Switzerland has given Moldova an extra CHF2 million ($2 million) to help the eastern European country cope with a wave of refugees from neighbouring Ukraine. Swiss President Ignazio Cassis said Switzerland would “react pragmatically and unbureaucr...

Swiss federal prosecutors have formed a new unit to identify war crimes being committed in Ukraine. The Office of the Attorney General (OAG) says the taskforce will collect evidence from refugees arriving in Switzerland to pass on to the Internation...

Switzerland plans to open negotiations with Qatar over the potential delivery of liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies. The Alpine state is scouting for new energy suppliers, following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Finance Minister Ueli Maurer bro...

The Swiss industrial sector, particularly chemical, engineering and food production companies, is already feeling the effects of rising raw material costs and logistical logjams caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Every second Swiss firm is f...

The head of the Swiss government’s Covid taskforce has appealed to the public to plan well for booster vaccinations in autumn. She also believes people will choose to wear masks more often in winter from now on. Since the most recent lifting of re...

Swiss authorities have seized a luxury mountain home believed to be owned by a Russian oligarch as bankers and officials work overtime to track assets of people linked to Moscow in retribution for the invasion of Ukraine. The Bern cantonal property ...

The Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki has called on Switzerland to seize sanctioned Russian assets that are frozen in Swiss bank vaults. Morawiecki made this demand during a visit from Swiss President Ignazio Cassis on Monday. “The assets o...

A majority of the Swiss population is not in favour of increasing spending on defence, despite the ongoing war in Ukraine, a new survey reveals. However, they support the government’s existing plan to buy replacement fighter jets. The online poll ...

Credit Suisse announced on Monday that Vice-Chair Severin Schwan would not stand for re-election. This follows a reported rebellion by large shareholder groups at the Swiss bank. “Severin Schwan, who joined the Board in 2014 and has acted as Vice-...

Switzerland may end up taking in far more Ukrainian refugees than government authorities initially estimated, according to a report by the NZZ am Sonntag. The education system will need to adapt. The Alpine nation is expected to experience the large...

A senior health official believes the number of new coronavirus cases in Switzerland may be massively underreported. Rudolf Hauri, president of the cantonal health authorities, estimates the number of people newly infected with the virus at 150,000 ...

Switzerland’s weekend press focused on the whereabouts of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s alleged mistress who has been rumoured to be hiding in the Alpine nation. Newly sanctioned Russian oligarchs said to have residency in Switzerland were a...

Thousands of people joined a "Solidarity with Ukraine, Stop the War Now!" rally held on Saturday in the Swiss capital, Bern. President Ignazio Cassis was also present at the demonstration. He introduced his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky wh...

Swiss food giant Nestlé could confront a consumer boycott after Ukrainian government officials accused the company of being complicit in Russia’s "war crimes" in Ukraine. Boycott calls and parody memes shaming the company have spread like wildfire...

Switzerland’s president warns that the conflict in Ukraine will have long-term consequences on the Swiss economy. Ignazio Cassis, who also serves as foreign minister, once again defended the sanctions against Russia saying that Switzerland is ready...

The Swiss government has announced it will implement the European Union’s latest round of sanctions that includes a ban on the export of luxury goods to Russia. Switzerland will impose restrictions on transactions with certain state-owned companie...

The government has given itself 11 to 13 years to balance the books on debt incurred due to the coronavirus pandemic. The total debt burden caused by the pandemic is expected to amount to CHF25-30 billion ($26.7-32 billion) by the end of 2022. Most...

The government has set aside a budget of CHF17.6 million ($18.8 million) to host a Swiss Pavilion at the 2025 World Expo in Osaka, Japan. The decision to take part was made last Saturday and was announced on Friday along with the budget. It still ne...

Almost one in ten job advertisements in Switzerland mentions the option of working from home at least some of the time. This is more than three times what it was before the Covid-19 pandemic. In February, home office was a topic in 8.8% of job adver...

The Swiss bought and drank less alcohol during the Covid-19 pandemic, with the average person cutting back by 2.6 standard drinks a month. This corresponds to a 7.7% decrease in alcohol consumption among the general population. The trend applied to ...

Swiss scientists are being compelled to reject millions of euros on offer from the European Union to fund their research projects. On Thursday, the European Research Council (ERC) offered 26 Consolidator Grants to researchers in Switzerland, each wo...

A Swiss-led research consortium has partnered with Basel-based biotech company RocketVax to launch clinical trials for two second-generation Covid-19 vaccine candidates. This includes a nasal spray vaccine. The research consortium, led by virologist...

Swiss politicians have come out in favour of the idea of lowering the official voting age to 16. Such a reform, which would involve a constitution change, would have to face a public ballot before ever becoming reality. A majority of 99 against 90 d...

The Swiss government has pledged CHF14.5 million ($15.5 million) in financial support for aid operations in war-torn Yemen. The money is to go towards activities of humanitarian organisations including the International Committee of the Red Cross (I...

Switzerland has extended its list of sanctions against individuals and entities over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The economics ministry said a further 206 names had been added to an existing sanctions list in connection with the war in Ukraine. ...

A Thai man has been sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of a 57-year-old Swiss tourist on the island of Phuket last year. The sentence on Wednesday comes after the 27-year-old strangled the Swiss woman before stealing 300 baht (CHF8.50) fr...

Switzerland has extended economic sanctions against Belarus in line with a decision by the European Union. The government said the provision of public financing or financial assistance for trade with or investment in Belarus is prohibited as of midd...

The head of the US air force met with his Swiss counterpart on Tuesday after a three-day visit to the Alpine nation. Charles Q. Brown Jr. and Peter Merz appeared before the media at the Payerne air base in western Switzerland, where they stressed th...

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has condemned the Swiss government for its overly restrictive banning of protests during the first wave of Covid-19 in 2020. In a ruling published on Tuesday, the court said the ban on public demonstrations ...

The Senate has rejected a proposal to re-introduce the option to apply for asylum at Swiss embassies abroad. Ten years after parliament decided to suspend the right to apply for asylum status at a Swiss embassy, the Senate on Tuesday clearly dismiss...