According to an analysis by the Swiss broadcaster RTS, Switzerland’s reliance on EU exports has declined in recent years. Over the first quarter of 2019, for the first time, exports to the US exceeded those to Germany by more than CHF 1 billion reaching CHF 15.7 billion. Exports to the US have risen from 8.3% […]
Chinese spy suspect to remain in detention in Switzerland
Switzerland’s federal criminal court has refused a request to liberate a Chinese researcher wanted in the US for suspected spying, according to 20 Minutes. The release request was made by the Chinese researcher who is living in Switzerland and accused of corporate espionage in the US against the drug maker GlaxoSmithKline (GSK). The US embassy […]
Basel terrorist plot uncovered
According to various media reports, fuel tanks at a port in Basel were at the heart of an attack planned for this January by the so called Islamic State, reported the newspaper 20 Minutes. Files describing the plan, designed to trigger “economic disaster”, were discovered on a hard disk left behind by IS members during […]
60% of Swiss in favour of framework agreement with the EU, according to latest survey
In a recently published survey done by gfs.bern, 60% were in favour the institutional agreement between Switzerland and the EU. The most popular reason for supporting the agreement is the economic certainty voters think it would bring. However, support for the agreement was fairly luke warm. Only 17% were strongly in favour of it compared […]
Swiss cities near top of expensiveness ranking
In this year’s Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) survey, Paris, Hong Kong and Singapore tied for the the position of the most expensive. The survey looks at 160 items including food, drink, rent, transport and utility bills, in 133 cities. New York, the base city, came in 7th, alongside Seoul and Copenhagen. Zurich and Geneva were […]
Swiss to vote on gun law changes
After the terrorist attacks in Paris in November 2015, the EU decided to tighten firearms laws in member states and nations with EU agreements, such as Switzerland. Unhappy, a group of gun owners decided to launch a referendum against the pending changes. According to the organizers, the required number of 50,000 signatures has been presented […]
Majority of Swiss in favour of an agreement with EU, according to poll
A majority of Swiss are in favour of reaching a framework agreement with the EU, according to a poll run by Sotomo on behalf of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation. Negotiations on a framework agreement have become fractious over the summer especially discussions between the Swiss government and trade unions over job and salary protection measures that the […]
Russian billionaire Abramovich hoped to live in Verbier
According to reports by Tamedia, the billionaire football-club owner was applying for residency in the ski resort of Verbier when Switzerland’s Federal Office of Police (Fedpol) intervened and put an end to the process in June last year. The reasons for Fedpol’s intervention were unknown until this week when the Federal Tribunal in Lausanne lifted […]
Switzerland slides significantly in expat country ranking
A recent survey suggests Switzerland might be losing its attractiveness as a place for foreigners to live and work. Switzerland fell 17 places from 27th to 44th in the ranking of 68 countries done by the networking company Internations. Switzerland’s overall ranking is a mix of good and bad. 78% of expats in Switzerland said […]
Switzerland ranked 11th for global arms exports
In 2016, Switzerland exported CHF 412 million of weapons, according to the Swiss Federal Audit Office (SFAO). This ranks Switzerland 11th globally, according to RTS. The five largest importers of Swiss weapons were Germany, South Africa, the US, India and Pakistan. Weapons exports made up only 0.14% of Switzerland’s total exports in 2016, said the […]
