraine reparations.
- Swiss prosecutors have indicted Rifaat al-Assad, the uncle of Syria’s president, for war crimes and crimes against humanity.
- More than 15,000 people with disabilities have handed in a petition to protest the slow progress of measures to improve their access to public transport.
- The European Union has agreed to a Swiss proposal to renew stalled negotiations on a new framework agreement.
- The number of anti-Semitic incidents in Switzerland rose to 1,130 last year – up from 910 in 2022.
25th anniversary
It’s a special day for SWI swissinfo.ch. We’re celebrating our 25th anniversary – and we hope you celebrate the news we beam from Switzerland all over the world.
On this day in 1999, we switched from being Swiss Radio International (SRI) into our current internet guise.
This particular journalist has been along for the ride for most of that time, seeing the website evolve and add more features for our audience.
News from Switzerland has been reaching the Swiss living abroad since the shortwave radio days of the 1930s, but SRI (initially in seven languages) wasn’t formally created until 1978.
We’ve been with you through the good, bad and indifferent times for many years – and look forward to many more to come.
Missing skier still not found
Hopes are fading for the sixth member of a ski group, who has still not been found despite five other people being found dead on Sunday.
The group was caught out by terrible weather conditions near the Col de Tête Blanche in canton Valais.
Rescuers have found the missing skier’s backpack and skis but no other signs so far.
It appears the group tried to build an igloo to protect them from high winds and freezing conditions but lacked the equipment to finish the task.
Rescuers are now hoping for a miracle for the missing person.
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