Rapid Covid tests are now free for everyone in Switzerland, regardless of whether they have symptoms or not. The government says this is an important step towards further relaxation of the coronavirus measures. As of Monday the government, which has...

Media reports over the weekend indicate that vaccinating everyone who wants to by the summer in Switzerland relies on meeting ambitious vaccine approval and delivery targets in spring. Swiss authorities are facing mounting criticism over the speed a...

The International Film Festival and Forum on Human Rights in Geneva handed out several awards on Sunday to films that not only push cinematic boundaries but bring to light stories of youth struggles and injustice. The Grand Prize of Geneva for a cre...

Switzerland benefits from tax abuse by companies and individuals to the tune of around $12.8 billion (CHF11.9 billion) according to a new global ranking. However, it also loses out on $5.7 billion in revenue. According to an analysis by the Tax Just...

An international team led by the Federal Institute of Technology ETH Zurich analysed data from 7,250 water measuring stations around the world to find that changes in river flow in the last 40 years could only be the result of climate change. River ...

Researchers at the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (EMPA) have developed a simple method to extract natural melanin from mushrooms also known as "black gold". This unlocks new opportunities to create new materials and ...

Exports of Swiss watches are unlikely to return to pre-coronavirus pandemic levels over the next couple of years according to estimates by the Vontobel private bank. The forecast is not all doom and gloom though. After taking a hit in 2020, Swiss w...

The government has begun consultations on the second phase of reopening, which includes outdoor dining, despite the “precarious” coronavirus situation. A final decision will be made on March 19. At its meeting Friday, the Federal Council (govern...

Humanitarian charity Swiss Solidarity has spent CHF40 million ($43 million) in donations on people in Switzerland left in need due to the coronavirus pandemic. In total, 1.7 million people have been supported, the organisation said on Friday. It has...

Zurich’s oldest private bank has agreed to pay $22 million (CHF20 million) in penalties to defer prosecution charges by the United States tax authorities. “This venerated banking institution knowingly offered banking services that assisted its ...

Switzerland’s largest international airport posted a loss in 2020, hit hard by an historic slump in traffic due to the pandemic. Flughafen Zürich AG, which operates Zurich airport, said in a statement on Friday that consolidated loss for the 2020...

As part of its agreement with American company Altimmune, Lonza will allocate a dedicated manufacturing facility for AdCOVID nasal spray vaccine near Houston, Texas. On Friday, Altimmune announced the specific role the Swiss company will play in t...

Of the 597 cases of adverse reactions to Covid-19 vaccines reported in Switzerland, 68.7% concerned women. On Thursday the Swiss medicines regulator Swissmedic released data on side effects of Covid-19 vaccines as of March 8. While women were clear...

Switzerland has called for “concrete measures” by the United Nations Security Council on Myanmar during a debate at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on Thursday. It was taking part in an “interactive dialogue” at the UN rights council w...

Rare earth metals like cerium and gadolinium, which are used in industry and hospitals, are increasingly being detected at Swiss wastewater plants, new research shows. For the first time scientists from the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science...

The threat of avian flu infecting Swiss poultry has receded to the point that precautionary measures can be lifted along parts of the border with Germany. The Federal Food Safety and Veterinary Office (FSVO) declared the risk to be minimal on Thursd...

The Covid-19 pandemic cost the state-owned Swiss postal service CHF139 million ($150 million) last year, which was largely responsible for driving down profits by 30%. Swiss Post delivered a record 182.7 million parcels in 2020, up nearly a quarter ...

After a weak start to the year, Switzerland’s economy should recover rapidly from a heavy coronavirus-driven slump to grow by 3% in 2021, the government said on Thursday. Gross domestic product will fall “significantly” in the first quarter of...

Swiss pharmaceutical company Roche says a drug normally used to treat other medical conditions has failed to prove its effectiveness at alleviating the symptoms of Covid-19. Phase III clinical trials on Actemra/RoActemra, in combination with Veklury...

Switzerland has called on North Korea to reopen its borders for urgent humanitarian aid and Covid-19 related medical evacuations, saying this is “crucial”. Swiss number two at the UN mission in Geneva Felix Baumann told the Human Rights Council ...

Ruag International has said it wants to divest its defence-related divisions to focus on the booming space market. The effect on jobs is not yet clear. "We are withdrawing from all defence-related businesses," CEO André Wall said in an interview w...

Switzerland’s highest court has clarified that each spouse should seek to support themselves financially after a divorce, a decision that particularly affects women. In a press release published on Tuesday, the federal court clarified important el...

With the Syrian conflict about to enter its eleventh year, Caritas has called on Switzerland to do more for that country. At an online press conference on Wednesday, the Swiss chapter of the charity Caritas called for Swiss authorities to recognis...

The Swiss government has signed a new deal with Pfizer/BioNTech for another three million vaccine doses, bringing the total number of doses ordered from five companies to nearly 36 million. The additional doses will be delivered to Switzerland in Ap...

Swiss lawmakers have agreed to revise the money laundering law but have rejected new rules for lawyers, notaries and other consultants. On Wednesday, parliamentarians ironed out their remaining differences in the revision of the Anti-Money Launderin...

Despite lockdowns and travel restrictions, 2020 was a record year for rescue missions in the Swiss Alps and Jura mountain ranges. A total of 3,471 people last year got into difficulty and had to be rescued, said the Swiss Alpine Club (SAC) on Tuesda...

The United Nations has condemned the recent Swiss vote to outlaw face-covering headgear – otherwise known as the burka ban – as discriminatory and “regrettable”. The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said the politi...

The Lugano-headquartered Adienne pharma company has agreed to produce the Russian Sputnik V Covid-19 vaccine in its northern Italy plant, the Italian-Russian chamber of commerce has said. If the agreement between the Russia’s RDIF sovereign wealth...

Exports of Swiss armaments and munitions increased in value by nearly a quarter last year, bucking the trend of a slowdown in international trade across all industry sectors. Swiss companies exported war material worth CHF901.2 million ($965 million...

Zurich’s Sechseläuten spring parade has been cancelled owing to Covid-19 for the second year in a row, but the burning of the Böögg will this year go ahead – without spectators but with live television coverage. The Böögg is a snowman-like ...