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Representatives from over 40 countries and international organisations sign the Lugano Declaration to help rebuild Ukraine, and updates on Covid vaccinations and SWISS’s winter timetable. News and stories from Switzerland on Tuesday.

Lapresse

In the news:  Swiss International Air Lines (SWISS) will fly to more destinations this winter but less often. It will offer services to 93 airports, with total capacity at some 80% of its 2019 levels.

• New to the winter timetable will be Bristol in southern England, served from Zurich. The services started this summer to Bologna (pictured), Nantes, Sofia and Vilnius will also be continued in the winter timetable, SWISS saidExternal link today.
• Scientists in Geneva working with the Large Hadron Collider at CERNExternal link have discovered three subatomic particles – a new kind of “pentaquark” and the first-ever pair of “tetraquarks” – as they work to unlock the building blocks of the universe.
• Everyone over 16 should get a second Covid-19 booster vaccination in autumn, the federal authorities said todayExternal link. Only people aged 80 and over should get vaccinated for a fourth time immediately.

© Keystone / Michael Buholzer

An international conference to support Ukraine, hosted by Switzerland, has agreed to a series of principles to oversee the reconstruction of the war-torn country.

Representatives from over 40 countries and international organisations such as the European Investment Bank and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) signed up to the Lugano Declaration at the end of the two-day Ukraine Recovery ConferenceExternal link in southern Switzerland.

In the final declarationExternal link, the participants set out seven criteria, including the fight against corruption and a commitment to democratic values, transparent government and ensuring fundamental rights. “It is the beginning of long process,” said Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis (pictured, left) in his closing speech.

He said the Lugano Declaration laid the groundwork that would not only launch the reconstruction of Ukraine but also give Ukrainians hope and the certainty that they are not alone. Ukraine’s government estimates it will cost $750 billion (CHF720 billion) to rebuild infrastructure that has been damaged or destroyed since Russia’s invasion at the end of February.

Several countries and companies have made financial pledges for Ukraine. Switzerland said it would double its aid to Ukraine to CHF100 million by the end of 2023. The United States has also announced that it will make available $6.2 billion over the next few months.