Switzerland has been named the world’s best country  — again!

For the third year in a row, the US News & World Report named Switzerland the best country in the world. 

“With a reputation for a high quality of life and a healthy business environment, the Alpine nation continues to tower atop the Best Countries rankings,” the magazine said on Tuesday.

Switzerland scored highly in a number of major categories, such as trustworthiness,  economic and political stability, quality of life, and safety.

It didn’t do well, however, in one attribute: affordability.

The small central European nation of Switzerland is No. 1 in the #BestCountries rankings for the third consecutive year and seventh time overall since the project’s inception. https://t.co/N0qeq4SsCc

— U.S. News & World Report (@usnews) September 10, 2024

New revelations come to light in forged signatures scandal

The affair surrounding allegedly forged signatures on voting petitions for initiatives and referendums has taken on a new twist.

It appears that some organisations have collected signatures for money without a proper mandate, and then pressured referendum committees to buy them, the Federal Chancellery said in a press release on Tuesday.

“Such a commercial practice is likely to compromise the political rights of voters and the integrity of the signature collection procedure,” the Chancellery said.

“This type of abuse of democratic rights must be the subject of the in-depth monitoring of signature collections. Several cantons have already confirmed that they would participate in setting up this monitoring as soon as possible,” it added.

READ ALSO: Have Switzerland’s popular referendums been rigged? 

Islamic scholar Tariq Ramadan convicted of rape on appeal in Switzerland

A Swiss appeals court on Tuesday said it found Islamic scholar Tariq Ramadan guilty of rape and sexual coercion in a Geneva hotel 15 years ago, overturning an earlier lower court acquittal.

The court said it “annuls the judgement of 24 May 2023”, and sentenced the 62-year-old former Oxford University professor to three years in prison, two of them suspended.

Ramadan’s accuser, a Muslim convert identified only as “Brigitte”, had testified before the court that he subjected her to rape and other violent sex acts in a Geneva hotel room during the night of October 28, 2008. (AFP)

Goodbye summer: polar air front will hit Switzerland today

The transition from summer to autumn is likely to be more abrupt than expected.

While it was still close to 30 degrees on Saturday, temperatures will drop sharply throughout the country today, according to MeteoSwiss weather service.

The arrival of the cold front  along with rain “will dramatically cool things down,” the meteorological service said.

The temperature will not exceed 13C in the next few days, warming up just a bit on the weekend — to 15C.

The most expensive Airbnb in Europe is in Switzerland

A new ranking has revealed that Europe’s most expensive Airbnb is a luxurious 386-square-metre penthouse with three bedrooms and as many bathrooms, located in a swanky resort of St. Moritz in Graubünden.

Anyone who wants to enjoy a 360-degree view of a mountain lake surrounded by Swiss Alps from the eighth-floor apartment  terrace will have to pay a whopping 20,671 francs a night for the privilege.

If you have any questions about life in Switzerland, ideas for articles or news tips for The Local, please get in touch with us at news@thelocal.ch