News

A woman infected with Ebola is currently being treated at Geneva University Hospital (HUG). Her husband, identified as a close contact, is in isolation at Zurich University Hospital (USZ). Both individuals arrived in Switzerland today (Monday) on a medical evacuation flight from Nigeria. The HUG and the USZ are equipped to deal with such cases and can manage the individuals concerned while at the same time ensuring the safety both of staff and of all other patients. This situation does not pose any risk to the population in Switzerland.

The head of the FDFA, Federal Councillor Ignazio Cassis, will visit the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) and the Republic of Korea from 29 to 31 October 2026. From 29 to 30 October, Mr Cassis will be in attendance for the official reopening of the Swiss diplomatic office in Pyongyang and will hold political talks with the authorities of the DPRK. He will then travel to Seoul, where he will meet with representatives of the Republic of Korea's authorities. This visit forms part of Switzerland's long-standing commitment to peace on the Korean peninsula.

Extreme situations demand speed: researchers at the Paul Scherrer Institute PSI have developed a new computational method that makes it possible to identify radioactive material from the air more accurately within seconds and to determine its quantity and location more precisely. This significantly improves on the usual method of detection from helicopters. The method can also be applied in geophysics or monitoring of nuclear material.

President Guy Parmelin will meet with President Xi Jinping on Friday, 30 October, during a visit to China. Following the meeting, Switzerland and China will sign an optimised bilateral free trade agreement. The programme for the visit, which runs until Saturday, includes meetings with further members of the Chinese Government. Mr Parmelin will be accompanied on the trip by a Swiss business and scientific delegation.

In 2026, the social partners signatory to Switzerland's main collective labour agreements (CLA) agreed a nominal rise in real wages of 0.5% and a nominal rise in minimum wages of 0,8%. Real wages increased by 0.3% at individual level and by 0.2% at collective level. These are some of the results of the Wage Agreements Survey carried out by the Federal Statistical Office (FSO).

Following the revision of Switzerland’s gross domestic product (GDP), published in 2025, the Federal Statistical Office (FSO) is releasing a revised provisional series of cantonal GDP figures for the period from 2011 to 2024. This revision noticeably alters the GDP levels of the cantons, while for the most part confirming the observed long-term growth trends.

The services offered by the national prevention campaign against domestic, sexual and gender-based violence is being expanded, and access to existing support services will be made easier. A new a relationship check is now available online to help recognise the warning signs of violence. Further information is also available in easy-to-read language and in several non-national languages. From now on, members of the public can order campaign materials free of charge. The aim is to reach as wide an audience as possible and to make those affected – as well as those around them – aware of the support services available at an early stage.

To mark the 30th anniversary of the Partnership for Peace between Switzerland and NATO, representatives from 27 NATO member states visited Switzerland from 21 to 23 October. The focus was on the long-standing cooperation with NATO and its further development in light of the changing security situation in Europe. The ambassadors were given an insight into specific aspects of Swiss security policy and cooperation with NATO. The visit also provided an opportunity for high-level discussions.

During a working lunch, discussions between the head of the FDFA, Federal Councillor Ignazio Cassis, and the Finnish minister for foreign affairs, Elina Valtonen, focused on bilateral relations between Switzerland and Finland, the security situation in Europe, as well as the war in Ukraine. The talks also touched on the OSCE, which Finland chaired in 2025 and which Switzerland is chairing this year.

The Paul Scherrer Institute PSI operates the federal collection facility for radioactive waste in accordance with the Swiss Radiation Protection Ordinance. In the coming years, a new building for this purpose will be realised on the PSI campus. The project, named SamBA, began in 2023; the new building is scheduled to be operational by 2033.

Removing CO₂ directly from the atmosphere has so far been a complex, energy-intensive, and expensive process. Empa researchers are therefore pursuing a completely new approach: Instead of trapping the greenhouse gas in bulky filter materials over long periods of time, extremely thin coatings are designed to absorb and release CO₂ in a matter of seconds – thereby requiring significantly less energy and material.

Mr Cassis will be in Spain and Andorra from 22 to 23 October 2026. In Madrid he will meet his Spanish counterpart, José Manuel Albares Bueno. He will then visit the Principality of Andorra on 23 October for meetings with the prime minister, Xavier Espot Zamora, and the minister of foreign affairs, Imma Tor Faus, in the capital, Andorra la Vella. Discussions in both countries will focus on bilateral relations, European policy and geopolitical challenges.