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Federal Councillor Ignazio Cassis was welcomed by a plenary session of the Cantonal Council of Ticino today as part of their regular political dialogue. The council's chosen venue, the Mezzana Cantonal Agricultural Organisation, is celebrating its 110th anniversary this year. Discussions focused on topics of mutual interest, including the promotion of Italian language and culture, cross-border relations, and more international matters such as relations with the EU and current geopolitical challenges. Mr Cassis also informed the Cantonal Council of the FDFA's intention to hold the meeting of the OSCE Ministerial Council in Lugano.

A new final report (aviation) is available on the website of the Swiss Transportation Safety Investigation Board STSB.

The Federal Department of Finance is contesting the decision of the Federal Administrative Court (FAC), which found that the reduction or cancellation of variable remuneration for former members of Credit Suisse management was illegal. The FDF has decided to lodge an appeal with the Federal Supreme Court, which will make a final decision on the matter.

The ETH Board has appointed Matthias Sulzer as a member of Empa's Directorate. Since January 2025, Sulzer is the Head of Empa's Engineering Sciences Department, where he deals with the full range of materials and technologies for the built environment. The engineer is convinced that research and industry mutually benefit each other – a principle that he has lived by throughout his career in both “worlds”. The real key to success for him, however, is people.

In 2024, there were around 300 000 cultural workers in Switzerland, a figure that has been rising again since the pandemic. A highly educated workforce, cultural workers find themselves in a variety of atypical situations. Over 50% of them work part-time. Multi-activity has become increasingly common since 2010. There are double the number of freelancers among cultural workers than in the rest of the economy. Earnings are also lower. While the Swiss culture sector is thriving, with a record 67 313 enterprises and gross added value of 16.3 billion in 2022, employment in this sector has been falling since 2011. These are the results of an analysis of long-term trends in the cultural economy by the Federal Statistical Office (FSO).

An international research team led by the Paul Scherrer Institute PSI has measured the radius of the nucleus of muonic helium-3 with unprecedented precision. The results are an important stress test for theories and future experiments in atomic physics.

At its meeting of 21/22 May, the ETH Board appointed Matthias Sulzer as a new Member of the Directorate at Empa and launched the procedure for appointing a new President of ETH Zurich as of 2027.

At its meeting of 21/22 May 2025 and upon application of the President of ETH Zurich, Professor Joël Mesot, and the President of EPFL, Professor Anna Fontcuberta i Morral, the ETH Board appointed a total of two women and ten men as professors and awarded the title of professor to three individuals and the title of Professor of Practice to two individuals. It also took note of the resignation of 12 professors and thanked them for their services. In the last 12 months, the ETH Board has made a total of 18 new appointments for women and 28 for men; the proportion of women among these new appointments thus amounts to 39%.

In 2024, 8.117 billion hours were worked in Switzerland, an increase of 0.1% compared with the previous year. Between 2019 and 2024, the actual weekly hours worked by full-time employees fell by 50 minutes on average, to 40 hours and 4 minutes. This is according to the latest results from the Federal Statistical Office (FSO).

A new final report (railways) is available on the website of the Swiss Transportation Safety Investigation Board STSB.

A new final report (aviation) is available on the website of the Swiss Transportation Safety Investigation Board STSB.

On 21 May, the entire Federal Council welcomed Kosovo's President Vjosa Osmani Sadriu and her husband Prindon Sadriu with military honours in front of the Federal Palace for a state visit. The delegations then held talks on opportunities and prospects for the close and wide-ranging bilateral relationship. They also exchanged views on goals for European stability and prosperity, with particular focus on the situation in the Western Balkans.