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Swiss Info

Fri, 11 Mar 2022 09:02:00 GMT
Up to 60,000 Ukrainians could seek refuge in Switzerland
Between 50,000-60,000 Ukrainians could seek protection in Switzerland following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, according to the Swiss justice minister. Karin Keller-Sutter told Blick TV on Thursday that it was hard to give precise estimates on the ...

Thu, 10 Mar 2022 17:44:00 GMT
Peregrine falcon once again in peril in Switzerland
The world’s fastest animal, the peregrine falcon, has been put back on the red list of “vulnerable” species by the Swiss Ornithological Association. Having made a comeback since near extinction in the 1970s, the falcon has seen its numbers dro...

Thu, 10 Mar 2022 13:27:00 GMT
Swiss Post Office bounces back from pandemic difficulties
The Swiss Post Office more than doubled profits to CHF457 million ($493 million) last year as it was less affected by pandemic restrictions. The group’s financial arm, PostFinance, recorded a CHF272 million result, up from CHF162 million in 2020. ...

Thu, 10 Mar 2022 11:18:00 GMT
Universities to review Russian research cooperation
Swiss universities should re-examine their scientific collaborations with universities in Russia and suspend them if necessary, the sector’s umbrella body has said. “When political agreements and rules of diplomacy are unilaterally overridden, m...

Thu, 10 Mar 2022 11:16:00 GMT
Right-wingers fail again to block Swiss bid for UN Security Council seat
Opponents of Switzerland's bid for a non-permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council have suffered a setback in parliament. The House of Representatives clearly rejected a call by the right-wing Swiss People’s Party for the government to...

Thu, 10 Mar 2022 10:09:00 GMT
Switzerland condemns Mariupol hospital bombing
Switzerland has condemned the bombing of a children's hospital in the Ukrainian city of Mariupol, calling it an "inconceivable act of inhumanity". Ukraine accused Russia of carrying out genocide, while the Kremlin said the bombing claim was fake “i...

Thu, 10 Mar 2022 08:16:00 GMT
Swiss Solidarity raises over CHF82 million for Ukraine war victims
The humanitarian charity Swiss Solidarity has raised over CHF82.6 million ($89.1 million) as part of a public fundraising effort for victims of the war in Ukraine. The Swiss public donated over CHF51.5 million on Wednesday and over CHF30 million on...

Wed, 9 Mar 2022 17:32:00 GMT
Swiss state-owned small arms producer sold to Italy
Switzerland’s state-owned Ruag International company has sold its small-caliber ammunition division to the Italian firearm manufacturer, Beretta. All the 2,700 employees of Ammotech in Switzerland and ten other countries, including Germany and Swe...

Wed, 9 Mar 2022 17:16:00 GMT
Covid cases still rising but Swiss government unfazed
The Swiss authorities have recorded a steep increase in new confirmed Covid infections but the situation in hospitals is under control. More than 33,750 tested positive for Covid-19 over the past 24 hours, the Federal Office of Public Health said on...

Wed, 9 Mar 2022 15:48:00 GMT
Church bells ring out to protest against war in Ukraine
Switzerland’s main churches have organised a protest against the war in Ukraine. The bells of the Roman Catholic, Protestant and Christian Catholic churches across the country rang out for a few minutes on Wednesday morning, inviting people for a ...

Wed, 9 Mar 2022 12:57:00 GMT
Swiss court clears critics of Turkish president
A district court in Switzerland has acquitted four defendants accused of inciting violence against the Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The judge ruled that a controversial banner shown by protesters at a 2017 demonstration in the Swiss capit...

Wed, 9 Mar 2022 09:05:07 GMT
Major investor coalition presses Credit Suisse on climate risks
A group of 11 investors with more than CHF2.2 trillion ($2.4 trillion) in assets has filed a shareholder resolution calling on Credit Suisse to cut its lending to fossil fuel assets. Among the investors is Europe’s largest asset manager, Amundi, a...

Tue, 8 Mar 2022 18:28:00 GMT
Switzerland mobilises for International Women’s Day
A series of events and rallies are being held across Switzerland to demand an end to violence against women and for enhanced rights on International Women’s Day. More than 1,000 people demonstrated in the Swiss capital, Bern, on Tuesday. They dema...

Tue, 8 Mar 2022 17:42:00 GMT
Switzerland condemns Russian attacks on press
The Swiss foreign ministry has berated Russia for targeting the media during its invasion of Ukraine. Several reporters have complained of being attacked by Russian forces, including a Swiss journalist who was injured and robbed this week. Russia ha...

Tue, 8 Mar 2022 16:15:00 GMT
Politicians call for Mussolini’s Swiss academic award to be revoked
In January 1937, the University of Lausanne (UNIL) awarded Benito Mussolini an honorary doctorate. A group of Vaud politicians on Tuesday called for the academic title to be revoked. Mussolini was awarded the university honorary doctorate “for hav...

Tue, 8 Mar 2022 14:18:00 GMT
Swiss parliament paves way for genome editing
The Swiss parliament has decided to ease restrictions on genetic engineering in agriculture, while extending in principle a moratorium for genetically modified organisms (GMOs) until 2025. The Senate on Tuesday asked the government to propose detail...

Tue, 8 Mar 2022 10:00:00 GMT
Switzerland listed as ‘unfriendly’ country by Russia
Russia has drawn up a list of around 50 countries, including Switzerland, that have committed “unfriendly actions” against Russia, its companies and citizens, in the wake of severe economic sanctions over the war in Ukraine, the Russian state med...

Mon, 7 Mar 2022 15:39:46 GMT
Switzerland makes available 5,000 places for Ukrainian refugees
The government has allocated 5,000 places in Swiss federal asylum centres for people fleeing the war in Ukraine. The decision was announced by the State Secretary for Migration Christine Schraner Burgener at a press conference in Zurich on Monday. ...

Mon, 7 Mar 2022 13:45:36 GMT
Swiss journalist injured in attack in southern Ukraine
A Swiss freelance journalist has been injured and robbed in the Mykolaiv region of southern Ukraine. According to the online media outlet Ukrayinska Pravda, the journalist was in a car travelling towards the city of Mykolaiv, near the Black Sea, whe...

Mon, 7 Mar 2022 11:00:00 GMT
Swiss National Bank ready to put the brakes on rising franc
Switzerland’s central bank has renewed its pledge to intervene in the currency markets to halt a rise in the franc after safe-haven inflows caused by the war in Ukraine briefly pushed the currency above parity with the euro. The euro/franc exchang...

Mon, 7 Mar 2022 10:11:00 GMT
Basel’s Fasnacht carnival lights up the city again
The Fasnacht – Switzerland’s largest carnival – began in the northwest city on Monday after a two-year break due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The long-standing tradition began as always on the first Monday after Ash Wednesday. Festivities started...

Mon, 7 Mar 2022 08:28:22 GMT
Swiss emergency relief supplies arrive in Ukraine
Around 35 tonnes of emergency aid, including medical equipment and tents, sent from Switzerland to help victims of the war in Ukraine have arrived in the capital, Kyiv. “The aid is urgently needed for hospitals serving the Ukrainian population,”...

Sun, 6 Mar 2022 17:37:00 GMT
‘Last-resort’ antibiotics used widely to treat Swiss chickens
Millions of chickens on Swiss farms are treated with the types of antibiotics which, in human cases, are only used in exceptional cases. Some 5.2 million chickens were treated with ‘last-resort’ antibiotics in 2020 alone, write the SonntagsZeitu...

Sun, 6 Mar 2022 16:20:00 GMT
Swiss defence minister repeats calls for stronger army
The Swiss armed forces need to be boosted and better prepared, and not just in the short term, argues Defence Minister Viola Amherd. Nato membership however is “not an option”. The promotion of peace internationally is “an important task for t...

Sun, 6 Mar 2022 13:02:00 GMT
Justice minister: Switzerland preparing for Ukrainian refugees
Switzerland is activating emergency planning among national and cantonal authorities, as well as counting on the help of private citizens, to prepare for the arrival of Ukrainians fleeing the war, Karin Keller-Sutter has said. The justice minister t...

Sat, 5 Mar 2022 18:23:00 GMT
Swiss public broadcaster no longer has staff in Moscow
Following the introduction of strict new information laws in Russia, the Swiss public broadcaster no longer has journalists reporting directly from Moscow. “Due to the restrictive conditions for correspondents and the threatening consequences for ...

Sat, 5 Mar 2022 17:44:00 GMT
Demonstrations for peace draw thousands in Swiss cities
Huge numbers have marched for the second weekend in a row in Swiss cities to protest against the ongoing war in Ukraine. The biggest demonstration on Saturday was in the morning in Zurich, Switzerland’s biggest city, where organisers estimated tha...

Sat, 5 Mar 2022 11:35:00 GMT
Finance watchdog orders ‘protective measures’ at Sberbank Switzerland
The Swiss financial regulator has ordered protective measures to mitigate a risk of “liquidity problems” at the Zurich-based subsidiary of Russian bank Sberbank. The measures, which include a 60-day deferral of the bank’s obligations from depo...

Fri, 4 Mar 2022 16:51:00 GMT
Switzerland simplifies process of employing foreign workers
Moves to cut red tape for non-EU foreign workers in Switzerland will not necessarily lead to more work visas being issued. On Friday, the government announced measures to make it easier to hire skilled workers from such countries as India, Britain, ...

Fri, 4 Mar 2022 12:43:18 GMT
UN Human Rights Council backs Ukraine Commission of Inquiry
The UN Human Rights Council meeting in Geneva has passed a resolution condemning the Russian invasion of Ukraine, calling for the “swift and verifiable” withdrawal of Russian troops and setting up a commission of inquiry on violations of human ri...



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