American Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has paid a private visit to the Swiss capital, Bern, ahead of attending an informal forum of mostly western political leaders, experts from industry and finance in the Lake Geneva region.
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Pompeo was given a short tour of the Swiss parliament building and strolled trough the old town of Bern with his entourage on Saturday amid high security.
It’s apparently the first visit by a United States top diplomat to the Swiss capital in more than two decades and comes just weeks after President Trump met the Swiss president Ueli Maurer at the White House in Washington.
Christa Markwalder, a member of parliamentary group Switzerland- United States, proudly posted this picture on her twitter accountExternal link.
Pompeo is also attending a session of the annual Bilderberg meeting in the town of Montreux on Saturday.
On Sunday, Pompeo, a former director of the Central Intelligence Agency, is due to hold talks with the Swiss foreign minister, Ignazio Cassis, in Bellinzona.
The United States says the aim of Pompeo’s visit – part of a larger tour of European countries – is to strengthen economic ties and security issues.
A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that Cassis met with Pompeo in Lugano, rather than Bellinzona. We regret this error.
Direct trains to run from Zurich to Florence and Livorno
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The Swiss Federal Railways and Trenitalia will offer direct trains from Zurich to Florence and Livorno and vice versa from 2026.
Number of Swiss armed forces exceeds specified limit
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The Swiss armed forces had an effective headcount of around 147,000 as of March 1, 2024. This exceeds the upper limit of 140,000 specified in the army organisation by 5%.
More than 400,000 cross-border commuters now work in Switzerland
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More than half of all cross-border commuters were resident in France (around 57%). Large proportions also lived in Italy (23%) and Germany (around 16%).
Amherd and von der Leyen discuss ongoing Swiss-EU negotiations
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Swiss President Viola Amherd and EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen have met and talked about the ongoing negotiations between Bern and Brussels.
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One million francs, 34 million euros and around 830 kilos of gold: this is the fortune that two Swiss nationals are accused of having moved across borders for at least four years.
Girls in female-dominated classes earn more later on
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At the age of 30, women from school classes with a 55% share of girls earn $350 more per year than women from classes with a 45% share of girls.
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Geneva-based luxury goods group Richemont reported a downturn in performance for the first half of its 2024/25 financial year. Both sales and profit declined.
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What – and who – is Bilderberg?
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Switzerland is hosting some of the Western world’s top players in government and business at the secretive Bilderberg meeting. What’s it all about?
US state secretary Mike Pompeo to visit Switzerland
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United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will visit Switzerland as part of a trip to Europe next week, US and Swiss officials say.
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Swiss President Ueli Maurer’s meeting with Donald Trump was a unique bilateral event at a moment of increasing tensions between the US and Iran.
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