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Some 700,000 people die every year from antimicrobial resistance. © Keystone / Gaetan Bally More than 20 major pharmaceutical companies are investing nearly $1 billion (CHF940 million) in ...

The entrance of the Palais des Nations, the UN's European headquarters in Geneva(United Nations Photo) ...

Women candidates from the Green Party celebrate their victories(Keystone / Eddy Risch) From massive shifts in party pow...

Meat may be a delicious staple for most Swiss but it is not so good for the climate.(Keystone) The latest UN climate re...

Encrypted digital tokens, representing ownership rights to underlying securities, are being tipped to transform financial trading. (KEYSTONE/STEFFEN SCHMIDT) The Swiss stock exchange is just one...

Orphans eatxa0lunchxa0in Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo.xa0More than four million children have lost at least one parent in Congo over the past two decades(Keystone) The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has boycotted a United Nations conference in Geneva that reaped hundreds of millions of dollars to help...

Voters overwhelmingly decided not to pull the plug on the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation(Keystone) Voters have rejected a proposal to do away with the mandatory licence fee for Switzerland’s public broadcasters.Provisional final results show 71.6% of voters throwing out the initiative, which was launched ...

A demonstrator calls for the child protection authorities to be stripped of their powers following the case of a mother who killed her two children to stop them being retued to care. She later killed herself in jail.xa0(Ennio Leanza/KEYSTONE) Child protection authorities are among the most unpopularxa0institutions in Switzerland, even after recent reforms. Why the backlash?Overshadowed by the dark past of so-called "slave children", Swiss ch...

Avalanche observers lea how to check the profile of the snowpackxa0to see how it has changed over the winter and look for weak layers (swissinfo.ch) It may seem quite a leap from studying snowflakes with a magnifying glass to forecasting one of the greatest natural threats in the Alps, but the step is part of how Switzerland manages avalanches. The approach could soon win coveted Unesco cultural heritage status. xa0 “What happens to fresh snow when it lands?” asks Gian Darms, an instructor...

The cross-border Portes du Soleil ski region is a bargain for skiers looking for variety. (© KEYSTONE / JEAN-CHRISTOPHE BOTT) Where in the Swiss Alps do you get access to the most ski slopes for your money? We crunched the numbers and found there’s a reason you’re asked to pay more at Adelboden than Airolo, or at Zermatt than Zuoz.xa0 Our graphic shows the inteational resort of Zermatt exteal linkrivalled in price by only a handful of other ski areas at CHF79 ($81) a day, while a pass at Z...

Today, about 90% of Switzerland’s natural ponds are in the mountains, with only 5-10% on the plateau, where human activity is most intensive. Most ponds found in lowland areas are artificial.(Beat Oertli, HES) Only 12 kilometres to the east of the bustling city of Geneva at the Lullier Horticultural School, a cattail-shrouded pond blends in so perfectly with the bucolic surroundings that the eye passes right over it. But as Beat Oertli,...

This content was published on October 26, 2017 10:47 AMOct 26, 2017 - 10:47 Known for directing Hollywood blockbusters ‘Good Will Hunting’ and ‘Milk’, Gus Van Sant will now feature in the first retrospective of his work in Switz...

A Polish/Scottish couple decidedxa0to apply for Swiss citizenship to boost their children's integration. This is their story. (Julie Hunt, swissinfo.ch)David Kirk comes from Rothesay on the Isle of Bute in Scotland. Dominika Wieczorek Kirkxa0is from the town of Piastow in central Poland.xa0They came to Switzerland as research scientists, and met here. Dominika works at the pharmaceutical giant, Novartis...

Honorary consuls are local personalities who represent foreign states in Switzerland, and they are not paid for their work. What motivates them? (RTS/swissinfo.chexteal link)There are about 130 honorary consuls them in Switzerland. They are not professional diplomats, but people who workxa0on a voluntaryxa0basis until their appointments are revoked. For instance, François de Coulonexteal link, who...

A demonstratorxa0is detained by police during a protest rallyxa0in Moscowxa0earlier this year.(Keystone / EPA / Maxim Shipenkov) The automatic exchange of tax information (AIE) between countries is generally seen as an effective way of cracking down on tax cheats. But what if a country uses the data to politically oppress its citizens? It’s a buin...

Here are the stories to look forward to on swissinfo.ch for the week beginning September 25, 2017.xa0 (Keystone) MondayWe’ll havexa0reactions from the September 24 votes - 'no' to pension reform and 'yes' toxa0food security. What will political pundits say about launching another attempt to ensure there is enoughxa0money in the state coffers to payxa0for...

Supporters and opponents of the pension reform agree on the need for amendments but necessarily on how to securexa0the funding of Switzerland's main social security systemxa0(Keystone) Voters have thrown outxa0a wide-ranging overhaul of Switzerland’s old-age pension scheme. It is the third unsuccessful reform attempt in almost 20 years.About 53% of ...

Trying to check the electronic timetablexa0at Swiss railway stations it is difficult to ignore the political postersxa0 (Keystone / Alessandro della Valle) Mode direct democracy keeps citizens tuned in with Swiss politics. It enables them to make an informed judgement on issues at stake in popular votes. There are also good reasons for Switzerland to promote people power worldwide through dipl...

Tama Vakeesan was bo in Switzerland – to Tamil parents from Sri Lanka. She meets up with stand-up comedian, Sven Ivanic, who is Croatian, Serbian and "100 % Swiss". They explore the prejudices against Balkan boys in Switzerland, and Svenxa0defends his right to wear tracksuit bottoms.xa0(SRF Kulturplatz/swissinfo.ch)xa0 subscription form Form for signing up for free newsletter. Sign up for our fre...

On September 24, Swiss voters will decide on a reform of the country's old age and disability pension scheme - it is the 15th vote on the issue in nearly nine decades. So far only two reform proposals won a majority at the ballot box (Keystone) Swiss voters will have the final say later this month on a reform of the country’s old age pension scheme. It is an important, but only temporary dec...