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 A Swiss police officer admonished Dutch nationals who recently moved to Switzerland for responding to his questions in English. https://www.thelocal.ch/20260213/here-we-speak-german-swiss-police-scold-foreign-driver-for-speaking-english Fri, 13 Feb 2026 12:20:21 +0100 here-we-speak-german-swiss-police-scold-foreign-driver-for-speaking-english The Swiss city of Lausanne said it could start hiring foreign nationals for its police force. But what are the general rules around Switzerland when it comes to who can become a police officer? https://www.thelocal.ch/20251008/can-foreign-residents-join-switzerlands-police-forces Wed, 08 Oct 2025 17:12:05 +0200 can-foreign-residents-join-switzerlands-police-forces A recent social media clip posted by an American resident of Zurich suggests that police stations in Switzerland open their doors on a limited schedule. Is this actually so? https://www.thelocal.ch/20250902/fact-check-are-swiss-police-stations-only-open-in-the-morning Tue, 02 Sep 2025 18:31:51 +0200 fact-check-are-swiss-police-stations-only-open-in-the-morning A man of "African origin" collapsed and died at a Lausanne police station less than an hour after being arrested, Swiss prosecutors said Monday as they launched a criminal investigation. https://www.thelocal.ch/20250527/man-of-african-origin-dies-in-swiss-police-station-after-arrest Tue, 27 May 2025 13:06:29 +0200 man-of-african-origin-dies-in-swiss-police-station-after-arrest Radical Austrian nationalist Martin Sellner, who advocates mass expulsions of foreigners, has been barred from entering Switzerland. https://www.thelocal.ch/20241012/swiss-slap-entry-ban-on-austrian-far-right-radical-sellner Sat, 12 Oct 2024 10:31:26 +0200 swiss-slap-entry-ban-on-austrian-far-right-radical-sellner A Swiss appeals court confirmed Monday the acquittal of six police officers over the death of a Nigerian man, in a case that drew comparisons to George Floyd's killing in the United States. https://www.thelocal.ch/20240708/acquittal-of-six-police-officers-in-swiss-george-floyd-case-confirmed-on-appeal Mon, 08 Jul 2024 19:27:20 +0200 acquittal-of-six-police-officers-in-swiss-george-floyd-case-confirmed-on-appeal As a centre of international diplomacy and cooperation and with its unique system of direct democracy, Switzerland enjoys a reputation for upholding fundamental human rights—but how free are the Swiss to express their opposition to power? https://www.thelocal.ch/20240424/how-free-are-people-to-protest-in-switzerland Wed, 24 Apr 2024 17:25:47 +0200 how-free-are-people-to-protest-in-switzerland Five children and a woman were injured on Sunday when a car accidentally rammed into people gathered for a target shooting festival in Switzerland, police said. https://www.thelocal.ch/20230605/six-injured-as-car-rams-into-crowd-in-switzerland Mon, 05 Jun 2023 12:35:36 +0200 six-injured-as-car-rams-into-crowd-in-switzerland It goes without saying that you don’t want to attract the attention of law enforcement officers, regardless of your nationality. Here’s what you should know about the reasons you might be stopped in Switzerland. https://www.thelocal.ch/20230522/why-you-might-be-stopped-by-the-police-in-switzerland Mon, 22 May 2023 14:35:58 +0200 why-you-might-be-stopped-by-the-police-in-switzerland Swiss authorities have sent an 84-year-old bank robber to prison. The man, who robbed the same bank twice, had hoped his age would see him avoid sentencing. https://www.thelocal.ch/20220706/switzerland-jails-84-year-old-bank-robber Wed, 06 Jul 2022 17:28:43 +0200 switzerland-jails-84-year-old-bank-robber A Frenchwoman and a Spaniard were killed and nine other mountaineers were injured on Friday in an ice fall in southwest Switzerland, police said following a rescue attempt involving several helicopters. https://www.thelocal.ch/20220527/two-mountaineers-killed-and-9-injured-in-ice-fall-in-swiss-mountains Fri, 27 May 2022 19:22:11 +0200 two-mountaineers-killed-and-9-injured-in-ice-fall-in-swiss-mountains Swiss prosecutors said Wednesday they had indicted a woman for attempted murder on behalf of the Islamic State (IS) group over a brutal knife attack in November 2020. https://www.thelocal.ch/20220518/swiss-woman-indicted-over-jihadist-knife-attack-in-department-store Wed, 18 May 2022 18:40:19 +0200 swiss-woman-indicted-over-jihadist-knife-attack-in-department-store A French family gripped by conspiracy theories jumped one by one from their seventh-floor apartment in the Swiss town of Montreux in a "collective suicide", police investigating the mystery said on Tuesday. https://www.thelocal.ch/20220329/swiss-police-french-family-leapt-off-hotel-balcony-one-by-one Tue, 29 Mar 2022 19:46:55 +0200 swiss-police-french-family-leapt-off-hotel-balcony-one-by-one Four members of a French family plunged to their deaths Thursday from a seventh-floor balcony in the Swiss town of Montreux, leaving a teenager seriously injured. https://www.thelocal.ch/20220324/family-of-four-die-after-plunging-from-swiss-balcony Thu, 24 Mar 2022 15:33:48 +0100 family-of-four-die-after-plunging-from-swiss-balcony Swiss prosecutors said Thursday they had dropped the case against a second Swiss man over alleged links to a deadly shooting rampage in Vienna due to a lack of evidence. https://www.thelocal.ch/20220203/case-dropped-against-second-swiss-man-over-vienna-attack-links Thu, 03 Feb 2022 20:16:20 +0100 case-dropped-against-second-swiss-man-over-vienna-attack-links New statistics show that most crimes in Switzerland are committed by foreign nationals, including those of a violent nature. Experts explain why that is. https://www.thelocal.ch/20211025/why-do-foreigners-commit-more-crimes-than-the-swiss Mon, 25 Oct 2021 19:17:42 +0200 why-do-foreigners-commit-more-crimes-than-the-swiss Switzerland will draw up a draft law for the legalisation of cannabis usage, after a parliamentary commission ruled the drug should no longer be banned. https://www.thelocal.ch/20211019/switzerland-to-legalise-cannabis-production-and-usage Tue, 19 Oct 2021 19:31:25 +0200 switzerland-to-legalise-cannabis-production-and-usage The verdict in a rape trial in the canton of Basel has caused a widespread outcry in Switzerland, after the judge justified a shortened sentence because the rape had “only lasted for 11 minutes”. https://www.thelocal.ch/20210809/it-only-lasted-11-minutes-why-this-rape-sentence-has-caused-an-outcry-in-switzerland Mon, 09 Aug 2021 14:56:21 +0200 it-only-lasted-11-minutes-why-this-rape-sentence-has-caused-an-outcry-in-switzerland According to an internal report, the Swiss government is fearful of protests among the vaccinated. Here’s why. https://www.thelocal.ch/20210803/why-swiss-officials-are-fearing-a-revolution-of-the-vaccinated Tue, 03 Aug 2021 20:01:28 +0200 why-swiss-officials-are-fearing-a-revolution-of-the-vaccinated From the UN to Amnesty International, fears abound that a new Swiss anti-terror law, which grants sweeping new powers to police to prevent future attacks, threatens Switzerland's heritage as a human rights leader. https://www.thelocal.ch/20210517/switzerlands-new-guantanamo-style-terrorism-law-draws-international-criticism Mon, 17 May 2021 12:41:54 +0200 switzerlands-new-guantanamo-style-terrorism-law-draws-international-criticism