Switzerland

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For a Brand New Olympic Sport, 'a Magical Day'

Switzerland's Marianne Fatton takes the gold in ski mountaineering, or 'skimo,' in Milan Games

(Newser) - The sport of ski mountaineering made its long-awaited Olympics debut on Thursday and crowned its first champion at the Milan Cortina Games. With snow falling, Marianne Fatton of Switzerland navigated the uphill-then-downhill sprint course lined with a diamond-shaped pattern and stairs in a lung-searing time of 2 minutes, 59.77...

Olympic Skier Explains His Walk to the Woods
Olympic Skier Explains
His Walk to the Woods
2026 olympics
Feb 17, 2026 1:05 PM CST

Olympic Skier Explains His Walk to the Woods

Norway's McGrath needed 'peace and quiet' after a tough loss

(Newser) - Norwegian slalom star Atle Lie McGrath came to the start gate chasing a gold medal and ended up hunting for quiet in the trees. The 25-year-old, leading after the first run in Bormio on Monday, missed a gate on his second run, erasing not just gold but any spot on...

Swiss to Vote on Far-Right Plan to Cap Population

Business leaders warn initiative could damage the economy and EU ties

(Newser) - Switzerland will soon decide whether there should be a hard ceiling on how many people can live there. Voters on June 14 will weigh a proposal from the far-right Swiss People's Party (SVP) to cap the permanent population at 10 million until 2050—a move critics warn could upend...

Memorial for Deadly Nightclub Fire Goes Up in Flames, Too

Candles suspected as cause; key remembrance book reportedly saved in Switzerland

(Newser) - A tribute to victims of a New Year's bar fire in the Swiss Alps has itself gone up in flames. Police in the canton of Valais say a memorial near the Le Constellation bar in Crans-Montana caught fire shortly before 6am Sunday, likely ignited by candles left burning at...

Swiss Skier Wins First Gold of Milan in His Debut Race
Milan's First Gold Goes to
Swiss Skier on His First Try
2026 olympics
Feb 7, 2026 5:15 PM CST

Milan's First Gold Goes to Swiss Skier on His First Try

Franjo von Allmen,24, celebrates before family and friends

(Newser) - In his first Olympic race ever, Franjo von Allmen delivered Switzerland the first gold medal to be awarded in the 2026 Winter Games, winning the men's downhill on the Stelvio course in Bormio on Saturday with what the Athletic described as "a magnificent performance." The 24-year-old posted...

Teen Dies a Month After Swiss Bar Fire

18-year-old's death is the 41st related to New Year's tragedy

(Newser) - An 18-year-old Swiss national has died in a Zurich hospital from injuries sustained in a Swiss Alpine bar fire, bringing the death toll to 41 a month after the tragedy, the AP reports. The victim died on Saturday, according to the Swiss public prosecutor. The prosecutor said in a statement...

Suicide Pod Creator Thinks AI Should Give the Approval

Proposal is to let artificial intelligence replace psychiatrists in determining mental capacity

(Newser) - The idea of a 3D-printed suicide pod was probably controversial enough, but now its inventor wants to let artificial intelligence decide who gets to use it. Euronews reports that longtime euthanasia advocate Philip Nitschke thinks AI could replace psychiatrists in determining whether someone has the mental capacity to choose assisted...

Vonn Had One Knee Replaced, Just Hurt the Other One

Injury raises doubts about Olympics, but 41-year-old says she knows something about comebacks

(Newser) - Lindsey Vonn's planned Olympic comeback suffered a jarring setback on Friday in Switzerland, just seven days before the Milan Cortina Games open in Italy. The 41-year-old American ski champ crashed in a World Cup downhill at Crans-Montana after losing her balance coming out of a jump on the second...

Family Says Bar Worker Who Held Sparkler Lacked Safety Training

Lawyer says Cyane Panine, who died in fire, was following employers' instructions

(Newser) - A young woman seen in video holding a champagne bottle with a pyrotechnic attached just before a Swiss nightclub went up in flames had no safety training and did not know the ceiling was a fire risk, her family says. Lawyer Sophie Haenni, speaking for the relatives of 24-year-old employee...

Olympic Snowboard Pioneer Dies Doing What He Loved

Swiss avalanche takes out bronze medalist, X-Games champion Ueli Kestenholz, 50

(Newser) - Olympic snowboarding pioneer Ueli Kestenholz has died in an avalanche in the Swiss Alps at age 50. Swiss authorities say Kestenholz was snowboarding with a friend around midday Sunday on an eastern slope of the Lötschental valley in southern Switzerland when an unexpected avalanche hit. Police said the skier...

4 Start, 1 Ends a Wild Team USA Bobsled Run
4 Start, 1 Ends a Wild
Team USA Bobsled Run
VIDEO
Jan 12, 2026 9:28 AM CST

4 Start, 1 Ends a Wild Team USA Bobsled Run

An accidental solo run in St. Moritz ends without serious injuries

(Newser) - It's a good thing US bobsled driver Kris Horn has a history as a brakeman. As USA Today reports, his knowledge came into play Sunday when his three teammates failed to make it into the sled during a World Cup run in St. Moritz, Switzerland, sending Horn hurtling alone...

Co-Owner of Swiss Ski Bar Jailed After Deadly Fire

Le Constellation's Jacques Moretti faces negligence charges after bar failed safety checks

(Newser) - Swiss authorities have taken one of the owners of a ski resort bar into custody as they investigate a New Year's Eve fire that killed 40 people and injured more than 100 others. Prosecutors in the Valais region say co-owner Jacques Moretti, a French citizen, is suspected of negligent...

After Swiss Tragedy, Skiers Create a Message

They form a giant heart on the Crans-Montana slopes to honor fire victims

(Newser) - Switzerland plans a national day of mourning on Friday for the people killed in a bar fire in the Swiss mountain resort of Crans-Montana, notes Euro News , but a group of skiers decided to send a message of their own beforehand. Video—see it here —shows dozens of skiers...

Last Safety Inspection at Ill-Fated Swiss Bar Was 2019

'Periodic checks were not carried out between 2020 and 2025,' says municipal chief

(Newser) - Fire safety inspections hadn't been carried out since 2019 at the Swiss bar where a fire that broke out at a New Year's party left 40 people dead and over 100 injured, local authorities said Tuesday. Investigators have said they believe festive sparkling candles atop Champagne bottles ignited...

Managers of Swiss Bar Now Subjects of Criminal Probe

Investigation launched after fire kills 40, injures 119

(Newser) - Swiss authorities have opened a criminal investigation into the managers of the bar where a fire at a New Year's party left 40 people dead, authorities said Saturday. The two are suspected of involuntary homicide, involuntary bodily harm, and involuntarily causing a fire, the Valais region's chief prosecutor,...

After His Daughter Called, Man Rushed Into Burning Bar

Paolo Campolo says he pulled about 10 young people from Le Constellation

(Newser) - After receiving a call from his daughter, a man who lives a few steps from a Swiss ski resort bar said he pulled 10 young people to safety as a New Year's fire turned the basement venue into what he called "a trap." From his hospital bed,...

'Flashover' Phenomenon Made Bar Fire Especially Deadly

Even firefighters in full gear are unlikely to survive when an entire room ignites

(Newser) - Authorities probing a fire that killed dozens at a Swiss ski-resort bar say it appears to be a textbook case of what fire experts call a flashover. Investigators in Crans-Montana believe flames at Le Constellation, where about 40 people were killed early Thursday, likely began when sparklers on champagne bottles...

Sparklers on Champagne Bottles Blamed in Deadly Fire

Swiss investigators suspect they set fire to the ceiling, starting blaze that killed dozens

(Newser) - Authorities say it appears that festive sparklers attached to champagne bottles started the fire in a Switzerland bar that killed dozens of young New Year's revelers . The sparklers were likely held too close to the ceiling of the bar, called Le Constellation, said Beatrice Pilloud, attorney general of the...

Witnesses Describe Horrific Fire at Swiss Ski Resort

'I found people burning from head to foot, no clothes anymore'

(Newser) - Witnesses are coming forward to describe the deadly blaze at a Swiss ski resort bar, one of the country's worst tragedies with an estimated 40 dead and 115 injured in the wee hours of New Year's Day. Le Constellation in the Swiss Alps resort of Crans-Montana offered a...

Police: Around 40 Dead, 115 Injured in Swiss Bar Fire

New president says it's one of the country's 'worst tragedies'

(Newser) - About 40 people were killed and another 115 injured, most of them seriously, after a fire ripped through a bar's New Year celebration in a Swiss Alpine resort less than two hours after midnight Thursday, police said. Authorities did not immediately have an exact count of the deceased. The...

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