A group of burglars is on still on the run following an armed robbery of a jeweler in the Canton of Geneva yesterday.

The family of a worker who opens the business was taken hostage.

Thieves also held up 30 employees on their way to work at the business in Chêne-Bourg before making off with precious metals and jewelery.

Police say the family is now safe.

A Swiss cheese maker has taken top prize at the 2010 World Championship Cheese Contest in the United States.

Cedric Fragniere’s creamy Gruyère with a light hint of herbs beat off competition from 2,300 entries from 20 countries at the event in Wisconsin.

The runner up was also Swiss: Andeer Sennerei’s hard cheese took second spot.

Switzerland could become the first European country to outlaw violent video games.

Yesterday the Senate voted for the ban, following the lead of the House of Representatives.

Parliament has now asked the Federal Cabinet to draft a law prohibiting the production, importation, sale and distribution of violent games.

The Cabinet, however, is not convinced.  

Justice Minister Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf says she understands the reasons behind the votes, but says she trusts the cantons and the industry to attend to problems.

Electronic Arts spokesperson Tiffany Steckler says it shows a poor understanding of the industry and people who enjoy gaming.

Children affected by the Chernobyl disaster in Belarus will still be welcomed in Switzerland, but under stricter rules.  

Like other countries, Switzerland has long allowed youngsters to come here for holidays to be in a healthier environment.

However Minsk wanted to clarify rules with host countries after some youngsters refused to return to Belarus.

Under the revised agreement the children from Eastern Europe will not be allowed to be adopted.

The Libyan Foreign Minister says Switzerland isn’t taking the diplomatic crisis between the two countries seriously.

Mousa Kousa told the newspaper La Liberté that Tripoli doesn’t think Bern has any desire to find solutions to the ongoing disputes. 

He also questioned why Tripoli has to deal with Swiss Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey and not President Doris Leuthard. 

Kousa asked, “What has Switzerland got to hide?”

He’s also rejected the idea of a pardon for Swiss prisoner Max Göldi, saying he was tried and sentenced.

Nestlé, the world’s biggest food producer, has terminated its contract with one of Indonesia’s biggest palm oil producers after protests by Greenpeace.

Demonstrators accused Sinas Mar of destroying tropical rainforests to make way for palm oil plantations and linked Nestlé’s KitKat bars with the destruction of orangutan habitats.

The Vevey, Switzerland-based food giant says it has found an alternative supplier and that it is committed to using only certified palm oil in its products by 2015.

Greenpeace has dismissed the move, saying the decision amounts to little more than “window dressing.”

The environmental campaign group says cutting just one connection isn’t enough—that Nestlé’s complex supply chain means they’ll still be using palm oil from other suppliers or trading companies.

Exports to Libya have dropped by over 80 percent in February compared to the same time last year.

Although trade going towards Libya increased in January, there was a dramatic fall in February.

And it isn’t likely to pick up any time soon—Libya slapped a “total” embargo on Switzerland the first week in March.

Switzerland normally sells machinery, pharmaceutical products and even watches to Libya, but it is one of the Confederation’s smaller trade partners.

Switzerland’s exports are benefiting from the international economic recovery.

The country exported 14.85 billion francs worth of goods last month.  

That’s an increase of 3.3 percent over the same period last year, according to the Federal Customs Administration.

The growth was seen in the Asian and North American markets where the economies are rebounding.  

The Customs Administration says exports to European Union countries have stagnated, confirming that recovery there is more sluggish.

Each Swiss person ate an average of 21.4 kilos of cheese last year—the largest ever amount.

Mozzarella, Gruyere and Swiss raclette are eaten the most according to the Swiss Farmers Union.

But overall people are consuming fewer Swiss cheeses in favour of cheeses from abroad.

The SFU say that’s down to changes in the dairy market after Switzerland opened its doors to the EU and formally removed barriers to cheese trade.

Swiss tourists traveling in European countries are set to benefit from the strong franc this summer.

The Swiss franc has climbed to 1.44 against the euro.

A spokesperson for the M-Travel group said according to where you go, summer holidays will be between 5 and 15 percent cheaper than last year.

And eating out, going on excursions or even hiring a parasol in the Eurozone will effectively cost us less than even a few months ago.

Swiss tourism, of course, could suffer from the reverse equation.