It is “very probable” that neutral Switzerland will follow the European Union on Monday in sanctioning Russia and freezing Russian assets, according to Ignazio Cassis, who holds the rotating Swiss presidency this year. Cassis, interviewed on Sun...

Swiss Defence Minister Viola Amherd says neutral Switzerland must ensure its own security, since there’s no guarantee defence alliance NATO would help non-member Switzerland in the event of a Russian attack. “We could ask other countries for sup...

Between 10,000 and 20,000 people have demonstrated in Bern against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The motto of the rally was “Peace for Ukraine and all of Europe”. Saturday’s authorised demonstration was called by a broad alliance of movement...

While the crisis in Ukraine has not yet led to any migration to Switzerland, depending on the duration and intensity of the war, a few hundred or up to 2,000 people could seek refuge in Switzerland, according to current government estimates. In the ...

Swiss skier Fanny Smith will be awarded the women’s ski cross bronze medal after her disqualification in the controversial final at the recent Winter Olympics was overturned by an appeals commission. Smith, a bronze medallist at Pyeongchang in 201...

Switzerland has partially evacuated its embassy in Kyiv as Russian forces close in on the Ukrainian capital. This means that only six or seven staff remain at the embassy, the minimum for it to function, Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis said on...

Switzerland has firmly shut the door on a single charter governing relations with the European Union but is instead prepared to renegotiate a host of existing treaties covering a wide variety of mutual interests. For years, the EU has been pushing S...

The owners of the Bührle art collection and the Zurich museum where it is exhibited have signed a new contract to address some of the issues around the controversial origin of the works. The 203 paintings on display since October 2021 at the Kunsth...

The number of Swiss residents taking a holiday in their own country surged last year to help the tourism industry partially recover from the catastrophic effects of the pandemic. The number of overnight stays at hotels by locals hit a record 21 mill...

Fredi M Murer, who directed what is often considered the best Swiss film of all time, will be awarded the Honorary Prize of the 2022 Swiss Film Awards. Murer, 81, is a “key figure in Swiss cinema, a filmmaker and craftsman from analogue times”, ...

The Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland has demanded Credit Suisse be fined CHF5 million ($5.4 million) – the maximum provided for by law – for aggravated money laundering and subsidiary support of a criminal organisation. Switzerland�...

The Swiss foreign ministry has issued a statement strongly condemning Russia’s actions in Ukraine as an “invasion”. It called on Russia to immediately cease its “military aggression” and withdraw its troops from Ukraine. “This is a gross...

Switzerland is to donate a maximum of 15 million shots of coronavirus vaccine in the first half of this year to the COVAX initiative for equitable vaccine distribution. With a total of 34 million vaccines available for 2022, the Swiss population of ...

Swiss-built Pilatus aircraft have been involved in attacks in Afghanistan, according to a joint investigation by a transnational network of journalists. At least one PC-12 plane was used in air raids on Taliban positions in a town in eastern Afghani...

Transport Minister Simonetta Sommaruga says Switzerland plays a key role within the railway network in the European Union (EU). Switzerland’s rail policy was a model for many other states, notably for passenger traffic and its strategy to move fre...

Single parents with small children, as well as elderly migrants in Switzerland are at risk of relative poverty according to a new study. Nearly one in five households has to make do with very little money, the Federal Social Insurance Office announc...

The Swiss foreign ministry has accused Russia of breaking international law and violating Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty after Moscow ordered troops into breakaway regions. “Switzerland is very concerned about the situation in e...

Jewish organisations in Switzerland have expressed renewed concern about tensions in society fuelling anti-Semitism. In a report published on Tuesday by the Swiss Federation of Jewish Communities and the Foundation against Racism and Anti-Semitism, ...

The largest political grouping in the European Parliament has called for a review of Switzerland’s banking practices and for the country’s possible inclusion in the European Union's dirty-money blacklist after leaks of Credit Suisse documents. O...

Last year 9,421 packages containing illegally imported medicinal products were confiscated in Switzerland, up from 6,733 in 2020. Three-quarters contained erectile stimulants, and half did not contain what it said on the label. In addition to illega...

A few days after most pandemic restrictions were lifted, the Swiss press look back at the lessons from two years in crisis mode and what the country can do better going forward. “The pandemic took politicians by surprise and presented them with hu...

Switzerland heads home from the Winter Olympic Games in Beijing with a record gold medal haul in alpine skiing. It ranked eighth on the medal table, just behind skiing rival Austria. Switzerland didn’t reach its target of 15 medals at the Games bu...

The foreign ministry has advised Swiss nationals to leave the Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Ukraine amid concerns over the increase in armed clashes in eastern Ukraine. The travel advice, which was updated Saturday evening, recommends against touri...

Amid further escalations of the crisis in Ukraine, Swiss International Air Lines has decided to temporarily suspend flights to Ukraine from next week. This affects flight connections in Kyiv. All flights will be cancelled from Monday February 21 unt...

Some 15 countries, including Switzerland, have proposed the creation of a “Science-Policy Panel” to deal with the threat of chemical waste and plastic pollution. This comes ahead of discussions on a global plastics treaty at the UN Environmental ...

The University of Neuchâtel website was functioning again on Friday evening following a cyberattack but an investigation continues into the scope of the problem. The university is the latest Swiss institution to fall victim to a cyber attack. "The ...

A Kazakh heiress wants to renovate a Swiss castle by Lake Geneva before she moves into it. But Geneva heritage preservation authorities are worried. Dinara Kulibayeva, daughter of former Kazakh president Nursultan Nazarbayev, plans major work on Cha...

Swiss-Belarusian dual national Natallia Hersche landed in Zurich on Friday, after being freed from jail in Belarus. She was met at the airport by Johannes Matyassy, deputy State Secretary at the Swiss foreign ministry. Hersche was released from jail...

A man who sent threatening emails to Health Minister Alain Berset has been fined CHF1,200 ($1,300), Swiss public broadcaster, RTS, reported on Friday. The Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland found him guilty of attempted violence and threa...

Easier naturalisation for third-generation foreigners introduced in 2018 has not had high take-up, and procedures should be further eased, says a study. Since February 15, 2018, people whose grandparents came to Switzerland and who were born here ha...