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Switzerland crowns three cheese champions, celebrating a craft that combines tradition with commercial ambition. The Swiss take cheese seriously. So seriously, in fact, that choosing the country’s finest requires more than 200 judges, over 1,000 contenders and an expert panel to settle the final scores. At the 14th Swiss Cheese Awards in Fribourg, three cheesemakers emerged with the highest honours. © Switzerland Cheese Marketing The competition attracted a record 1,177 entries....

Voters in Vaud approved a 12% cut in income and wealth taxes on Sunday, with 53.1% backing the initiative. The measure will not turn the canton into a tax haven. Even after the cut, Vaud’s tax burden will remain above the national average. Photo by Ian Gabaraev on Pexels.com Vaud’s residents will continue to rank among the most heavily taxed in Switzerland. The burden will remain particularly high for middle- and upper-middle-income taxpayers, as well as for the better-off, from 2027...

Swiss health-insurance premiums are going up again. Average compulsory premiums will rise by 5% in 2027, to CHF 412 (US$ 500) a month. Anyone wondering what they will pay next year can check the federal government’s premium calculator. Photo by SHVETS production on Pexels.com One common explanation for the relentless increase is Switzerland’s ageing population. Older people consume more medical care, so an older population should spend more on doctors, hospitals and drugs. Both...

Switzerland finished third at WorldSkills, the global competition for young people in vocational trades, which ended in Shanghai on Sunday. It was the best-performing European country. Cyrill Koller and Ian Hofer © WorldSkills The 42-strong Swiss team won 12 medals: four golds, two silvers and six bronzes and ranked third overall based on the average medal points scored by each national team. Only China and South Korea finished ahead of it – see medal table here. Another 23 Swiss...

Swiss voters are likely to have their say on a proposal to introduce parental leave. The Green Liberals announced on Wednesday that they had submitted 112,517 signatures in support of the initiative to the Federal Chancellery for verification. Photo by Pavel Danilyuk on Pexels.com The number of signatures comfortably exceeds the required threshold, subject to official verification. The initiative is also backed by the Green Party, Alliance F, the trade union federation Travail.Suisse...

More than 700 medicines are currently affected by supply bottlenecks in Switzerland, according to drugshortage.ch, a platform run by Enea Martinelli, a hospital pharmacist. Mr Martinelli is also behind a popular initiative that would require the federal government to do more to secure the supply of medicines. The proposal, backed by a broad coalition from the health-care sector, was debated in the National Council this week. Cancer Patient © Rido | Dreamstime.com The site tracks...

Sunrise, Switzerland’s second-largest telecoms company, is planning another round of job cuts. Up to 450 positions could go, equivalent to almost 16% of its current workforce, reported RTS. © Marlon Trottmann | Dreamstime.com The cuts form part of a broader overhaul of the company’s operating model. Sunrise says it wants to focus its organisation more closely on customer retention, network quality and reliability, while speeding up the development and launch of new products and...

Temu and Shein are sending a growing number of packages to Switzerland. A Chinese logistics firm now wants a share of their delivery business. Helped by heavy advertising and rock-bottom prices Chinese online retailers are squeezing domestic e-commerce firms. Now a Chinese logistics company is following them into the market and may squeeze existing parcel delivery services. Speedaf is building a parcel-delivery network in Switzerland which could quickly become significant, Stephan...

Low water is making inland shipping less reliable. More freight may move by road and rail, pushing up transport costs—and, eventually, consumer prices. Rhine At Kaub © Meinzahn | Dreamstime.com In August the Rhine at Kaub, a key measuring point in Germany, fell to just six centimetres, a record low, according to Reuters. The Rhine was not alone. Rivers across Europe, including the Danube in Hungary and Romania, the Po in Italy and the Loire in France, also reached exceptionally low...

The Swiss National Bank (SNB) has left its policy rate unchanged at zero, the lowest policy rate in the world. Photo by Adrien Olichon on Pexels.com Inflation remains subdued. Consumer prices rose by 0.8% in August, the highest rate in two years but still comfortably within the SNB’s definition of price stability, which covers inflation of between zero and 2%. The central bank expects inflation to rise to 1.2% in the fourth quarter, largely because of higher oil prices, before...