Swiss Info
Fri, 2 Jul 2021 08:23:00 GMTUnder 40s name climate change as biggest worry
Young Swiss people are much more concerned about climate change than their peers in other countries, according to a survey by consultants Deloitte. Global warming was the largest worry for two out of five Millennials – those aged 27-38 years old. ...
Thu, 1 Jul 2021 18:45:00 GMTSwitzerland backs landmark OECD corporate tax agreement
Despite its reservations, Switzerland said Thursday it will go along with a global corporate minimum tax. Breakthrough negotiations yielded consensus on the issue at the Paris-based Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). A Th...
Thu, 1 Jul 2021 13:43:00 GMTWomen ‘severely underrepresented’ in Swiss media
Women make up less than a quarter of people appearing in Swiss print and online media articles, a figure which has hardly changed since 2015, according to a study. Apart from a short-lived small boost in 2019, most likely due to the women’s strike...
Thu, 1 Jul 2021 10:31:30 GMTMajority of Swiss support the legalisation of cannabis
Most Swiss accept the idea of legalising cannabis for recreational purposes provided there are rules to protect minors, according to a survey published on Thursday. Nearly two-thirds of people surveyed want the minimum age of consumption to be set a...
Thu, 1 Jul 2021 09:49:00 GMTSwiss media frets about fighter jet choice impact on EU ties
A day after the government’s decision to opt for US-made fighter jets, some papers praise the pragmatic and cost-effective choice. Others consider it a geopolitical mistake and a setback for Swiss-EU relations. On Wednesday, after months of specul...
Thu, 1 Jul 2021 09:16:00 GMTSwitzerland applies fresh sanctions on Myanmar
Switzerland has announced new sanctions against the Myanmar’s ruling junta in retaliation for the ongoing repression since it took power. Eight individuals were added to the list of those targeted, including the attorney general, four ministers and...
Wed, 30 Jun 2021 14:44:00 GMTSwiss donate Covid vaccines whilst preparing winter defences
The Swiss government has set out plans to contain the impact of a potential new wave of Covid-19 infections later this year. At the same time, it said it will donate four million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine to the Covax global distribution allia...
Wed, 30 Jun 2021 14:01:00 GMTSwiss government sets sights on F-35A fighter jet fleet
The Swiss government wants to upgrade the country’s air defence system by buying 36 F-35A fighter aircraft from United States manufacturer Lockheed Martin and five Patriot surface-to-air missile units from another US firm Raytheon. The Federal Cou...
Wed, 30 Jun 2021 11:30:00 GMTData ‘light’ Covid-19 certificate to launch in Switzerland
A new type of Covid-19 certificate will be available in Switzerland from next month that hides personal health data from prying eyes. The “light” certificate will be an electronic copy of the original Covid-19 document. It will prove that the or...
Wed, 30 Jun 2021 10:10:00 GMTSwiss prosecutor investigates Ecuador bribery scandal
The Swiss justice authorities have opened a criminal probe into a suspected kickback scheme in Ecuador involving commodity trading companies in Geneva. The proceedings are aimed at clarifying “whether in relation to this complex of facts any offen...
Wed, 30 Jun 2021 07:52:00 GMTSwiss finance minister upbeat about Covid debt reduction
Finance Minister Ueli Maurer has ruled out massive spending cuts to cope with the economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic in Switzerland. In an interview with the Neue Zürcher Zeitung newspaper, Maurer said it should be possible to reduce the debt...
Tue, 29 Jun 2021 15:21:00 GMTGender inequalities remain when balancing work and family life
“Dad full-time, mum part-time” is the employment model in Switzerland for 53% of families with children aged under 25. This is followed by “dad earns the bread, mum bakes it”, according to latest figures from the Federal Statistical Office. ...
Tue, 29 Jun 2021 13:37:00 GMTGerman stock exchange snaps up Swiss cryptocurrency firm
The operators of Germany's main stock exchange have paid more than CHF100 million ($108 million) for a majority stake in Swiss cryptocurrency service provider Crypto Finance. The move reflects a growing trend of traditional financial institutions ge...
Tue, 29 Jun 2021 12:50:00 GMTChallenge launched against stamp duty reform and media funding
Opponents of the planned partial abolition of a tax on financial transactions in Switzerland are seeking to challenge it to a nationwide vote. Left-wing parties including the Social Democrats and the Greens as well as trade unions on Tuesday launche...
Tue, 29 Jun 2021 10:08:21 GMTCEOs profit as workers suffer from pandemic, says union
While the Covid-19 pandemic has caused existential hardship for many employees, CEOs and shareholders have “shamelessly helped themselves”, according to a union study. “The pay gap remains wide open at a very high level,” trade union Unia wr...
Tue, 29 Jun 2021 08:29:00 GMTSwiss football team ‘sheds burden of history’
The Swiss national football team has reached the quarterfinals of a major tournament for the first time since 1954 with a dramatic victory against France. Switzerland beat the reigning world champions 5-4 on penalties after the two sides traded thre...
Mon, 28 Jun 2021 15:51:00 GMTIRS wants more client data from Swiss banks
The United States has extended its requests for Swiss banks to disclose full details of client accounts held by US citizens. Switzerland’s Federal Tax Administration on Monday published a list of 40 banks, fiduciary firms and insurance companies. ...
Mon, 28 Jun 2021 14:08:19 GMTFrench court rejects constitutional challenge by UBS in tax case
A French court has rejected a challenge filed by Swiss bank UBS linked to constitutional aspects of its French tax case. This confirms that judges will rule in September on the bank’s appeal against a €4.5 billion (CHF4.9 billion) fine. UBS is l...
Mon, 28 Jun 2021 13:12:00 GMTData shows dramatic impact of Covid on Swiss tourism
Official figures have confirmed the economic shock to Swiss tourism caused by the Covid-19 pandemic last year. Revenue from international tourism fell by almost 48% to CHF9.4 billion ($10.3 billion), reaching the same level seen in the early 1990s, ...
Mon, 28 Jun 2021 10:14:00 GMTViolent crime increases among teenagers
Convictions for drug abuse among minors dropped last year in Switzerland, but young people committed more violent crimes, according to official statistics. The authorities recorded a 23% increase in violent crimes. The 7,944 verdicts included assaul...
Mon, 28 Jun 2021 08:21:46 GMTUBS boss says Switzerland is falling behind on structural change
Swiss banks have some catching up to do when it comes to structural change and digitalisation, says Ralph Hamers, CEO of Swiss bank UBS. In his opinion structural change has taken place much faster in other countries and industries than in Switzerlan...
Sun, 27 Jun 2021 14:41:39 GMTMore intense weather events strain rescue teams
Swiss volunteer fire brigades are finding it difficult to cope with the rise in extreme weather events in the country. On Sunday, news agency Keystone-SDA reported that at least 200 army personnel were being deployed to the village of Cressier in ...
Sun, 27 Jun 2021 12:53:47 GMTAirbus launches counter-offensive on fighter jet contract
Ahead of the Swiss government’s decision on a major fighter jet contract, Airbus has made an appeal to the Swiss government to choose a European firm after leaked information from the government revealed US firm Lockheed Martin was out ahead of com...
Sun, 27 Jun 2021 10:15:21 GMTSwiss target 80% vaccination rate amid Delta variant concerns
Switzerland plans to boost its Covid-19 vaccination campaign over the summer with the aim to reach 80% of the population according to the Sunday papers. This comes amid growing concerns about the more contagious Delta coronavirus variant. To date, a...
Sat, 26 Jun 2021 15:47:50 GMTFederer to wait until after Wimbledon to decide on Tokyo Olympics
Swiss tennis star Roger Federer plans to reassess whether he will compete at the Tokyo Olympics after Wimbledon, which begins on Monday. During a press conference on Saturday, Federer told reporters that he wanted to wait and see how the tournamen...
Sat, 26 Jun 2021 13:05:17 GMTVaccination may protect against severe Covid-19 for 3 years
Swiss immunology experts estimate mRNA vaccination could provide more than two times the length of protection against severe Covid-19 infection than natural infection. In a policy brief published on Friday, the Swiss National Covid Science Task Forc...
Sat, 26 Jun 2021 10:32:46 GMTSwiss president: ‘Door not closed’ on Horizon Europe research
In an interview in the Schweiz am Wochenende newspaper, Guy Parmelin, who holds the rotating Swiss presidency, said that it would be “very unfortunate” but not surprising if Switzerland were classified as a third country in Europe’s flagship Ho...
Fri, 25 Jun 2021 14:31:00 GMTFederal Court rejects foreign sex workers’ access to Covid funds
The Swiss Federal Court has rejected foreign sex workers’ access to compensation for lost pay due to the coronavirus pandemic. Switzerland’s highest court said on Friday that temporary workers were barred from short-time work payouts because of ...
Fri, 25 Jun 2021 13:02:00 GMTCourses should be ‘more accessible’ for visually impaired
The blind and visually impaired should have better access to regular education and training courses, campaigners have argued. “Professional integration is a book with seven seals. One of the seven seals concerns education,” Daniela Moser from th...
Fri, 25 Jun 2021 12:31:00 GMTSwiss clarify Horizon Europe status
Researchers in Switzerland can participate in calls for project proposals under Horizon Europe, despite the country not being officially associated to the European research-funding programme, Swiss officials say. But there will be limitations. Switz...