Swiss Info
Mon, 9 Aug 2021 16:43:00 GMTSwiss man kidnapped by gunmen in Nigeria
A Swiss man has been kidnapped in southwestern Nigeria. Gunmen opened fire on his police escort. The Swiss foreign ministry on Monday confirmed reports about the abduction last week, also involving a Nigerian driver, on a road linking the towns of I...
Mon, 9 Aug 2021 15:46:00 GMTEx-Roche employee sentenced in multi-million fraud case
A Swiss fraudster and his French accomplice, who together cheated Swiss pharma giant Roche out of €8.35 million (CHF11.7 million), have been sentenced to prison. The Basel City criminal court on Monday handed down prison terms of 39 months and 51 ...
Mon, 9 Aug 2021 13:56:00 GMTSecond anti-Covid vaccine for Swiss teenagers approved
The Swiss medical regulator has extended an authorisation of Moderna’s anti-Covid-19 vaccine for adolescents aged 12-17. Swissmedic said it reviewed an application for the Moderna vaccine, Spikevax, based on an ongoing study with 3,732 children. ...
Mon, 9 Aug 2021 10:43:00 GMTUN climate report paints bleak picture for decades ahead
Extreme weather events are set to become more frequent in Switzerland as well as globally, say the Swiss scientists who contributed to the United Nation’s latest climate report, published on Monday. Switzerland runs the risk of experiencing more h...
Mon, 9 Aug 2021 10:30:00 GMTNew manager for Swiss national football team appointed
Murat Yakin has been named the new manager of Switzerland, replacing Vladimir Petkovic, who left after taking the team to the European Championship quarterfinals in July. The 46-year-old Yakin signed a contract until the end of World Cup qualificati...
Mon, 9 Aug 2021 08:51:00 GMTFormer special prosecutor in FIFA case criticises his dismissal
Special prosecutor Stefan Keller, who was removed from an investigation into FIFA president Gianni Infantino, has said various aspects of the Swiss justice system had an interest in seeing him “sidelined”. In May, Keller stepped aside from the i...
Sun, 8 Aug 2021 16:02:00 GMTSwiss protest against court ruling reducing rapist’s sentence
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...
Sun, 8 Aug 2021 10:53:00 GMTThai man admits to killing Swiss tourist on Phuket
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 ...
Sun, 8 Aug 2021 09:13:29 GMTHealth minister raises prospect of easing Covid restrictions ‘in a few weeks’
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...
Sat, 7 Aug 2021 15:15:07 GMTSwiss prosecutors investigate former staff at UEFA
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...
Sat, 7 Aug 2021 08:53:44 GMTBiden names Scott Miller as US ambassador to Switzerland
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...
Fri, 6 Aug 2021 15:08:00 GMTSwiss send helicopters and crew to help contain Greece wildfires
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...
Fri, 6 Aug 2021 13:42:00 GMTSwiss pledge coronavirus aid to Vietnam
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...
Fri, 6 Aug 2021 12:30:00 GMTClimate demonstrators target Swiss National Bank
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 ...
Fri, 6 Aug 2021 09:14:41 GMTSwiss and US stress need for ‘ambitious’ climate measures
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...
Fri, 6 Aug 2021 07:31:31 GMTThailand investigates death of Swiss woman on Phuket
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 ...
Thu, 5 Aug 2021 16:58:13 GMT Covid 19: Geneva demands vaccines or tests in health sector
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 ...
Thu, 5 Aug 2021 13:49:00 GMTSWISS continues to suffer from impact of pandemic
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...
Thu, 5 Aug 2021 12:22:10 GMTSwiss film industry faces multiple hurdles post-pandemic
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...
Thu, 5 Aug 2021 10:10:54 GMTSwiss asked to halt deportations to war-torn Afghanistan
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...
Wed, 4 Aug 2021 16:05:00 GMTInquiry confirms improper behaviour of former Protestant leader
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...
Wed, 4 Aug 2021 14:32:00 GMTSwitzerland and Laos boost development programme
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...
Wed, 4 Aug 2021 13:17:00 GMTControversial Muslim preacher to face trial
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...
Wed, 4 Aug 2021 09:36:00 GMTFormer top negotiator wants ‘proactive’ Swiss plan for EU
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...
Tue, 3 Aug 2021 16:17:00 GMTSwiss donated CHF7.6 million for victims of Beirut disaster
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...
Tue, 3 Aug 2021 14:45:00 GMTUnvaccinated holidaymakers urged to take a Covid test
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...
Tue, 3 Aug 2021 10:46:55 GMTSwiss think it’s vital that other people reduce CO2 emissions
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 ...
Tue, 3 Aug 2021 09:32:00 GMTSenators reluctant to rush the release of EU cohesion payments
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...
Mon, 2 Aug 2021 16:07:41 GMTSwitzerland and Thailand seek to boost business ties
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...
Mon, 2 Aug 2021 13:46:00 GMTJournalist wins appeal to clarify travel security alert
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 ...