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Swiss Info

Sun, 8 May 2022 12:18:00 GMT
Stop organic farming to help future food crisis, says Syngenta boss
Erik Fyrwald, the CEO of the Swiss agrochemicals group Syngenta, has called for an end to organic farming to avoid a worsening food crisis. The president of the Swiss Small Farmers’ Association meanwhile dismissed his arguments as “grotesque”. ...

Sun, 8 May 2022 10:14:00 GMT
Ex-banker avoids deportation to Russia due to war in Ukraine
The former Russian banker Oleg Schigajew, who has been fighting extradition from Switzerland to Russia on embezzlement charges, can stay in the Alpine country as legal proceedings against him have been stopped. On Sunday, the NZZ am Sonntag confirme...

Sat, 7 May 2022 10:52:00 GMT
EU commissioner warns against Swiss ‘no’ vote on European border agency
The European Commissioner for Home Affairs, Ylva Johansson, has warned of the negative consequences if Swiss citizens vote against raising Switzerland’s contribution to Frontex, the European border agency. A nationwide vote is planned on the issue ...

Sat, 7 May 2022 10:00:00 GMT
Swiss parliamentarians refuse to overhaul banking secrecy laws
Despite earlier criticism from a United Nations expert and campaign groups, a Swiss parliamentary committee on Friday blocked an attempt to overhaul strict Swiss banking secrecy rules. An addition to Article 47 of Switzerland’s Banking Act makes i...

Sat, 7 May 2022 09:05:00 GMT
Half a tonne of cocaine seized at Swiss Nespresso factory
Swiss police have seized more than 500kg of cocaine concealed in a container shipped from Brazil to the Nespresso factory in the town of Romont in western Switzerland. The drugs were discovered by workers unloading bags of coffee beans on May 2 and ...

Fri, 6 May 2022 14:18:00 GMT
Swiss cantons call for federal crisis taskforce
The Swiss government should set up a crisis management team to help deal with emergencies like the coronavirus pandemic, say cantons. The recommendation arises from a cantonal assessment of the response to the pandemic over the last two years. The r...

Fri, 6 May 2022 11:09:00 GMT
Ceremony marks new Swiss embassy to Holy See
The new Swiss embassy to the Vatican at the Holy See has been inaugurated and will start operating in the coming months. Since 2014, Swiss diplomatic links with the Vatican have been conducted through the Swiss ambassador in Slovenia. On Friday, Swi...

Thu, 5 May 2022 13:31:00 GMT
New Swiss stamp smells like campfire
Swiss Post has issued a special postage stamp to commemorate the national Guide and Scout Movement. With a face value of CHF1.10 ($1.10), the stamp smells of smoke and marks the National Jamboree that only takes place every 14 years, Swiss Post said...

Thu, 5 May 2022 11:12:00 GMT
Easy procedures lead to rise in reported cyberattacks
Switzerland’s competence centre for cybersecurity says attacks on computer systems more than doubled last year compared with 2020. The sharp increase to 21,712 cases from 10,833 might be due to simplified reporting procedures, the National Cyber S...

Thu, 5 May 2022 08:54:43 GMT
Nearly half of Swiss cantons dropped tax rates for top earners in 2021
Both the corporate tax rate and the tax rate for high income earners has declined in Switzerland over the last year according to an analysis by the tax advisory firm KPMG. Switzerland is under increasing pressure to come up with a plan to implement t...

Thu, 5 May 2022 07:21:00 GMT
Swiss central bank names vice-chair successor
The Swiss National Bank (SNB) has named Martin Schlegel to take over as vice-chair of its Governing Board, which sets interest rates in Switzerland. Schlegel will replace Fritz Zurbrügg who steps down at the end of July following health issues. Th...

Wed, 4 May 2022 13:56:00 GMT
Swiss government again plugs gaps for European research funding
The government has extended measures to support Swiss scientists unable to receive funding for the European Union’s flagship research and innovation programmes. A total of just over CHF1.2 billion ($1.2 billion) for 2021 and 2022 were earmarked to...

Wed, 4 May 2022 11:28:00 GMT
Switzerland mulls impact of possible EU ban on Russian oil
Brussels has proposed a phased-in ban on all imports of Russian oil as part of new sanctions against Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine. In Switzerland, views diverge on the potential impact of European bans on the Alpine country’s energy supplies....

Wed, 4 May 2022 10:23:00 GMT
Deal signed to renovate Swiss Guard barracks at Vatican
A Swiss foundation and the Vatican have agreed the terms of the first phase for the renovation of the Papal Swiss Guard barracks in Rome. The agreement covers the planning stage for the modernisation of three 19th-century buildings that house Swiss ...

Tue, 3 May 2022 14:49:00 GMT
Swiss canton has 'legal' claim to controversial artefacts
A Swiss canton has legal ownership of rare ancient artefacts, but only because it took possession of the collection before regulations were introduced to prevent unlawful imports of cultural objects. Therefore, the so-called Guigoz collection in wes...

Tue, 3 May 2022 12:50:00 GMT
Swiss biotech sidesteps Covid with record investment
Swiss biotechnology companies invested a record CHF2.6 billion ($2.7 billion) into research last year despite most concentrating their efforts away from the coronavirus pandemic. Research was instead focused on areas such as immuno-oncology, neurolo...

Tue, 3 May 2022 08:45:34 GMT
UN rapporteur calls out Switzerland for ‘criminalisation of journalism’
The UN Rapporteur for the protection of freedom of expression has criticised Switzerland's banking secrecy laws that result in self-censorship by journalists. This comes as Switzerland drops four places in the annual country ranking of freedom of the...

Mon, 2 May 2022 13:04:00 GMT
Covid loan claims fuel rise in suspected fraud cases
The number of reported suspicious financial transactions continued to rise in Switzerland in 2021, but at a lower rate than in the first year of the pandemic. Switzerland’s Money Laundering Reporting Office (MROS) saw a 12% increase of suspicious ...

Mon, 2 May 2022 09:15:00 GMT
Rising prices put pressure on Swiss consumers and industry
Consumers in Switzerland are much more pessimistic about the general economic situation, with households feeling the strain as prices continue to rise, a new survey shows. April data published by the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) on ...

Sun, 1 May 2022 17:06:41 GMT
Thousands gather in Swiss cities for May 1 demonstrations
Traditional May 1 celebrations have drawn thousands of demonstrators to Swiss cities. The situation in Ukraine was a key focus of demands this year. Demonstrations were planned in 50 locations across Switzerland on Sunday. The largest of which was i...

Sun, 1 May 2022 15:45:58 GMT
Historians trace Elon Musk’s Swiss roots to Emmental
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has roots in a small, picturesque farming region in central Switzerland. Using genealogy websites and local archives, historians have been able to connect Musk with the Haldimann name, which is still present in the Emmental region...

Sun, 1 May 2022 13:59:23 GMT
Calls grow louder for Switzerland to redefine neutrality
A Swiss parliamentary visit to Kyiv and an ammunition export ban last week have reignited debate in political circles about how Switzerland defines neutrality. The Sunday papers capture the key dividing lines. The fact that “neutrality needs to be...

Sun, 1 May 2022 10:29:19 GMT
WEF further distances itself from Russia ahead of annual meeting in Davos
The World Economic Forum, which will hold its annual meeting in Davos starting on May 22, has been distancing itself from Russian delegates, many of whom have been regular participants in WEF events. Swiss media reported on Sunday that the rupture be...

Sat, 30 Apr 2022 11:27:42 GMT
Researchers develop AI solution to monitor animal behaviour
A Switzerland-based research team has developed a new method to track and analyse animal behaviour using Artificial Intelligence. The technology is currently being tested at the Zurich Zoo. Can a machine sense when an animal is happy, curious, or af...

Fri, 29 Apr 2022 14:54:00 GMT
Credit Suisse shareholders refuse to let board off the hook
Shareholders have refused to absolve Credit Suisse board members of legal liability after a series of bungles and court cases in recent years. At an annual general meeting on Friday, a proposal to formally discharge directors of their responsibiliti...

Fri, 29 Apr 2022 12:40:00 GMT
Anti-vax Swiss special forces soldiers ‘lawfully dismissed’
Four Swiss special forces soldiers have lost a court case for unfair dismissal after they were ejected from the elite military unit for refusing Covid-19 vaccinations. In a verdict made public on Friday, the Federal Administrative Court ruled that t...

Fri, 29 Apr 2022 11:48:00 GMT
Swiss central bank rejects ‘creative’ demands to change course
The Swiss National Bank (SNB) continues to beat off demands to fight inflation by raising interest rates and to distribute more reserves to cantons and other causes. SNB president Barbara Janom Steiner showed signs of frustration in a speech on Frid...

Fri, 29 Apr 2022 10:58:56 GMT
Switzerland takes delivery of controversial Israeli surveillance drones
The first two Hermes 900 HFE reconnaissance drones have arrived in Switzerland and are expected to be operational by mid-2022. The delivery was announced by the Federal Office of Armaments (armasuisse) on Friday. The unmanned aircraft, as well as ...

Fri, 29 Apr 2022 08:18:47 GMT
Switzerland and UK sign joint declaration to deepen bilateral ties
President Ignazio Cassis and Prime Minister Boris Johnson inked an agreement to strengthen mutual cooperation in trade, finance, research and immigration. Cassis’s visit to the UK on Thursday underlined the willingness of both Switzerland and UK s...

Thu, 28 Apr 2022 16:06:00 GMT
Swiss politicians defend Ukraine visit
A cross-party group of parliamentarians insist that their recent visit to Ukraine has not compromised Switzerland’s neutrality. The delegation has been criticised, primarily by the right-wing People’s Party, for showing support for Ukraine durin...



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