Tag Archives: Latest News

Checking a Covid certificate in a Lausanne café in September Keystone / Laurent Gillieron While most Swiss hotels and restaurants are critical of the need to show a Covid certificate, overall small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) do not perceive it as a disadvantage. A survey of 201 SMEs in German-speaking Switzerland found that 58% of managers in the hotel and catering industry described the consequences of the certificate as negative to very negative. Since...

In September the city of Lausanne introduced a 30km/h speed limit on 122 streets between 10pm-6am to reduce noise pollution – a Swiss first. Keystone / Jean-christophe Bott Most Swiss residents would be in favour of a 30 kilometre (18 miles) per hour speed limit in urban areas, a survey has found. A poll by the Swiss Council for Accident Prevention (BPA), published on TuesdayExternal link, found that 52% of respondents support a 30km/h speed limit on city streets. An...

V for Vaccine? One of many masked guests at Fantasy Basel on Saturday Keystone / Peter Klaunzer The three-day Fantasy Basel festival for fans of films, games, comics, cosplay and manga has re-opened its doors after a two-year break. Fantasy BaselExternal link, also known as the Swiss Comic Con, is one of the biggest events of its kind in Switzerland. Fans of pop culture are drawn to the exhibition halls in Basel, where many visitors dress up in flashy costumes...

A Crypto AG encryption device Keystone / Ennio Leanza A special public prosecutor has been named in connection with the Crypto spying affair involving manipulated encryption devices which the CIA and the German intelligence agency used to spy on half the world. Peter Marti, a former judge and district attorney, will look into the violations of official secrecy that took place during the investigation, the supervisory authority of the Office of the Attorney General of...

Paradeplatz in Zurich, the Swiss financial heartland © Keystone / Gaetan Bally Switzerland is still number one in terms of wealth management internationally, despite the growth in new assets slowing in 2020, according to consulting firm Deloitte. The company found that overall, “the leading centres of international wealth management did surprisingly well during the Covid-19 pandemic”. Switzerland managed some $2.6 trillion (CHF2.4 trillion) in international assets in...

The weather was favourable for Swiss farmers last year Keystone / Sigi Tischler Covid, the weather and the pig market were kind to farmers in 2020, with income increasing 6.7% compared with 2019. But this year is looking much bleaker. The average income last year was CHF79,200 ($85,500) per farm, CHF5,000 more than the year before, Agroscope, the Swiss federal body for agriculture research, said on TuesdayExternal link. Given that there are an average of 1.35 family...

The Swiss Pavilion has a mirrored front and a 700-square-metre red carpet to welcome visitors Keystone / Sebstien Crettaz After eight years of planning and billions of dollars in spending, the Middle East’s first World Fair has opened in Dubai. Switzerland is participating at Expo 2020 with its own pavilion. This offers visitors “a memorable experience and showcases our country in all its diversity: from the beauty of the Swiss Alps to Switzerland’s role as a leading...

Poster advertising of tobacco products and e-cigarettes that can be seen from public places – for example, here in Zurich – will be banned. © Keystone / Gaetan Bally The Swiss parliament has agreed new advertising and sponsorship regulations for tobacco products. However, the supporters of a total ban on tobacco advertising are unimpressed. The long-running debate was heated until the end, with the political left trying in vain to push through a more restrictive...

The voluntary site allowed people to register their vaccinations online, but the probe found their data was not secure. Keystone / Gaetan Bally A federal investigator has found “serious” technical failures at voluntary vaccination registry mesvaccins.ch, which was closed in May following data security concerns. “The technical failures were indeed very serious, affecting all services of the platform,” Federal Data Protection Commissioner Adrian Lobsiger told Swiss...

Respondents thought reducing driving was necessary – for other people Keystone / Urs Flueeler A majority (70%) of Swiss believe it’s important to avoid emissions in their everyday lives, although fewer are likely to back up their views with action, according to a survey. There were no significant differences between women and men, but the over-50 age group believed it was more important to avoid emissions than younger age groups, said a surveyExternal link by...