Swiss Info
Mon, 24 Oct 2022 07:39:00 GMTSWISS pilots call off planned strike
The pilots of Swiss International Air Lines have decided to drop plans for a strike to press for better working conditions. The pilots' association Aeropers and airline management reached an agreement at the latest round of negotiations over the wee...
Mon, 24 Oct 2022 06:25:00 GMTArt Basel boasts successful Paris debut
The Art Basel art fair looks back on a successful first edition in the French capital, Paris. Around 40,000 people visited the fair at the Grand Palais Ephémère on the four public days and the preview day. The fair's management also reported "stro...
Sun, 23 Oct 2022 16:01:00 GMTUN Security Council needs rebuilding, says former Swiss diplomat
Switzerland should initiate the abolition of the major powers’ right of veto during its two-year seat on the United Nations Security Council, suggests former State Secretary Michael Ambühl. From January 1, Switzerland will be one of ten non-perma...
Sun, 23 Oct 2022 12:30:00 GMTSwiss companies ‘trapped’ in Russia
Leading Swiss brands have withdrawn from Russia because of the war in Ukraine. However, research by a Swiss newspaper shows that while a company can leave a country, its products often remain on shelves. “It’s a mass exodus. Since Russia invaded...
Sun, 23 Oct 2022 09:41:56 GMTFour parties launch campaigns for 2023 elections
With exactly one year to go before the federal elections, the Swiss People’s Party, the Radical-Liberal Party, the Liberal Green Party and the Green Party have set out their stalls and their ambitions. The Liberal Greens and the Greens are each cl...
Sat, 22 Oct 2022 15:39:00 GMTFinance minister takes parting shot at ‘woke’ culture
Retiring Swiss Finance Minister Ueli Maurer has tried to explain a controversial comment on gender-neutral people – in which he said he doesn’t want to be replaced by an “it” – by saying it was a deliberate provocation. Maurer, 71, from th...
Sat, 22 Oct 2022 14:37:06 GMTClimate activists block Mont Blanc Bridge
Several climate activists from Renovate Switzerland temporarily blocked the Mont Blanc Bridge in Geneva on Saturday. They called on the government to speed up the thermal renovation of buildings. The blockade of the road near the bridge at the railw...
Sat, 22 Oct 2022 12:19:00 GMTCross-border World Cup downhill cancelled for lack of snow
Two men’s World Cup downhill ski races that were to start in Switzerland and finish in Italy have been called off owing to a lack of snow on the final 300 metres of the course following an unseasonably warm autumn. Added to the calendar this seaso...
Sat, 22 Oct 2022 11:49:34 GMTMan convicted for fraudulently claiming massive Covid loan
A 48-year-old businessman in Geneva has been given a two-year suspended prison sentence for making a fraudulent claim for a Covid loan that was 100 times the correct amount. He was found guilty of fraud and forgery of documents. “You expressly dec...
Sat, 22 Oct 2022 09:13:49 GMTEnergy crisis ‘will last many years’, says economics minister
Swiss Economics Minister Guy Parmelin assumes the energy crisis will last several years. It is important, he says, not only to think about the winter, but to do everything to ensure that Switzerland produces more energy – that means more renewable ...
Sat, 22 Oct 2022 08:26:38 GMTAnnual Bern light show to go ahead despite energy crisis
Despite worries about power shortages, the light spectacle “Rendez-vous Bundesplatz” will take place again this autumn. For five weeks, starting on Saturday, the show can be seen almost every evening. However, unlike previous years there will be...
Fri, 21 Oct 2022 17:02:41 GMTSwitzerland backs Moldova amid Ukraine crisis
Swiss President Ignazio Cassis thanked his Moldovan counterpart Maia Sandu for her country’s solidarity with Ukraine at a meeting in Chisinau, capital of Moldova, on Friday. The meeting focused on the consequences of the war in Ukraine and the hum...
Fri, 21 Oct 2022 16:03:40 GMTBasel exhibitions reflect troubled ties with history
Two exhibitions opening on Saturday at Basel Fine Arts Museum (Kunstmuseum) highlight not only important works but explain some of their links with the Nazi era. One of them focuses on Curt Glaser, the Jewish art collector and curator who was persec...
Fri, 21 Oct 2022 14:30:25 GMTSwiss progress on gender equality but problems remain, say experts
Independent UN experts said on Friday that Switzerland has made advances in certain areas but needs to invest more in others. Speaking at a meeting in Geneva of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), they welcome...
Fri, 21 Oct 2022 11:28:22 GMTSWISS ground staff get pay rise as pilots threaten strike
Ground staff at Swiss International Airlines (SWISS) have reached agreement with the company on pay rises from January. "The significant wage increases from January 1 suggest that management has, at least for ground staff, recognised the need to mak...
Fri, 21 Oct 2022 10:35:00 GMT'Kyiv already feels cold', says Swiss president on visit
Reconstruction and humanitarian aid were a main focus of Thursday's talks in Ukraine with Volodymyr Zelensky, Swiss President Ignazio Cassis has told Swiss public broadcaster SRF. "With President Zelensky, it was about the strategic situation of the...
Fri, 21 Oct 2022 10:07:00 GMTCredit Suisse sells fintech stake ahead of strategic overhaul
Swiss bank Credit Suisse has sold its stake in a Spanish digital wealth platform as part of a strategic overhaul aimed at reviving its ailing fortunes. Credit Suisse said on Friday that it realised €334 million (CHF328 million) by selling its 8.6%...
Fri, 21 Oct 2022 08:57:00 GMTSwiss ski resorts tipped to enjoy bumper season
The Swiss tourism sector is tipped to experience a positive winter season despite the Ukraine war, escalating energy prices, ongoing lockdowns in China and the strong franc. The KOF Swiss Economic Institute predicts that overnight stays will beat pr...
Thu, 20 Oct 2022 14:28:00 GMTHuge hike in refugees stretches Swiss resources
Switzerland is expecting nearly 50% more asylum applications this year compared to 2021, prompting the erection of new accommodation centres and the support of the army. The State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) on Thursday said it expected to recei...
Thu, 20 Oct 2022 13:53:00 GMTIconic Swiss knight daubed graffiti during Jerusalem trip
Some 15th Century graffiti, found in King David’s Tomb in Jerusalem, has been attributed to a Swiss knight famed for defending the town of Murten during the Burgundian wars. The graffiti has been presented as evidence that Adrian von Bubenberg mad...
Thu, 20 Oct 2022 10:52:00 GMTSwiss companies and towns join forces to save energy
Switzerland has launched an Energy Saving Alliance of companies, government, cantons, civil society and municipalities in an effort to preserve gas and electricity supplies over the winter. The Alpine state is among many European countries facing po...
Thu, 20 Oct 2022 10:07:00 GMTSwiss organ transplant register shuts down after scandal
An online organ transplant register in Switzerland will cease operating after a probe into serious security flaws. Swiss public television SRF found that it was possible to register people on the National Organ Donor Register (NOSR) without their kn...
Thu, 20 Oct 2022 09:00:00 GMTNovartis seals deal to license high-priced cancer drug
Swiss pharma giant Novartis has finalised a deal with the Geneva-based Medicines Patent Pool to allow generic production of its patented drug nilotinib to treat chronic myeloid leukemia. The deal, which was formally signed on the sidelines of the Wo...
Thu, 20 Oct 2022 07:55:57 GMTSwiss women cut their hair in solidarity with Iranians
About 20 public names from French- and Italian-speaking Switzerland have cut a lock of their hair as part of a symbolic gesture, expressing support for the struggle of Iranian women against oppression. Since Tuesday a video has been circulating on s...
Thu, 20 Oct 2022 06:43:15 GMTSwiss prosecutors appeal acquittals of Blatter and Platini
Swiss federal prosecutors have filed an appeal to overturn the acquittals of former FIFA President Sepp Blatter and former UEFA President Michel Platini on corruption charges, they said on Thursday. Switzerland’s Federal Criminal Court had cleared...
Wed, 19 Oct 2022 15:40:00 GMTSwitzerland replaces Russia as chair of ballistic missile body
Switzerland has taken over from Russia as chair of an international body that sets guidelines for the export of ballistic missiles and military drones. The 35 member states of the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) are currently taking part in...
Wed, 19 Oct 2022 15:14:00 GMTSwitzerland sets out power contingency plans for winter
The Swiss government has put forward plans to create reserve power plants aimed at shoring up the country’s energy supplies during the winter. The proposal to create a network of reserve plants was presented on Wednesday for a period of public con...
Wed, 19 Oct 2022 13:42:00 GMTSwitzerland tops up migrant integration funding
The Swiss government has committed a further CHF250 million ($251 million) for language courses and apprenticeship places aimed at foreigners who are resident in the Alpine state. The credit line will cover the period 2024 to 2027 with half of the f...
Wed, 19 Oct 2022 10:38:00 GMTNestlé to buy coffee brand from Starbucks
Swiss food manufacturing company Nestlé has announced it will buy the Starbucks subsidiary company ‘Seattle’s Best Coffee’ amid flagging sales of its other coffee brands. The takeover of the United States coffee retailer for an undisclosed su...
Wed, 19 Oct 2022 08:03:22 GMTProposed Swiss nuclear waste site gets German backing
The site selected near the border for storing Swiss nuclear waste has been deemed suitable by an expert group from Germany. The arguments of the Swiss National Co-operative for the Disposal of Radioactive Waste (Nagra) in favour of the northern Lä...