A divided Swiss parliament has demanded that the government tear up orders for 14 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines and renegotiate contracts for half of this supply. Switzerland had ordered seven million doses from Pfizer/Biontech and the same amo...

A proposal to halve taxes on petrol, diesel and heating oil to cushion the effects of rising commodity prices has been rejected by parliament. On Thursday, the House of Representatives joined the Senate in voting down the motion from the People’s ...

Swiss cantons have so far handed out at least 1,500 work permits to the 57,000 refugees who have arrived from Ukraine. Ministers are meeting with employers and cantons to work out ways to increase the number of refugees joining the workforce. Not e...

The Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland (OAG) has filed an indictment against a Swiss-Turkish man who fatally stabbed a man in the Swiss town of Morges in 2020 in a “jihadist-motivated” attack. The 28-year-old Swiss-Turkish dual natio...

Switzerland’s central bank has raised interest rates for the first time in 15 years (by half a percent), in a bid to prevent inflationary pressures on the Swiss economy. The Swiss National Bank (SNB) said on Thursday that its benchmark rate would ...

The Swiss army has carried out the first successful test flight of an unmanned reconnaissance drone manufactured by Israel. The move comes after earlier controversy over the purchase of Israeli military technology. It is one of two unmanned Hermes ...

Voters at Migros regional cooperatives have decided overwhelmingly that Switzerland’s largest retailer should not start selling alcohol. All ten regional cooperatives that govern Migros outlets voted on Thursday to keep the ban in place at all Mig...

Economics Minister Guy Parmelin says Switzerland remains open to a compromise on intellectual property (IP) rights on Covid vaccines. He said the Swiss government would not agree to a full waiver of the rights but it was willing to continue discussi...

A technical problem with the air traffic control system halted take-offs and landings at Swiss airports early on Wednesday morning. Flights resumed from Zurich and Geneva from 8.30am, the Skyguide agency confirmed. Skyguide initially said the closur...

Switzerland has lost its top spot in the latest World Competitiveness ranking compiled by the Lausanne-based IMD business school. Among the reasons for the drop are Switzerland’s comparatively high prices and the weakening economic efficiency duri...

The Swiss Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) has downgraded its economic growth forecast for 2022 to 2.6% due to the war in Ukraine and uncertainties in China. “The Swiss economy made a solid start to the year, but prospects for the internati...

Twenty-five people have been treated for burns after walking on hot coals during a private event near the city of Zurich, according to the cantonal police. Emergency services were called to treat people for injuries at a corporate get-together on th...

The US tax authority IRS wants further information from the Swiss authorities on account data at 26 financial institutions. The IRS has made numerous requests for information in the past. The requests for administrative assistance concern bank accou...

A perceived lack of equal rights for women and men in Switzerland have been at the centre of a day of action. Organisers of the event on Tuesday said the political fight for equal pay and respect for women had made hardly any progress over the past ...

The Swiss parliament has exonerated Interior Minister Alain Berset of abusing state resources to handle an attempt by a citizen to blackmail him. The control committees of the House of Representatives and the Senate on Tuesday said Berset was justif...

Parliament has called for additional efforts to boost the Swiss tourism industry. The Senate on Tuesday followed the House of Representatives approving a demand for the government to launch an “efficient programme” to support the industry which ...

Four people suspected of supporting the Islamic State terror organisation have been arrested in a joint operation by Swiss and German justice authorities. The Swiss Office of the Attorney General (OAG) said three suspects had been detained and sever...

The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, says she will not seek re-election for another term, but denied the decision was motivated by criticism of her recent controversial visit to China. Bachelet made her announcem...

A wolf hybrid has been shot in Switzerland for the first time. Genetic tests have confirmed that an animal killed in March in the Rhine Valley in eastern Switzerland was the offspring of a wolf and a dog. Investigations by the Laboratory for Conserv...

The World Trade Organization (WTO) serves to secure peace, prosperity and a sustainable economy, said Economics Minister Guy Parmelin at the opening of the WTO’s 12th Ministerial Conference in Geneva on Sunday. Following Covid-related delays, the ...

Almost three-quarters (72%) of respondents to a Swiss survey are in favour of increasing the price of airline tickets for climate reasons. In the event of an introduction, 42% of respondents back a levy of CHF30 ($30.40) for short-haul flights and C...

The Federal Office of Police (Fedpol) is investigating war crimes in Ukraine. The aim is to gather evidence in order to be able to respond quickly to any subsequent criminal proceedings or requests for mutual legal assistance, namely from the Interna...

Swiss tennis star Roger Federer said he is “definitely” intending to return to top-level tennis in 2023, but he added that he had not made any concrete plans beyond his scheduled appearances at the Laver Cup and his home tournament in Basel later...

Around 160 female mayors of Swiss cities and municipalities have met in the Swiss capital for the first time. The aim of the meeting, organised by government minister Simonetta Sommaruga, was to exchange experiences and knowledge and to improve netw...

Energy supply is the most pressing problem for the Swiss economy, according to Christoph Mäder, president of economiesuisse, the Swiss Business Federation. The fact that Switzerland could be confronted with a power shortage as early as this winter ...

The Swiss government has adopted the latest set of European Union sanctions against Russia and Belarus over the war in Ukraine, including an embargo on crude oil imports and certain refined petroleum products from Russia. The Federal Council on Frid...

Despite continued growth in its asset management sector, Switzerland is set to lose ground compared with competitors in the coming years, an annual report predicts. The “Global Wealth Report 2022”, published on Thursday by the Boston Consulting ...

Swiss researchers have created a large inventory of microorganisms found in cryospheric ecosystems such as the Antarctic and in glaciers. The cryosphere covers nearly 20% of the Earth’s surface and includes polar ice caps, mountain glaciers, glaci...

The son of a top Indonesian politician has drowned in the River Aare in central Switzerland. He had gone swimming on May 26 and had been missing since then. The body of Emmeril Mumtadz, 22, was found floating in the overflow basin of the Engehalde w...

The volume of sustainable investments in Switzerland increased by almost a third last year, reaching an all-time high of CHF1.98 trillion ($2 trillion). This continuing growth – the rate is almost the same as last year – is mainly due to the in...