Some 72% of non-vaccinated people in Switzerland are holding out due to fears about mRNA technology, while 31% are “fundamentally” against the Covid-19 vaccination, according to a survey. The representative survey by research group Sotomo, repor...

Several thousand people gathered in Winterthur (northern Switzerland) on Saturday in opposition to the current measures to tackle the spread of the coronavirus. Several groups backed the demonstration, including the so-called “Freiheitstrychler”...

Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis on Saturday inaugurated an 11,000 square metre fresco by Franco-Swiss artist Saype at the United Nations in New York. The artwork, “World in Progress II”, symbolises the desire to strengthen international so...

Thousands marched in Bern on Saturday against a proposed reforms of the Swiss old-age pension scheme, notably the plan to raise the retirement age for women from 64 to 65. The demonstration, which was authorised by Bern authorities, was attended by ...

After more details of a blackmail case involving Interior Minister Alain Berset were revealed in the press this week, a special prosecutor is to investigate whether official documents were leaked. On Thursday, Weltwoche magazine published new detail...

A former Swiss government official has been sentenced to four years and four months in prison in connection with one of the biggest corruption scandals to have hit the public sector in Switzerland. The former head of department at the State Secretar...

The government plans to present a new revision of the CO2 law before the end of the year which is unlikely to contain any new taxes to fight climate change. In June, 51% of voters rejected an earlier revised CO2 law. On Friday the Federal Council (e...

The government says it is seeking to implement transitional measures to make up for European research funding shortfalls that have arisen after relations soured with the European Union. Researchers in Swiss institutions have been facing uncertainty ...

People who catch Covid-19 should get vaccinated three months after recovering and not six months, says the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH). This new recommendation has been made due to the spread of the more contagious Delta variant, explaine...

Police used a water cannon, rubber bullets and irritant spray to break up an illegal demonstration against coronavirus measures that turned violent in the Swiss capital Bern on Thursday night. “After several warnings from police, participants push...

The Swiss medicines regulator is reviewing requests from vaccine producers Pfizer/Biontech and Moderna to use their product for third booster jabs. Swissmedic said on Thursday that both vaccine makers had submitted their proposals and supporting dat...

The World Economic Forum (WEF) has announced it will resume its flagship annual meeting in its traditional Davos venue in 2022. The meeting of the world’s most powerful politicians, business figures and representatives of civil society, culture an...

Video streaming platforms, such as Netflix, Amazon Prime and Disney+, may in future be obliged to donate 4% of their profits towards supporting the Swiss film industry. On Thursday, both chambers of the Swiss parliament agreed on the amount to be su...

Two of the most successful Swiss company listings of recent times have taken place in the space of a week, raising hundreds of millions of dollars from stock market investors in New York. Sports shoe manufacturer On Group, which is backed by Swiss t...

Campaigners seeking a ban on Swiss arms exports have withdrawn their initiative that aimed to stop weapons exports to countries in conflict. The broad alliance of political parties and non-governmental groups behind the proposal says it is pleased t...

Various disabled organisations in Switzerland have come together to launch a people’s initiative demanding greater political participation and inclusion of people with disabilities. The groups, which included the Swiss Federation of Deaf People an...

Parliament has agreed to allow the authorities to use electronic data from mobile phones, tablets, computers and USB sticks to establish the identity of asylum seekers in Switzerland. On Wednesday, the Senate followed the House of Representatives, d...

The price of a new car or electrical appliance imported into Switzerland looks set to drop following parliament’s decision to remove import duties on certain industrial goods. On Wednesday, the House of Representatives followed an earlier Senate d...

Women may have to wait more than 50 years to get equal access to top management posts, according to a Swiss university report. The Gender Intelligence Report from the University of St Gallen found that 17% of top management posts are held by women a...

The assisted suicide organisation EXIT has dropped a proposal to restrict its services to people living in Switzerland. Members were told of the u-turn at the organisation’s general annual assembly on Tuesday, reports Swiss public broadcaster SRF....

The Swiss parliament has voted for the creation of a national human rights institution to monitor the application of human rights domestically. The Swiss Centre of Expertise in Human Rights will now be upgraded from a temporary pilot project, set up...

Swiss government experts are recommending that pregnant women get the Covid jab from the second trimester onwards. This is in line with advice issued in other countries. Previously, pregnant women were allowed to receive the vaccination, but were re...

Switzerland’s largest city, Zurich, will next year allow people to buy cannabis products from pharmacies and social clubs under controlled conditions. The three-and-a-half year pilot scheme, announced on Tuesday, takes advantage of a change in the...

Switzerland has launched a video campaign on social media aimed at encouraging children, youths and young adults to get vaccinated against Covid-19. Nearly 53% of the entire Swiss population is fully vaccinated at present with another 7% having rece...

There have been no measles cases in Switzerland so far this year – thanks in part to the hygiene and distancing measures in place to fight the Covid pandemic, health officials say. According to the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH), there wer...

Switzerland is supporting the creation of a new research centre in south-east Europe to advance tumour therapy and biomedical research. On Monday Switzerland hosted a high-level conference in the Swiss capital Bern for ten countries from south-easte...

The global community is slipping in its efforts to tackle money laundering and terrorist finance, a Swiss corruption watchdog warned on Monday. The Basel Institute on Governance said the global risk score increased from 5.22 to 5.3 out of 10 (highes...

Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis has called on the international community to deliver rapid, decisive, and well-coordinated humanitarian aid to Afghanistan. Cassis gave the opening remarks at Monday’s United Nations donor conference for the...

An online petition demanding that Covid tests remain free in Switzerland has amassed significant support in four days. By Monday, it had collected over 200,000 signatures. Assuming no duplicate or fake entries, that represents 2.3% in a population of...

The 2021 top science prizes are going to a psychologist for his contribution to Internet-based therapy and to a cancer researcher for his discoveries about tumor cells. Psychologist Thomas Berger of the University of Bern will receive this year’s ...