Here are three stories from Switzerland this week.
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swissinfo.ch is the international branch of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC). Its role is to report on Switzerland and to provide a Swiss perspective on international events.

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Nearly 600 years old…and still playable! 🎶
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Built in the 1430s, the organ in Sion is considered the oldest functioning organ in the world. Thanks to careful preservation and modern protection techniques, it has survived over the centuries and continues to draw visitors from around the globe to canton Valais. ⁠
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Visit Swissinfo to read more about the history of this unique instrument.
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swissinfo.ch is the international branch of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC). Its role is to report on Switzerland and to provide a Swiss perspective on international events.

For more articles, interviews and videos visit swissinfo.ch or subscribe to our YouTube channel.

In a special bonus episode of our podcast The Swiss Connection, our host, Jo Fahy, is joined in the studio by pharmaceuticals and healthcare reporter Jessica Davis Pluss.

We trace how Switzerland was uniquely positioned to become a global hub for healthier ageing. We also compare lifespan and health span, examine why access to clinics is so tightly guarded, and discuss why the pharmaceutical industry is moving cautiously in this growing field.

Search for The Swiss Connection wherever you get your podcasts.
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swissinfo.ch is the international branch of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC). Its role is to report on Switzerland and to provide a Swiss perspective on international events.

For more articles, interviews and videos visit swissinfo.ch or subscribe to our YouTube

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How did longevity go from a social media trend to a focus of serious science?
In this special bonus episode our host, Jo Fahy, is joined in the studio by pharmaceuticals and healthcare reporter, Jessica Davis Pluss. We trace how Switzerland was uniquely positioned to become a global hub for healthier ageing. We also compare lifespan and health span, examine why access to clinics is so tightly guarded, and discuss why the pharmaceutical industry is moving cautiously in this growing field.

SWI swissinfo.ch (https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/) is a public service media company based in Bern, Switzerland.

Swiss research institutes may tighten the screening of foreign academics as the current patchwork system of controls contends with growing threats of spying by China, Russia and others targeting commercial and military capabilities.

Visit Swissinfo to read more about how Switzerland is navigating the delicate balance between attracting global talent and mitigating the risk of spying.

#Switzerland #espionage #security #Iran #China #Russia
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swissinfo.ch is the international branch of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC). Its role is to report on Switzerland and to provide a Swiss perspective on international events.

For more articles, interviews and videos visit swissinfo.ch or subscribe to our YouTube channel:

Website: http://www.swissinfo.ch
Channel:

Despite years of awareness campaigns and a national drive to cut waste, large amounts of edible food in Switzerland are still ending up in the bin.⁠
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🔗Visit Swissinfo to find out why Switzerland is falling far short of its targets to reduce the amount of edible food being thrown away.⁠
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#foodwaste #zerowaste #Switzerland #swiss
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Swissinfo.ch is the international branch of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC). Its role is to report on Switzerland and to provide a Swiss perspective on international events.

For more articles, interviews and videos visit swissinfo.ch or subscribe to our YouTube channel:

Website: http://www.swissinfo.ch
Channel: http://www.youtube.com/swissinfovideos
Subscribe: http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=swissinfovideos

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On Inside Geneva this week: world leaders are gathering in the Swiss mountain resort of Davos, but do they have any answers?

“I think we are at an amazing moment in history. We have in our hands the opportunity to do well, to save our own environment, the planet, to take the right decisions to bring humanity onto a good path,” says Marilyne Andersen, Director General of the Geneva Science and Diplomacy Anticipator (GESDA).

But will they take that path? Technology is racing ahead.

“Human rights, like every other field, are very much under the influence now of what’s happening in technology and science. It’s one of the destabilising factors right now,” says Jürg Lauber, Swiss ambassador to the United

🚨Update: The Valais Public Prosecutor’s Office has remanded in custody Jacques Moretti, the manager of the Le Constellation bar, following the fatal fire on January 1.
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swissinfo.ch is the international branch of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC). Its role is to report on Switzerland and to provide a Swiss perspective on international events.

For more articles, interviews and videos visit swissinfo.ch or subscribe to our YouTube channel.

Today at 2pm, Switzerland paused for a minute’s silence dedicated to the victims of the New Year’s Eve fire in Crans-Montana in which 40 people died and 116 were injured. ⁠
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The moment of silence took place on a national day of mourning.⁠
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Our thoughts are with everyone affected. ⁠
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swissinfo.ch is the international branch of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC). Its role is to report on Switzerland and to provide a Swiss perspective on international events.

For more articles, interviews and videos visit swissinfo.ch or subscribe to our YouTube channel.

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This week on Inside Geneva, we discuss the key stories of 2025 that we know will continue to make the news in 2026.

“The top story of 2025 has been the cuts to the humanitarian aid sector. We knew that, with Donald Trump returning to the White House, cuts were likely, but we did not expect them to be so brutal,” says Swissinfo journalist Dorian Burkhalter.

“I wanted to talk about Gaza, which has been one of the main issues I’ve been writing about for the past two years. It has been, in the words of many humanitarians, the most horrific humanitarian crisis they have seen in their careers,” adds Reuters journalist Emma Farge. 

“My story of 2025 is climate change. The village of Blatten was completely

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Inside Geneva joins aid workers staying in Ukraine this December. 

The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) supports tens of thousands of people whose homes have been damaged or destroyed.

Marcel van Maastrigt, UNHCR, Odessa: ‘At two in the afternoon you might have an air alert, and at three in the afternoon people in shops and restaurants are putting up Christmas decorations, because they want to continue their life. I think it’s understandable.’

MSF (Doctors without Borders) works in hospitals on the front line.

Robin Meldrum, MSF, Ukraine: ‘Today I had electricity in my flat a few hours in the afternoon when I was at work, not here at home. The electricity is going to be off until about 11:00 until 2:00 in

“I’m not the story of persecution. The story is the Russian people,” says Mariana Katzarova, the first United Nations Special Rapporteur on Russia.

We joined Katzarova on her journey from Geneva to Brussels as she met UN and EU stakeholders and collected testimonies from Ukrainian and Russian survivors of torture.

Watch our closeUp mini-documentary for a rare insight into one of the UN’s toughest jobs.

#humanrights #freedom #justice #socialjustice #activism #torture #Russia #Putin #politicalrepression #Ukraine #Switzerland #Swiss

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swissinfo.ch is the international branch of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC). Its role is to report on Switzerland and to provide a Swiss perspective on international events.

For more articles, interviews and videos visit swissinfo.ch or

“I’m not the story of persecution. The story is the Russian people.” A new episode of Swissinfo’s mini-documentary series follows Mariana Katzarova, the first United Nations Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Russia, as she exposes the reality of torture, political repression and arbitrary detention in today’s Russia.

The film follows Katzarova from UN Human Rights Council sessions, meetings at the European parliament in Brussels where she gathers testimonies from Ukrainian and Russian survivors of torture. It offers a rare insight into how international accountability mechanisms work.

#MarianaKatzarova #Russia #HumanRights #UN #Ukraine #Torture #PoliticalPrisoners #SWIswissinfo #closeUp #Chechnya #WarCrimes #UkrainianPOWs #SpecialRapporteur #HumanRightsDocumentary

Directed by Elena

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Lost cells on Apple (https://podcasts.apple.com/de/podcast/ep-1-the-promise/id1792185750?i=1000693315401) , Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/show/37nPXV4q2p0BSiKyOeejIv) and any where (https://www.buzzsprout.com/2424338/episodes/16475379-ep-1-the-promise) you listen to your podcasts. 

SWI swissinfo.ch (https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/) is a public service media company based in Bern, Switzerland.

The catastrophic collapse of the Birch Glacier that wiped out the Swiss mountain village of Blatten in May has triggered an unprecedented scientific effort to understand how a mountainside could break up so violently – and what might come next.
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swissinfo.ch is the international branch of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC). Its role is to report on Switzerland and to provide a Swiss perspective on international events.

For more articles, interviews and videos visit swissinfo.ch or subscribe to our YouTube channel:

Website: http://www.swissinfo.ch
Channel: http://www.youtube.com/swissinfovideos
Subscribe: http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=swissinfovideos

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On Inside Geneva this week: what does international law mean to you?

“When your government is not there to uphold your rights, it’s that safety net – to think that there’s something else out there, other sets of rules that can help right wrongs and bring about some form of justice as well,” says Kasmira Jefford, editor at Geneva Solutions. 

The Geneva conventions, bans on torture and landmines: global rules that should protect us. And international courts to ensure accountability.

“I think there’s a different expectation, a different hope for international law today. We now have many rules that are far more ambitious than they used to be,” says Nico Krisch, professor of International Law at the

Happy Friday, everyone! Here’s your weekly news roundup from Swissinfo.
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swissinfo.ch is the international branch of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC). Its role is to report on Switzerland and to provide a Swiss perspective on international events.

For more articles, interviews and videos visit swissinfo.ch or subscribe to our YouTube channel:

Website: http://www.swissinfo.ch
Channel: http://www.youtube.com/swissinfovideos
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Want a longer life that still feels like yours?

In the latest episode of our podcast The Swiss Connection, we sit down with psychologist Christina Röcke of the University of Zurich’s Healthy Longevity Center to unpack what actually fuels healthy aging and what’s just marketing noise.

Search for The Swiss Connection wherever you get your podcasts!

And if you enjoy it, please leave us a five-star review – it helps others discover the podcast.

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swissinfo.ch is the international branch of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC). Its role is to report on Switzerland and to provide a Swiss perspective on international events.

For more articles, interviews and videos visit swissinfo.ch or subscribe to our YouTube channel:

Website: http://www.swissinfo.ch
Channel:

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Want a longer life that still feels like yours? We sit down with psychologist Christina Röcke (https://www.hlc.uzh.ch/de/people/directors/croecke.html) of the University of Zurich’s Healthy Longevity Center to unpack what actually fuels healthy aging—and what’s just marketing noise. From blue-zone myths to AI-driven biohacking, we trace why the longevity boom exploded and where the evidence really points: consistent movement, quality relationships, realistic stress strategies, and communities that make healthy choices simple.

Join Swissinfo for a debate on this topic (https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/healthcare-innovation/living-longer-what-do-you-think-about-the-longevity-trend/89097497) or read more of

Yesterday, Swiss citizens delivered a clear message at the polls and overwhelmingly rejected both national initiatives on the ballot.⁠
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🇨🇭 84.1% voted against introducing civic duty for all citizens.⁠
🇨🇭 78.3% voted against a new tax on large inheritances.⁠
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Voter turnout reached 43%, and every canton firmly opposed both proposals.⁠ We gathered reactions from both supporters and opponents of the proposal and asked how the clear result should be interpreted.
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👉 Find the details here: https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/swiss-democracy/inheritance-tax-civic-duty-initiatives-headed-for-defeat-as-swiss-cast-ballots/90522356
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swissinfo.ch is the international branch of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC). Its role is to report on Switzerland and to provide a Swiss perspective on

Swiss voters have overwhelmingly rejected both a proposal for a new tax on big inheritances and a call for all citizens to perform civic duty. 💰️🪖⁠
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Here’s what you need to know about the results of Sunday’s votes. 🗳️⁠

Visit Swissinfo for all the details.
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#ServiceCitoyen #Erbschaftssteue #AbstimmungSchweiz #ImpôtSurLesSuccessions #VotationSuisse #ServizioCivico #TassaDiSuccessione #VotazioneSvizzera #SwissVote #InheritanceTax #CivicDuty #Switzerland #Swiss⁠

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swissinfo.ch is the international branch of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC). Its role is to report on Switzerland and to provide a Swiss perspective on international events.

For more articles, interviews and videos visit swissinfo.ch or subscribe to our YouTube channel.

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COP30 has ended without a firm commitment to phase out fossil fuels. Inside Geneva talks to some campaigners who remain surprisingly optimistic.

“I’m actually quite hopeful, and I think that the answer is probably coming from the countries and the communities that have the most to lose,” says Candy Ofime, from the Climate Justice Team at Amnesty International.

Indigenous peoples made their voices heard at COP30.

They have deep knowledge of land use and forest preservation, which can help us tackle global warming.

“The answer is us and that was part of the campaign that we had as indigenous peoples. [We said] ‘pay attention to the world.’ Basically the solution that many of us are looking for has

Because of an unusually strong solar storm, Northern Lights were visible in Switzerland.

A recent study showed the Swiss locations were sperm quality is the lowest.

Students at the University of Basel have voted in favour of exclusively vegan catering on campus.

Here are three stories from Switzerland this week.

Visit Swissinfo for more.

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swissinfo.ch is the international branch of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC). Its role is to report on Switzerland and to provide a Swiss perspective on international events.

For more articles, interviews and videos visit swissinfo.ch or subscribe to our YouTube channel:

Website: http://www.swissinfo.ch
Channel: http://www.youtube.com/swissinfovideos
Subscribe:

How do journalists report on the war in Gaza when they’re denied access?

In this episode of Inside Geneva, host Imogen Foulkes speaks with experts and reporters about press freedom, the risks faced by Palestinian journalists, and why foreign media have been shut out.

Listen now, wherever you get your podcasts to discover what this means for truth, accountability and the future of war reporting.
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swissinfo.ch is the international branch of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC). Its role is to report on Switzerland and to provide a Swiss perspective on international events.

For more articles, interviews and videos visit swissinfo.ch or subscribe to our YouTube channel.

A new episode of our science podcast, The Swiss Connection, is out now! 🎙️

We explore how sex and gender influence drug development: from male-heavy mouse studies to the contrasting results in Lecanemab’s Alzheimer’s trial. Leading experts reveal why regulators should keep approvals moving while demanding smarter trial design, better reporting, and answers after approval.

Search for The Swiss Connection wherever you get your podcasts.

#SciencePodcast #DrugDevelopment #AlzheimersResearch #GenderInScience #MedicalInnovation #ClinicalTrials #HealthPodcast #PharmaNews #ScienceMatters #PodcastRecommendation #GenderMedicine #Swiss #Switzerland
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swissinfo.ch is the international branch of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC). Its role is to report on Switzerland and to provide a Swiss

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How do journalists report on war when they’re denied access?

“For the first time I think since the Second World War, Israel has not allowed foreign journalists to come into Gaza. This is unprecedented,” says Israeli journalist Meron Rapoport.

Palestinian journalists, who live in Gaza, have paid a terrible price for their reporting.

“Gaza has been a horror story. The Committee to Protect Journalists estimates that around 200 Palestinian journalists have been killed in the past two years,” says Nick Cumming-Bruce, contributor for the New York Times.

Many appear to have been deliberately targeted.

Irene Khan, UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of expression and opinion, says: “I’ve been told by

A rise in young Ukrainian men applying for protection in Switzerland, a spike in road deaths and Michelin-starred Thai chefs expelled over a failed German test. Here are three stories from Switzerland this week.

Visit Swissinfo for more.
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swissinfo.ch is the international branch of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC). Its role is to report on Switzerland and to provide a Swiss perspective on international events.

For more articles, interviews and videos visit swissinfo.ch or subscribe to our YouTube channel.

Alzheimer’s disease is more than age-related memory loss—it’s a serious brain disorder. ⁠
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In the latest episode of the Swiss Connection Science podcast, Swissinfo healthcare reporter Jessica Davis Pluess explores the science, hope, and controversy surrounding new Alzheimer’s drugs like Leqembi and Kisunla. ⁠
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With billions invested and global regulatory decisions diverging, what do these treatments mean for patients and healthcare systems? ⁠
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Tune in now, wherever you get your podcasts.
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#AlzheimersAwareness #DementiaSupport #BrainHealth #AlzheimersResearch #MemoryCare #AlzheimersDisease #CaregiverSupport #MentalHealthMatters #Neuroscience #SciencePodcast #HealthPodcast #PodcastRecommendations #MedicalNews #PodcastLife #NewPodcastAlert #SwissScience #Switzerland #Swiss—

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Alzheimer’s disease is more than age-related memory loss—it’s a serious brain disorder. In this episode of the Swiss Connection Science podcast, Swissinfo healthcare reporter Jessica Davis Pluess explores the science, hope, and controversy surrounding new Alzheimer’s drugs like Leqembi and Kisunla. With billions invested and global regulatory decisions diverging, what do these treatments mean for patients and healthcare systems? 

Visit SWI swissinfo.ch for more on this topic and a video on this story. (https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/healthcare-innovation/longevity-clinics-modern-day-snake-oil-or-the-key-to-healthy-ageing/89101132) Please come to SWI swissinfo.ch for more of our science stories from

Bus driver and yodeller Sämi Zumbrunn turns every ride into an unforgettable experience.

Who better to act as ambassador for a Swiss tradition that could soon be on the UNESCO intangible cultural heritage list? We meet him in the Bernese Oberland.

Visit Swissinfo to read more.
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swissinfo.ch is the international branch of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC). Its role is to report on Switzerland and to provide a Swiss perspective on international events.

For more articles, interviews and videos visit swissinfo.ch or subscribe to our YouTube channel.