Jan 22 (Reuters) – President Donald Trump said the details of a U.S. agreement over Greenland were still being worked out on Thursday, speaking one day after he stepped back from a tariff threat and ruled out the use of force to seize the Danish territory.
Trump, in an interview on Fox Business Network from Davos, also acknowledged the impact of his quest for Greenland on global markets and said he did not plan to pay to acquire it.
“It’s really being negotiated now, the details of it. But essentially it’s total access. It’s – there’s no end, there’s no time limit,” Trump said from the sidelines of the World Economic Forum.
“I noticed the stock market went up very substantially after we announced it,” he told FBN’s “Mornings with Maria” program.
Asked about the possibility of Europeans selling U.S. stocks and bonds, he added: “If they do, they do. But if that would happen, there would be a big retaliation on our part, and we have all the cards.”
Trump began floating the idea of acquiring Greenland after taking office last year but stepped up his rhetoric in recent weeks, threatening a 10% tariff on eight European countries over the weekend that shook investors.
He continued his push in a more than hour-long speech at Davos on Wednesday before meeting with the head of NATO and announcing plans for a new deal that has yet to be defined.
Asked on Thursday what he was willing to pay for the semi-autonomous territory, he added: “We’re going to not have to pay anything other than the fact that we are building the Golden Dome.”
Trump said any deal would allow “total access” to Greenland, including for the military: “We’re getting everything we want at no cost”.
(Reporting by Susan Heavey; Editing by Alex Richardson, William Maclean)
DAVOS, Switzerland, Jan 21 (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday said that Russian President Vladimir Putin had accepted his invitation to join Trump’s Board of Peace initiative aimed at resolving global conflicts, a statement that Putin quickly countered, saying that the invitation was only under consideration.
“He was invited. He’s accepted,” Trump told reporters at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland after meeting with NATO chief Mark Rutte.
Soon after Trump’s comments, Putin told the Russian security council that the foreign ministry was still studying the proposal and would respond in due course.
(Reporting by Dmitry Zhdannikov, Jeffrey Dastin and Ronald Popeski; Writing by Ryan Patrick Jones; editing by Scott Malone)
President Donald Trump will address the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Jan. 21. His address to world, policy and economic leaders follows Trump’s jockeying to own Greenland, tensions with NATO allies and the U.S. military capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro.
President Donald Trump will deliver a speech today at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, focusing on a plan to make housing more affordable, while his comments about acquiring Greenland continue to stir tensions with European allies.”This will be an interesting trip. I have no idea what’s going to happen, but you are well represented,” Trump told reporters before departing the White House for Switzerland.The speech comes shortly after he threatened to impose tariffs on Denmark and seven other allies due to their opposition to his interest in acquiring Greenland. Trump announced that the tariffs would start at 10% next month and increase to 25% by June. The tensions over the U.S. interest in the Danish territory have already affected Wall Street, with stocks rattled on Tuesday.In Davos, Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney warned global leaders that the world is “facing a rupture,” emphasizing the risks of countries trying to avoid conflict by compliance. “There is a strong tendency for countries to go along to get along, to accommodate to avoid trouble, to hope that compliance will buy safety. Well, it won’t,” Carney said.Carney also added that Canada opposes tariffs over Greenland. Trump’s speech is expected to focus largely on housing, and following his address, he will meet with leaders at the forum, according to the White House.Home sales in the U.S. are at a 30-year low with rising prices. Reports show elevated mortgage rates are keeping prospective home buyers out of the market. Rent, for several years, has been the largest contributor to inflation.This comes as Trump announced his plan to buy $200 billion in mortgage securities to help lower interest rates on home loans. He’s also called for a ban on large financial companies buying houses. Keep watching for the latest from the Washington News Bureau:s
WASHINGTON —
President Donald Trump will deliver a speech today at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, focusing on a plan to make housing more affordable, while his comments about acquiring Greenland continue to stir tensions with European allies.
“This will be an interesting trip. I have no idea what’s going to happen, but you are well represented,” Trump told reporters before departing the White House for Switzerland.
The speech comes shortly after he threatened to impose tariffs on Denmark and seven other allies due to their opposition to his interest in acquiring Greenland.
Trump announced that the tariffs would start at 10% next month and increase to 25% by June.
The tensions over the U.S. interest in the Danish territory have already affected Wall Street, with stocks rattled on Tuesday.
In Davos, Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney warned global leaders that the world is “facing a rupture,” emphasizing the risks of countries trying to avoid conflict by compliance.
“There is a strong tendency for countries to go along to get along, to accommodate to avoid trouble, to hope that compliance will buy safety. Well, it won’t,” Carney said.
Carney also added that Canada opposes tariffs over Greenland.
Trump’s speech is expected to focus largely on housing, and following his address, he will meet with leaders at the forum, according to the White House.
Home sales in the U.S. are at a 30-year low with rising prices. Reports show elevated mortgage rates are keeping prospective home buyers out of the market. Rent, for several years, has been the largest contributor to inflation.
This comes as Trump announced his plan to buy $200 billion in mortgage securities to help lower interest rates on home loans. He’s also called for a ban on large financial companies buying houses.
Keep watching for the latest from the Washington News Bureau:
A “minor electrical issue” forced Air Force One to turn around and return to Maryland less than an hour after takeoff Tuesday night as it was headed for Davos, Switzerland, with President Trump aboard, White House officials said. The president then departed for Switzerland aboard a new plane about one hour later.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters aboard the plane that, after takeoff from Joint Base Andrews, the crew identified a “minor electrical issue,” and, out of an abundance of caution, chose to turn around and return to the base.
Air Force One landed back at the base at 11:07 p.m. Eastern Time.
A view of Air Force One after returning to Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, on Jan. 20, 2026.
Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images
Reporters had said that the lights in the press cabin briefly went out after takeoff, but no explanation was offered.
The president then boarded a new aircraft, which took off at around midnight. The second aircraft is an Air Force C-32, a modified Boeing 757 normally used by the president for domestic trips to smaller airports, according to the Associated Press.
Mr. Trump is headed to Davos for the World Economic Forum. He was scheduled to address the forum at about 8:30 a.m. ET Wednesday, shortly after landing, but that could be delayed.
“This will be an interesting trip,” Mr. Trump told reporters on the White House lawn shortly before departing for Joint Base Andrews. “I have no idea what is going to happen. But you are well represented.”
There are currently two modified Boeing 747s that serve as Air Force One. Both have been in service since 1990. They were set to be replaced in 2024 with modified Boeing 747s, but the completion of the first replacement plane was delayed until 2027, and the second delayed to 2028, according to the U.S. Air Force.
Last summer, Mr. Trump confirmed that the Qatari royal family had donated a Boeing 747-8 jumbo aircraft valued at $400 million to the president to eventually be used as Air Force One. However, renovating the plane could cost several hundred million dollars before it could be ready for use, Air Force Secretary Troy Meink said last June.
President Donald Trump’s plane, Air Force One, returned to Joint Base Andrews about an hour after departing for Switzerland on Tuesday evening.White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the decision to return was made after takeoff when the crew aboard Air Force One identified “a minor electrical issue” and, out of an abundance of caution, decided to turn around.Related video above: “You’ll find out:” Trump asked how far he’ll go to acquire Greenland ahead of overseas tripA reporter on board said the lights in the press cabin of the aircraft went out briefly after takeoff, but no explanation was immediately offered. About half an hour into the flight reporters were told the plane would be turning around.Trump will board another aircraft and continue on with his trip to the World Economic Forum in Davos.The two planes currently used as Air Force One have been flying for nearly four decades. Boeing has been working on replacements, but the program has faced a series of delays. The planes are heavily modified with survivability capabilities for the president for a range of contingencies, including radiation shielding and antimissile technology. They also include a variety of communications systems to allow the president to remain in contact with the military and issue orders from anywhere in the world.Last year, the ruling family of Qatar gifted Trump a luxury Boeing 747-8 jumbo jet to be added to the Air Force One fleet, a move that faced great scrutiny. That plane is currently being retrofitted to meet security requirements.Leavitt joked to reporters on Air Force One Tuesday night that a Qatari jet was sounding “much better” right now.Last February, an Air Force plane carrying Secretary of State Marco Rubio to Germany had to return to Washington because of a mechanical issue. In October, a military plane carrying Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had to make an emergency landing in United Kingdom due to a crack in the windshield.
President Donald Trump’s plane, Air Force One, returned to Joint Base Andrews about an hour after departing for Switzerland on Tuesday evening.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the decision to return was made after takeoff when the crew aboard Air Force One identified “a minor electrical issue” and, out of an abundance of caution, decided to turn around.
Related video above: “You’ll find out:” Trump asked how far he’ll go to acquire Greenland ahead of overseas trip
A reporter on board said the lights in the press cabin of the aircraft went out briefly after takeoff, but no explanation was immediately offered. About half an hour into the flight reporters were told the plane would be turning around.
Trump will board another aircraft and continue on with his trip to the World Economic Forum in Davos.
The two planes currently used as Air Force One have been flying for nearly four decades. Boeing has been working on replacements, but the program has faced a series of delays. The planes are heavily modified with survivability capabilities for the president for a range of contingencies, including radiation shielding and antimissile technology. They also include a variety of communications systems to allow the president to remain in contact with the military and issue orders from anywhere in the world.
Last year, the ruling family of Qatar gifted Trump a luxury Boeing 747-8 jumbo jet to be added to the Air Force One fleet, a move that faced great scrutiny. That plane is currently being retrofitted to meet security requirements.
Leavitt joked to reporters on Air Force One Tuesday night that a Qatari jet was sounding “much better” right now.
Last February, an Air Force plane carrying Secretary of State Marco Rubio to Germany had to return to Washington because of a mechanical issue. In October, a military plane carrying Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had to make an emergency landing in United Kingdom due to a crack in the windshield.
Jan 20 (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he had a “very good” telephone call with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte concerning Greenland.
Trump also said he had agreed to a meeting of various parties in Davos, Switzerland, at the World Economic Forum. He did not specify who the various parties were.
“As I expressed to everyone, very plainly, Greenland is imperative for National and World Security. There can be no going back – On that, everyone agrees!” he said in a post on Truth Social.
Trump had earlier told reporters the United States would talk about acquiring Greenland at this week’s World Economic Forum because Denmark cannot protect the territory.
(Reporting by Chandni Shah in Bengaluru; Editing by Jacqueline Wong and Tom Hogue)
MAPUTO, Jan 19 (Reuters) – Mozambique’s President Daniel Chapo has cancelled his trip to the World Economic Forum in Davos this week due to severe floods that have damaged infrastructure and affected hundreds of thousands of people in the Southern African country.
Chapo wrote in a post on Facebook late on Sunday that Mozambique “is going through a tough time … (and) the absolute priority at this moment is to save lives”.
Heavy rains since mid-December have caused widespread floods in Mozambique’s Gaza, Maputo and Sofala provinces, with several river basins above alert levels, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said in a report on Sunday.
The OCHA report said authorities estimated that more than 400,000 people had been affected, with numbers expected to rise as rains continue.
Neighbouring South Africa has deployed an air force helicopter to Mozambique to help with search-and-rescue efforts.
Heavy rains have also affected parts of South Africa, including the northeast where its renowned Kruger National Park is located. On Monday Kruger reopened to day visitors after being closed for several days.
Flooding has become more frequent and severe in southeastern Africa as climate change makes storms in the adjacent Indian Ocean more powerful.
(Reporting by Custodio Cossa; Additional reporting by Wendell Roelf in Cape Town; Writing by Alexander Winning; Editing by Michael Perry)
Jan 18 (Reuters) – Ukraine’s top negotiator Rustem Umerov said on Sunday that talks with U.S. officials on a resolution of the nearly four-year-old war with Russia would continue at the World Economic Forum opening this week in the Swiss resort of Davos.
Umerov, writing on Telegram, said two days of talks in Florida with a U.S. team including envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, had focused on security guarantees and a post-war recovery plan for Ukraine.
He gave no indication whether any agreements had been achieved at the meeting.
“We agreed to continue work at the team level during the next phase of consultations in Davos,” Umerov wrote.
The two sides, in the latest of a series of meetings intended to work out the details of an agreement, had “discussed in depth” the two issues, “focusing on practical mechanisms and carrying out and implementing them,” Umerov said.
He said his delegation had reported on Russian strikes last week which badly damaged Ukraine’s energy infrastructure and left hundreds of apartment buildings with no heating or electricity.
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said it was important to outline the dire effects of the Russian strikes as they demonstrated that Russia was not interested in diplomacy.
“If the Russians were seriously interested in ending the war, they would have focused on diplomacy,” Zelenskiy said in his nightly video address.
He said Ukrainian intelligence had determined that Russia was conducting reconnaissance on key sites in preparation for strikes, including targets linked to Ukraine’s nuclear power stations.
Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said on Saturday that there was evidence Russia was considering attacks on power substations supplying nuclear power stations.
Russia has made no comment on the allegations.
(Reporting by Ron Popeski in Winnipeg; Editing by Edmund Klamann and Matthew Lewis)
After five years under development, the world’s first powered skis have officially hit the slopes, promising to transform the gruelling world of ski touring into a more accessible experience.
Launched in Verbier this month, the E-Skimo system uses electric motor technology to assist skiers during uphill ascents, effectively acting as the snow-bound equivalent of the e-bike.
The project is the brainchild of tech entrepreneur Nicola Colombo, who was inspired to lower the physical barriers of the sport after watching friends struggle with traditional manual ascents during Covid.
“There was a spike in ski touring because resorts were closed,” Colombo explained, noting that many newcomers found the intense physical effort of climbing far outweighed the joy of the two-minute descent.
The E-Skimo system works by equipping high-performance free-ride skis with a front-mounted lithium battery and a rear-mounted 850W motor. Unlike a motorized vehicle, it requires the skier to maintain a natural rhythm.
Propulsion is delivered through a “traction skin”, a looped conveyor belt that runs through the ski base. A suite of AI-driven sensors and gyroscopes monitors the skier’s gait and terrain, automatically activating the motor when the heel is lifted to slide the ski forward.
Skiers can choose from three power modes – Eco, Climb, and Boost – allowing them to ascend at 700 meters per hour, nearly triple the speed of a typical manual climber, with roughly a third less effort. Once the summit is reached, the drive units and batteries can be detached in about 60 seconds and stowed in a specialized backpack, allowing the user to descend on standard high-performance skis.
The technology is currently available in a premium “Launch Edition” priced at SFr4,500 (approximately £4,200). To reach a wider audience, E-Skimo has established “Experience Centres” in major alpine hubs, including Verbier, St Moritz, and San Bernardino, where potential users can test the equipment.
While the current price targets early adopters, the company anticipates that future models could retail for closer to £2,000 as production scales.
Jan 10 (Reuters) – At least four tankers, most of them loaded, that had departed from Venezuela in early January in ‘dark mode’ – or with their transponders off amid a strict U.S. blockade – are now back in the South American country’s waters, according to state company PDVSA and monitoring service TankerTrackers.com.
A flotilla of about a dozen loaded vessels and at least three other empty ships left Venezuelan waters last month in apparent defiance of an embargo imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump since mid-December, which has dragged down the country’s oil exports to minimum.
One of the ships, the Panama-flagged supertanker M Sophia, was intercepted and seized by the U.S. this week when returning to the country; while another, the Aframax tanker Olina with a flag from Sao Tome And Principe, was intercepted but released to Venezuela on Friday, state company PDVSA said.
Three more of the vessels that had departed in that flotilla, Panama-flagged Merope, Cook Islands-flagged Min Hang and Panama-flagged Thalia III, were spotted by Tankertrackers.com in Venezuelan waters late on Friday through satellite images.
U.S. authorities had said on Friday that Olina -previously known as Minerva M – would be freed. The next step for the country, which remains under strict U.S. supervision after it captured and extracted President Nicolas Maduro last week, would be the beginning of organized crude exports as part of a $2 billion oil supply deal Caracas and Washington are negotiating, they said.
In a meeting with top oil company executives on Friday, U.S. President Donald Trump said arrangements for the supply had progressed. Global trading houses Vitol and Trafigura received this week the first U.S. licenses to negotiate and carry Venezuela’s exports, and naphtha supplies to the OPEC country also are expected, sources said.
(Reporting by Marianna Parraga; Editing by Julia Symmes Cobb)
Geneva — The French owners of the bar in a Swiss ski resort town that went up in flames on New Year’s Eve will be questioned Friday, sources close to the investigation said. French couple Jacques and Jessica Moretti owned and managed the Le Constellation bar in Crans-Montana, which was filled with young partygoers when the blaze erupted around 1:30 a.m. on January 1.
Forty people, most of them teenagers, were killed, and 116 were injured.
The pair, who are facing charges of manslaughter by negligence, bodily harm by negligence and arson by negligence, will be questioned by the public prosecutor’s office in the nearby town of Sion, a source close to the investigation, who asked not to be named, told AFP on Thursday.
People gather during a memorial procession in Crans-Montana, Swiss Alps, Switzerland, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, after a devastating fire in Le Constellation bar left dead and injured during the New Year’s celebrations.
Antonio Calanni / AP
This will mark the first time the couple is questioned by investigators since the charges against them were announced on Saturday.
The pair, who have not been detained, said in a statement on Tuesday that they were “devastated and overwhelmed with grief,” and pledged their “full cooperation” with investigators.
“We will under no circumstances attempt to evade these matters,” they said.
A number of questions have been raised about whether fire safety standards were respected in the bar, where prosecutors believe the blaze started when champagne bottles with sparklers attached were raised too close to sound insulation foam on the ceiling in the bar’s basement section.
On Tuesday, municipal authorities acknowledged that no fire safety inspections had been conducted at the Le Constellation since 2019.
Questions have also been raised about the couple’s background and numerous real estate holdings.
The French newspaper Le Parisien reported earlier this week that Jacques Moretti was known to authorities and served some time in jail about 20 years ago in the south of France on charges related to prostitution and kidnapping.
Sebastien Fanti, a lawyer representing four families of the injured, hailed the news that the Moretti’s would be questioned in the case, telling AFP he hoped it signaled, “a welcome resurgence of the investigation.”
The questioning will focus on the couple’s personal circumstances, according to another source close to the case.
“Establishing the defendants’ personal situation, particularly from an economic standpoint, is essential,” Romain Jordan, a lawyer representing several families, told AFP.
Once the investigation concludes, the Wallis region’s public prosecutor’s office will determine whether to file an indictment against the pair or to close the case.
LONDON, Jan 7 (Reuters) – Nestle’s recall of some batches of infant nutrition products has widened beyond Europe to the Americas and Asia, including China and Brazil, a tally from the company and national health ministry statements show.
No illnesses have yet been confirmed in connection with the batches of SMA, BEBA, NAN and Alfamino formula which Nestle has recalled due to possible contamination with cereulide, a toxin that can cause nausea and vomiting.
At least 37 countries, including most European states, as well as Australia, Brazil, China and Mexico, have issued health warnings over the infant formulas possibly being contaminated.
The recall piles more pressure on the KitKat and Nescafe maker and its new CEO Philipp Navratil, who is seeking to revive growth through a portfolio review after management upheavals, with Nestle’s shares down around 4.5% so far this week.
Brazil’s health ministry said on Wednesday that the Nestle recall was a preventative measure after the toxin had been detected in products originating in the Netherlands.
Nestle Australia said the batches recalled there had been manufactured in Switzerland, while Nestle China said it was recalling formula batches imported from Europe.
Austria’s health ministry said on Tuesday the recall affected more than 800 products from over 10 factories and was the largest in Nestle’s history. A Nestle spokesperson could not verify this.
Nestle said on Tuesday it had tested all arachidonic acid oil and corresponding oil mixes used in the production of its potentially impacted infant nutrition products after a quality issue was detected in an ingredient from a leading supplier.
It is now ramping up production and activating alternative suppliers of the acid oil to maintain supply.
(Reporting by Alexander Marrow in London and Igor Sodre in Sao Paulo; Editing by Alexander Smith)
Geneva — Fire safety inspections hadn’t been carried out for several years at the 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 the fire at Le Constellation in the resort town of Crans-Montana when they came too close to the ceiling. Authorities are looking into whether soundproofing material on the ceiling conformed with regulations and whether the candles were permitted for use in the bar.
Swiss authorities have opened a criminal investigation into the bar managers. The two are suspected of involuntary homicide, involuntary bodily harm and involuntarily causing a fire, according to the Valais region’s chief prosecutor.
Regional authorities have said safety inspections were the responsibility of the municipality. On Tuesday, the head of Crans-Montana’s municipal government, Nicolas Féraud, said there had been inspections of Le Constellation up to 2019.
Crans-Montana Mayor Nicolas Feraud at a press conference by the city council of the resort of Crans-Montana on Jan. 6, 2026.
Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP via Getty Images
But he told a news conference the local council discovered after looking at documents after the fire that “periodic checks were not carried out between 2020 and 2025.”
“We regret this bitterly,” he said, adding that it will be up to judicial authorities to determine what influence that may have had on the chain of events that led to the fire. “We owe it to the families, and we will accept responsibility,” he said.
Féraud said he couldn’t immediately explain why safety inspections hadn’t been conducted in such a long time.
He said that, in September last year, an external expert had been asked to carry out a soundproofing analysis and had concluded that the bar complied with anti-noise rules, without making further remarks.
Flowers and candles are left near the “Le Constellation” bar after a deadly fire during a New Year’s Eve party in the upscale ski resort of Crans-Montana in Switzerland, Jan. 1, 2026.
Denis Balibouse / REUTERS
“We will … have an external office coming in to look at our 128 (public) establishments and have a full audit of all our establishments around … Crans Montana,” he said.
The severity of burns made it difficult to identify some victims of the fire that broke out at about 1:30 a.m. on New Year’s Day, requiring families to supply authorities with DNA samples.
CRANS-MONTANA, Switzerland, Jan 5 (Reuters) – Pressure was building for answers on Monday from the investigation into a New Year bar fire in a Swiss ski resort that killed 40 people, after authorities said they had now identified all the victims, most of whom were teenagers.
The Alpine getaway of Crans-Montana in the canton of Valais united in mourning on Sunday with condolences coming in from leaders ranging from Pope Leo to Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Prosecutors said the fire that spread rapidly in the early hours of January 1 was likely caused by sparkling candles igniting the ceiling of the bar’s basement.
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 a flight risk.
On Monday morning, Swiss newspaper Blick said anger over the case was growing.
“Why are the couple running the bar free?” the paper said on its front page, pasted over a photo of mourners and media gathered around the huge pile of flowers left in front of the “Le Constellation” bar.
The youngest victims of the blaze, which also injured well over 100 people, were only 14 years old, and the dead were from all around Europe, including several from France and Italy. Swiss authorities have not named the victims.
Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini said in a social media post that “in civilized Switzerland, the prison gates will have to open for quite a few people”.
Salvini said there had been a failure to ensure the bar’s basement was safe, questioning the emergency systems and whether there had been enough inspections.
Aika Chappaz, a local resident who took part in a silent procession through the town on Sunday, said justice must be done for the sake of future generations.
“It’s crucial that such a tragedy never happens again. And the investigation must be thorough, because it’s so unbelievable,” she said.
Tages-Anzeiger, another leading Swiss newspaper, said questions must be answered about the age checks at the bar, the soundproofing material used in the basement and the standards governing use of the so-called fountain candles.
One of the bar’s two operators, Jacques Moretti, told Swiss media that Le Constellation had been checked three times in 10 years and that everything was done according to the rules.
Valais authorities say investigators were checking if the bar had undergone its annual building inspections, but that the town had not raised concerns or reported defects to the canton.
(Reporting by Dave Graham and Cecile Mantovani; Editing by Alex Richardson)
CRANS-MONTANA, Switzerland, Jan 4 (Reuters) – Hundreds of people silently filed through the frosty streets of the Swiss ski resort of Crans-Montana on Sunday to remember victims of a New Year bar fire that killed at least 40 people and injured more than a hundred others.
Following a packed church mass that spilled outdoors, the crowd slowly walked towards an impromptu shrine to the victims next to the “Le Constellation” bar that went up in flames in the early hours of January 1.
“It’s to be together with the people who are suffering, who have lost somebody in the family, children or friends,” said 76-year-old Charlotte Schumacher, a participant in the procession. “I know people who have lost their grandchildren.”
Teenagers as young as 14 or 15 years old were among the dead, and the severity of the burns suffered by the victims has made the process of identifying them difficult.
Attendees of the interconfessional church service hugged and shook hands as the prosperous Alpine town sought to pull together to process the trauma of one of the deadliest tragedies to strike modern Switzerland.
Prosecutors said the fire was likely caused by sparkling candles igniting the ceiling of its basement. Swiss authorities have put the two people who ran the bar under investigation on suspicion of crimes including homicide by negligence.
The injured and missing came from all corners of Europe and as far afield as Australia, underlining the international appeal of the picturesque resort with panoramic views of the Alps.
But most of the tally were Swiss. The toll might have been worse if emergency services had not acted so quickly, residents said.
“Within minutes you had ambulances; within minutes you had the police that did their job and they did it unbelievably well,” said Max Haus, a local business owner who witnessed the harrowing aftermath of the blaze.
As Sunday’s sombre procession reached its conclusion, applause began rippling from one end to the other as dozens of police and emergency services workers, some of them in tears, came up through the middle to be celebrated as heroes.
“It’s unimaginable what they did, what they have seen,” Bruno Huggler, the director of tourism for Crans-Montana, said of the rescue workers. “And now it’s very important to take care of them.”
(Reporting by Dave GrahamEditing by Christina Fincher)
By Sunday morning, Swiss authorities had identified 24 out of the 40 fatalities, 16 more than they had previously. The dead include 18 Swiss citizens aged 14 to 31 years, two Italians 16 years old, one dual citizen of Italy and the United Arab Emirates also 16 years old, an 18-year-old Romanian, a 39-year-old French and a Turkish citizen, 18.
In addition to the 40 who died, 119 were injured in the blaze that broke out around 1:30 a.m. on Thursday at Le Constellation bar. Police have said many of the victims were in their teens to mid-20s.
Gray-haired parents, teenagers and members of the police were seen comforting one another during the service, which took place at the Chapelle Saint-Christophe in Crans-Montana. Mass was followed by a silent march to the site of the tragedy.
People walk during a memorial procession in Crans-Montana, Swiss Alps, Switzerland, on Jan. 4, 2026, after a devastating fire in Le Constellation bar left many dead and injured during New Year’s celebrations.
Antonio Calanni / AP
In the crowded pews, a grieving woman listened intently, her hands clasped tightly and sometimes clasping rosary beads, as speakers delivered readings in German, French and Italian. Despite freezing weather, several hundred followed the Mass on the screen installed outside the church.
The Rev. Gilles Cavin spoke of the “terrible uncertainty” for families unsure if their loved ones are among the dead or still alive, among the injured. “We pray for their friends hard hit by misery on this day that was meant to be one of festivities and friendship,” he said.
One of the victims was 16-year old Arthur Brodard, whose mother had been frantically searching for him.
“Our Arthur has now left to party in paradise,” a visibly shaken Laetitia Brodard said in a Facebook story posted on Saturday night, speaking to camera. “We can start our mourning, knowing that he is in peace and in the light.”
Brodard’s frenzied search for her son reflected the desperation of families of the young people disappeared during the fire, who didn’t know whether their loved ones were dead or in the hospital.
People mourn on Jan. 4, 2026 at a makeshift memorial outside the “Le Constellation” bar after a deadly fire and explosion during a New Year’s Eve party in the upscale ski resort of Crans-Montana in southwestern Switzerland.
Umit Bektas / REUTERS
Swiss authorities said the process of identifying victims was particularly hard because of the advanced degree of the burns, requiring the use of DNA samples. Brodard also had given her DNA sample to help in the identification process.
In her Facebook post, Brodard thanked those who “testified their compassion, their love” and to those who shared information as she anxiously searched and waited for news of her son.
Other parents and siblings are still waiting in anguish.
The two are suspected of involuntary homicide, involuntary bodily harm and involuntarily causing a fire, the Valais region’s chief prosecutor, Beatrice Pilloud, told reporters Saturday. The announcement of the investigation didn’t name the managers.
Authorities planned to look into whether sound-dampening material on the ceiling conformed with regulations and whether the candles were permitted for use in the bar. Officials said they also would look at other safety measures on the premises, including fire extinguishers and escape routes.
Swiss President Guy Parmelin announced a national day of mourning for the victims on Jan. 9.
France’s Health Minister Stéphanie Rist said 17 patients have received care in France, out of a total of 35 transferred from Switzerland to five European countries. Other patients were planned to be transferred to Germany, Italy and Belgium.
ZURICH, Jan 4 (Reuters) – The bodies of four more people who died in the fire that killed 40 people at a bar in Switzerland on New Year’s Eve have been identified, cantonal police said.
Two Swiss women aged 24 and 22 along with two Swiss men aged 21 and 18 have been identified and their bodies have been returned to their families, Valais police said. No further information was given.
The news takes the number of identified bodies following the blaze in the ski resort of Crans-Montana to eight, after the identification of four other bodies on Saturday.
Officials are still trying to identify many of those killed in the fire at the Le Constellation bar, which has become one of Switzerland’s worst tragedies.
Some 119 people suffered injuries, including severe burns, with many transferred to burn units in hospitals around Europe. Work on identifying the dead and the injured are continuing, the police said.
Two people who ran the bar are under criminal investigation on suspicion of offences including homicide by negligence, prosecutors said on Saturday.
(Reporting by John Revill; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
Swiss authorities have opened a criminal investigation into the managers of the bar where a fire at a New Year’s Eve party left 40 people dead and more than 100 injured, authorities said Saturday.
The two are suspected of involuntary homicide, involuntary bodily harm and involuntarily causing a fire, the Valais region’s chief prosecutor, Beatrice Pilloud, told reporters. She said the investigation was opened on Friday night and that it would help “explore all the leads.” The announcement of the investigation did not name the managers.
Investigators said Friday that the deadly fire was caused by sparklers on Champagne bottles, which ignited the ceiling of the crowded bar around 1:30 a.m. Authorities planned to look into whether sound-dampening material on the ceiling conformed with regulations and whether the candles were permitted for use in the bar.
Officials said they also would look at other safety measures on the premises, including fire extinguishers and escape routes. Videos shared on social media showed people screaming as dozens raced to escape through narrow exits. Parisian tourist Axel Clavier, 16, told the Associated Press on Thursday that he forced a window open with a table. Another witness told the British newspaper The Daily Mail that bar patrons used chairs to break windows as the flames swirled.
“It was a real flame coming out. It was coming out and … in fact, people were running through these flames,” he said.
The Valais region’s top security official, Stéphane Ganzer, told SRF public radio Saturday that “such a huge accident with a fire in Switzerland means that something didn’t work — maybe the material, maybe the organization on the spot.” He added: “Something didn’t work and someone made a mistake, I am sure of that.”
A flower with a note is laid after a fire broke out overnight at Le Constellation bar on Jan. 1, 2026, in Crans-Montana, Switzerland.
Harold Cunningham/Getty
Nicolas Féraud, who heads the Crans-Montana municipality, told RTS radio he was “convinced” checks on the bar hadn’t been lax, the broadcaster reported.
Asked whether the tragedy could have been avoided, Swiss Justice Minister Beat Jans replied that officials could not yet answer and “we know that the world needs an answer on this question.”
An “unbearable” wait for answers
The process of identifying the dead and injured continued on Saturday, leading to an agonizing wait for relatives. Many of the bar’s patrons were in their teens to mid-20s.
The severity of burns has made it difficult to identify the dead and injured, requiring families to supply authorities with DNA samples. In some cases, wallets and any identification documents inside were turned to ash.
On Saturday, regional police said the bodies of four victims — a boy and a girl, both 16, an 18-year-old man and a 21-year-old woman, all of them Swiss — had been identified and handed over to their families.
Several injured people still haven’t been identified.
Laetitia Brodard, whose 16-year-old son, Arthur, went to Le Constellation to celebrate the New Year, held out hope that he might be one of them.
“I’m looking everywhere. The body of my son is somewhere,” Brodard told reporters Friday evening. “I want to know where my child is and be by his side. Wherever that may be, be it in the intensive care unit or the morgue.”
Mourners gather to leave flowers and candles at the scene after a fire broke out overnight at Le Constellation bar on Jan. 1, 2026 in Crans-Montana, Switzerland.
Harold Cunningham / Getty Images
On Saturday, she told French broadcaster BFM TV that “we, parents, are starting to get tired … and anger is starting to rise.”
“It’s a wait that destroys people’s stability,” said Elvira Venturella, an Italian psychologist working with the families. “And the more time passes, the more difficult it becomes to accept the uncertainty, not having information.”
Swiss officials said Friday that 119 people were injured and 113 had been formally identified.
On Saturday, Italy’s ambassador to Switzerland, Gian Lorenzo Cornado, told reporters he had just been briefed by local authorities that the number of injured stood at 121, with five not yet identified. He said 14 Italians were being treated in hospitals. Swiss police have said the injured included more than 70 Swiss nationals and over 10 each from France and Italy, along with citizens of Serbia, Bosnia, Luxembourg, Belgium, Portugal and Poland.
Cornado acknowledged “a lot of stress,” but said it was right for authorities to share information only when it is “accurate and 100% sure.”
Ganzer, visiting the site along with Jans, called the families’ wait “unbearable,” and said officials’ top priority was providing them the “legitimate answers they are waiting for.”
Mourners and well-wishers bearing flowers flowed to makeshift memorials outside Le Constellation, some consoling one another with hugs as they shed tears. “RIP you are all our children” one handwritten note said.
VIENNA, Jan 3 (Reuters) – Swiss prosecutors said on Saturday they have placed under criminal investigation the two managers of a bar where a blaze on New Year’s Day killed at least 40 people.
The offences they are suspected of having committed are homicide by negligence, causing bodily harm by negligence and arson by negligence, the prosecutors’ office in the canton of Valais said in a statement.
(Reporting by Francois Murphy; editing by Jason Neely)
