Under pressure from the European Union the Swiss government has outlined plans to scrap controversial tax privileges for international firms. But the reform risks undermining the complex federal fiscal system and leading to a major drop in revenue.  [...]

Ever since adulterated milk killed six babies in 2008, Chinese people have rushed to buy foreign powdered milk. But how has it come to this? swissinfo.ch asked its readers in China for their take on the issue.  [...]

Three kidnapped employees of the Geneva-based International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) – reportedly a Swiss, a Kenyan and a Yemeni – have been freed in Yemen, according to ICRC and Yemeni sources.  [...]

Economics Minister Johann Schneider-Ammann has praised an accord reached in principle with China. He is confident of winning approval of the free trade deal in parliament.  [...]

Saudi Arabia, a key player in the conflict in Syria, is an important Swiss trade partner but it regularly makes headlines due to human rights violations. Is conducting business with the desert state complicity, or another way of bringing about change?  [...]

Armed Yemeni tribesmen have kidnapped three people – one said to be Swiss – working for the Geneva-based International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in the southern province of Abyan, according to a Yemeni security source.  [...]

Five additional chemicals will be subject to international regulation following a summit on chemicals and hazardous waste held in Geneva, but bans and restrictions on asbestos and pesticides containing paraquat failed to garner enough support.  [...]

Most armed conflicts are resolved not by force but at the negotiating table. However, the growing number of mediation actors seen in recent years can be counterproductive, according to a recent study by Swiss authors.  [...]

There are more than 400 ongoing conflicts around the world, some of which have lasted decades and still seem unlikely to end. And even if they aren't on the front pages of your newspaper, they keep on causing death, pain and suffering.  [...]

Spain has ruled against extraditing a former HSBC employee to Switzerland, where he faces charges of stealing client banking data subsequently used by a number of European countries to pursue suspected tax evaders.  [...]

The pope has granted a private audience to Ueli Maurer, who this year holds the rotating Swiss presidency, at the Apostolic Palace in the Vatican. The 16-minute meeting took place before the swearing in of new Swiss Papal Guards.  [...]