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Swiss Info

Tue, 29 Mar 2022 08:49:16 GMT
Amnesty criticises poor protection at Swiss asylum centres
Switzerland has made progress on gender equality, specifically on LGBTQI+ rights, says Amnesty International. However, the rights group criticised cases of excessive use of force at Swiss asylum centres and prison sentences for protesters. Amnesty I...

Mon, 28 Mar 2022 10:48:00 GMT
Gender wage gap barely moves in Switzerland
Women earn on average 11% less than men for doing the same job in Switzerland, according to the latest official survey of wages. On Monday, the Federal Statistical Office reported that the gender wage gap is narrowing, but only slowly. In 2016, ther...

Mon, 28 Mar 2022 10:32:00 GMT
US firm buys majority share in Andermatt-Sedrun ski resort
The American company Vail Resorts Inc has agreed to take a majority stake in Andermatt-Sedrun Sport AG, which controls and operates the mountain resort in southeast Switzerland. The US firm announced on Monday that it had acquired a 55% ownership st...

Mon, 28 Mar 2022 09:59:00 GMT
Switzerland slaps more sanctions on Russia
The Swiss government on Friday adopted additional sanctions against Russia for its ongoing war in Ukraine but did not ban the Russian state TV channels Sputnik and Russia Today like the European Union. Switzerland joins the sanctions measures adopte...

Mon, 28 Mar 2022 09:58:00 GMT
Swiss cyber-crime incidents increase by a quarter
Switzerland saw a significant increase in the number of reported cyber-crime incidents last year. In the same period, the rate of murders and burglaries fell, while e-bikes became one of the favourite targets of thieves. The Federal Statistical Offi...

Mon, 28 Mar 2022 08:28:00 GMT
Most Swiss would support tougher sanctions against Russia
A new poll shows that a majority of the Swiss population would be in favour of tougher sanctions against Russia for invading Ukraine, even if it results in higher energy costs in Switzerland. A new poll published today shows that a majority (56%) of...

Sun, 27 Mar 2022 15:45:00 GMT
Swiss web TV channel to broadcast in Ukrainian
Diaspora TV Switzerland launched a new service in Ukrainian on Sunday to help meet the information needs of refugees arriving from the war-torn country. The new service, which is supported by the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM), will focus on ...

Sun, 27 Mar 2022 10:52:00 GMT
Ukraine urges Switzerland to clamp down on Russian money
An advisor to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says the Swiss should be more proactive in looking for Russian funds. But according to a legal expert, current regulations do not allow authorities or banks to do more active searches beyond whatâ€...

Sat, 26 Mar 2022 16:36:00 GMT
Forest fires multiply as drought persists in Switzerland
The southern canton of Ticino has been hardest hit by forest fires as a drought that began in early December has prompted several regions to raise their wildfire risk levels to “severe”. Authorities in Centovalli in Ticino were able to bring a l...

Sat, 26 Mar 2022 13:29:00 GMT
Beware of scam donation appeals to help Ukrainians, police say
Zurich police have warned that scammers claiming to be collecting funds for people caught up in the Ukraine war are using email solicitations and fraudulent websites to defraud donors. The cybercrime unit said on Saturday people should be wary of em...

Sat, 26 Mar 2022 10:33:00 GMT
Story of Ukrainian exile wins best Swiss feature film prize
Olga, which tells the story of a young Ukrainian gymnast taking refuge in Switzerland during the pro-European Maidan revolution in 2013-2014, has won best feature film at this year’s Swiss Film Awards. The movie by 28-year-old Elie Grappe also won...

Fri, 25 Mar 2022 15:45:35 GMT
Switzerland should do more to boost its security, says think-tank
Switzerland should boost transnational military cooperation and improve its ability to counter cyber-attacks, says liberal think-tank Avenir Suisse. In a study on “Security Policy Perspectives” released on Friday, Avenir Suisse writes that “th...

Fri, 25 Mar 2022 12:56:14 GMT
Swiss arms sales down by almost a fifth
Swiss companies exported CHF742.8 million ($801 million) worth of war materiel to 67 countries in 2021, down 18% on the previous year, the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) said on Friday. These arms exports accounted for 0.21% of total ...

Fri, 25 Mar 2022 11:02:08 GMT
Quarantine lifted for Ukrainian pets
The Swiss government has lifted the obligation for pets coming with Ukrainian refugees to quarantine on arrival, saying the risk of disease being introduced is low. “The risk of rabies being introduced by dogs and cats accompanying their owners is...

Fri, 25 Mar 2022 10:01:01 GMT
Chinese investors rediscover taste for Swiss companies
After a pandemic-related slump in 2020, Chinese companies last year spent more money on acquisitions or investments in Swiss companies. They invested a total of $96 million (CHF89 million) on nine deals. In 2020 they spent only $7 million on eight a...

Thu, 24 Mar 2022 14:07:00 GMT
Family jumps to death from Swiss block of flats
Four members of a family have died after jumping from the seventh floor of a building in an apparent attempt to escape from police. A 15-year-old boy is seriously injured after also leaping from the block of flats in Montreux, western Switzerland. L...

Thu, 24 Mar 2022 11:45:00 GMT
Russian asset freeze reaches CHF5.75bn in Switzerland
The Swiss authorities have so far frozen some CHF5.75 billion ($6.2 billion) of sanctioned Russian oligarch assets, with the total expected to rise as the European Union announces further measures. The State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (Seco), ...

Thu, 24 Mar 2022 10:50:53 GMT
Swiss interest rates unchanged despite rising franc
The Swiss National Bank (SNB) kept its ultra-expansive monetary policy on hold on Thursday, bucking the trend of other central banks which have started hiking interest rates to tackle rising inflation. The SNB kept its policy rate locked at -0.75%, ...

Thu, 24 Mar 2022 09:06:33 GMT
Invasive quagga mussel could profoundly change Swiss lakes
The quagga mussel, originally from the Black Sea region, is spreading rapidly in Swiss lakes. Experts fear that the invasive species could upset lake ecosystems. The quagga mussel (Dreissena bugensis) was first discovered in 2014 in the River Rhine ...

Wed, 23 Mar 2022 17:14:21 GMT
Cooperation with Rotterdam a ‘huge opportunity’, says Swiss minister
Switzerland and the Netherlands plan to boost cooperation on energy supply and renewables, the Swiss government said on Wednesday. Speaking during a visit to the Netherlands, Swiss Environment, Transport and Energy Minister Simonetta Sommaruga descr...

Wed, 23 Mar 2022 15:24:50 GMT
Top bosses’ salaries rise – but not at Credit Suisse
The CEOs of leading companies listed on the Swiss stock exchange saw their earnings rise by an average 5% to CHF6.8 million ($7.3 million) last year, says Swiss financial news agency AWP. Severin Schwan, CEO of Swiss pharmaceutical company Roche, re...

Wed, 23 Mar 2022 12:26:06 GMT
Concern at Swiss dependence on older and foreign doctors
One in four doctors practising in Switzerland is aged 60 or over, and almost four out of ten come from abroad, says the Swiss Medical Association (FMH). "Measures to counter the shortage of doctors are becoming urgent," the FMH warned in its latest ...

Wed, 23 Mar 2022 11:27:51 GMT
Swiss economy holds up despite Ukraine uncertainty
Economists at the KOF Swiss Economic Institute have confirmed their previous growth forecast for Switzerland of just under 3% for 2022, although this is only in the most favourable scenario. If the crisis in Ukraine spreads and there is a complete h...

Tue, 22 Mar 2022 16:21:00 GMT
Switzerland offers Moldova more funds to cope with refugees
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...

Tue, 22 Mar 2022 15:20:57 GMT
Swiss prosecutor taskforce sets sights on Russian war crimes
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...

Tue, 22 Mar 2022 14:29:00 GMT
Switzerland sounds out Qatar over gas supplies
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...

Tue, 22 Mar 2022 11:29:00 GMT
Swiss companies fear Ukraine war squeeze
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...

Tue, 22 Mar 2022 10:13:16 GMT
Masks will become a common sight, says Covid taskforce head
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...

Tue, 22 Mar 2022 08:33:51 GMT
Swiss target holiday home in hurried clampdown on Russian oligarchs
Swiss authorities have identified 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 prope...

Mon, 21 Mar 2022 14:28:00 GMT
Poland wants Switzerland to confiscate Russian assets
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...



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