https://feeds.thelocal.com/ Read the latest news and views from Switzerland in English en-us news@thelocal.com (TheLocal) webmaster@thelocal.com (TheLocal) TheLocal RSS Feed Switzerland has been neutral for the past 500 years. But that didn’t stop it from “invading” its tiny neighbour three times in the past 35 years. How did this happen? https://www.thelocal.ch/20200228/swiss-history-army-attacked-liechtenstein-three-times-by-mistake Fri, 28 Feb 2020 12:25:27 +0100 swiss-history-army-attacked-liechtenstein-three-times-by-mistake Switzerland's defence minister Martin Pfister said Sunday he was "open" to placing new arms orders with the United States as a way to try to reduce Washington's whopping tariffs. https://www.thelocal.ch/20250810/swiss-open-to-new-us-defence-orders-to-tackle-tariffs Sun, 10 Aug 2025 20:43:16 +0200 swiss-open-to-new-us-defence-orders-to-tackle-tariffs On Monday, Switzerland imposed the working from home requirement. It includes the army as well. https://www.thelocal.ch/20210118/no-marching-orders-swiss-soldiers-are-told-to-do-their-military-training-at-home Mon, 18 Jan 2021 18:20:19 +0100 no-marching-orders-swiss-soldiers-are-told-to-do-their-military-training-at-home Switzerland will get round-the-clock airspace protection starting this week nearly seven years after the country was unable to scramble fighter jets to respond to an hijacking outside of business hours. https://www.thelocal.ch/20201229/switzerland-to-get-247-fighter-jet-protection-from-2021 Tue, 29 Dec 2020 14:57:55 +0100 switzerland-to-get-247-fighter-jet-protection-from-2021 The Swiss government said Wednesday it will deploy troops in cantons where under-pressure health services require support as coronavirus cases spike. https://www.thelocal.ch/20201104/swiss-drafts-army-as-virus-cases-spike Wed, 04 Nov 2020 16:22:13 +0100 swiss-drafts-army-as-virus-cases-spike Saudi Arabia and Turkey among purchasing countries as Swiss weapons exports increase by more than half in 2019. https://www.thelocal.ch/20191016/swiss-weapons-export-numbers-explode-in-2019 Wed, 16 Oct 2019 11:26:23 +0200 swiss-weapons-export-numbers-explode-in-2019 The army accidentally poured 50 litres of oil into a protected Swiss lake on Tuesday when a military exercise went wrong. https://www.thelocal.ch/20190710/swiss-army-accidentally-pollutes-protected-lake Wed, 10 Jul 2019 14:35:01 +0200 swiss-army-accidentally-pollutes-protected-lake The Swiss army on Monday launched a new app designed to get recruits fit before they arrive at recruit school. https://www.thelocal.ch/20190304/swiss-army-launches-fitness-app-for-future-recruits Mon, 04 Mar 2019 20:58:18 +0100 swiss-army-launches-fitness-app-for-future-recruits With the Swiss army struggling to attract and hold onto recruits, the defence department wants to make civilian service less attractive. Here are the details. https://www.thelocal.ch/20190221/the-swiss-armys-growing-problem-with-civilian-service Thu, 21 Feb 2019 11:46:20 +0100 the-swiss-armys-growing-problem-with-civilian-service Seven beers, 82 shots, ten bottles of white wine, 12 bottles of red and nine cigars: this is the bill rung up by a Swiss corps commander and 27 guests – mostly high-ranking military officers – in 2014 on a night described as an "orgy" of drinking. https://www.thelocal.ch/20181112/heli-taxis-and-huge-alcohol-bills-swiss-army-top-brass-under-fire-over-expenses Mon, 12 Nov 2018 23:33:59 +0100 heli-taxis-and-huge-alcohol-bills-swiss-army-top-brass-under-fire-over-expenses A Swiss soldier who ended up in hospital after shooting himself in the foot has been fined by a military court for putting one of his comrades in danger. https://www.thelocal.ch/20181024/swiss-soldier-fined-for-shooting-himself-in-foot Wed, 24 Oct 2018 12:31:57 +0200 swiss-soldier-fined-for-shooting-himself-in-foot A viral video of Swiss soldiers being ordered by a superior to throw 'stones' and 'nuts' at a soldier from Ticino is causing a stir. https://www.thelocal.ch/20181017/video-swiss-soldiers-in-emmen-lucerne-ordered-to-throw-stones-and-nuts-at-colleague Wed, 17 Oct 2018 16:38:30 +0200 video-swiss-soldiers-in-emmen-lucerne-ordered-to-throw-stones-and-nuts-at-colleague A woman from the canton of Vaud will become the first woman in Switzerland to fly a Swiss army fighter plane when she completes her training next year. https://www.thelocal.ch/20171221/switzerland-to-get-its-first-female-fighter-pilot Thu, 21 Dec 2017 12:16:46 +0100 switzerland-to-get-its-first-female-fighter-pilot The pilot of the PC-7 military plane that crashed in the Swiss Alps on Tuesday has been found dead at the crash site, the Swiss army said in a statement on Tuesday evening. https://www.thelocal.ch/20170913/swiss-army-plane-crash-pilot-found-dead Wed, 13 Sep 2017 10:58:40 +0200 swiss-army-plane-crash-pilot-found-dead The wreckage of a PC-7 plane belonging to the Swiss army was found on the Schreckhorn mountain on Tuesday afternoon after going missing that morning. https://www.thelocal.ch/20170912/breaking-swiss-army-plane-goes-missing-during-flight Tue, 12 Sep 2017 14:37:42 +0200 breaking-swiss-army-plane-goes-missing-during-flight Swiss troops could soon be sporting a new look after the Swiss Army announced it was testing out a new uniform for its service personnel. https://www.thelocal.ch/20170818/swiss-army-tests-out-new-uniform Fri, 18 Aug 2017 13:30:39 +0200 swiss-army-tests-out-new-uniform The Swiss Federal Council has quashed a bill by a Swiss People’s Party (SVP) MP which called for vegans to be automatically excluded from military service. https://www.thelocal.ch/20170526/swiss-government-rejects-call-to-ban-vegans-from-military-service Fri, 26 May 2017 11:22:30 +0200 swiss-government-rejects-call-to-ban-vegans-from-military-service Young Swiss women will be obliged to attend an ‘information day’ about military service from 2020 in order to encourage more to join the army, according to reports. https://www.thelocal.ch/20170523/switzerland-takes-step-closer-to-military-conscription-for-women Tue, 23 May 2017 12:12:56 +0200 switzerland-takes-step-closer-to-military-conscription-for-women The Swiss army was called to an apartment block in Bern on Wednesday after two World War Two grenades were found in the loft. https://www.thelocal.ch/20170209/world-war-two-explosives-found-in-bern-apartment-block-attic Thu, 09 Feb 2017 09:53:43 +0100 world-war-two-explosives-found-in-bern-apartment-block-attic The Swiss army has been drafted in to help battle a huge forest fire in Graubünden amid reports of a separate fire in the eastern canton. https://www.thelocal.ch/20161229/forest-fires-rage-on-in-eastern-switzerland Thu, 29 Dec 2016 10:30:34 +0100 forest-fires-rage-on-in-eastern-switzerland