Around 500 people have protested in front of a Swiss appeals court that last month reduced the prison sentence of a rapist. The judge argued that the rape lasted only 11 minutes and that the victim had been “playing with fire” and had not been se...

A Swiss man has been kidnapped in southwestern Nigeria. Gunmen opened fire on his police escort, police said on Sunday. The Swiss was abducted on Saturday with a Nigerian citizen on a road linking the towns of Ibese and Itori in Ogun State, a spokes...

The alleged murderer of a 57-year-old Swiss woman found dead on the Thai island of Phuket has confessed to the crime. He has been charged with murder and robbery resulting in death. The 27-year-old Thai told a press conference, which he attended by ...

If the Covid-19 pandemic develops favourably in Switzerland, Health Minister Alain Berset has mentioned the possibility of relaxing restrictions soon. However, the government’s main aim is to avoid another lockdown. “If things go well, further r...

A criminal investigation of alleged wrongdoing by staff at European football’s governing body UEFA led to police raids at the organisation’s headquarters in Switzerland. Two people were arrested in April and detained until this week, canton Vaud...

US President Joe Biden has nominated LGBTQ rights activist and philanthropist Scott Miller to serve as his administration’s envoy to Switzerland and Liechtenstein. Miller, a former account vice president at UBS Wealth Management in Denver, and his...

Switzerland has responded to a call for international firefighting assistance from Greece, which has been hit by major wildfires. The blazes have been threatening populated areas, electricity installations and historic sites. Thousands of people hav...

Switzerland has pledged medical aid worth CHF5 million ($5.5 million) to Vietnam, which is battling a severe coronavirus outbreak. The delivery of Swiss humanitarian aid will include 13 tons of medical material, including respirators, as well as ant...

Around 1,500 people gathered in the Swiss capital Bern on Friday to protest the Swiss National Bank’s investments in fossil fuels. The demonstration was the culmination of a week of action by Rise Up for Change, a group bringing together activist ...

Environment Minister Simonetta Sommaruga and John Kerry, the US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, have called for a rapid phase-out of coal energy and ambitious efforts by the G20 countries to reduce climate-damaging emissions. In a virtual ex...

Thai authorities are looking into the death of a 57-year-old Swiss tourist after her body was found near a waterfall on the resort island of Phuket, with signs she had died of unnatural causes, officials said on Friday. The woman was visiting under ...

Geneva will be the first Swiss canton to require workers in the health and social care sector to have a valid Covid-19 certificate or undertake regular testing. The decision was made by local authorities on Thursday and goes into effect from August ...

Swiss International Air Lines (SWISS) has reported an operating loss of CHF398 million ($440 million) for the first six months of the year. The global coronavirus pandemic, which had devastating effects on air transport, continues to hurt the compan...

Bruised by the pandemic, the Swiss film industry is making a comeback at the annual Locarno Film Festival. But hurdles remain in terms of achieving gender equality and commercial success. The findings were unveiled on Thursday at the festival by In...

Pressure is growing on the Swiss government to halt deportations of rejected asylum seekers to Afghanistan. The State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) confirmed that the Afghan government had requested a three-month suspension of forced repatriations...

The former president of the Swiss Protestant Church, who stepped down in May 2020, has been found by a church inquiry to have had an abusive relation to a colleague during his mandate. Gottfried Locher violated the sexual, spiritual, and psychologic...

The Swiss foreign minister, Ignazio Cassis, has signed an agreement to extend development cooperation with Laos. The accord includes closer cooperation on employment, vocational education and training, as well as agriculture and food security, accor...

The Swiss justice authorities have indicted a Muslim preacher accused of racial discrimination and welfare fraud. Abu Ramadan will have to stand trial in a district court, the Bern cantonal prosecutor’s office said on Wednesday. The controversia...

Switzerland’s former chief negotiator with the European Union has presented his vision of how relations with Brussels can be reformulated, two months after talks on a framework agreement were ditched. Michael Ambühl, who led Swiss negotiations wi...

One year after a devastating explosion in Beirut, the humanitarian charity Swiss Solidarity has given CHF6 million ($6.6 million) to relief projects. In total, the organisation received CHF7.6 million in donations. On August 4, 2020, ammonium nitrat...

With inoculation rates slowing, Swiss health officials have launched a campaign asking non-vaccinated travellers to get tested after returning from their summer trips. “Even if you don’t have symptoms, get tested after the holidays”: this is t...

A majority (70%) of Swiss believe it’s important to avoid emissions in their everyday lives, although fewer are likely to back up their views with action, according to a survey. There were no significant differences between women and men, but the ...

While the Swiss government wants to make amends with the EU by releasing the so-called “cohesion billions” as soon as possible, the Senate is in no hurry. The cohesion contribution, a CHF1.2 billion ($1.3 billion) payment to be made to the Europ...

Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis concluded on Monday a two-day visit to Thailand. High-level talks focused on boosting bilateral cooperation and the possibility of a free trade agreement. Both nations have expressed interest in starting negotia...

A Swiss-Bulgarian journalist denied information about his inclusion on the Schengen Information System (SIS) has been partially vindicated by a Federal Court decision. According to the decision published on Monday, the journalist’s query over his ...

Some 200 climate activists blocked the entrances to major UBS and Credit Suisse branches in central Zurich on Monday morning, protesting the banks' investments in fossil fuel projects. The activists occupied the front of the Credit Suisse headquarte...

A former Swiss government official is facing trial in connection with one of the biggest corruption scandals to have hit the public sector in recent years. The trial of the former civil servant accused of corruption in the purchase of computer equi...

The Swiss government hopes to meet part of its climate goals by burying CO2 in Iceland, according to a report on Monday by Swiss public broadcaster RTS. A driver of climate change, CO2 is the primary greenhouse gas emitted through human activities. ...

Guy Parmelin is against coercing Swiss residents to get vaccinated against Covid-19 but warns they will face restrictions and costs. In an interview with the NZZ am Sonntag paper published on Sunday, Parmelin said that he respected the decision of ...

A demonstration against the restrictions linked to the coronavirus saw almost 5,000 people gather in central Swiss city of Lucerne. A counter-demonstration also took place. On Saturday, critics of the government’s coronavirus policy marched throug...