Page 2 - Switzerland

Riddled with holes, Switzerland's glaciers starting to resemble cheese

Climate change appears to be making some of Switzerland's vaunted glaciers look like Swiss cheese: Full of holes. Matthias Huss of the glacier monitoring group GLAMOS offered a glimpse of the Rhone Glacier which feeds the eponymous river that flows through Switzerland and France to the Mediterranean shared the observation with The Associated Press this month as he trekked up to the icy expanse for a first maintenance mission" of the summer to monitor its health. The state of Switzerland's glaciers came into stark and dramatic view of the international community last month when a mudslide from an Alpine mountain submerged the southwestern village of Blatten. The Birch Glacier on the mountain, which had been holding back a mass of rock near the peak, gave way sending an avalanche into the valley village below. Fortunately, the town had been evacuated beforehand. Experts say geological shifts and, to a lesser extent global warming, played a role. The Alps and Switzerland home to

Indian deposits in Swiss banks fall 18% over 10 years, shows SNB data

Indian deposits in Swiss banks fell 18 per cent over the last decade, but 2024 saw a sharp rebound, with total funds surging over threefold to 3.5 billion Swiss francs, SNB data shows

Indian money in Swiss banks triples in 2024, reaches nearly ₹37,600 cr

Indian money parked in Swiss banks tripled in 2024 to CHF 3.5 billion, mainly via financial institutions; however, customer deposits rose modestly even as India climbed to 48th in global rankings

UP govt to use Swiss technology to enhance ride quality on expressways

The Uttar Pradesh government on Wednesday said it will use cutting-edge Swiss technology to improve ride quality on expressways in the state. Building on the "world-class ride comfort" already validated on the Gorakhpur Link Expressway through advanced testing by ETH Zurich, the state will now deploy the same AI-based systems on the Ganga, Bundelkhand, Agra-Lucknow, and Purvanchal expressways, it said in a statement. "In a pioneering move, the Uttar Pradesh Expressways Industrial Development Authority (UPEIDA) has initiated a comprehensive assessment and improvement drive for expressway riding comfort. This involves cutting-edge vibration and AI-based technologies developed by ETH Zurich and its independent spin-off company, RTDT Laboratory AG," the government said. "For this purpose, seven high-precision sensors -- four for assessing riding quality and three for monitoring motion -- were installed in an Innova vehicle. These include accelerometer-based and S-motion sensors, as well

Switzerland to exchange crypto info with India, 73 other countries

Switzerland on Friday proposed an automatic exchange of information on crypto assets with India and 73 other countries, a move likely to help track funds stashed by Indians abroad in virtual currencies. India and Switzerland already have an automatic exchange of information framework in place for bank accounts and other financial assets held by Indians in Switzerland, and vice versa. The two countries exchange this information yearly, and it has helped Indian authorities unearth many cases of undisclosed funds stashed abroad by Indians. While there are no clear-cut regulations as yet in India on cryptocurrencies, they are regulated from the perspective of anti-money laundering laws. The Reserve Bank of India has consistently maintained that it is concerned about cryptocurrencies as they can hamper financial stability, but these virtual currencies are considered legal tender in various other countries. While there are no official estimates, it is suspected that a large number of ..

Held 3 meetings in 35 days with EU official to push FTA talks, says Goyal

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has held three meetings within a short span of 35 days with the European Commissioner for Trade Maros Sefcovic with an aim to give an impetus to the reposed negotiations for a free trade agreement. Goyal said on Thursday that India has already signed similar agreements with four-European nation bloc EFTA and the UK. The European Free Trade Association (EFTA) members are Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland. Now, India is in the process of concluding the negotiations with the 27-nation bloc European Union. "We have held three meetings in 35 days. It shows our shared commitment for the FTA... we are trying to do it faster," Goyal told reporters here. The minister is here on a two-day visit. He is meeting leaders and businesses to boost trade and investments between the two countries. The first and the second meetings between Goyal and Sefcovic were held on May 1 and May 23 in Brussels, while the third meeting concluded on June

Video: Massive glacier collapse crashes into Swiss village, buries homes

A glacier collapse buried most of Blatten after a preemptive evacuation; rescue teams are using drones to find a missing man as fears of flooding loom

Granules India completes acquisition of Swiss CDMO Senn Chemicals AG

The acquisition was executed through Granules' wholly owned subsidiary, Granules Peptides

Iran will deliver 'strong blow' against US if it attacks, says Khamenei

Donald Trump reiterated his threat on Sunday that Iran would be bombed if it does not accept his offer for talks outlined in a letter sent to Iran's leadership in early March

Yen, Swiss franc rise, dollar drops as DeepSeek fuels risk concerns

The benchmark S&P 500 was down 1.6 per cent to 6,003.04, dragged down by technology stocks. AI chipmaker Nvidia was down nearly 14 per cent to $123.02

India puts up big show at Davos WEF, bags Rs 20 trn investment commitments

As the five-day World Economic Forum Annual Meeting ended on Friday, Indian leaders said they could see trust for India in eyes of all global leaders and that was reflected in investment commitments totalling over Rs 20 lakh crore with Maharashtra grabbing the biggest pie of almost 80 per cent. Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, who led the largest ever Indian delegation of five Union ministers and several leaders from states including three chief ministers, said trust and talent are the biggest factors attracting the world to India. All states and central government departments shared space for the first time at two India Pavilions and a joint press conference was held for the first time by state and Union ministers, coming from half a dozen different parties to put up a unified 'Team India' face. "We are in Davos at a very important juncture in our global geopolitical and geo economic scenario. Despite all the disruption and all the issues the world is facing, India has emerged as a

Amazon Web Services to invest $8.3 bn in Cloud infra in Maharashtra

Plan will create more than 81,000 jobs and contribute $15.3 bn to India's economy by 2030, says company

Ashwini Vaishnaw meets Swiss delegation for railways tech, safety

Sources revealed that the Swiss Federal Railways made a presentation showcasing the latest advancements in infrastructure diagnostics

Andhra CM to meet Bill Gates, several global executives in Switzerland

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu is scheduled to meet Microsoft founder Bill Gates and several other global executives in Davos, Switzerland on Wednesday, officials said. On the third day of his visit to the Swiss resort town, the Chief Minister will also meet the officials from the World Economic Forum (WEF), they added. "The chiefs of Unilever, DP World Group, Petronas, Google Cloud, Pepsi and AstraZeneca are going to meet the CM. The CM will also hold discussions with Bill Gates and WEF representatives," a press release said. Moreover, Andhra Pradesh is expected to ink an agreement with renewable energy player Greenko and the CM is scheduled to attend roundtable conferences on topics such as organic farming, human mission calibration and green hydrogen, and renewable power, the release added. The CM will promote 'Brand Andhra' and showcase investment opportunities in the state, it said. Earlier, addressing a roundtable discussion on 'Building the Next Petrochem

US Senate probes Credit Suisse over hidden Nazi-era account connections

Investigators identified Credit Suisse accounts for more than three dozen individuals connected to the ratlines, Barofsky said in his letter

Swiss PE eyes IT, pharma in India portfolio rejig after 300% gain

The fund is looking to exit some India investments and deploy the winnings in other sectors in the country such as healthcare, technology, education and shadow lending

Switzerland-based TIL to invest Rs 20,000 crore in Vadhvan Port project

Terminal Investment Limited Sarl (TIL) invests in, develops, and manages container terminals across the globe

Imports from UAE, S Africa, Switzerland grew in triple digits in Nov

Contraction in merchandise exports in November was led by dip in shipments to the US, the Netherlands, China, and Bangladesh

Swiss MFN suspension may raise tax on India Inc dividend

Tax liability doubles following rollback of beneficial tax rate on income from India

Swiss MFN move won't impact $100 bn EFTA investment commitment: Barthwal

Under the Double Tax Avoidance Agreement (DTAA), Switzerland had reduced the withholding tax on Indian entities operating in that country to 5 per cent from 10 per cent earlier