Switzerland tightens airspace restrictions for pope visit
The Swiss government has decided to impose airspace restrictions during the one-day visit of Pope Francis later this month.
This content was published on
1 minute
The Federal Council made the decision on Friday following a request from the cantonal authorities in Geneva.
The restriction concerns small aircraft – namely passenger aircraft and helicopters – in the Geneva region. It will be active from 9 am to 9 pm on June 21.
Commercial flights to and from Geneva International Airport are not affected.
The Swiss army is allocating a maximum of 200 military personnel to reinforce the air police service, in addition to setting up a logistics and health support service for the visit.
Pope Francis is expected to meet the Swiss president in Geneva and hold a mass at the airport.
The last papal visit to Switzerland was in 2004, when Pope John Paul II came to Bern.
University students in Switzerland join Gaza protest wave
This content was published on
Pro-Palestinian activists occupied university buildings in Lausanne, Geneva and Zurich on Tuesday, widening the protest movement in the Alpine nation.
TradeXBank to resume full operations after Sberbank Switzerland taken off sanctions list
This content was published on
TradeXBank, the former Swiss branch of Russia’s Sberbank, will be able to resume its dollar-denominated activities from the second half of this year.
Geneva decides not to remove controversial memorials
This content was published on
The city of Geneva has presented an action plan regarding a series of controversial local statues and monuments of historical figures linked to racism, colonialism or slavery.
University of Lausanne calls for end to pro-Palestine sit-in
This content was published on
The pro-Palestinian occupation continues at the University of Lausanne (UNIL). On Monday evening, a group of students refused to agree to the deadline set by the rectorate.
Ukraine peace conference should include Russia, says Chinese ambassador
This content was published on
China supports a peace conference on the Ukraine war that would see equal participation of all parties, says Chinese Ambassador to Russia Zhang Hanhui.
This content was published on
A majority of Swiss citizens have open attitudes towards various infertility treatments, including even egg donation, which is currently prohibited.
Reports of Swiss cyber fraud almost doubled in six months
This content was published on
The head of the new Federal Office for Cybersecurity (FOC), Florian Schütz, has presented a new strategy after just over four months in office.
This content was published on
A government delegation led by Home Affairs Minister Alain Berset will receive the pope and hold official talks with him, the government confirmed to the Swiss News Agency on Wednesday. The most recent papal visit to Switzerland was in 2004, when Pope John Paul II came to Bern a year before he died. Almost 70,000…
Swiss Catholic Church commission to examine abuse victims’ cases
This content was published on
The commission is ready to receive compensation requests from victims of paedophile priests, Joseph Bonnemain, from the Conference of Swiss Bishops, told the Swiss News Agency on Tuesday. The formal creation of the six-person commissionExternal link in January follows the establishment of a CHF500,000 ($498,000) compensation fund for victims of abuse by members of the…
This content was published on
Schneider-Ammann spoke to the Pope of Switzerland’s willingness to help remedy the problems that are causing refugees to flee countries in crisis. The costs of helping people in their own countries are smaller than the costs of caring for migrants in Europe, he said. At a press conference following the meeting, the Swiss president emphasised…
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.