Switzerland

The UN human rights office says the US military intervention that ousted Venezuela’s leader violates international law and the UN Charter, warning it undermines global security and risks worsening human rights. It says Venezuela’s future must be decided by its people.

Swiss authorities say fire safety inspections had not been carried out at the bar in Crans-Montana since 2019.

No safety inspections had been carried out for more than five years at a Swiss bar where 40 people were killed during New Year’s celebrations, local authorities have revealed.

Crans-Montana Mayor Nicolas Feraud said at a news conference on Tuesday that no fire checks had taken place at the Le Constellation ski bar since 2019.

“Periodic inspections were not conducted between 2020 and 2025. We bitterly regret this,” Feraud told reporters in the Alpine ski resort.

The fire tore through the popular ski bar early on New Year’s Day. Most of the victims were teenagers. The youngest who was killed was a 14-year-old Swiss girl, followed by two 15-year-old Swiss girls. The oldest was a French national, aged 39.

Police said on Monday that 83 people are still being treated in hospital. In total, 116 people were injured in the blaze.

Authorities believe the fire started when revellers raised champagne bottles with lit sparklers attached, setting light to sound-insulating foam on the ceiling of the bar’s basement.

Feraud said the foam was considered acceptable at the time of the last fire safety check at the bar in 2019.

The mayor announced that all sparkler candles have now been banned inside bars and clubs in Crans-Montana. A statement from the local council said an external agency has been commissioned to further inspect all public establishments.

Authorities are investigating the two people who ran the bar on suspicion of crimes, including homicide by negligence. On Sunday, police said circumstances did not currently merit them being put under arrest and they did not see any flight risk.

Jan. 6 (UPI) — Switzerland has frozen any assets in the country owned by U.S.-detained Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and others associated with him to ensure that if they were stolen from the Venezuelan people, they can be rightly returned.

The asset freeze went immediately into effect when it was announced on Monday, but does not impact members of the current Venezuelan government, Switzerland’s Federal Council said in a statement.

The freeze is to prevent funds from leaving the country. In the case that future legal proceedings show that the assets were illicitly acquired, Switzerland said it will “endeavor to ensure that they benefit the Venezuelan people.”

“The Federal Council wants to ensure that any illicitly acquired assets cannot be transferred out of Switzerland in the current situation,” it said. “It has therefore decided, as a precautionary measure, to freeze any assets held in Switzerland by Mr. Maduro and others associated with him.”

Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were captured by the U.S. military in an early Saturday operation that involved air and ground assets in Caracas. Dozens of people were killed. There were no U.S. military casualties.

The authoritarian Venezuelan president has been indicted in the United States on narcotrafficking and other related drug charges. The operation has raised domestic and international legal questions over Maduro’s detention and has drawn condemnation, including from U.S. allies.

On Monday, Maduro and his wife pleaded not guilty to the charges, and Vice President Delcy Rodriguez was sworn in as the country’s new president.

Switzerland called for de-escalation, restraint and compliance with international law following the United States’ Saturday military operation and said it was “closely monitoring” the situation.

The new asset freeze is in addition to sanctions imposed against Venezuela under Switzerland’s Embargo Act in 2018. The new measure targets the assets of 37 individuals who were not previously blacklisted by sanctions, according to an ordinance on the action. Maduro’s wife and other relatives were named.

Switzerland said neither the reason for Maduro’s ousting nor whether it was legal plays a role in its decision to apply the asset freeze.

“The decisive factor is that a fall from power has occurred and that it is now possible that the country of origin will initiate legal proceedings in the future with regard to illicitly acquired assets,” the Federal Council said.

The freeze will remain in place for four years.

According to the Valais police, those identified include 10 Swiss people, two Italians, one person with Italian-Emirati citizenship, one Romanian, one person from France, and one from Turkiye.

Swiss police say they have identified 16 more of those who died during a fatal fire in a bar on New Year’s Eve that killed 40 people, in one of the country’s deadliest disasters.

According to the Valais police on Sunday, those identified include 10 Swiss nationals, two Italians, one person with Italian-Emirati citizenship, one Romanian, one person from France, and one from Turkiye.

So far, 24 people have been identified among those who died in the blaze at the Le Constellation bar in the mountain resort of Crans-Montana, southern Switzerland.

The wait for families for news of their loved ones has been anguished.

Of those identified, the youngest person to have been killed is a 14-year-old Swiss girl, followed by two 15-year-old Swiss girls.

According to the police, 10 other bodies identified on Sunday were teenagers aged between 16 and 18. Two Swiss men, aged 20 and 31, and a French national, aged 39, were also identified.

Officials are continuing efforts to identify the remaining casualties from the fire that injured about 119 people, some of whom suffered severe burns and were transferred to burn units across Europe.

For the local community, the aftermath of the tragic fire is causing acute distress.

Damiano Vizioli, a 24-year-old living in neighbouring Sion, was in Le Constellation on New Year’s Eve but had gone outside to smoke a cigarette when the bar was suddenly engulfed in flames.

“I’m not sleeping well because I can hear the people screaming,” Vizioli told the Reuters news agency. He went back to the bar, desperate for news of a friend working there whom he has not heard from since.

Eric Schmid, a 63-year-old local businessman, also told Reuters that the disaster will be felt “quite deep, and I think it’ll take time to heal”.

“We [the Swiss] are mountain people. We will survive, of course, but that’s not the most important thing,” he said.

“It’s more about the kids and all these people who have been affected. But the messages and signs of solidarity are super important,” he added.

Swiss prosecutors said on Saturday two people who ran the bar are under criminal investigation on suspicion of offences including homicide by negligence.

This Swiss train route is often listed among the most beautiful in the world, but the ticket price is unaffordable for many travellers. However, there’s a trick that allows you to see the same sights for much less

There are many stunning train journeys across the world, and luckily, many of them can be found in Europe, with views from unspoilt mountain scenery to stunning coastlines.

Unfortunately, many of these bucket list experiences also come with a hefty price tag, especially if you choose to travel on a vintage train or opt for extras such as afternoon tea or fine dining with champagne.

However, on one route, often considered among the most beautiful in the world, you can enjoy the views without maxing out your credit card, thanks to the local train service.

The Glacier Express is an epic eight-hour train journey that connects the Swiss mountain towns of Zermatt and St. Moritz. It starts at the foot of the Matterhorn, an iconic peak in the Alps, then passes through spectacular scenery that includes lakes, mountains, and over 291 bridges.

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The route was high on the list of Conde Nast’s best train trips in the world, and reviews of the train call it a “once in a lifetime experience”. The Glacier Express has huge panoramic windows, comfortable seats with tables, and an audio guide to point out the highlights of the route, making it an incredible way to see the Alps.

Passengers can also upgrade to Excellence Class for extras such as Champagne on departure, a five-course Alpine meal served at their table, and access to an individual iPad which provides interesting facts and figures along the way for an immersive tour. This carriage also features its own exclusive bar, situated under a gold dome, where passengers can enjoy fine wines and cocktails throughout the journey.

As you can imagine, this kind of experience doesn’t come cheap, and tickets often sell out well in advance. A second-class seat costs around CHF 213 in total, just under £200, while a first-class seat costs CHF 326, just over £300. Excellence Class costs around CHF 812, approximately £761, although this does include your meal with wine accompaniments, plus many extras that add to the experience.

However, the Glacier Express isn’t the only train to run on this line. Railway operator Schweizerische Bundesbahnen (SBB), the national railway company of Switzerland, also runs a regular service which is often used by locals.

This means, if you’re willing to forgo the panoramic windows and plush seats and travel on a normal train, you can enjoy the same route for a fraction of the cost. Tickets can be booked on the SBB website, making it easy to view the available dates and times.

Simply search for trains from Zermatt to St. Moritz, or vice versa, and make sure they’re the ones travelling via Brig and Andermatt. This brings the cost of the journey down to CHF 44 for second class, about £41, or CHF 59 for first class which is about £55, and offers larger seats.

Doing this journey on a normal train will mean making a few changes along the route, so it’s not just one journey. However, some tourists prefer to do the route this way, spreading it out into smaller journeys and stopping to explore the towns along the way. It gives you more flexibility to visit sites along the way, for example, you may wish to leave the train at Brig to hike the Aletsch Glacier, the largest glacier in the Alps.

You could also spend some time in Andermatt, a charming Alpine village with traditional wooden homes set among the mountain landscapes. From here, you can also visit Schöllenen Gorge, crossing the famous stone Devil’s Bridge, which gives you spectacular views across the area.

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And while you won’t see butlers serving Champagne on an SBB train, some of the longer routes have buffet cars serving food and drink. You can also bring your own picnic, and alcohol is allowed, so bring your own bottle to enjoy while taking in the scenery.

Have a story you want to share? Email us at webtravel@reachplc.com

Investigators are rushing to identify the victims and establish the cause of a devastating fire at a New Year’s Eve party that ripped through a bar in the Swiss Alps town of Crans-Montana.

Relatives and friends have been scrambling to find their loved ones, with many circulating photos on social media after the disaster that happened in the early hours of 2026, killing about 40 people and injuring about 115 others, many seriously.

“We tried to reach them; some of their locations are still showing here,” Valais, a teenager who was attending the party, told the AFP news agency, nodding at the bar now shielded by opaque white tarpaulins and behind a wall of temporary barriers.

“We took loads of photos [and] we put them on Instagram, Facebook, every social network possible to try to find them,” Eleonore, another one, said.

“But there’s nothing. No response. We called the parents. Nothing. Even the parents don’t know,” she added.

Officials have started the arduous process of identifying the victims, but with some of the bodies badly burned, police warned the process could take days or even weeks.

“The first objective is to assign names to all the bodies,” Crans-Montana’s mayor Nicolas Feraud told a news conference on Thursday evening. This, he said, could take days.

Mathias Reynard, head of government of the canton of Valais, said experts were using dental and DNA samples for the task.

“All this work needs to be done because the information is so terrible and sensitive that nothing can be told to the families unless we are 100 percent sure,” he said.

Bystanders described scenes of panic and chaos during the incident as people tried to break the windows to escape, and others, covered in burns, poured into the street.

The exact number of people who were at the bar when it went up in flames remains unclear, and police have not specified how many are still missing.

Le Constellation had a capacity of 300 people, plus another 40 people on its terrace, according to the Crans-Montana website. Crans-Montana is about 200km south of the Swiss capital, Bern.

More than 30 victims were taken to hospitals with specialised burns units in Zurich and Lausanne, and six were taken to Geneva, according to the Swiss media.

There is no official estimate of the missing or headcount from Le Constellation bar that night.

While Swiss officials have said about 40 people were killed, Italy has put the death toll at 47, based on information from Swiss authorities.

Italy and France are among the countries that have said some of their nationals are missing and Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani will visit Crans-Montana on Friday, Italy’s ambassador to Switzerland Gian Lorenzo Cornado said.

All bar five of the 112 injured had been identified now, Cornado said. Six Italians are still missing and 13 hospitalised, he added. Three Italians were repatriated on Thursday and three more will follow on Friday, he said.

The French foreign ministry said nine French citizens figured among the injured, and eight others remained unaccounted for.

‘The apocalypse’

Swiss President Guy Parmelin, who took over on Thursday, called the fire “a calamity of unprecedented, terrifying proportions”, and announced that flags would be flown at half-staff for five days.

The fire broke out at about 1:30am (00:30 GMT) on Thursday at Le Constellation, a bar popular with young tourists.

“We thought it was just a small fire – but when we got there, it was war,” Mathys, from neighbouring Chermignon-d’en-Bas, told AFP. “That is the only word I can use to describe it: the apocalypse.”

Authorities have declined to speculate on what caused the tragedy, saying only that it was not an attack.

The canton’s chief prosecutor, Beatrice Pilloud, said investigators would look into whether the bar met safety standards and had the required number of exits.

Multiple sources told AFP that the bar owners are French nationals: a couple originally from Corsica who, according to a relative, are safe, but have been unreachable since the tragedy.

Jan. 1 (UPI) — About 40 people are believed to be dead and about 100 injured — many of them severely — after a fire broke out at a New Year’s Eve celebration at a bar in Switzerland.

The bar, Le Constellation in Crans-Montana in the Swiss Alps, was a popular place for tourists and young people. Many of the injured were between 16 and 26 years old. The victims are believed to be from several different countries.

Smoke began pouring out of the bar at around 1:30 a.m., witnesses said, and emergency services were called soon after. They sent 10 helicopters and 40 ambulances to take the injured to hospitals, officials said at a press conference Thursday morning. The nearest hospital had run out of space in the emergency department and surgical suites. Three specialized planes took burn victims to Zurich, which is about 90 miles away.

Le Constellation had a dance floor in its basement with a narrow stairway, which may have made it difficult for people to escape.

Officials have ruled out the possibility of a terrorist attack, though they haven’t yet determined the cause of the fire.

There was an explosion during the fire, but officials have said it was from a flashover. A flashover is when all combustible materials in a room ignite at once from the heat.

Witnesses said many people struggled after coming out of the heat of the bar and into the outside cold. Victims were treated at makeshift triage centers in a nearby bar and a branch of UBS bank.

“And then it was just ambulances coming back and forth as much as possible,” Dominic Dubois, who witnessed the frantic scenes as the bodies were brought out, told The Guardian.

Doctors and counselors were sent to the area to offer psychological help for the survivors.

“Significant resources have been deployed from a forensic medicine perspective, primarily to identify the victims,” said Beatrice Pilloud, prosecutor general of the canton, at the news conference. Pilloud said that authorities were doing everything they could to get the victims’ bodies to their families.

Crans-Montana is a resort town of about 10,000 people that’s popular among wealthy Europeans. It’s in the canton of Valais in the French-speaking part of Switzerland.

“What was a moment of joy turned into a tragedy in Crans-Montana last night, felt across the country and beyond,” Swiss President Guy Parmelin said on X. “The Federal Council has taken note of this with deep dismay. Its thoughts are with the victims, the injured and their families and it extends its deepest condolences.”

Parmelin postponed a scheduled New Year address because of the fire.

“While this evening should have been a time for celebration and gathering, it turned into a nightmare,” Mathias Reynard, a member of the Swiss National Council from Valais, said at the press conference.

What do we know about the victims?

What caused the fire?

What do we know about Le Constellation bar in Crans-Montana?

Police Cantonale Valaisanne

An explosion and fire ripped through a popular bar in the Swiss ski resort of Crans-Montana during New Year’s celebrations. Police say at least 10 people are dead, and many more wounded.

Four residents of Pari, a low-lying Indonesian island, filed the complaint in January 2023.

A Swiss court has agreed to hear a legal complaint against cement giant Holcim, accusing the company of failing to do enough to cut carbon emissions.

NGO Swiss Church Aid (HEKS/EPER), which is supporting the complainants, said on Monday that the court had decided to admit the legal complaint. Holcim confirmed the decision and said it plans to appeal.

The complaint was filed in January 2023 by four residents of Pari, a low-lying Indonesian island that has suffered repeated flooding as rising global temperatures drive up sea levels. The case was submitted to a court in Zug, Switzerland, where Holcim has its headquarters.

According to HEKS, this is the first time a Swiss court has admitted climate litigation brought against a big corporation.

If successful, it would also be the first case seeking to hold a Swiss company legally responsible for its contribution to global warming, the group has previously said.

The lawsuit is also among the first climate cases brought by people in the Global South directly affected by climate change and forms part of a growing push for compensation for “loss and damage”, campaigners backing the case said.

The nongovernmental organisation supporting the plaintiffs said Holcim was selected because it is one of the world’s largest carbon dioxide emitters and the biggest so-called “carbon major” based in Switzerland.

A study commissioned by HEKS and conducted by the United States-based Climate Accountability Institute found that Holcim emitted more than 7 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide between 1950 and 2021 – about 0.42 percent of total global industrial emissions over the period.

Holcim has said it is committed to reaching net-zero emissions by 2050 and is following a science-based pathway to meet that goal. The company says it has cut direct CO2 emissions from its operations by more than 50 percent since 2015.

The plaintiffs are seeking compensation for climate-related damage, financial contributions to flood protection measures on Pari Island, and a rapid reduction in Holcim’s carbon emissions.

Cement production accounts for about 7 percent of global carbon dioxide emissions, according to the Global Cement and Concrete Association.