Protecting Swiss glaciers with white tarpaulins reduces ice and snow melt by around 60%, a new study shows. But this method cannot be applied on a large scale for reasons of cost. Just 0.02% of the country’s total glacier area is currently covered...

Starting Saturday, the Swiss will be able to light a candle on the Internet and “flood the map” of the country “with a sea of lights”, in a show of solidarity being organised by Swiss churches. The virtual candlelight vigil is a way for peop...

Switzerland has followed the United States, the European Union and Britain in sanctioning 11 people considered responsible for the coup in Myanmar. This decision comes two months after the military junta overthrew the government. Since then, those w...

Economics Minister Guy Parmelin and the Director-General of the International Labour Organization (ILO), Guy Ryder, have concluded an agreement on development cooperation. Parmelin, who holds the rotating Swiss presidency this year, also announced t...

US President Joe Biden’s major infrastructure plan is raising high hopes for Swiss firms in the construction and building industry. Although first contracts are expected to go to local firms, experts believe Swiss firms could score opportunities th...

Paris-based studio Bruther, founded by Stéphanie Bru and Alexandre Theriot, has won the seventh edition of the Swiss Architectural Award. “The three works presented by Bruther deal, with great coherence and quality, with the theme of the peripher...

The pollen season is starting earlier and is growing more intense every year as a result of rising temperatures, according to a major study. The Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute (Swiss TPH) in collaboration with the Federal Office of Meteo...

Switzerland has signed a contract to buy the Skyview airspace surveillance and mission control system from the French supplier Thales. As part of the army’s Air 2030 procurement programme, the Swiss air force’s existing airspace surveillance and...

Major industry associations have joined forces with public agencies to combat free-riders who abuse the “Swiss brand” abroad. The association for Swissness enforcement is intended to foster coordinated action against the wrongful use abroad of S...

The Swiss government has agreed to extend financial aid to people working in the culture sector. Applicants, including self-employed artists with frequently changing and limited work contracts, will be able to receive funds for loss of earnings from...

Twice as many people were caught up in Swiss avalanches last winter, which resulted in a higher rate of deaths than in previous years. By March 30, 27 avalanche fatalities had been recorded among 215 incidents of people being swept away. The average...

Gender equality is improving in Switzerland, according to a World Economic Forum (WEF) global ranking that saw the Alpine state move back into the top ten of best performing countries. Switzerland jumped eight places to number ten in the latest edit...

An intruder gained entry to the Swiss embassy in Washington trying to access the nearby ambassador’s residence. The Swiss foreign ministry on Tuesday confirmed news reports about the incident. The ministry said the man was denied entry on Monda...

The remains of a Swiss women, who had been kidnapped by Islamic terrorists and already declared dead, have been identified in Mali. Beatrice Stöckli had been taken hostage in Mali in 2016 by the jihadist group Jama'at Nusrat Al-Islam wa'l-Muslimin ...

The Swiss government has agreed to send up to four experts to participate in a United Nations mine clearing programme in Sudan. The unarmed experts will support the planning and carrying out of demining operations as part of an international peace ...

Switzerland is providing another CHF60 million ($63.8 million) this year for humanitarian aid to the population in Syria and its neighbouring countries. The pledge was made at a United Nations conference, held in Brussels on Tuesday, according to th...

Police in Western Switzerland launched an operation on Tuesday to remove protestors who have been occupying, since last October, a quarry owned by cement maker Lafarge-Holcim. Police approached the camp early on Tuesday morning and asked the activis...

Authorities in the north-eastern Swiss town of Rapperswil have turned down an application for a Covid-19 demonstration next month – the second refusal for a march following a large gathering at Liestal in canton Basel Country ten days ago. Members...

Paléo, Switzerland’s largest outdoor music festival, has been cancelled for the second year in a row due to the Covid-19 pandemic, organisers confirmed on Tuesday. The list of cancelled summer rock festivals in Switzerland continues to grow. “T...

The number of Swiss citizens living beyond the country’s borders increased again last year, slightly. Almost two-thirds of the Swiss abroad live in Europe, particularly in France. The Federal Statistical Office (FSO) said on Tuesday that in 2020, ...

The Swiss bank Credit Suisse says it may face a “highly significant” loss in the first quarter due to an unnamed American hedge fund client defaulting on margin calls. In a statement issued on Monday, the bank said: “While at this time it is p...

Fossilised snails, pieces of bone, teeth and jaw fragments have been discovered at a construction site in the Swiss capital’s main railway station. During the construction of the new underground station of the Regional Transport Bern-Solothurn (RB...

Over 130 humanitarian groups, including Amnesty Switzerland, have repeated demands for the Swiss government to take in vulnerable refugees stranded in camps in Greece. The Swiss authorities maintain their position. “The situation for refugees in G...

A cold snap during the main flowering period and a hot summer with little rain prevented a large grape harvest in Switzerland last year. However, the rich aromas and high sugar content promise a top vintage. A total of 84 million litres was harveste...

Gastrosuisse, the umbrella organisation for the Swiss catering industry, says it wants to launch a popular initiative called “Fair compensation in the event of a pandemic”. Swiss politics and legislation were not sufficiently prepared for the em...

Swiss tennis star Roger Federer has been recruited as an “ambassador” to help promote his home country’s tourism sector, which has been hard hit by the Covid-19 pandemic. The winner of 20 grand slam titles has begun a long-term collaboration w...

Voters in the Swiss town of Moutier have decided to leave canton Bern and join canton Jura. Sunday’s result was 2,114 “yes” votes against 1,740 “no” votes, or 54.9% in favour. Already in 2017, residents had narrowly voted in favour of a ch...

Pierre Maudet, the Geneva politician found guilty of accepting perks, has lost his bid for election to the Geneva cantonal government. On Sunday afternoon he congratulated his opponent, Green Party candidate Fabienne Fischer, via an open letter, wri...

Women serving in the Swiss Army will soon receive uniforms and gear specifically tailored for their bodies. The current equipment and clothing is unisex, and not – or only somewhat – adapted to the needs of women, who account for 0.9% of the Swi...

The Swiss authorities are seeing increasingly aggressive responses to measures curbing the spread of the coronavirus. A report in the Sunday newspaper SonntagsBlick describes various online chat groups and individuals trying to attract people willin...