Latest news with #Keystone-ATS
Straits Times
a day ago
- Business
- Straits Times
Swiss open to new US defence orders to tackle tariffs
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox Switzerland's defence minister Martin Pfister said that military purchases are important for relations with the United States. GENEVA - Switzerland's defence minister Martin Pfister said on Aug 10 that he was 'open' to placing new arms orders with the United States as a way to try to reduce Washington's whopping tariffs. The Swiss government is seeking more talks with the United States after a last-gasp mission to the US capital failed to stop a 39 per cent tariff blow that businesses described as a 'horror scenario'. 'Military purchases are important for relations with the United States,' Mr Pfister told Switzerland's domestic Keystone-ATS news agency. 'However, we must first find a path for discussion with the Americans' to try to move relations forward overall, he said. US President Donald Trump blindsided the Swiss when he announced that the wealthy Alpine nation would be hit by one of the highest tariffs among new duties on imports from dozens of economies that took effect on Aug 7. The tariff jeopardises entire sectors of the export-heavy Swiss economy, notably watchmaking and industrial machinery, but also chocolate and cheese. Swiss businesses worry that competitors in other wealthy economies will have an edge, with the European Union and Japan having negotiated a 15 per cent tariff and Britain securing a rate of 10 per cent. Switzerland has argued that the United States enjoys a significant services trade surplus and that most US industrial goods enter Switzerland tariff-free. Mr Pfister stressed that the government had decided not to call into question Switzerland's current contract to buy 36 new Lockheed Martin F-35A fighter jets. 'The issue of the fixed price remains to be resolved,' he added. Switzerland and the United States are quibbling over the final price of the F-35As bought to replace the ageing Swiss fleet. The US Defence Security Cooperation Agency wants Switzerland to assume additional costs, but Bern says it is sticking to the agreed price of just over six billion Swiss francs (S$9.5 billion). The F-35A combat aircraft – already used by the US Air Force and several European countries – was chosen in June 2021 instead of the Airbus Eurofighter, the F/A-18 Super Hornet by Boeing, and French firm Dassault's Rafale. Switzerland's long-standing position has been one of well-armed military neutrality and the landlocked European country has mandatory conscription for men. AFP
The Sun
a day ago
- Business
- The Sun
Swiss consider US arms deals to counter high tariff impact
GENEVA: Switzerland's defence minister Martin Pfister has expressed willingness to place new arms orders with the United States as part of efforts to address Washington's steep 39% tariffs. The Swiss government is pursuing further discussions with US officials after failing to prevent the tariffs, which took effect recently and threaten major export sectors. 'Military purchases are important for relations with the United States,' Pfister told Swiss news agency Keystone-ATS. He emphasised the need for constructive dialogue to improve bilateral ties while addressing economic concerns. The tariffs, imposed by the US on Swiss imports, risk harming key industries such as watchmaking, machinery, chocolate, and cheese. Swiss businesses fear losing ground to competitors in the EU, Japan, and Britain, which secured lower tariff rates of 15% and 10% respectively. Switzerland highlights its services trade surplus with the US and tariff-free access for most American industrial goods. Pfister confirmed that Switzerland remains committed to its existing deal to buy 36 F-35A fighter jets from Lockheed Martin. 'The issue of the fixed price remains to be resolved,' he added, referring to ongoing negotiations over the six-billion-franc ($7.4 billion) contract. The US has pushed for additional costs, but Switzerland insists on honouring the agreed price. Selected in 2021 over rival bids from Airbus, Boeing, and Dassault, the F-35A will replace Switzerland's ageing fighter fleet. As a neutral but well-armed nation, Switzerland maintains mandatory military conscription for men. – AFP
Yahoo
04-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Swiss probe intelligence leaks to Russia
Switzerland's defence ministry has launched an investigation into leaks from the country's intelligence service to Russia's military intelligence, the Swiss news agency Keystone-ATS reported Wednesday. The ministry was responding to revelations by the public broadcaster SRF, based on an internal report from the Swiss Federal Intelligence Service (FIS), which said an officer in charge of the cyber team allegedly transmitted highly sensitive information to the Russian cybersecurity firm Kaspersky -- which then ended up in the hands of Russia's GRU spy agency. Two friendly intelligence services alerted FIS officials to the leaks, the public broadcaster said. They threatened to "cease cooperation with the FIS if the employee continued to work for the FIS", the broadcaster quoted the intelligence service's internal report as saying, due to the danger these leaks posed to their own operations. The case spans from 2014-2015 to at least the end of 2020, according to SRF. The Swiss officer justified the collaboration with Kaspersky by citing a need for access to cyber tools that the small FIS -- which has a few hundred employees -- could not provide due to lack of expertise and resources. The officer in question ultimately left the service in 2020. For Swiss defence minister Martin Pfister, a reliable intelligence service is of paramount importance for Switzerland's protection, "especially in the current global situation marked by insecurity", his ministry told Keystone-ATS. Pfister has launched an administrative investigation led by an external and independent body, which will go over the work of previous investigations -- including those done within the FIS. The collaboration with Kaspersky is surprising for a Western intelligence service, as many experts believe the cybersecurity giant has ties to Russian intelligence. In 2024, the United States banned Kaspersky products and services from US territory. Kaspersky has always firmly denied any links between its cybersecurity services and Russian spy agencies. vog/rjm/jhb
Time of India
30-05-2025
- Climate
- Time of India
Switzerland: Flood risk after landslide engulfs village
Representative Image A man remained missing on Thursday following a massive landslide that engulfed a village in southern Switzerland. The Birch glacier in Switzerland's southern Wallis region crumpled on Wednesday, with the resulting landslide of rock and ice sending plumes of dust skyward. The landslide coated nearly the entirety of an Alpine village with mud. Last week, authorities evacuated the village as a precaution. The barrage largely destroyed the hamlet of Blatten, which had been home to 300 people. State Councilor Stephane Ganzer told Radio Television Suisse that 90% of the village was destroyed. The Cantonal Police of Valais said a search and rescue operation was underway for the missing 64-year-old man, involving a drone with a thermal camera. Glaciers vulnerable to climate change Switzerland's glaciers have been severely affected by climate change. In the years 2022 and 2023, they melted just as much as they had in the decades from 1960 through 1990. Matthias Huss, head of the Glacier Monitoring in Switzerland, pointed to the likely influence of climate change in loosening the rock mass in the permafrost zone, which triggered the glacier collapse and the subsequent landslide. "Unexpected things happen at places that we have not seen for hundreds of years, most probably due to climate change," he told Reuters. Concerns rising over blocked river Authorities have declared a state of emergency as they monitor the situation of the huge pile of glacier debris, stretching 2 kilometers (1.25 miles), blocking the Lonza River. "There is a serious risk of an ice jam that could flood the valley below," Antoine Jacquod, a military security official, told the Keystone-ATS news agency. "We're going to try to assess its dimensions." With the area too unstable to be approached, authorities indicated that an assessment would be made during the late afternoon from the nearby village of Ferden. As a precaution, 16 people were evacuated late Wednesday from two villages downstream from the disaster area. An artificial dam has been emptied to receive the water pushed back by the wall of ice, earth and rubble. Were that water to overflow from the dam, authorities would need to consider evacuating the valley. "The deposit ... is not very stable, and debris flow is possible within the deposit itself [which] makes any intervention in the disaster area impossible for the time being," cantonal authorities said. They added that there is risk on both sides of the valley. Residents shocked by scale of destruction Martin Henzen, a Blatten resident, told Reuters that he was still trying to process what had occurred and did not want to speak for others in the village. "Most are calm," Henzen said, "but they're obviously affected." Henzen said residents had been making preparations for some kind of natural disaster but "not for this scenario," referring to the scale of destruction. Up to 1 million cubic meters (35 million cubic feet) of water could accumulate daily as a result of the debris damming up the river, and the buildings that emerged intact from the landslide are now flooding. Authorities have been airlifting livestock out of the area. "Right now," said Jonas Jeitziner, an official in neighboring Wiler, "the shock is so profound that one can't think about it yet."
Daily Mirror
29-05-2025
- Climate
- Daily Mirror
Swiss glacier wipeout threatens two more villages as dam could burst
The shocking event in Valais on Wednesday, May 28, caused the village of Blatten to be subjected to an immense amount of debris consisting of various pieces of rock and ice. Looming floodwaters are threatening to strike two more Swiss villages in after a glacier collapse saw nearly an entire village become buried under snow. The shocking avalanche in Valais on Wednesday, May 28, saw the village of Blatten subjected to an immense amount of debris consisting of various pieces of rock and ice. It occurred after a chunk of the Birch Glacier in the south of Switzerland fell off, with broken pieces of the wedge tumbling down the mountain and leaving a huge dust cloud in the area around the village, with 90 per cent of the town now being buried in debris. The 300 people who live in Blatten were evacuated before the landslide, but authorities have since stated that one individual is still missing. Following the dramatic turn of events, the two villages of Kippel and Wiler have been ordered to evacuate by authorities as a safety precaution. This is due to the earlier landslide now blocking the river Lonza, creating a makeshift dam that could burst and devastate the two settlements while also sweeping the debris from yesterday's event into the area. Antoine Jacquod, a military security official, told the Keystone-ATS news agency: "'There is a serious risk of an ice jam that could flood the valley below." The army has since made a statement that equipment such as water pumps and diggers were being made available as needed. Christoph Hegg of the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL) told Blick:"The lake behind the debris is getting higher and higher. And the water masses are pressing on the dam. This increases the pressure." He added: "The worst case scenario is that the load on the dam becomes too great and the dam breaks. The water masses then rush into the valley and, depending on the strength of the material, are likely to sweep the debris with them." Local politician Christophe Darbellay told news outlet 20 Minuten that Blatten had "disappeared from the map", while locals told the outlet that a sewage treatment facility and power plant which had recently been built could be destroyed by the potential flood posed by the river Lonza. Blatten's president Matthias Bellwald said during a press conference yesterday that the "unimaginable" had happened. He said: "We have lost our village, but not our hearts. "Even though the village lies under a huge pile of rubble, we know where our homes and our church must be rebuilt." Climate change has been proposed as a likely reason for the devastating events seen in the region as a result of the Birch Glacier. Matthias Huss, head of the Glacier Monitoring in Switzerland (GLAMOS), said that rocks in the permafrost zone of the mountain had possibly loosened and contributed to the collapse. He told Reuters:"Unexpected things happen at places that we have not seen for hundreds of years, most probably due to climate change."
