Pope Francis has received Swiss Defence Minister Viola Amherd for a 25-minute audience at the Vatican. Amherd, who holds the rotating Swiss presidency this year, wrote on social media on Saturday that she had assured the pope that Switzerland supported the reconstruction of the Swiss Guard barracks and the recruitment of new Swiss Guards. The new barracks...

Swiss public broadcasters RTS and SRF are drastically reducing their communications via the social network X (formerly Twitter). French-language RTS said that since X was taken over by billionaire Elon Musk in 2022 it no longer corresponded to the company’s journalistic values. “Dialogue with our followers is no longer possible [on X], because they...

After a long absence Air India is returning to Zurich Airport. From June 16, the Indian airline will connect the Swiss airport with New Delhi. Air India’s last presence in Zurich with a scheduled service dates back to 1997, according to a press release. The airline plans to serve the Indian capital from Zurich Airport four times a week. Swiss International...

Luciana Vaccaro, president of Swissuniversities, the umbrella group of Swiss universities, is not in favour of an academic boycott of Israeli universities. In her view, it is dangerous to equate institutions with a government. “You can’t exclude a university because you don’t agree with the actions of a government,” Vaccaro told Swiss public television,...

Chocolate manufacturer Lindt & Sprüngli has expanded its cocoa mass production plant in Olten, canton Solothurn, at a cost of CHF100 million ($111 million). After a construction period of around three years, the expansion of the Lindt Cocoa Centre was opened on Friday. In addition to new production lines, the expansion also includes a modernised...

Zurich city police arrested a notorious repeat offender, known as Brian, on Thursday evening after a brawl. The public prosecutor's office has opened proceedings on suspicion of attempted grievous bodily harm. The 28-year-old has been provisionally detained for the time being, the Zurich public prosecutor's office announced on Friday. It remains to...