Switzerland will be ringing in the New Year quietly and intimately. Measures taken to contain the Covid pandemic mean official celebrations and fireworks have been cancelled and gatherings in normally popular places are banned. In Basel, neither the...

The Swiss government has instructed the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) to examine and approve the suspended export applications for encryption devices and modules in connection with the Crypto spying affair, provided the relevant requi...

The Federal Council photo for 2021 shows the seven cabinet members and the Federal Chancellor as a unit. The parliament building in Bern can be seen in the background. “It is important to me that in these difficult times we take a new look at seem...

Luigi Snozzi, considered the leader of the so-called new Ticino school of architecture, has died aged 88 in Minusio, southern Switzerland. Snozzi died on Tuesday at the Casa Rea old people’s home in Minusio, according to Swiss public radio, RSI. T...

Swiss cantons are still trying to identify tourists from the UK and South Africa who are staying in their resorts or who fled to escape Covid quarantine. Canton Valais, home to many popular ski resorts such as Verbier and Zermatt, is struggling. At ...

The government says the epidemiological situation in Switzerland remains worrying, but it believes the measures taken on December 18 are appropriate and do not need to be tightened. In a statement on Wednesday it said would continue to monitor devel...

The Swiss Air Force will be on standby 24/7 from Thursday, when two F/A-18 fighter jets will be ready to take off, fully armed, within 15 minutes. The pilots spent nearly a month practising night-time aerial manoeuvres in Britain. Calls for greater ...

The Swiss government’s Covid-19 scientific taskforce has called for an immediate reduction in the “sad” number of cases and for widespread testing of the population. “With 80 deaths a day, we rank seventh in the world. It is essential to get...

Digitalisation is increasing pressure on state authorities, with almost three-quarters of Swiss expecting more digital services from the authorities, according to a survey by consultants Deloitte. Whether it’s paying parking fines or obtaining mot...

In one of the biggest fraud cases in recent US economic history, Switzerland is handing over around $200 million (CHF178 million) to the United States. The money is to be returned to the injured parties, the Federal Office of Justice (FOJ) said in a...

Hundreds of “furious” tourists from the UK have absconded from obligatory quarantine in the Swiss resort of Verbier. They face fines of up to CHF10,000 ($11,280). “Hoteliers noticed that breakfast trays placed outside room doors had not been t...

Incoming Swiss president Guy Parmelin has in principle welcomed the deal reached between the European Union (EU) and the United Kingdom. In Switzerland, attention will now turn to the country’s own negotiations on a framework agreement with Brussel...

Several Swiss scientists have also signed the appeal calling for better European coordination to avoid pandemic efforts by some countries being undermined by others. To prevent “a ping-pong effect of importing and reimporting” Covid cases, an ef...

The first cases of patients with the new strain of coronavirus have been confirmed in Switzerland. According to the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH), the novel Covid-19 variant VOC-202012/01 has been identified in three samples. Two patients ...

In an interview with Swiss public television, SRF, Health Minister Alain Berset has acknowledged that Switzerland made mistakes in managing the coronavirus outbreak. “We were too lax,” Berset said, pointing out that in the summer – after the f...

A day after Britain and the European Union announced a narrow trade deal, Swiss media remain sceptical about its impact. The accord will preserve Britain's zero-tariff and zero-quota access to the bloc's single market of 450 million consumers but wi...

Switzerland Tourism wants to help winter sports enthusiasts and other visitors with a nationwide overview of cantonal regulations. “Guests are confused. The lack of clarity is a major hurdle for planning holidays and excursions,” the organisatio...

The Swiss Senior Citizens’ Council has appealed to all elderly citizens to get vaccinated, saying this would be an effective contribution to combating the pandemic and the associated health and economic crisis. The Seniors’ Council was very reli...

Two-thirds of mentally ill women and half of mentally ill men reported worsening symptoms during the first wave of Covid-19, according to a global study with the participation of the University of Zurich. The feeling of loss of control during the pa...

Switzerland and Italy have signed a new agreement on the taxation of cross-border commuters and a protocol amending the double taxation agreement. The agreement settles a legal issue that had been unresolved for several years, said Foreign Minister I...

Residents of Britain or South Africa currently in Switzerland will be able to return home from Thursday, subject to conditions. Flights between the countries were stopped on Sunday after reports of a fast-spreading new coronavirus strain. The same g...

The first person in Switzerland, a 90-year-old woman, has been vaccinated against Covid-19. The landmark jab marks the start of a vaccination programme that will be rolled out across the country in the coming weeks. The Pfizer/BioNTech mRNA vaccine ...

Switzerland’s Credit Suisse bank has been ordered to strengthen measures it uses to combat money-laundering offences in the United States. The bank has been given 90 days to present a credible plan to the US Federal Reserve and New York State Depa...

Some of the 10,000 British holidaymakers who travelled to Switzerland in the last week are almost certainly carrying the new Covid-19 variant, a government official said on Tuesday. Tanja Stadler, a member of the National Covid-19 Science Task Force...

Football’s world governing body, FIFA, has issued a lawsuit against Joseph “Sepp” Blatter alleging criminal mismanagement of funds. The complaint accuses the disgraced former president of wasting CHF500 million ($564 million) on a football muse...

The Swiss government has announced plans to relaunch limited trials of electronic voting 18 months after suspending such schemes due to security flaws. The aim is to offer online voting with clearer security requirements, increased transparency and ...

The Swiss authorities have concluded that Crypto AG did not violate any laws when applying for export licences for what turned out to be compromised encryption devices. The Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland (OAG) has dropped criminal p...

Switzerland’s 26 cantons are bringing forward their Covid vaccine campaigns following the approval of a first vaccine over the weekend. All seven members of the government are to get the jab, with 70-year-old Ueli Maurer first up. They thus hope t...

Switzerland has joined other European countries in suspending flights from the United Kingdom and South Africa after reports of a fast-spreading new coronavirus strain. “Due to the new epidemiological situation in Britain and South Africa, the Fed...

Even good drivers might struggle to fit their cars into the allotted parking spaces in Switzerland. Yet Swiss cities don’t necessarily want to provide larger spaces. The Swiss Association of Road and Traffic Experts has presented a proposal to inc...