The coronavirus pandemic is subsiding, Swiss government experts say. Pregnant women in the second trimester may now get vaccinated against the virus. All the important coronavirus indicators are going in the right direction, said Patrick Mathys, hea...

The outlook for the Swiss economy for the middle of 2021 can be regarded as “very positive”, provided that the containment of the virus continues to progress, the KOF Swiss Economic Institute says. The KOF Economic Barometer for May stands at 14...

The Swiss Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) has approved the establishment of a national genomic surveillance programme for new Covid-19 variants. The nationwide surveillance programme will help to monitor the evolution of the various variants...

Installing wind turbines and solar panels in Alpine regions is the most effective way for Switzerland to become carbon neutral and energy self-sufficient, a study has concluded. The “optimal scenario” suggests adding new capacity in a ratio of 7...

Swiss bank Julius Bär has agreed to pay $79.7 million (CHF71.5 million) in a settlement with the US Department of Justice after being implicated in a sprawling corruption probe surrounding FIFA, world football’s governing body. Julius Bär has en...

From Thursday evening, people entering Switzerland from the United Kingdom must fill out an electronic entry form, provide a negative coronavirus test and go into ten-day quarantine after arrival. The amended quarantine list was updated on Thursday....

More young men tend to be overweight than young women, according to a study of schoolchildren in Basel, Bern and Zurich. Some 14,000 children and teenagers were put on the scales during the 2019-2020 school year, with 17.1% of them recorded as overw...

Switzerland spent CHF22.9 billion ($25.5 billion) on research and development in 2019. At 3.15% of GDP, this is above the OECD average of 2.38%. Switzerland is currently ranked sixth in the 38-member OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and ...

The price of medical drugs in Switzerland remains higher than in other major European markets, especially for generic drugs, which are almost twice as expensive. Patented drugs also cost more. The reason for the increased price difference for patent...

The Swiss government has announced further steps to ease Covid-19 restrictions as the average number of new daily infections drops below 1,000 for the first time since October. Restaurants will be allowed to serve guests indoors as of next Monday an...

The Swiss foreign ministry says it has no knowledge of a bomb threat issued from Switzerland concerning a plane forced to land in Belarus on Sunday. “The Swiss authorities have no knowledge of a bomb threat on the Ryanair Athens-Vilnius flight,”...

A Swiss F-5 Tiger fighter jet has crashed in the Swiss Alps, but the pilot managed to escape unhurt. The defence ministry said the incident happened in an uninhabited area near the resort of Melchsee-Frutt in central Switzerland on Wednesday. The p...

United States President Joe Biden will meet his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on the neutral ground of Geneva next month in an attempt to patch up deteriorating relations between the two super-powers. “The leaders will discuss the full range ...

A working group led by the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) has called for better detection and support for potential victims of trafficking within the Swiss asylum system. “The discovery and recognition of potential victims of human traffick...

Valais, the southwestern canton home to industrial, pharmaceutical and watchmaking firms, has been named the least expensive place for families with children to live in Switzerland. Expat workers love Switzerland’s high wages and landscape but fre...

The Covid-19 pandemic cost Switzerland CHF11 billion ($12.3 billion) in short-time working payments last year, with around 20% of the money helping to prop up the hard-hit gastronomy sector. The figures were revealed by the State Secretariat for Eco...

A blind man has regained part of his sight after a new treatment genetically engineered his eye to produce light-sensitive algae proteins. The technique, known as optogenetics, was successfully trialled in France with input from the Institute of Mol...

The national security advisers of Russia and the United States held wide-ranging talks in Geneva on Monday in what both sides described as an important step in preparing for a possible summit between US President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladi...

Switzerland and the World Health Organization (WHO) have agreed to launch the first WHO BioHub Facility. This will enhance the rapid sharing of viruses and other pathogens between laboratories and partners globally. Under the agreement, signed at th...

“I still can’t really believe it!” Gjon Muharremaj said after landing at Zurich Airport on Sunday. The bronze medallist at this year’s Eurovision Song Contest is the first Swiss act to make the top three since Céline Dion won the event in 19...

The Swiss foreign ministry has joined the European Union and the United States in calling for the release of Roman Protasevich, an opposition-minded activist who was forced off a Ryanair flight between two EU countries on Sunday. Belarusian authorit...

The Swiss government is apparently set to abandon negotiations with the European Union about an umbrella accord regulating bilateral relations. Several Sunday newspapers quoted unnamed sources saying that none of the seven ministers saw any chance o...

A senior official of the South American football federation has been fined as part of a Swiss inquiry into money laundering. The office of the attorney general ordered Eduardo Deluca, a former secretary general of Conmebol, to pay a financial penalt...

New efforts are needed to convince elderly people in Switzerland to get vaccinated against Covid-19 according to a senior health expert. Christoph Berger, the president of the Federal Commission for Vaccinations, said up to 35% of the 60 to 80-year-...

Opponents of the Swiss governments’ anti-Covid policy have staged another street protest. About 5,000 people wearing white overalls marched silently in the town of Neuchâtel on Saturday, according to the Swiss news agency, Keystone-SDA. They acc...

The Swiss National Bank (SNB) can expand its balance sheet further if needed, says chairman of the board Thomas Jordan. “A big balance sheet is per se no problem. We can expand the balance sheet further, if monetary policy so requires,” he told ...

An estimated 30,000 people have participated in street protests across Switzerland to demand concrete steps to reduce global warming. Organisers said more than 100 events took place in cities and towns notably in German- and French-speaking regions ...

Switzerland is sending 30 tonnes of humanitarian supplies to Nepal, which is struggling to cope with a Covid-19 health crisis. “The consignment comprises 40 respirators provided free of charge by the Armed Forces Pharmacy, 10 oxygen concentrators ...

Switzerland has welcomed the conclusion of a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas. In a statement released on Friday late afternoon, the Swiss foreign ministry called on the parties to “seriously addr...

Nigeria will release a Swiss-flagged ship that has been detained for more than three years. An agreement to this effect was signed by the Nigerian justice minister and the Swiss ambassador to Nigeria, according to the Swiss foreign ministry. A corre...