United States President Joe Biden will meet his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on the neutral ground of Geneva next month in an attempt to patch up deteriorating relations between the two super-powers. “The leaders will discuss the full range ...

A working group led by the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) has called for better detection and support for potential victims of trafficking within the Swiss asylum system. “The discovery and recognition of potential victims of human traffick...

Valais, the southwestern canton home to industrial, pharmaceutical and watchmaking firms, has been named the least expensive place for families with children to live in Switzerland. Expat workers love Switzerland’s high wages and landscape but fre...

The Covid-19 pandemic cost Switzerland CHF11 billion ($12.3 billion) in short-time working payments last year, with around 20% of the money helping to prop up the hard-hit gastronomy sector. The figures were revealed by the State Secretariat for Eco...

A blind man has regained part of his sight after a new treatment genetically engineered his eye to produce light-sensitive algae proteins. The technique, known as optogenetics, was successfully trialled in France with input from the Institute of Mol...

The national security advisers of Russia and the United States held wide-ranging talks in Geneva on Monday in what both sides described as an important step in preparing for a possible summit between US President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladi...

Switzerland and the World Health Organization (WHO) have agreed to launch the first WHO BioHub Facility. This will enhance the rapid sharing of viruses and other pathogens between laboratories and partners globally. Under the agreement, signed at th...

“I still can’t really believe it!” Gjon Muharremaj said after landing at Zurich Airport on Sunday. The bronze medallist at this year’s Eurovision Song Contest is the first Swiss act to make the top three since Céline Dion won the event in 19...

The Swiss foreign ministry has joined the European Union and the United States in calling for the release of Roman Protasevich, an opposition-minded activist who was forced off a Ryanair flight between two EU countries on Sunday. Belarusian authorit...

The Swiss government is apparently set to abandon negotiations with the European Union about an umbrella accord regulating bilateral relations. Several Sunday newspapers quoted unnamed sources saying that none of the seven ministers saw any chance o...

A senior official of the South American football federation has been fined as part of a Swiss inquiry into money laundering. The office of the attorney general ordered Eduardo Deluca, a former secretary general of Conmebol, to pay a financial penalt...

New efforts are needed to convince elderly people in Switzerland to get vaccinated against Covid-19 according to a senior health expert. Christoph Berger, the president of the Federal Commission for Vaccinations, said up to 35% of the 60 to 80-year-...

Opponents of the Swiss governments’ anti-Covid policy have staged another street protest. About 5,000 people wearing white overalls marched silently in the town of Neuchâtel on Saturday, according to the Swiss news agency, Keystone-SDA. They acc...

The Swiss National Bank (SNB) can expand its balance sheet further if needed, says chairman of the board Thomas Jordan. “A big balance sheet is per se no problem. We can expand the balance sheet further, if monetary policy so requires,” he told ...

An estimated 30,000 people have participated in street protests across Switzerland to demand concrete steps to reduce global warming. Organisers said more than 100 events took place in cities and towns notably in German- and French-speaking regions ...

Switzerland is sending 30 tonnes of humanitarian supplies to Nepal, which is struggling to cope with a Covid-19 health crisis. “The consignment comprises 40 respirators provided free of charge by the Armed Forces Pharmacy, 10 oxygen concentrators ...

Switzerland has welcomed the conclusion of a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas. In a statement released on Friday late afternoon, the Swiss foreign ministry called on the parties to “seriously addr...

Nigeria will release a Swiss-flagged ship that has been detained for more than three years. An agreement to this effect was signed by the Nigerian justice minister and the Swiss ambassador to Nigeria, according to the Swiss foreign ministry. A corre...

Swiss Nobel Laureate Didier Queloz is moving to the top-ranked Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich to help establish a new centre looking at the origins of life. The 2019 winner of the Nobel Prize for Physics will be designated director of ...

Challenging scientific advice could have averted some mistakes that were made during the coronavirus pandemic, says Swiss interior minister Alain Berset. In an interview with Swiss public broadcaster SRF, Berset admitted that he was too quick to imp...

Four ex-football officials from Germany and Switzerland have been collectively awarded nearly CHF1 million ($1.1 million) following a collapsed fraud trial in the Alpine nation. They were accused of making corrupt payments to secure the 2006 World C...

Around 20% of pupils in Canton Zurich have had the coronavirus, preliminary results of an antibody study have found. This is the third time that the University of Zurich (UZH) has tested 2,500 schoolchildren across the canton as part of its Ciao Cor...

Swiss politicians are calling for the partial sale of defence contractor RUAG to be put on hold to investigate allegations of a second major hack against the company. The government-owned RUAG International plans to sell off its armaments divisions ...

Rubber from used tyres has been used in road construction in the United States and Bavaria for many years. Swiss scientists are now investigating whether this form of recycling can be introduced in Switzerland. Around 70,000 tonnes of scrap tyres ar...

Over the past 12 months less than 1% of workplaces visited by the Swiss National Accident Insurance Fund (SUVA) were found to be flouting Covid-19 health measures. SUVA carried out 19,245 workplace inspections across the country between March 2020 a...

Women spent more time than men on unpaid domestic and family work in Switzerland last year (28.7 hours a week compared with 19.1 hours). However, men have pulled up their socks since 2010, when they spent only 16.2 hours a week on such chores. Both ...

Bernese musician Stephan Eicher will receive the Grand Prix Music 2021, presented by the Federal Office of Culture and worth CHF100,000 ($111,000). As a “cosmopolitan chansonnier”, Swiss musician Stephan Eicher “lets his words and melodies tra...

The Swiss special prosecutor who was recused from an investigation of FIFA President Gianni Infantino for biased conduct has blasted the decision while handing in his resignation. The Federal Criminal Court found earlier in May month that Stefan Kel...

The number of stopping sites for Yenish, Sinti and Roma communities in Switzerland is still insufficient, says a foundation for travelling peoples. The 47 areas in the country would need to be supplemented by 80 to 90 new sites in order to meet the ...

An international study puts Switzerland above the average when it comes to alcohol intake, although during the pandemic, drinkers seem to have slowed down. The report published on Wednesday by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Developmen...