The Chinese authorities have deleted a message on the Chinese social network Weibo that referred to disappearance of Tang Jitian. The Swiss representation in China had asked for the immediate disclosure of the whereabouts of the human rights lawyer ...

A Swiss court has ruled that the state-owned PostFinance bank should not have refused an account to the Russian oligarch Viktor Vekselberg, who reportedly lives in Switzerland and faces US sanctions. The Swiss Federal Court has ruled that PostFinanc...

Swiss police have arrested a 35-year-old Belgian man wanted for a serious crimes, including hostage-taking, armed robbery and drug trafficking. Zurich cantonal police said on Thursday that the suspect, described as “one of the most wanted criminal...

While most business groups, political parties, and interest groups are pleased about the lifting of Covid restrictions in Switzerland, some are wary about opening up too fast. After the government announced yesterday the end of almost all protective...

Switzerland is planning new hydropower reserves and three back-up power stations to prepare for any potential energy crunch in the coming years. The Swiss government wants to strengthen the supply of future energy and the national power network as i...

Ignazio Cassis, who holds the rotating Swiss presidency this year, has tested positive for Covid the day national coronavirus restrictions were lifted in Switzerland, the government confirmed on Thursday. Cassis, who is also foreign minister, tested...

The Swiss government has moved to initiate talks with the European Union (EU) about participating in the multi-billion-euro Copernicus Earth observation programme. The EU and the European Space Agency (ESA) launched Copernicus in 1998 with the goal ...

Three Swiss films have been awarded special prizes at the 72nd Berlinale film festival in the German capital. Filmmaker Michael Koch from Lucerne won a special mention on Wednesday in the “International” jury category for his film Drii Winter (A...

Switzerland’s budget faced a shortfall of CHF12.2 billion ($13.2 billion) in 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the government announced on Wednesday. This follows a CHF14.2 billion deficit in 2020. The 2021 deficit is twice as high as the budgete...

The Swiss foreign ministry says it has “no definite information” on the whereabouts of two terror suspects who had been detained in northern Syria. The two jihadists – originally from Geneva and Lausanne – have been missing since a rescue at...

Financial institutions, including Swiss banks, are channelling billions of dollars into the coal industry despite net-zero climate targets. Since 2019, Swiss banks have lent or helped raise $19.8 billion (CHF18.3 billion) for companies involved in t...

The number of asylum requests in Switzerland rose by 35% in 2021 compared with the previous year – a return to the pre-Covid level. Last year 14,928 people applied for asylum in the Alpine nation, 3,887 more than in 2020. The number of application...

Left-wing politicians and trade unions have gathered double the amount of signatures needed to challenge an ongoing pension reform plan to a referendum. Over 100,000 signatures against a reform agreed in parliament last December were gathered in jus...

The state visit of Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer was held amid tight security in Switzerland following concerns of disruption by opponents of coronavirus restrictions. Nehammer chose Switzerland as the venue of his first official trip since beco...

American biotechnology company Novavax has applied for permission to supply its Covid-19 vaccine Nuvaxovid to Switzerland. If approved by the medicines regulator Swissmedic, it would be the first protein-based vaccine to be made available in the cou...

The Swiss embassy in Kyiv will remain open despite threats of a Russian invasion of Ukraine, but relatives of embassy staff have been told to return home. The latest Ukraine travel advice, issued on Monday, also advises against tourist and non-urgen...

Voters have thrown out a plan to abolish stamp duty on equity capital for Swiss companies, dealing a blow to the government and parliament. Final results show 62.7% of voters rejecting the proposed reform, challenged by the political left in a natio...

Voters have clearly rejected a complete ban on experiments on living creatures in Switzerland. It is the fourth time the Swiss have thrown out this issue. An early projection published by the GfS institute showed that 79% of voters had said "No" on ...

In a world-first vote, the electorate in Basel City in northern Switzerland has decided not to enshrine the basic rights of all non-human primates in the cantonal constitution. In a clear result on Sunday, 74.7% of voters disagreed with the initiati...

The Swiss government has advised its citizens against travelling to Ukraine, but it stopped short of asking them to leave the country. The build-up of Russian forces on Ukraine’s border had increased tensions and the risk of an escalation, the for...

Far-right and extremist groups in Switzerland are increasingly trying to use Covid protest movements to promote their own political views. Experts say the extremists have openly led anti-Covid demonstrations, seeking visibility in public taken, taki...

The Swiss Trade Union Federation is gathering signatures to force a nationwide vote on using central bank profits to boost the country’s ailing pension system. The initiative, which was launched on Friday, would need 100,000 supporters to trigger ...

Twelve environmental protestors were handed fines by a Swiss court for public order offences during an Extinction Rebellion demonstration in 2019. The latest court hearing, in the western Swiss city of Lausanne, is part of a string of trials relatin...

More than 600 people have applied to become test inmates of a new prison opening in Zurich, which has capacity for 241 remand prisoners. Successful volunteers will experience real prison conditions between March 24 and 27. Inmates will have to surre...

A record number of international patents were filed last year despite the Covid-19 pandemic. Switzerland was ranked eighth place in annual patent rankings published by the United Nations World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO). A record 277,...

An Afghan Taliban delegation visiting Geneva faced calls by Swiss diplomats to respect human rights and international humanitarian law. There are no current plans to re-open a Swiss cooperation office in Kabul that was evacuated and closed when the ...

A bear sanctuary in southeast Switzerland is to become home to two bears from a zoo in North Macedonia. The 2.8 hectare Arosa sanctuary works with the Four Paws animal welfare NGO to offer improved conditions for bears that are already in captivity....

Geneva prosecutors have appealed the acquittal of a former politician who had been accused of accepting financial inducements from the United Arab Emirates royal family. Last month, Pierre Maudet had his original criminal conviction and sentence o...

Swiss author Reto Hänny has been awarded this year’s Swiss Grand Prix for Literature for his life’s work. Hänny, 75, from Tschappina in canton Graubünden is best known for his novels Sturz (2020), Blooms Schatten (2014), Helldunkel. Ein Bilde...

Three Swiss deportation centres have been criticised for failing to adequately care for children and families. Inspections found that children are confined to small living spaces and that contact with the outside world is unduly restricted. On Thurs...