Pioneering research could help development of miniaturised devices for stroke patients and paralysed people A man who was paralysed in a cycling accident in 2011 has been able to stand and walk with an aid after doctors implanted a device that reads his brain waves and sends instructions to his spine to move the right muscles. Gert-Jan Oskam, 40, was told he would never walk again after breaking his neck in a traffic accident in China, but has climbed stairs and walked for more than 100 metres at a time since having the operation ..read more

Judges clear academic and Islam scholar of all charges in case brought by Swiss woman The prominent Swiss academic and Islam scholar Tariq Ramadan has been acquitted of charges of rape and sexual coercion against a woman in a Geneva hotel in 2008. The lawyer for the complainant immediately announced that she would appeal. The woman, a Swiss convert to Islam, had told the court she was raped on 28 October 2008 ..read more

Protesters from Greenpeace, Stay Grounded, Extinction Rebellion and others chain themselves to aircraft in Geneva Dozens of climate activists have disrupted Europe’s largest private jet trade fair by chaining themselves to aircraft to protest against the sector’s carbon emissions. The demonstrators on behalf of Greenpeace, Stay Grounded, Extinction Rebellion and Scientist Rebellion also attached themselves to the entrance gates of the event at Geneva airport in the hope of preventing prospective buyers from entering the annual show ..read more

Swiss authorities have launched an investigation into the deaths and said they cannot rule out that the three died in an avalanche Three Dutch mountaineers who had been missing for days have been found dead in the Swiss Alps, and police suggested they may have been victims of an avalanche. Two men aged 32 and 40 and a 30-year-old woman had been hiking in the southern Swiss canton of Valais when they disappeared, regional police said on Monday ..read more

Pilot and two passengers died at scene of accident in steep and forested area in west of country A tourist plane crashed in a wooded, mountainous area of western Switzerland on Saturday, killing the three people onboard, police said. The small tourist plane crashed in a steep and forested area near Ponts-De-Martel in the Swiss canton of Neuchâtel at about 10.20am (0820 GMT), regional police said ..read more

Islamic studies scholar, who took leave of absence from Oxford University in 2017, is also accused of sexual coercion The prominent Swiss academic and Islam scholar Tariq Ramadan has gone on trial in Geneva on charges of rape and sexual coercion. The 60-year-old told the court he denied allegations that he carried out an attack on a Swiss woman in a Geneva hotel in 2008 ..read more

Business and trade secretary to meet Swiss counterpart on Monday to boost trade between two ‘services superpowers’ Kemi Badenoch will fly to Switzerland on Monday for talks with her Swiss counterpart on a new post-Brexit trade deal, describing the two countries as “natural trading partners”. The business and trade secretary is meeting Guy Parmelin in Berne to discuss a “modern” UK-Switzerland free trade agreement (FTA) that would boost trade between two “services superpowers”, she said ..read more

Greek-born 86-year-old, who denies the charge, to go on trial in Switzerland, where offence is alleged to have occurred The journalist Taki Theodoracopulos is facing trial in Switzerland after being charged with attempted rape. The 86-year-old, who writes a column for the Spectator, was charged in February over the alleged incident in 2009. He is accused of attempting to rape a woman on a ski weekend at his chalet in Gstaad in the Swiss Alps ..read more

Authorities tell residents of Brienz to leave by Friday over concerns 2m cubic metres of rock will collapse Authorities in eastern Switzerland have ordered residents of the village of Brienz to evacuate by Friday evening because geologists say a mass of 2m cubic metres of Alpine rock looming overhead could break loose and spill down in coming weeks. Local leaders told a town hall and press event on Tuesday that residents would have to leave by 6pm on Friday but could return to the village from time to time starting on Saturday, depending on the risk level, but not stay overnight ..read more

Scientists have found microbes that can do this at 15C, in a potential breakthrough for recycling Microbes that can digest plastics at low temperatures have been discovered by scientists in the Alps and the Arctic, which could be a valuable tool in recycling. Many microorganisms that can do this have already been found, but they can usually only work at temperatures above 30C (86F). This means that using them in industrial practice is prohibitively expensive because of the heating required. It also means using them is not carbon neutral ..read more