Bern  - The Swiss Federal Council rejected criticism Friday which had been directed at the Alpine nation over tax issues, saying that privacy in banking remained intact.

In a statement, the council, the executive branch of government, said it would, however, work "to improve cooperation with other countries in the area of tax offences."

The Council added that "it is prepared to enter into dialogue with third countries on the taxation of savings income." To do so, it set up a "group of experts," which includes civil servants, bankers and academics, to advise the government.

Berne - The Swiss economy shrank in the fourth quarter of 2008 by 0.3 per cent compared with the previous quarter, the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs said Tuesday.

Revised figures for last year's third quarter showed the economy had contracted slightly - by 0.06 per cent - an official said, putting Switzerland officially into a mild recession.

The decline in real gross domestic product was 0.6 per cent when compared to the last quarter of 2007.

Berne  - Jean-Pierre Roth, chairman of the Swiss National Bank, said Friday he would retire at the end of the year, having served in the role since 2001. He named no successor.

Roth, who worked for the bank for three decades, will step down in midst of a global economic crisis, which has also hit Switzerland, particularly as it is an exporting nation and relies on a financial sector that makes up an estimated 12 per cent of GDP.

Many observers have commended Roth's monetary policy during the onset of the financial woes and as it turned into an economic crisis.

Berne - Swiss skier Daniel Albrecht will need several months of intensive rehabilitation and specialized treatment as he recovers from injuries in a serious downhill training crash.

"The next weeks and months will be about Daniel Albrecht recovering well enough to be able to lead a normal life," the skier's manager, Guisep Fry, said in a statement Friday.

Berne University's hospital said Albrecht, 25, would need complete peace and quiet and can only be visited by close friends and family.

Tripoli/Bern - Libya has shocked Swiss officials by announcing plans to reduce its economic ties to Switzerland, apparently in continued protest over the brief arrest in July of the son of Libyan leader Moamer Gadaffi.

Measures announced Thursday night by the state-run JANA news agency include the withdrawal of 7 billion dollars of government funds from Swiss banks, the cessation of multiple economic cooperation projects between the two countries, and a cutoff of Libyan oil exports to Switzerland.

Bern  - His voice is creaking and gargling, his fingers strumming the guitar strings hard. The kick-drum leads a steady beat and a cymbal clangs from time to time.

When Reverend Beat-Man from the Swiss capital Bern performs as a one-man-orchestra, it sounds one minute like enchanted swampland, another like the open range, and maybe occasionally like voodoo rituals and the curses of the possessed.