Category Archives: Switzerland

Snow and ice on Swiss glaciers melting at alarming rate amid heatwave, expert says

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Accumulation on Switzerland’s glaciers from last winter expected to all be gone by Monday amid ‘enormous’ melt rates across Alps

Swiss glaciers are set to lose an enormous amount of ice due to the heatwave battering Europe, according to the head of Glacier Monitoring in Switzerland (Glamos).

The snow and ice accumulated last winter by Switzerland’s glaciers is expected to have all melted away by Monday, marking the alarming second-earliest arrival on record of the tipping point known as glacier loss day.

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US-Iran talks strained as Trump threats spark Iranian walkout

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Talks expected to continue for rest of the week despite disruption caused by US president’s threat to bomb Iran and kidnap negotiating team

High-stakes talks between the US and Iran are expected to continue for the rest of the week in Switzerland, after a tense start that saw Iranian negotiators walk out in protest at a stream of threats issued by Donald Trump on social media.

The US president had threatened to bomb Iran and even to kidnap the Iranian negotiating team unless the strait of Hormuz was reopened, forcing mediators Qatar and Pakistan to continue negotiations in the background.

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Swiss wait to hear result of ballot on capping population at 10 million

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The far-right proposal would require the government to put restrictions in place to limit the population by 2050

A national ballot on an unprecedented far-right proposal to limit Switzerland’s population to 10 million concludes this weekend, amid warnings of devastating consequences for the country’s economy if voters back the initiative.

A “yes” vote would require the Swiss government to take steps to cap the population at 10 million by 2050, enacting tough restrictions on family reunification, residency permits and asylum if the number reaches 9.5 million before that date.

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Palantir loses legal challenge to force Swiss magazine to publish responses

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Data analytics company loses on 22 out of 23 counts in lawsuit disputing how Swiss government rejected firm’s services

The US technology company Palantir has lost a legal challenge to force a Swiss independent magazine to publish its responses to articles about how the Swiss government rejected its services.

The data analytics company lost on 22 out of 23 counts of the suit. In a ruling on Friday, Zurich’s commercial court dismissed the majority of counterstatement requests filed by the company and its Swiss subsidiary finding that only a single passage in one article warranted a published response from the company.

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Crans-Montana fire bereaved ask for murder charges against bar owners

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Lawyers ask prosecutors to upgrade charges from manslaughter in light of text messages discussing fire risk

Lawyers for victims of the deadly New Year’s Eve fire in the Swiss ski resort of Crans-Montana have formally asked prosecutors to upgrade the charges against the bar’s owners after text messages emerged discussing the danger.

Forty-one people were killed and 115 injured in the blaze at Le Constellation bar, which investigators believe started in the basement when sparklers attached to champagne bottles were held too close to sound-insulating foam on the ceiling.

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Former F1 world champion Alain Prost reportedly injured in robbery at Swiss home

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  • Police investigating an alleged home invasion

  • 71-year-old sustained a head injury, says reports

Swiss police are investigating an alleged robbery with reports that the four-times Formula 1 world champion Alain Prost was injured during a home invasion. The Swiss tabloid Blick reported late on Friday that the 71-year-old Frenchman sustained a head injury from intruders who forced his son to open a safe during the incident on Tuesday morning.

“The perpetrators entered the residence while the occupants were present, threatened them, and forced one family member to open a safe before fleeing with the stolen goods,” the public prosecutor’s office said. “Despite the extensive search operation launched, the perpetrators have not yet been apprehended.”

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Mother ends life at Swiss clinic four years after son’s death

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Wendy Duffy died at Pegasos clinic in Basel as assisted dying bill in England and Wales fails to pass

A grieving mother has ended her life at a clinic in Switzerland four years after the death of her only child.

Wendy Duffy, 56, a physically healthy woman, died at the Pegasos clinic in Basel after struggling to cope with the death of her 23-year-old son, Marcus.

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Kanye West’s European tour in doubt as more concerts cancelled in Poland and Switzerland

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FC Basel and Polish stadium stop US rapper’s upcoming shows, after similar cancellations in France and UK over antisemitic comments

Kanye West’s upcoming concerts in Poland and Switzerland have been cancelled, as a growing number of European countries have stopped or postponed the US rapper’s performances amid a furore over his past antisemitic comments.

Swiss football club FC Basel, which is responsible for concerts and events that take place at its St Jakob-Park ground, told Reuters on Saturday that after reviewing a request for West to perform there in June, it decided against it.

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Police investigating Swiss bus fire that killed six say no evidence of terrorist motive

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Investigators suspect fire was result of deliberate act after reports that someone onboard doused themselves in petrol

Police investigating a bus fire that killed at least six people in western Switzerland have said they suspect a deliberate act by a person onboard but so far have not found any evidence of a terrorist motive.

The vehicle, operated by a service that transports passengers and mail, went up in flames on Tuesday evening in Kerzers, a town of about 5,000 people about 12 miles (20km) west of the capital, Berne, in the canton of Fribourg.

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Iran-US talks: agreement reached on ‘guiding principles’ after ‘constructive’ meeting, Tehran says

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Discussions through Omani intermediaries may pave way for further meeting on nuclear programme, Iran says

Iran has described the latest round of indirect talks with the US as “more constructive” than the previous set earlier this month, and said agreement had been reached on “general guiding principles” that could lead to a further meeting to discuss its nuclear programme.

The talks – held in Geneva through Omani intermediaries – were to discuss the terms for Tehran constraining its nuclear programme under the supervision of the UN nuclear weapons inspectorate. They ended after three and a half hours.

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Roman Abramovich makes claim of ‘conspiracy’ against Jersey government

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Move threatens to throw open parts of secretive legal battle on Channel island about ex-Chelsea owner’s wealth

The former Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich is making a claim of “conspiracy” against the government of Jersey after the crown dependency launched a criminal investigation into allegations of corruption and money laundering in connection with the original source of the oligarch’s wealth.

The latest move threatens to throw open parts of a secretive legal battle on the Channel island about the tycoon’s rise to become one of the world’s richest people, which emerged in September after a Switzerland federal criminal court ordered the release of a cache of Swiss banking records requested by the Jersey attorney general.

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Trump accused of caving to big business after deal to cut Swiss tariffs to 15%

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Rolex denies ‘any negotiation’ with US although luxury watchmaker entertained Trump and gave him gold clock

Donald Trump agreed to cut US tariffs on Switzerland from 39% to 15% as part of a new trade pact, lowering duties that strained economic ties and hit Swiss exporters.

The two countries have signed a “non-binding memorandum of understanding”, the Swiss government announced, following bilateral talks in Washington and intense lobbying by Swiss firms.

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Nestlé to axe 16,000 jobs as new chief targets sales growth

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Almost 6% of global workforce will be cut over next two years, including 12,000 white-collar professionals

Nestlé has said it will cut 16,000 jobs over the next two years as the owner of KitKat and Nescafé attempts to reduce costs and increase sales.

The Swiss-headquartered multinational said the cuts would include 12,000 white-collar professionals and 4,000 in its manufacturing and supply chain, close to 6% of Nestlé’s global workforce.

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Swiss voters back electronic identity cards in close vote

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Pollsters confounded by 50.4% support for e-IDs after forecasting stronger backing for ‘yes’ vote

Swiss voters have backed plans for electronic identity cards by a wafer-thin margin, in the second nationwide vote on the issue.

In a referendum on Sunday, 50.4% of voters supported an electronic ID card, while 49.6% were against, confounding pollsters who had forecast stronger support for the “yes” vote. Turnout was 49.55%, higher than expected.

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Trump jokingly asked Rolex executives if tariffs prompted US Open invite, CEO says

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Rolex CEO stressed US president’s remarks were made ‘in jest’ in letter to Elizabeth Warren, who had raised concerns

Donald Trump asked Rolex executives if he would have been invited to watch this month’s US Open final from the luxury watchmaker’s VIP box had he imposed steep tariffs on Swiss exports weeks earlier.

The US president’s remarks were made “in jest”, stressed Jean-Frederic Dufour, the Rolex CEO, in a letter to Elizabeth Warren, the US senator who had raised questions about the decision to invite Trump – including whether the conglomerate was seeking to “curry favor” with the administration.

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Nestlé fires CEO after investigation into ‘undisclosed romantic relationship’

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Company, which owns brands including KitKat, replaces Laurent Freixe with Philipp Navratil

Nestlé has dismissed its chief executive, Laurent Freixe, after an investigation into an “undisclosed romantic relationship” with a subordinate that was found to have breached its code of business conduct.

The Swiss-headquartered multinational, which owns consumer goods brands including KitKat chocolate, Häagen-Dazs ice-cream and Nespresso coffee capsules, named Philipp Navratil as his replacement.

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Swiss president under fire after Trump call leads to US tariffs shock

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Karin Keller-Sutter accused of mishandling talks as shares dive after Switzerland hit with 39% tariff

The Swiss stock market has plunged, the cabinet has been holding emergency talks and President Karin Keller-Sutter has been accused of mishandling a vital phone call with the White House after Donald Trump hit the country with a shock 39% export tariff.

Switzerland, home to some of the world’s best-known luxury brands, was left stunned after the US president on Friday imposed one of the highest tariff rates in his global trade reset. Industry associations warned that tens of thousands of jobs were at risk.

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Credit Suisse was ‘warned’ about Greensill three years before firm collapsed

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Anonymous messages questioned judgment of senior managers in dealing with Greensill, says Swiss regulator

Bosses at Credit Suisse were warned against dealing with the Australian financier Lex Greensill’s eponymous company three years before the collapse of his Greensill Capital, which once employed the former UK prime minister David Cameron as an adviser.

The “character judgment” of senior Credit Suisse managers was challenged in anonymous messages they received as early as 2018, which raised concerns over the Swiss bank’s dealings with Greensill, according to a report by the Swiss regulator Finma, released under a London court order after a request by the Guardian and other media.

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Eurostar vows to run direct trains from UK to Germany and Switzerland

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Cross-Channel rail operator, which is trying to fend off rivals for its London depot space, regards early 2030s as feasible

Eurostar has vowed to run direct trains from the UK to Germany and Switzerland, as it attempts to fend off potential competitors eyeing its London depot space.

The cross-Channel rail operator’s chief executive, Gwendoline Cazenave, said she had no doubt the direct services would run in the early 2030s despite the failure of previous ventures to connect London and Frankfurt.

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‘Substantial progress’ at US-China trade talks, says Scott Bessent

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US treasury secretary’s remarks on second day of meetings come after Trump hails ‘total reset’ in America-China ties

The US treasury secretary Scott Bessent has reported “substantial progress” in talks with China’s top economic officials to avoid a damaging trade war, but offered no details of an agreement reached as two days of negotiations wrapped up in Geneva.

Bessent said that details would be announced on Monday and that Donald Trump was fully aware of the results of the “productive talks”.

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