Switzerland

Photo Story: Exhibition dedicated to 100th anniversary of The Kid movie by Charlie Chaplin

A visitor looks at items shown in the temporary exhibition 'The Kid' dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the 1921 American silent comedy-drama film. The movie was written, produced, directed…

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Swiss gold exports to China ease from five-year high

LONDON, March 17 (Reuters) - Swiss exports of gold to China in February eased from the previous month's five-year high, but shipments to India recovered, Swiss customs data showed on…

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UPDATED: Switzerland steps up economic sanctions against Belarus and Russia in line with EU

ZURICH, March 16 (Reuters) - Neutral Switzerland has adopted more European Union sanctions against Russian individuals and entities published on Tuesday in response to Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, the government said on Wednesday. "Switzerland's…

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Switzerland: The land that inflation left behind

BERN, (Reuters) - While the rest of Europe grapples with surging prices, in Switzerland inflation is so tame that some key costs are actually falling. The price of healthcare - a big…

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Swiss adopt new EU sanctions on Russia

ZURICH, March 4 (Reuters) - The Swiss government on Friday widened sanctions against Russia in step with further measures imposed by the European Union, tightening exports and financial services to the country…

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UPDATED: Neutral Swiss adopt sanctions against Russia

ZURICH, Feb 28 (Reuters) - Neutral Switzerland will adopt European Union sanctions against Russians involved in Moscow's invasion of Ukraine and freeze their assets, the government said on Monday in a sharp…

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Swiss halt new bank business with Russians on EU sanctions list

ZURICH (Reuters) - Switzerland told its banks to halt new business with people and entities on a European Union sanctions blacklist, which the neutral country has adopted to ensure it is not…

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EPP calls for Switzerland’s possible blacklisting after Credit Suisse Leaks

The main political grouping in the European Parliament called on Monday for a review of Switzerland's banking practices and for the country's possible inclusion in the EU's dirty-money blacklist after…

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EU Parliament’s top group suggests blacklisting Switzerland after Credit Suisse leaks

BRUSSELS, Feb 21 (Reuters) - The main political grouping in the European Parliament called on Monday for a review of Switzerland's banking practices and for the country's possible inclusion in the EU's…

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Swiss gold exports to China surge to highest since December 2016

LONDON, Feb 17 (Reuters) - Swiss exports of gold to mainland China surged in January to their highest since December 2016, but shipments of bullion to India fell, Swiss customs…

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Swiss government decides to lift nearly all COVID-19 restrictions

ZURICH, Feb 16 (Reuters) - Switzerland will lift almost all its coronavirus pandemic restrictions, the government said on Wednesday, as fears waned that a spike in infections fuelled by the Omicron variant…

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Swiss reject ban on animal testing in referendum

ZURICH, Feb 13 (Reuters) - Swiss voters rejected a proposal by animal rights activists to make Switzerland the first country to ban medical and scientific experiments on animals, but approved…

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Swiss to vote on becoming first country to ban animal testing

ZURICH (Reuters) - Switzerland votes on Sunday whether to become the first country to completely ban medical testing on animals, after animal rights campaigners gathered enough support to stage a…

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Swiss inflation hits 13-year high in January

ZURICH, Feb 11 (Reuters) - Swiss consumer price inflation touched 1.6% in January, the highest level since late 2008, as it moved closer to the 2% upper band of the…

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Switzerland aims for new EU talks on improving troubled ties

ZURICH, Feb 6 (Reuters) - Swiss President Ignazio Cassis wants to thaw frosty ties with the European Union by seeking a new package of bilateral agreements and believes his country…

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Swiss to abolish import duties on industrial goods from 2024

ZURICH, Feb 2 (Reuters) - Switzerland will abolish import duties on industrial goods from the start of 2024 in a bid to shore up the country as a place to…

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Swiss start relaxing pandemic measures

ZURICH, Feb 2 (Reuters) - Switzerland on Wednesday began easing coronavirus pandemic restrictions as fears waned that a spike in infections fuelled by the Omicron variant would overwhelm the health…

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Swiss government tells banks to hold more capital for Swiss home mortgages

ZURICH, Jan 26 (Reuters) - The Swiss government will require banks to hold additional capital for residential mortgages from the end of September, it said on Wednesday, as it aims…

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Swiss franc rises to near 7-year high as safe haven flows resume

ZURICH, Jan 24 (Reuters) - The Swiss franc rose 0.2% early on Monday as safe-haven inflows driven by concerns over Ukraine pushed the currency to its highest level against the…

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Swiss cabinet extends quarantine, work-from-home rules into February

ZURICH, Jan 19 (Reuters) - Switzerland will extend until the end of February coronavirus quarantine and work-from-home rules and plans to keep until the end of March other curbs on…

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Photo Story: Patrouille Suisse flyover in Wengen

The Patrouille Suisse jets perform prior to the Men's Downhill race at the Fis Alpine Skiing World Cup in Wengen, Switzerland, 15 January 2022. Via EPA-EFE/JEAN-CHRISTOPHE BOTT

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Switzerland tests digital currency payments with top investment banks

ZURICH, Jan 13 (Reuters) - Switzerland's central bank has successfully used digital currency to settle transactions involving five commercial banks, the Swiss National Bank said on Thursday, the latest trial…

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Swiss halve quarantine period to five days to tackle Omicron wave

ZURICH, Jan 12 (Reuters) - Switzerland will halve its quarantine time to five days to help tackle a wave of coronavirus infections that threatens to hamstring the economy, the government…

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Prospects dim as U.S., Russia start tense talks over Ukraine crisis

GENEVA, Jan 10 (Reuters) - With diplomats publicly pessimistic, the United States and Russia are set to begin fragile negotiations in Geneva on Monday that Washington hopes can avert the…

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Swiss-EU relationship could fall apart if talks fail, EU’s Sefcovic says

BERLIN, Dec 28 (Reuters) - The European Union's relationship with Switzerland could fall apart if negotiations over Switzerland's place in the EU internal market fail, European Commission Vice President Maros…

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Swiss airports see 50% fewer passengers than pre-pandemic

Amid flight cancellations and coronavirus related travel restrictions, Swiss airports are expecting half the number of passengers over the holidays than before the pandemic. This is still more traffic than…

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Swissmedic approves Roche’s Ronapreve to treat COVID-19 patients

ZURICH, Dec 27 (Reuters) - Swiss drugs regulator Swissmedic said on Monday it approved Ronapreve, an antibody treatment jointly developed by Roche and Regeneron, to treat COVID-19 patients. "In this…

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Swiss to allow simple legal gender transition from Jan. 1

ZURICH, Dec 26 (Reuters) - People in Switzerland will be able to legally change gender by a visit to the civil registry office from Jan. 1, putting the country at…

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Thousands of fake Covid-19 certificates uncovered in Switzerland

Criminal proceedings have been launched in Switzerland following the discovery of around 8,000 fake Covid-19 vaccination certificates that were issued in the eastern canton of St Gallen. Police believe the…

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Switzerland to tighten pandemic measures from Monday

Switzerland is ordering more COVID-19 vaccination doses, the government said, as it tightened pandemic curbs while opting not to embrace -- for now -- an even stricter limited lockdown. It…

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Switzerland says foreigners welcome to ski lifts if they respect pandemic rules

Swiss ski lifts are open for foreign visitors as long as they respect the rules that the government has introduced to try and break the momentum of the coronavirus pandemic,…

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Online gambling sites lose bid to access Swiss market – court

A Swiss court has blocked requests by foreign online gambling operators to access the Swiss market, which gaming officials have limited since 2019 to Swiss-approved games of chance. That means…

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Swiss drop money-laundering case involving Spain’s former king

Geneva's chief prosecutor said on Monday he had closed a criminal investigation into allegations Spain's former king Juan Carlos laundered "illegal commission" payments from Saudi Arabia, due to insufficient evidence.…

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Swiss propose boosting minimum internet speed

The Swiss government proposed increasing by a factor of eight the minimum internet speeds that providers of basic service need to ensure. At present Swisscom has the concession to provide…

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Digital euro, Swiss franc trials were successful, c.banks say

Europe's first cross-border trial of central bank digital currency payments has been described as a success by the central banks of Switzerland and France, though they said it would not…

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Swiss group lights 11,288 candles for COVID-19 victims

More than 11,000 candles - one for each Swiss victim of the coronavirus pandemic - lit up the December darkness outside the Swiss parliament in Bern on Tuesday evening. "We…

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Photo Story: Playmobil model of L’Escalade of Geneva

Visitors look at a model of the Escalade built with 13,000 pieces of Playmobil, realized by a father and his two children, on display at the department store Manor in…

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UPDATED: Swiss tighten COVID-19 restrictions as cases rise

Switzerland announced stronger anti-Covid-19 measures on Friday, as its government battles to contain a surge in coronavirus infections and the arrival of the Omicron variant in the country. The country…

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Geneva places 2,000 people in quarantine after two Omicron cases

ZURICH, Dec 3 (Reuters) - The Swiss cantons of Geneva and Vaud have placed 2,000 people, most of them children, into quarantine after two cases of the Omicron variant were…

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Swiss voters back government’s COVID-19 response plan

ZURICH, Nov 28 (Reuters) - Swiss voters on Sunday backed the government's pandemic response plan by a bigger than expected majority in a referendum, paving the way for the continuation…

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Swiss voters trend towards backing government’s COVID-19 response plan

ZURICH, Nov 28 (Reuters) - Swiss voters on Sunday trended towards backing the government's pandemic response plan, paving the way for the government to continue exceptional measures to stem the…

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Switzerland adds Britain, Netherlands, three others to quarantine list

Switzerland widened quarantine requirements to stem the spread of the new Omicron coronavirus variant to travellers arriving from Britain, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, Egypt and Malawi, where cases have…

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Swiss expect slower economic growth as pandemic returns

ZURICH, Nov 26 (Reuters) - The Swiss economy grew by a weaker-than-expected 1.7% during the third quarter, the government said on Friday, as it braces for a further downturn from…

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Swiss wind park ordered to scale back to protect birds

A new wind park in Switzerland must scale back its plans to deliver renewable energy in order to protect vulnerable bird species, the country's supreme court ruled this week. Plans…

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Switzerland reports H5N1 bird flu at animal sanctuary, OIE says

PARIS, Nov 26 (Reuters) - Switzerland has reported an outbreak of the highly pathogenic H5N1 bird flu virus among poultry at an animal sanctuary, the Paris-based World Organisation for Animal…

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Switzerland holds off on new measures despite “critical” COVID situation

Switzerland will hold off from new national restrictions to curb coronavirus infections, the government said, as it appealed to common sense and local measures to stem the rising tide of…

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Photo Story: The Lausanne Light Festival

People view the light projection of painting of Dutch Post-Impressionist painter Vincent van Gogh realized by MP Studio in the Saint-Francois Place ahead of the Lausanne Light Festival (Festival Lausanne…

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Swiss watchdog faults two more banks in Venezuela money-laundering probe

ZURICH, Nov 18 (Reuters) - Switzerland's financial regulator reprimanded two more Swiss banks for breaching their obligations to combat money laundering as it wrapped up a five-year investigation into banks'…

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Swiss to allow same-sex weddings from July 2022

ZURICH, Nov 17 (Reuters) - Same-sex couples can wed in Switzerland from July 1 next year, the government said on Wednesday, enacting the results of a ground-breaking referendum on the…

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Swiss franc remains in demand as safe haven says Swiss National Bank’s Maechler

The Swiss franc continues to be in demand as a safe haven investment as market uncertainties remain elevated due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Swiss National Bank governing board member…

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Swiss pursue ‘special path’ with big trade partner China -minister

Switzerland's foreign minister played down prospects for his neutral country to embrace Western sanctions against China over its human rights record as Bern pursues a "special path" with Beijing, a major trade…

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Photo Story: First snow in Switzerland

A snow-covered tree in St. Margrethenberg, Switzerland, 04 November 2021. The east of Switzerland received the first snow this winter. Photo - EPA-EFE/GIAN EHRENZELLER

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Swiss warn of blackout danger in worst-case scenario for 2025

Switzerland would be without power for nearly two days in a worst-case scenario of what might happen in 2025 without a sweeping electricity deal with the surrounding European Union, the…

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Swiss leading indicator points to slowing economic growth

The KOF economic barometer declined for the fourth time in a row in September, pointing to a slowing Swiss recovery from the pandemic-related drop. The barometer slipped to 110.6 points…

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Swiss start freeing up blocked EU payment to help thaw frosty ties

Switzerland's upper house of parliament on Thursday approved unblocking 1.3 billion Swiss francs ($1.41 billion) in payments to poorer European Union members in a bid to thaw frosty ties with…

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Swiss markets watchdog approves first crypto assets fund

Switzerland's financial markets supervisor said on Wednesday it had approved the country's first fund that invests primarily in crypto assets. The Crypto Market Index Fund is restricted to qualified investors…

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Update – Swiss back same-sex marriage

Update Swiss voters overwhelmingly backed same-sex marriage in a referendum on Sunday, according to preliminary results. Euronews reports that pollster gfs.bern predicted that the motion to allow same-sex marriage was…

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