Tag Archives: Latest News

The transparent HelloMask allows non-verbal communication between patients and nursing staff Visualisation: EPFL A fully transparent surgical mask that filters out germs but allows facial expressions to be seen has been developed by Swiss scientists. Caregivers should be able to wear them from the summer of 2021. “For some segments of the population – like children, the elderly and the hearing impaired – the [current] masks are a major obstacle to communication,”...

. The Swiss government wants to set aside CHF11.25 billion ($11.43 billion) in development aid for the 2021-2024 period. The governing Federal Council adopted its Strategy for International Cooperation on Wednesday after opening it up for public consultation. It will still have to be approved by parliament. The amount proposed is CHF140 million more than the current aid budget and will cost Swiss taxpayers less than one Swiss franc (CHF0.80) per inhabitant per day....

The company’s CO2 emissions in 2018 was 1,585,000 tons. (© Keystone / Laurent Gillieron) The Swiss-based agricultural firm has set aside $2 billion (around CHF1.97 billion) over five years to reduce emissions from agricultural practices. The company, which has come under fire for profiting from selling hazardous pesticides abroad, also announced on Tuesday that it will be reducing its carbon footprint by 50% by 2030. “These aren’t just words, this is real action that...

Opponents of e-voting have started a campaign to force a national vote on a moratorium for five years. The publicly-owned company Swiss Post, which had abandoned its electronic voting system in July over security concerns, has developed a new version. “We have already proposed a solution” to cantons, said general manager Roberto Cirillo in an interview published by the La Liberté newspaper on Friday. According to Cirillo, the company is in the process of defining the...

In 2018, Switzerland topped the Financial Secrecy Index, produced by the Tax Justice Network The Swiss government wants to revamp the laws against money laundering so that lawyers, notaries and other advisors are required to comply with due diligence obligations. The Federal Council (executive body) proposed on Wednesday a set of legal amendments external linkto meet international standards in the fight against money...

An activist impersonating former Raiffeisen CEO Pierin Vincenz who faced accusations of enriching himself thanks to poor board governance. Switzerland’s third largest bank will limit the annual remuneration of top management to CHF1 million (around $1million) from July 1. The announcement was made at the bank’s general meeting on Saturday in Crans-Montana. CEO Heinz Huber’s compensation has already been adjusted when he...

UBS already implements a zero interest policy for savings accounts with over half a million Swiss francs. (© Keystone / Gaetan Bally) As of June 1, Switzerland’s largest bank will stop paying interest on adult savings accounts. Funds deposited in UBS savings accounts currently earn a rate of 0.01%, just like at Credit Suisse, the other major Swiss bank. Almost all other Swiss banks pay a small interest on saving...

The Volkswagen emissions scandal began in September 2015, when the Environmental Protection Agency in the United States accused the Volkswagen group of violation of environmental laws. (Keystone) The lawyer representing about 500 people in Switzerland who have filed a complaint against German carmaker Volkswagen and importer AMAG says the Swiss attorney general is dragging his feet in the so-called ‘Dieselgate’ case....

Construction of residential units has also experienced a decline. (Keystone / Martin Ruetschi) A significant increase in vacant homes is predicted by Zurich Cantonal Bank. Suburbs are particularly prone to lower occupancy levels. The problem of empty housing, particularly in the urban periphery, is likely to worsen, with construction activity concentrated in areas with already high vacancy rates. Last year around 59,700...

The company is in the middle of bankruptcy proceedings handled by the Zug bankruptcy office. An investigation by the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) has revealed the that Zug-based cryptocurrency venture Envion unlawfully received deposits from at least 37,000 investors. Envion unlawfully accepted over CHF90 million ($90.5 million) in its Initial Coin Offering (ICO) without the necessary statutory...