An international eye on Swiss news collated by Peter Hulm for NuseReal

Switzerland joins Germany, Sweden, Italy, Portugal, Iceland, France, and more than 30 countries In Europe struggling with heightened travel barriers as Canada freezes start-up visa applications since 1 January (LINK) 17 January 2026

— "Canada's Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has stated that this pause is not a permanent decision but a strategic shift. The aim is to transition to a new, more selective entrepreneur pilot program that will be launched later in 2026. In the interim, individuals who have already secured a commitment certificate from a designated organization in 2025 will still be eligible to apply until June 30, 2026. However, new applicants without such certificates will face a difficult wait until the new program is operational."

— "For countries like Switzerland and Germany, known for their strong start-up cultures, the suspension is particularly difficult. Entrepreneurs who had hoped to capitalize on Canada's business-friendly immigration policies are now forced to reconsider their options, possibly delaying or even abandoning plans to establish themselves in Canada."

What the melting Alps have revealed (LINK) 17 January 2026

WEF: Donald Trump set to dominate Davos 2026 whose theme is A Spirit of Dialogue, starting 19 January (LINK) 16 January 2026

— Donald Trump will be joined by more than 60 heads of state and government, including German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, Argentinian President Javier Milei, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, China's Vice Premier He Lifeng, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Syrian leader Ahmad al-Sharaa. Trump is leading the largest US delegation ever to Davos, comprising five cabinet secretaries and other senior officials. Top tech leaders such as Microsoft's Satya Nadella, Nvidia's Jensen Huang and Google's AI chief Demis Hassabis will be at the event.

— Trump is expected to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Kyiv's G7 allies — including leaders from Germany, Italy, France, the UK, Canada and the European Commission president — on the sidelines of the main event to seek US backing for security guarantees for Ukraine after a possible peace agreement with Russia, the Financial Times reported.

— The strong US presence would be complemented by the first-ever "USA House" — a venue housed in a small church on the town's main Promenade street, where US officials will host events and network with investors.

— This year's meeting would be the first without WEF founder Klaus Schwab at the helm. The German-born economist resigned in April 2025, amid allegations that he and his wife used WEF funds for personal use. An independent inquiry, however, found no criminal misconduct, only minor irregularities. Schwab has been succeeded by interim co-chairs Larry Fink, CEO of BlackRock, and Andre Hoffmann, vice chair of Swiss pharmaceuticals company Roche Holdings.

Gavin Newsom is heading to Davos with plans to call out Trump — (LINK)

— Trump is scheduled to speak at Davos on January 21. Newsom is scheduled to speak on January 22. The governor's office said he plans to challenge CEOs and institutions that it says have been complicit in Trump's efforts to erode democracy. He also plans to make the case for "democratic capitalism" as opposed to "crony capitalism."

Following Vaud and Valais, Geneva has banned the use of pyrotechnic devices inside all bars, restaurants and entertainment venues (LINK) 14 January 2026

French waitress, 24, who allegedly started Swiss ski resort fire and died in blaze, was "stepdaughter" of owner and was following orders to liven up quiet evening, say parents (LINK) 14 January 2026

— She had been told to "get the atmosphere going" because the night had been "very quiet", with few people entering the bar to celebrate the New Year, according to police statements obtained by BFMTV. The owner and the waitress's boyfriend "tried to resuscitate her for more than an hour in the street near the bar, until the emergency services told [them] it was too late."

NorthC to develop 4.5MW data center in Geneva, Switzerland (LINK) 14 January 2026

Ancient Roman wall uncovered in Switzerland is "archaeological sensation" for variety of artifacts (LINK) 14 January 2026

FIFA to refund 16,000 2026 world cup tickets amid Trump USA boycott (LINK) 12 January 2026

Erich von Däniken, Swiss writer who spawned alien archaeology, dies at 90 (LINK) 10 January 2026

Asserting 'flight risk', Swiss authorities detain French owner of bar where New Year’s fire killed 40 (LINK) 9 January 2026

Swiss flu wave expected to be one of the most severe on record (LINK) 7 January 2026

Geneva opera shuts for 18 months (LINK) 6 January 2026

— All opera and ballet performances are taking place at the Bâtiment des Forces Motrices on Place des Volontaires.

Grand Théàtre de Genève announces renovations (LINK) 5 January 2026

Nestlé launches large baby food recall in Europe: Beba and special products such as Alfamino (LINK) 5 January 2026

— Controls carried out by the authorities in Austria detected small amounts of cereulide — a toxin that causes food poisoning characterized by nausea and vomiting — in two batches. According to the Ministry of Health, however, the concentrations are so low that they do not pose a danger. The recall affects products sold in Germany, Italy, Austria, Spain, Denmark, Sweden and Finland, among others. So far, there are no known cases of illness related to the consumption of the food

French President Emmanuel Macron to join Friday's ceremony for Crans-Montana fire victims (LINK) 5 January 2026

Swiss police identify all 116 people injured in deadly New Year's bar fire (LINK) 4 January 2026

— The injured include 68 Swiss citizens, 21 French nationals, 10 Italians, four Serbs, two Poles and one person each from Australia, Belgium, Bosnia-Herzegovina, the Czech Republic, Luxembourg, Portugal and the Republic of Congo, according to a police statement. There were also four dual nationals: of France and Finland, France and Italy, Switzerland and Belgium, and Italy and the Philippines. The Swiss government said that 35 patients were transferred from hospitals in the country to specialized clinics in Belgium, France, Germany and Italy.

Swiss authorities identify all 40 victims of Swiss Alps bar New Year's fire: A total of 21 of the victims were Swiss citizens, seven were French and six were Italian — (LINK)

— Some 26 of the 40 victims who lost their lives were teenagers, with the youngest being two 14-year-olds from France and Switzerland. One victim was a dual Swiss-French citizen, while another, a 15-year-old girl, held French, British and Israeli nationalities. The remaining victims came from Romania, Belgium, Portugal and Turkey.

Flight cancellations in Zurich and Geneva create major travel disruptions in Switzerland: 37 suspensions and 541 delays: Swiss most affected (LINK) 4 January 2026

Hundreds march in silence to honor victims of Swiss bar fire that left 40 dead (LINK) 4 January 2026

Sixteen more victims of Swiss ski resort fire identified, including three aged under 16 — (LINK) ground.news: 13 media reports — 4 January 2026 (LINK)

Swiss open criminal case against managers of ski resort bar after deadly fire: suspected of manslaughter by negligence, bodily harm by negligence and arson by negligence: fire killed 40 people and injured another 119 (LINK) 3 January 2026

— In a statement, Beatrice Pilloud, the lead prosecutor in the canton of Valais, said investigators were looking into whether the venue's acoustic foam was "the cause of the problem", as well as "whether it complies with regulations".

CERN's Large Hadron Collider is being shut down: CERN doesn't expect its high-luminosity LHC to be operational again until mid-2030 (LINK) 3 January 2026