Russia “really hadn’t anticipated” Switzerland aligning itself with EU sanctions in March, according to a former Russian diplomat to the UN in Geneva. The Russians had hoped Switzerland would remain a “haven for Russian business – legal or...

Many reptiles are kept in improper conditions in Switzerland, with owners unaware that legal regulations exist for the animals’ welfare, according to an animal protection organisation. An online tool now aims to raise awareness of how to look after...

Switzerland and Uzbekistan have signed an agreement on the restitution of $131 million (CHF125 million) confiscated during criminal proceedings involving Gulnara Karimova, the daughter of the former Uzbek president. The assets will be used for the b...

Swiss chocolate manufacturer Lindt & Sprüngli is withdrawing from the Russian market, after announcing in March that it would cease operations there following the invasion of Ukraine by Russian armed forces. “We will support our employees in Russ...

A left-wing coalition has gathered enough signatures to challenge the Swiss government’s plan to purchase F-35A fighter jets from the United States. Political groups behind the “Stop F-35” initiative, which opposes the government’s plan to b...

The federal technology institute ETH Zurich has been ranked the best Swiss university in the 2022 Academic Ranking of World Universities, also known as the Shanghai ranking, taking 20th spot. ETH Zurich moved up one place since last year and scored ...

The Swiss government is extending its presence on social media and will open an account on the international photo and video-sharing platform. The Federal Chancellery said a pilot project with the Instagram service was planned for October. The aim ...

The continuing hot and dry summer weather has caused low water levels in several lakes and rivers in Switzerland. Lakes in eastern, central and southern parts of the country have recorded lows, something which occurs rarely, the Federal Office for t...

The Swiss government is facing criticism about its planned implementation of an international corporate tax reform. The left-wing Social Democratic Party said the proposed distribution of the expected additional revenue from the reform would benefit...

Taiwan’s top official in Switzerland says there is room for more “pragmatic cooperation” between the Asian island state and the Alpine nation, including a trade accord. “Taiwan is open to a trade agreement with Switzerland,” Taiwan’s rep...

A “good offices” agreement signed three years ago for Switzerland to represent United States interests in Venezuela has still not come into force, it was confirmed on Sunday. Switzerland has a long tradition of “good offices”, whereby it cov...

Around 900,000 people danced in the streets of Zurich on Saturday in the largest techno party in the world. The Zurich Street Parade reported a strong turnout after two years of pandemic-related cancellations. According to estimates by the organiser...

A range of options are being explored to prevent power outages this winter, says Swiss Energy Minister Simonetta Sommaruga. This comes amid criticism that the country hasn’t set up an effective energy savings plan. “Switzerland is doing everythi...

The film Regra 34 (Rule 34) by Brazilian director Júlia Murat has won the Pardo d’oro (Golden Leopard) at the 75th Locarno Film Festival. “This is an important Pardo d’oro for Brazilian cinema, a nation that has written milestone pages in the...

US Ambassador Scott Miller believes Switzerland has made “tremendous progress” in adopting sanctions against Russia, but he says more could be done to close loopholes when it comes to finding Russian oligarchs’ funds. “Neutrality has never b...

The first batch of dogs capable of detecting African swine fever (ASF) in farmed pigs will be operational by autumn. The specialist hounds are currently being trained in the northeastern Swiss canton of Thurgau that borders Germany. Outbreaks of the...

Authorities have announced that they will consider the financial situation of Ukrainian refugees with Status S when evaluating requests for social assistance. This brings requirements in line with those for other temporarily admitted persons in Switz...

Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis has met the foreign minister of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, in Ticino, southern Switzerland. The working lunch on the Brissago Islands in Lake Maggiore focused on the eco...

A large alpine solar power plant is to be installed on the dam wall of Lake Lei near Ferrera in southeastern Switzerland. The 1,800 square-metre plant is being built by the Zurich Electricity Company. Located at an altitude of 1,930 metres, the plan...

Pink Cross, the Swiss association for gay and bisexual men, has stepped up calls for testing, vaccines and treatment for monkeypox to be made available in Switzerland. No vaccine against monkeypox has been approved for use or procured by Swiss autho...

Credit Suisse Group applied to the English High Court last week to initiate formal legal proceedings against Japan’s SoftBank Group Corp over a $440 million (CHF414 million) dispute, according to the Financial Times. The claims are related to Cred...

Swiss Finance Minister Ueli Maurer has held talks in New Delhi with India’s finance and foreign ministers. On the agenda were bilateral trade issues and India’s upcoming G20 presidency. With his Indian counterparts Nirmala Sitharaman and Subrahm...

Celebrations have been launched to commemorate the 175th anniversary of the first time-tabled railway route in Switzerland. Transport Minister Simonetta Sommaruga and a delegation of dignitaries travelled the 23km stretch of railway line from the to...

A burial site from the Bronze Age has been discovered in a mountain village near the town of Sion in south-western Switzerland. At least 18 graves, containing human bones and burial objects in stone-built coffin-like boxes from 2000 BC were unearthe...

The number of wolves in the Swiss Alps will continue to grow even if hunting regulations were to be eased, according to experts. The Wolf Switzerland group said more than 250 wolf packs were living in Europe’s Alpine environment last year, while t...

The teachers’ association has warned of a decline in teaching quality at Swiss schools due to a lack of certified staff. An increasing number of primary schools have had to resort to personnel who lack a professional qualification as a teacher, as...

Two bodies have been found in recent weeks in the high mountains, discovered as glaciers recede under summer temperatures. Alpinists found human bones last Wednesday on the Chessjen glacier in the southern canton of Valais, the Blick newspaper repor...

The Swiss Post’s e-vote system is opening itself to attacks by ethical hackers in an effort to weed out security flaws. The window for the test runs until September 2, during which time hackers will be able to launch attacks on the source code und...

Swiss Air-Rescue (Rega) flew a record number of rescue missions in July. This is not a statistical outlier but the reflection of a trend, according to Rega head Ernst Kohler. The organisation flew a total of 2,120 helicopter missions in July, Kohler...

Several hundred people in Switzerland have changed their official gender since the introduction of a simplified registry process at the beginning of the year. In the big cities alone, 350 people have done so. Eighty people changed their gender in Zu...