Switzerland Today

This content was published on July 8, 2024 - 18:00

2 minutes

A multimedia journalist, Dominique Soguel began her international reporting career at Agence France-Presse covering the Arab Spring. She also served as the Istanbul correspondent for the Associated Press before moving to Switzerland in 2016. A native English and Spanish speaker with Swiss roots, she loves to travel and will take any opportunity to chat in Italian, Arabic and French – preferably over coffee. No tea, thank you!

Dear Swiss Abroad,

The surprise election results in France have dominated headlines in Switzerland today and given the Swiss franc a boost against the euro. Cross-border grocery shoppers rejoice!

Otherwise, it’s been a big day from the law-and-order perspective. In Lausanne, the Swiss equivalent of the “George Floyd” case has ended in the acquittal of six police officers. And in Guatemala, a Swiss coffee trader finds himself under house arrest.

Read on for more news and stories from Switzerland.

In the news: Swiss franc gains against the euro, police officers acquitted, drug smuggler busted

Switzerland’s foreign ministry confirms media reports that a Swiss coffee trader is under house arrest in Guatemala
Following France’s surprise election result to the benefit of the far-left, the euro lost 0.22% against the franc at 0.9687 EUR/CHF on Monday morning.
The Lausanne-based Court of Criminal Appeal confirmed the acquittal of six police officers who had been accused of causing the 2018 death of a Nigerian man. The case of 39-year-old Mike Ben Peter, who died after being held face down during an arrest, sparked debates about structural racism in Switzerland.
Border police caught a drug smuggler heading from Berlin to Basel by train. He had hidden 13 kilogrammes of ketamine and one kilogramme of MDMA in various cans and a Buddha head.
A landslide caused by heavy rainfall has cut off the village of Valle di Muggio in southern Ticino from the outside world.