Swiss Info

Wed, 27 Mar 2024 15:15:53 GMT
Swiss government outlines proposal to fund ‘13th month' pension rise
The Swiss government has outlined its plan to finance the 13th month pension payment initiative, which was approved by a majority of Swiss voters on March 3. It will be paid once a year and will be funded by a rise in employee contributions and, poss...

Wed, 27 Mar 2024 14:43:29 GMT
Avalanches killed 14 people in Switzerland this winter
Fourteen people died in avalanches in the Swiss Alps this winter, mostly ski tourers, the WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research (SLF) reported on Wednesday. This is slightly below the long-term average of 17 for the same period. The 14 people...

Wed, 27 Mar 2024 13:55:24 GMT
Anna Fontcuberta i Morral named as first female EPFL president
The Swiss government has appointed Anna Fontcuberta i Morral as the new president of the Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL). The 49-year-old professor of materials science and engineering will take over from Martin Vetterli on January 1,...

Wed, 27 Mar 2024 13:11:20 GMT
Swiss initiatives seek to end discrimination of married couples
Switzerland’s Centre Party has handed in signatures for two initiatives aimed at "achieving justice for married couples” by ending discrimination linked to taxes and pensions. The two popular initiatives, entitled “Yes to fair taxes” and “Y...

Wed, 27 Mar 2024 09:46:57 GMT
Switzerland warns against using ‘Lemon Bottle’ fat-dissolving injections
Switzerland's drug regulator Swissmedic has issued a warning about the “Lemon Bottle” fat-burning jab which has taken social media by storm. It advises against using the product which has “no medicinal effect”. In a statement on Tuesday, the ...

Wed, 27 Mar 2024 09:18:27 GMT
Russia sanctions: Switzerland must do more, says committee
A Swiss parliamentary committee has backed a call for Switzerland to join the international REPO taskforce coordinating western sanctions against Russia. The House of Representatives will debate the issue next month. Switzerland has not set up a form...

Wed, 27 Mar 2024 08:05:43 GMT
UBS finalises transfer of Credit Suisse securitisation business to Apollo
UBS Group and Apollo Global Management have reached an agreement regarding the carveout of Credit Suisse's former securitised products business. Under the new deal, announced on Wednesday, Apollo will purchase from UBS $8 billion of "senior secured f...

Tue, 26 Mar 2024 15:37:41 GMT
UNRWA head calls on Switzerland to resume financial support
The director of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), Philippe Lazzarini, has called on Switzerland and the European Union to resume their support for the organisation. Do you want to read our weekly top stor...

Tue, 26 Mar 2024 15:14:10 GMT
Higher proportion of foreigners died in Swiss mountains
Nearly two-thirds of the 114 people who died in mountain accidents in the Swiss Alps last year were foreigners – a higher proportion than in previous years, according to the Swiss Alpine Club (SAC). Do you want to read our weekly top stories? Subsc...

Tue, 26 Mar 2024 14:52:57 GMT
Esprit Switzerland stores to close after bankruptcy
The Swiss branch of the popular high-street fashion retailer Esprit has gone bust, it was announced on Tuesday. Do you want to read our weekly top stories? Subscribe here. According to an official statement from Esprit, the bankruptcy of the Swiss su...

Tue, 26 Mar 2024 14:22:32 GMT
De-iced Euclid space telescope regains sight
The Euclid space telescope can see clearly again after a de-icing operation went better than expected, the European Space Agency (ESA) announced on Tuesday. Do you want to read our weekly top stories? Subscribe here. A week ago, ESA announced that a ...

Tue, 26 Mar 2024 13:13:37 GMT
Charges pressed after $5m fake banknote scheme uncovered
Two alleged Swiss fraudsters have been charged with attempting to print a stockpile of fake US dollar bills with a face value of at least $5 million. According to the Federal Prosecutor's Office, the accused, a 72-year-old from the canton of Thurgau ...

Tue, 26 Mar 2024 12:56:40 GMT
Swiss intelligence agency 'hobbled by staff disputes'
The effectiveness of the Swiss intelligence service has been compromised by staffing issues that prompted a reorganisation agency, according to its supervisory body. Supervisors have noted some serious shortcomings in the personnel administration and...

Tue, 26 Mar 2024 12:35:14 GMT
‘Too Big to Fail’ risk acceptable at largest Swiss cantonal bank
The Swiss financial regulator has approved plans by the country’s largest cantonal bank to wind up in an orderly manner should it go bust. Large-scale banks must satisfy the regulator that their insolvency would not significantly damage the economy...

Tue, 26 Mar 2024 10:41:02 GMT
Swiss life satisfaction ‘the highest in Europe’
Swiss citizens are the most content in Europe despite almost one in ten people enduring financial difficulties, according to an official survey. Do you want to read our weekly top stories? Subscribe here. According to the Federal Statistical Office (...

Tue, 26 Mar 2024 10:15:33 GMT
Swiss ‘toxic cheesemaker’ charged with manslaughter
A former dairy operator in Switzerland is facing 20 criminal charges, including involuntary manslaughter, following a series of deaths linked to listeria poisoning. The public prosecutor's office in the canton of Schwyz has brought 20 charges against...

Tue, 26 Mar 2024 09:40:17 GMT
Swiss anti-radicalisation centre contacted almost every week
An extremism prevention initiative in Switzerland has been kept busy with calls from the public, who are mostly reporting cases of suspected radicalisation. Between April 2021 and December 2023, the centre for extremism and violence prevention in Win...

Mon, 25 Mar 2024 15:32:50 GMT
Swiss politician Alain Berset remains in running for Council of Europe top job
Former Swiss Interior Minister Alain Berset is one of three names up for election as Secretary General of the Council of Europe, the Swiss foreign ministry announced on Monday. The Parliamentary Assembly will choose a winner on June 25. The foreign m...

Mon, 25 Mar 2024 15:00:20 GMT
Experts slightly more pessimistic about Swiss economy
Economic experts are slightly less optimistic about the Swiss economy than they were three months ago. They are thus lowering their growth forecast slightly. However, the experts are somewhat more confident about inflation. The economists surveyed by...

Mon, 25 Mar 2024 13:40:26 GMT
Anti-Semitism: Zurich attacker radicalised in Tunisia and online
The 15-year-old who attacked an orthodox Jewish man in Zurich on March 2 became radicalised in Tunisia and on internet forums, Zurich's security director said on Monday. Investigations are still progressing in earnest, Mario Fehr said at the presenta...

Mon, 25 Mar 2024 12:34:44 GMT
Swiss financial watchdog fines Bank Audi for money-laundering violations
The Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) has identified serious violations of money-laundering regulations at the private bank, Bank Audi. FINMA is fining the institution, which belongs to a Lebanese banking group, and is demanding re...

Mon, 25 Mar 2024 12:30:20 GMT
Switzerland sees record levels of theft in 2023
The number of criminal offences in Switzerland rose by 14% to 522,558 last year. Thefts of or from a vehicle increased by as much as 71.4% to 18,192 offences – the highest figures since the statistics were introduced in 2009. According to the polic...

Mon, 25 Mar 2024 10:31:49 GMT
Swiss Federal Railways to use bodycams for safety
Swiss Federal Railways is testing the use of bodycams. They are intended to contribute to safety on public transport by de-escalating conflicts and to serve as evidence. The transport police are aiming to introduce bodycams for trained police officer...

Mon, 25 Mar 2024 09:36:18 GMT
Swiss demand more sustainability from companies and the state
More than half of Swiss residents are demanding more sustainability from companies and the state. But consumers should also exert more influence. This is the conclusion of a study published on Monday by the consulting firm Deloitte which surveyed 1,9...

Mon, 25 Mar 2024 08:55:33 GMT
Hydrogen train from Switzerland sets world record
A hydrogen-powered train from the Swiss railroad company Stadler has secured a place in the Guinness World Records. The Flirt passenger train covered 2,803 kilometres without refuelling or recharging. The world record journey took place on March 20, ...

Sun, 24 Mar 2024 12:13:35 GMT
Steep rise in deportation flights from Switzerland
Switzerland deported three times as many people on special flights last year than in 2022, mostly to European Union countries, it was reported on Sunday. A total of 339 asylum seekers were deported from the Alpine country on 49 special charter flight...

Sun, 24 Mar 2024 11:38:28 GMT
‘13th month’ pension rise can be funded via financial transaction tax, says Centre Party
Switzerland's Centre Party is in favour of a tax on financial transactions to fund the 13th pension payment initiative, which was approved by a majority of Swiss voters on March 3, says party president Gerhard Pfister. The tax proposed by the party w...

Sun, 24 Mar 2024 10:55:55 GMT
UNRWA chief denounces mistreatment and torture by Israel
The head of the United Nations Palestinian refugee agency (UNRWA), Philippe Lazzarini, has repeated his accusations of mistreatment by Israel against employees of the UN agency who have been arrested in Gaza. “We have first-hand testimony accusing ...

Sun, 24 Mar 2024 10:09:08 GMT
Marcel Dettling appointed as Swiss People’s Party’s new leader
Marcel Dettling, a 43-year-old farmer from canton Schwyz, was elected on Saturday as the new leader of the right-wing Swiss People's Party, Switzerland's biggest political party. The Swiss mountain farmer is a conservative close to the party’s gras...

Sat, 23 Mar 2024 11:48:32 GMT
UN Office at Geneva must save CHF14 million due to cashflow crisis
The United Nations Office at Geneva must save $15.5 million (CHF13.9 million) due to an ongoing liquidity crisis. Some of the buildings at its European headquarters are to be temporarily closed. “We are going to do everything we can, without touchi...

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