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Swiss Info

Wed, 12 Oct 2022 07:22:00 GMT
Justice minister seeks to clarify legal status for Ukrainian refugees
Justice Minister Karin Keller-Sutter says there is no need to extend the special legal status for Ukrainian refugees in Switzerland. If the Swiss government does not revoke it, the refugees could benefit from the protection for up to five years, bef...

Tue, 11 Oct 2022 13:30:27 GMT
Zurich airport ground staff negotiate pay rise
After weeks of talks between Swissport and union representatives, employees will get a small pay hike and a safeguard against inflation. Employees of Swissport, the world’s largest airport ground services and cargo handling company, will receive a...

Tue, 11 Oct 2022 12:59:29 GMT
Switzerland discriminates against widowers, says European court
The European Court of Human Rights has upheld a complaint made by a Swiss widower alleging discrimination when it comes to survivor’s pension entitlement. On Tuesday the court found Switzerland guilty of unequal treatment of widowers compared to w...

Tue, 11 Oct 2022 11:29:00 GMT
Government sets up sounding board for input in EU talks
A special board has been set up to ensure Swiss negotiations with the European Union reflect ground realities. The sounding board, comprising representatives from the cantons, social partners and the business community, convened for the first time ...

Tue, 11 Oct 2022 09:48:00 GMT
Swiss compare their refugee policy in international context
The Swiss government considers itself an established resettlement state for refugee despite the lack of humanitarian corridors or community sponsorship programmes. A study, carried out by the State Secretariat for Migration, compared its policy with...

Tue, 11 Oct 2022 07:27:00 GMT
Geneva-based UNHCR praises Germany's refugee policy
Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel has received the United Nation refugee agency’s top award in the Swiss city of Geneva. During Monday's ceremony she gave credit to the people behind the welcome of more than one million refugees, mostly from ...

Tue, 11 Oct 2022 07:02:00 GMT
Swiss court rejects Russia's appeal in Yukos case
Russia must pay $2.6 billion (CHF2.6 billion) to Yukos Capital after Switzerland's highest court rejected an appeal by Moscow. Russia had challenged whether a Geneva arbitration court was competent to hear the case brought by the financial arm of Yu...

Mon, 10 Oct 2022 15:20:43 GMT
Switzerland condemns Russian missile attack on Ukraine
Swiss President Ignazio Cassis has condemned Russia and called on it to immediately stop its "indiscriminate attacks". “Strongly condemn the attacks against residential areas in different Ukrainian cities. Switzerland calls on Russia to stop these...

Mon, 10 Oct 2022 12:57:14 GMT
Swiss government jet finds a buyer
A Pilatus PC-24 jet that was part of the official fleet of aircraft reserved for the governing Federal Council has been sold. The relatively new plane was sold to a private clothing company JoyVida International based in Interlaken that submitted th...

Mon, 10 Oct 2022 12:40:00 GMT
Covid-19 booster shots available to Swiss residents
Covid-19 booster shots will be available free to Swiss residents from Monday. The Swiss authorities have recommended that people aged over 16, especially the most vulnerable, get a booster shot to contain a new wave of infections expected this autumn...

Mon, 10 Oct 2022 09:34:00 GMT
Switzerland shares bank details with Nigeria for first time
Five additional countries, including Nigeria, now benefit from an automatic exchange of banking information with Switzerland, taking the total to over 100 for the first time. On Monday, the Swiss Federal Tax Administration revealed that it had prov...

Mon, 10 Oct 2022 09:32:00 GMT
Climate activists arrested for blocking Swiss oil refinery
Climate activists who blocked the entrance to Switzerland’s main oil refinery, located in the northwest of the country, were arrested on Monday by police and their barricade was removed. Around a dozen activists had blocked the entrance road to th...

Mon, 10 Oct 2022 06:51:00 GMT
Gazprombank to end Swiss operations
Russia’s Gazprombank has decided to cease operating in Switzerland after “a strategic review of various options”, it said on Monday. The bank had been one of the last remaining channels for financing trade flows between Russia and Switzerland ...

Sun, 9 Oct 2022 16:16:00 GMT
Swiss hospitals face tight financial outlook
Consultancy firm PwC reckons the Swiss healthcare sector will need to recruit some 40,000 nurses by 2040, the NZZ am Sonntag reports. An annual report by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), which looks at the financial state of Swiss hospitals, also predi...

Sun, 9 Oct 2022 13:40:00 GMT
Electricity firms on the hunt for Alpine solar opportunities
Since parliament passed a law easing the regulations for building high-altitude solar parks, seven big Swiss electricity companies have started looking around for options, writes the NZZ am Sonntag. The newspaper reported on Sunday that the companie...

Sun, 9 Oct 2022 10:47:00 GMT
SWISS plans partial shift towards solar fuel
Swiss International Air Lines (SWISS) plans to start using small amounts of solar fuel in its planes as of next year, the company’s CEO has said. Dieter Vranckx told the SonntagsZeitung newspaper that the airline’s goal was to reach a target of ...

Sat, 8 Oct 2022 15:39:00 GMT
Uber to roll out Swiss-wide ‘dual model’ for drivers
The ride-hailing company says it will offer drivers the possibility of remaining independent or becoming official employees of a subcontractor firm. The “dual model” will be extended gradually across the country – with the exception of Geneva ...

Sat, 8 Oct 2022 11:17:47 GMT
Chinese official irked by Swiss politicians’ planned Taiwan visit
The Chinese consul general in Zurich has said a trip by Swiss parliamentarians to Taiwan next year would be “disruptive” and unhelpful for Swiss-China relations. “Parliamentarians are official representatives of a country, not simple citizens,...

Fri, 7 Oct 2022 13:25:10 GMT
Switzerland sends rubble-clearing equipment to Ukraine
The first shipment of heavy equipment meant to help Ukraine deal with destroyed infrastructure has left Switzerland. Two lorries carrying four construction vehicles left for the eastern Ukrainian region of Kharkiv on Friday. It is the first deliver...

Fri, 7 Oct 2022 12:04:08 GMT
Switzerland and EU issue joint declaration to further cooperation
In a 13-point joint declaration, representatives from Switzerland and the European Union have stressed the importance of maintaining good and stable relations, for the time being on a bilateral basis. There are no insurmountable political difference...

Fri, 7 Oct 2022 09:23:03 GMT
Switzerland urged to reach net zero by 2035 ‘to be fair’
Switzerland should aim to be climate neutral by 2035 instead of 2050 to limit global warming to 1.5°C, say some scientists. In a study released on Friday, the Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW) analysed Swiss commitment to reducing greenh...

Fri, 7 Oct 2022 08:56:37 GMT
Authorities react to need for more refugee accommodation
More refugees are arriving in Switzerland via the Balkans and other routes. The need for civil defence facilities and multi-purpose halls to accommodate them is therefore increasing. The government assumes that 19,000 asylum applications will have b...

Fri, 7 Oct 2022 07:18:27 GMT
President: ‘Russia using energy and migration as weapon against Europe’
Swiss President Ignazio Cassis has spoken of a turning point for the continent at the first summit of the European Political Community, attended by more than 40 European leaders. “This summit is a symbol. A symbol that Europe can be strong when it...

Thu, 6 Oct 2022 16:07:00 GMT
Covid vaccination sceptics urge probe into mortality rate
A far-right conservative political party has called for an independent enquiry into the high mortality rate in Switzerland this year. The Federal Democratic Union said it handed in nearly 10,000 signatures collected over the past two week for a - no...

Thu, 6 Oct 2022 13:33:43 GMT
UN body rejects debate on China’s human rights record
The UN Human Rights Council in Geneva has rejected a Western-led motion to hold a debate about alleged human rights abuses in China’s Xinjiang region after a UN report found possible crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslims. The d...

Thu, 6 Oct 2022 13:08:00 GMT
Government slammed for delay in monkeypox vaccination
The umbrella group for gays and bisexuals, Pink Cross, has criticised the Swiss government for failing to sign contracts to procure a vaccine against monkeypox. Roman Heggli, Pink Cross executive director, said it's incomprehensible that the authori...

Thu, 6 Oct 2022 10:22:00 GMT
Some 58% of Swiss buildings heated with fossil fuels
The share of buildings heated with oil has declined in recent years while gas heating as well as heat pumps have become more popular. Heating oil was used in 41% of buildings in Switzerland and thus remains the main energy source for heating accordi...

Thu, 6 Oct 2022 09:59:50 GMT
Swiss youths admit to shoplifting and vandalism, study found
Teenagers in Switzerland most often commit shoplifting or carry weapons according to a major international study on juvenile delinquency. Acts of vandalism come in third place. In terms of violence, fights between groups are the most common. This s...

Thu, 6 Oct 2022 09:43:35 GMT
Swiss border security sounds alarm over uptick in transit migrants
The number of migrants apprehended at Swiss borders has increased significantly in the last few months, reaching a level in September not seen since 2016. In an interview with the Tages-Anzeiger newspaper, Christian Bock, director of the Federal Off...

Thu, 6 Oct 2022 07:29:24 GMT
Switzerland condemns violence by Iranian security forces
The Swiss foreign ministry has called on the Iranian government to protect Iranians’ right to freedom of expression amid a violent crackdown on anti-government protests that erupted after the death of a young Iranian woman. In a statement released...



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