Swiss require negative virus test for entry from high-risk areas

Zurich amid COVID-19 outbreak

ZURICH (Reuters) - Switzerland will require negative coronavirus tests from people entering the country from high-risk areas as of Feb. 8, the government said on Wednesday.

It also proposed doubling to 5 billion Swiss francs ($5.63 billion) the fund financed by the federal and cantonal governments to support businesses hit hard by restrictions to curb the coronavirus pandemic.

It also said in a statement after a cabinet meeting it was ready to reactivate a scheme providing state guarantees for bank loans to affected companies, should the credit market deteriorate.

It extended unemployment benefits by three months, a move that would cost around 500 million francs, and said the federal government would finance around 6 billion francs in extra spending to cover compensation for workers on shortened working hours.

"It's clear that people without work in this situation hardly have a chance to find a new position," Swiss President Guy Parmelin said. "With the decision from today, the federal government is clearing the way for about 8 billion francs for short-time work and hardship cases. Not everything is perfect, but we're working on it."

Switzerland this month tightened measures to tackle new variants of the COVID-19 virus spreading across the country while stopping short of the full lockdown neighbouring countries have adopted to choke off the pandemic.

Health authorities have reported https://www.covid19.admin.ch/en/overview?ovTime=total more than 515,000 cases and around 8,500 deaths in Switzerland and neighbouring Liechtenstein since the pandemic broke out in February 2020.

(Reporting by Michael Shields, editing by John Miller and Brenna Hughes Neghaiwi)

Latest Stories

  • Black National Guardsman describes being deployed to protect Biden’s inauguration: 'I just felt this huge sense of pride'

    As most of the 25,000 National Guardsmen who were called upon to protect Washington, D.C., during the presidential inauguration began heading home this week, one Black service member agreed to speak to Yahoo News about the experience of protecting the nation’s capital in the wake of a pro-Trump riot on Capitol Hill. 

  • Mike Pence is homeless after leaving office and ‘couch-surfing’ with Indiana politicians, report says

    Mike Pence has been residing in public housing for the past eight years

  • Biden did not, in fact, remove Trump's 'Diet Coke button' from the Resolute Desk, White House clarifies

    The new Biden administration has yet not disclosed the secrets of Area 51 or explained what the Air Force really knows about UFOs, but it did clarify, at least, the mystery of the vanished "Diet Coke button" former President Donald Trump would use to summon refreshments in the Oval Office. The usher button, as it is formally known, is not gone, even if it is no longer used to summon Diet Cokes, a White House official tells Politico. The White House official "unfortunately wouldn't say what Biden will use the button for," Politico's Daniel Lippman writes, suggesting Biden might summon Orange Gatorade and not the obvious answer, ice cream — or, let's get real, coffee. What's more, there are evidently two usher buttons in the Oval Office, one at the Resolute Desk and the other next to the chair by the fireplace, a former White House official told Politico, adding that Trump didn't actually use the Diet Coke button all that much because "he would usually just verbally ask the valets, who were around all day, for what he needed." In any case, it is not the placement of the button that matters, of course, but how you use it. And Biden will presumably know better than to order ice cream treats during a top-secret national security briefing. More stories from theweek.comSarah Huckabee Sanders' shameless campaign for governorTrump's impeachment lawyer said he thinks 'the facts and the law will speak for themselves'Mitch McConnell is the GOAT

  • Russian authorities offer contradictory explanations for Kremlin-like security at alleged ‘Putin’s palace’

    Russia’s top security agencies have offered contradictory explanations for heightened security measures around a billion-dollar property on the Black Sea, dubbed “Putin’s palace" by opposition leader Alexei Navalny. Faced with over 95 million views of Mr Navalny’s YouTube investigation into the residence, President Vladimir Putin had to issue a denial on Monday, insisting that neither he, nor his family own the property whose very existence enraged millions of Russia. Angry protests spread across the country’s 11 time zones on Saturday in response to the allegations about Mr Putin’s lavish lifestyle as well as the arrest of Mr Navalny who was locked up for violating the terms of his suspended sentence. The day after the politician was jailed, Mr Navalny’s team published the investigation into the property which detailed a web of its obscure owners as well President Putin’s close friends and relatives who have allegedly been pumping money into its construction and maintenance. The property, believed to be Russia’s largest private home, boasts a casino, private theatre and even a smoking room with a stripper pole. The waters along the coast are off limits for fishermen and the Kremlin security service, FSO, is known to be issuing permits for anyone wanting to get close, which has been seen as the ultimate evidence that President Putin does use the palace. Floor plans of the palace as well as rare photographs and 3D visualisations showing its opulent interior have become the butt of jokes and given rise to countless parodies and internet memes. Russian news outlet RBC on Wednesday quoted a statement from the country’s main intelligence agency FSB, explaining that it had to close the airspace over the property due to “growing spying activities of a number of neighbouring countries including NATO members.” The FSB, however, failed to comment on the fact that the no-fly zone was first established there in 2011. Separately, the FSO, whose job is to provide security to Russia’s top officials including the president, on Wednesday, denied that there are any facilities in the area under its protection.

  • Texas judge temporarily halts Biden's 100-day deportation freeze

    A federal judge in Texas has temporarily blocked the Biden administration's 100-day freeze on deporting unauthorized immigrants.Why it matters: Biden has set an ambitious immigration agenda, but could face pushback from the courts.Get smarter, faster with the news CEOs, entrepreneurs and top politicians read. Sign up for Axios Newsletters here.The big picture: U.S. District Judge Drew Tipton, a Trump appointee, issued a temporary restraining order blocking the policy for 14 days. * Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued the Biden administration last week, claiming the freeze "violates the U.S. Constitution, federal immigration and administrative law, and a contractual agreement between Texas" and the Department of Homeland Security, per a press release from Paxton’s office. * "The issues implicated by that Agreement are of such gravity and constitutional import that they require further development of the record and briefing prior to addressing the merits," Tipton wrote in his Tuesday order. * Tipton also said Texas has provided evidence that the freeze would result in "millions of dollars of damage" by spurring an increase in spending on public services for unauthorized immigrants, according to the judge’s order.What they're saying: "Texas is the FIRST state in the nation to bring a lawsuit against the Biden Admin. AND WE WON," Paxton tweeted. "Within 6 days of Biden’s inauguration, Texas has HALTED his illegal deportation freeze." * Neither DHS nor Immigration and Customs Enforcement immediately responded to Axios' request for comment.Of note: Former President Trump was frequently met with injunctions for his immigration policies.Support safe, smart, sane journalism. Sign up for Axios Newsletters here.

  • Here Are The Brightest Decor Buys of the Season

    Let’s get loudOriginally Appeared on Architectural Digest

  • Five arrested as Australia Day protests draw thousands

    Five people were arrested in Sydney in largely peaceful Australia Day protests on Tuesday with thousands defying public health concerns and rallying across the nation against the mistreatment of the Indigenous people. The Jan. 26 public holiday marks the date the British fleet sailed into Sydney Harbour in 1788 to start a penal colony, viewing the land as unoccupied despite encountering settlements. But for many Indigenous Australians, who trace their lineage on the continent back 50,000 years, it is "Invasion Day".

  • Biden showed his years of Senate experience by winning a filibuster fight without saying a word

    Analysis: Biden had nothing to gain and everything to lose from fighting a quixotic war over the filibuster just days into his presidency.

  • Giuliani attacks 'censorship' but made threat to sue paper over unflattering story

    Trump ally, who claims lawsuit against him is ‘act of intimidation to censor the exercise of free speech’, threatened New York Post Giuliani in Washington in November. On Monday, Dominion sued Giuliani in federal court in Washington, over his claims about supposed electoral fraud. Photograph: Jacquelyn Martin/AP On Monday, Rudy Giuliani called a $1.3bn lawsuit brought against him by Dominion Voting Systems “another act of intimidation by the hate-filled left wing to wipe out and censor the exercise of free speech”. But Giuliani has himself previously threatened to censor the exercise of free speech with legal action. The former New York mayor turned Trump attorney was invoking current rightwing complaints against so-called “cancel culture”, in which freedom of speech is supposedly curtailed. But in June 2001, the New York Post ran a story about an extra-marital affair. Giuliani told reporters: “I will consider suing them for libel – defamation. What the New York Post did is scurrilous, I believe it’s malicious and I’m prepared to prove that in court if I have to.” First amendment protection of freedom of the press makes it difficult for US public officials to mount libel lawsuits, even if reports are proved to be wrong. Giuliani did not take the Post to court. On Monday, Dominion sued Giuliani in federal court in Washington, over his claims about supposed electoral fraud, made as part of Donald Trump’s baseless attempts to overturn defeat by Joe Biden, efforts which culminated in the deadly attack on the US Capitol on 6 January. “Dominion brings this action to set the record straight,” the complaint said, “to vindicate the company’s rights under civil law, to recover compensatory and punitive damages, and to stand up for itself, its employees, and the electoral process.” Dominion’s lawyer, Thomas Clare, told the New York Times the company could sue others, including Trump. “We’re not ruling anybody out,” he said. “Obviously, this lawsuit against the president’s lawyer moves one step closer to the former president and understanding what his role was and wasn’t.” Some experts said Dominion might itself count as a public figure, and thus have a hard time winning its case. Giuliani said he might counter-sue Dominion. “The amount being asked for is, quite obviously, intended to frighten people of faint heart. It is another act of intimidation by the hate-filled left wing to wipe out and censor the exercise of free speech, as well as the ability of lawyers to defend their clients vigorously. As such, we will investigate a countersuit against them for violating these constitutional rights,” he said. It remains to be seen if Giuliani will follow through. Nearly 20 years ago, he did not. Giuliani threatened to sue the Post over its story about how, as the New York Daily News described it, the mayor and his “girlfriend Judith Nathan [were] using the posh St Regis Hotel as a ‘secret love nest’”. Negotiations between Giuliani and the Post followed but nearly six weeks later, on 18 July, the Daily News reported that Giuliani had not made good on his threat. “When I’m ready to decide, you’ll be the first to know,” he said. “But I don’t get rushed into anything.”

  • Four teenagers arrested over ‘live-streamed’ murder of 15-year-old girl in Walmart

    ‘There appeared to be no remorse,’ says Calcasieu Parish sheriff Tony Mancus

  • Senate confirms Antony Blinken as 71st secretary of state

    The Senate on Tuesday confirmed Antony Blinken as America’s top diplomat, tasked with carrying out President Joe Biden’s commitment to reverse the Trump administration’s “America First” doctrine that weakened international alliances. Senators voted 78-22 to approve Blinken, a longtime Biden confidant, as the nation’s 71st secretary of state, succeeding Mike Pompeo.

  • Master Sergeant Gives Hated Air Force Tiger Stripe Uniform a Memorable Sendoff

    The U.S. Air Force is approaching its sunset date for the Airman Battle Uniform, known as the ABU.

  • Cut juries from 12 to seven to combat delays in justice, says Labour

    Juries should be temporarily cut from 12 to seven to help reduce delays in court trials and cut the backlog in cases, says Labour. David Lammy, shadow Justice Secretary, said smaller juries would reduce the space required to hold trials in a socially-distanced manner. He claimed the change which was last deployed during the second world war for trials except in cases of treason or murder would reduce the likelihood of jurors becoming infected. Data obtained by Labour showed that 599 court staff, judges, lawyers and jurors had tested positive for Covid-19 in a recent period of seven weeks. Mr Lammy also urged ministers to speed up the roll-out of Nightingale courts, in order to help clear the Crown Court backlog of more than 54,000 cases. It comes after four criminal justice inspectorates for England and Wales warned of their ‘grave concerns’ about the impact of the backlog on the justice system. The change was also urged last week by former appeal court judge Sir Ernest Ryder who also suggested some mid-level offences could also be heard before “intermediate courts” comprising a panel of three led by a judge instead of a jury to cut the growing case backlog. The idea of reducing the size of juries, which would require a change in law, was floated early in the pandemic by Robert Buckland, the Justice Secretary, and Lord Burnett, the Lord Chief Justice and head of the judiciary. However, it has been shelved because of evidence that it would not significantly increase capacity. Instead, ministers have favoured increased use of technology, self-distancing and protective measures such as screens in courts, the opening of 18 Nightingale courts in public buildings and plans for extended court hours through a two-shift-a-day system in individual courts. Mr Lammy said: “Victims of rape, murder, domestic abuse, robbery and assault are facing delays of up to four years because of the government’s failure to act. “Justice cannot be delayed any further. Labour is calling on the government to tackle the backlog by speeding up the roll-out of Nightingale courts and temporarily introducing wartime juries of seven until the pandemic is over.” However, it will be opposed by barristers. James Mulholland QC chair of the Criminal Bar Association said: “Reducing jury numbers is a convenient way to avoid the proper solution – investing in more space and more courtrooms for criminal work. The number of Nightingale courtrooms used exclusively for crime barely touches double figures; dozens short of the extra numbers required. “It is important to reiterate at this crucial period that we must retain faith in the processes that have made our criminal justice system one of the fairest in the world. A jury of twelve must continue to be the means by which serious criminal allegations are determined and it must remain a beacon of light amidst the darkness that surrounds us.”

  • Goya board of directors censures CEO for comments about election fraud

    Robert Unanue previously praised then-President Donald Trump at a White House event, saying the country was “truly blessed” to have him leading it.

  • Biden tells Fox News reporter he talked to Putin about ‘You’ when asked about his call with Russian president

    Leaders reportedly discussed Ukraine tensions, a massive cyberattack and Russia’s poisoned opposition leader

  • UN: 250,000 people affected by Cyclone Eloise in Mozambique

    Cyclone Eloise has affected 250,000 people in the Mozambique port city of Beira and surrounding areas and damaged or destroyed 76 health centers and 400 classrooms, a senior U.N. official said Tuesday. “We also see widespread floods that are still there,” Myrta Kaulard, the U.N. resident coordinator in the African country, told U.N. correspondents in a virtual briefing from the capital Maputo. “And what we can see is a lot of people trying to get out of the flooded areas.”

  • Former VA doctor who misdiagnosed patient sentenced to prison

    A former pathologist at an Arkansas veterans’ hospital has been sentenced to 20 years in federal prison after pleading guilty last year to involuntary manslaughter in the death of a patient that he misdiagnosed.

  • The Marines Could Be the Next Military Service to Get New Grooming Rules

    Marine officials declined to comment on when the review is expected to be complete or what changes could result.

  • Tibetan Monk, 19, Dies After Months of Beatings in Chinese Custody, Human Rights Watch Claims

    A 19-year-old Tibetan monk has reportedly died after battling two months of alleged mistreatment under Chinese authorities. Tenzin Nyima, also known as Tamay, served at Dza Wonpo monastery in Wonpo township, Kandze prefecture, a Tibetan area in the Sichuan province of China. Nyima was first arrested in November 2019 after distributing leaflets with three other monks according to Human Rights Watch (HRW).

  • HSBC chiefs accused of 'appeasing' China over Hong Kong crackdown

    Banking giant HSBC has been accused of "appeasing" China after defending a decision by one of its top executives in Asia to back Beijing's security clampdown in Hong Kong. The London-based bank became embroiled in a political row last June when its Asia-Pacific head, Peter Wong, signed a petition supporting China's imposition of draconian new security laws. The legislation has been used to detain scores of pro-democracy activists, many of whom were involved in the vast anti-Beijing protests that shook Hong Kong in 2019. On Tuesday, two of HSBC's top London-based managers, chief executive Noel Quinn and head of compliance head Colin Bell, were called to explain the decision before Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee.