MAR 5, 2017 Many asylum seekers are accommodated in special centres (Keystone) A project to house asylum seekers and refugees with Swiss families has been deemed a success, with 234 people living with host families and 22 cantons taking part – up from just four cantons two years ago. The […]
The Local news@thelocal.ch 28 February 2017 An asylum seeker centre in Switzerland. Photo: Fabrice Coffrini/AFP Certain measures limiting the freedom of movement of asylum seekers in Switzerland are too restrictive and violate their fundamental rights, according to a new report. Undertaken by the University of Zurich but commissioned by the […]
The Local news@thelocal.ch 3 March 2017 burkinipayernecarnival File photo: Mohd Rasfan/AFP A group of friends participating in this weekend’s Brandons de Payerne carnival intend to wear burkinis and parade alongside […]
By Pilita Clark and Environment Correspondent MAR 2, 2017 A Ghanaian cattle herder leads his cattle across the polluted Korle Gono beach, covered in plastic bottles and other rubbish washed ashore in June 2016 (Keystone) More used to battling it out over mineral water and baby milk, Swiss group Nestlé […]
MAR 2, 2017 – UN investigator Carla Del Ponte at the presentation of the latest report by the UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria on human rights violations committed during the battle for Aleppo (Keystone) United Nations investigators have accused both sides in the battle for Aleppo of committing war […]
Book written by Hakan Erten – a Turkish Swiss businessman and author Book Review: The complete book is at the moment available only in Turkish, English translation to follow, Inshallah […]
Veiled women can be denied Swiss state assistance The southern Swiss canton of Ticino has a burka ban in place since July 2016 The Swiss cabinet has clarified that women wearing burkas or niqabs can be denied social aid or unemployment insurance, as face coverings can result in identification issues […]
Reuters International FEB 22, 2017 – ZURICH (Reuters) – Swiss police raided several houses and searched a mosque in the southern canton of Ticino on Wednesday as part of an investigation into suspected Islamist activity, federal prosecutors said. More than 100 officers took part in the operation and arrested one […]
MIGRANT INFORMATION By Stefania Summermatter, SRF FEB 21, 2017 – Welcome to Switzerland: a border guard and migrant in Chiasso (Keystone) Debunking the myth of “Paradise Switzerland” and informing African migrants about the risks of travelling to Europe is the goal of a Swiss-funded television series set in Nigeria. The […]
INTERNATIONAL GENEVA FEB 22, 2017 The programme, dubbed Operation Papyrus, lists the conditions potential beneficiaries have to meet (Keystone) Geneva has launched a programme to grant resident permits to illegal immigrants in Switzerland and combat unlawful work practices. It applies to several thousand people who have been living in Geneva […]
ITALY TO SWITZERLAND FEB 20, 2017 Increased enforcement by the Swiss authorities led to a growth in migrant population in Como (Keystone) Four Ghanaian nationals smuggling migrants from Italy to Switzerland for a fee have been apprehended. They are accused of having illegally transported around 200 migrants across the border […]
REFUGEE FEE FEB 19, 2017 – Many foreigners are fleeing the US for Canada, sometimes straight into the arms of Canadian police at the border. (Keystone) Rather than blocking their entry, nations should charge migrants a fee for being taken in, suggest two Swiss economists in a joint opinion […]
The Local news@thelocal.ch 17 February 2017 Minors are among those applying for asylum. File photo: Federal Office for Migraiton A Swiss government pilot project expected to launch this year promises to improve care and accommodation for underage asylum seekers. In a written answer on Thursday to a parliamentary question the […]
HELP FOR VICTIMS By Isobel Leybold-Johnson FEB 16, 2017 – 11:00 A widespread issue – Moroccan women look at photographs of under-age brides during an exhibition in Rabat (AFP) When Jasmin D, a young woman of Tamil origin faced a forced marriage, she found support from the Bern city authorities. […]
Source: The Guardian By Philip Oltermann Voters support proposal to make it easier for third-generation immigrants to become citizens, despite opposition from populists Women cast their ballots in Obersaxen Meierhof. More […]
VOTE FEBRUARY 12 By Urs Geiser FEB 12, 2017 – It took four nationwide votes since the 1980s to ease the strict citizenship procedure for third generation immigrants (Keystone) Voters have endorsed a proposal to simplify the citizenship procedure for immigrants whose grandparents came to Switzerland. Final results show just […]
SWISS TRADE By Duc-Quang Nguyen (Keystone) Swiss watches, chocolate and cheese are the stuff of clichés. Gold could be another one, yet Switzerland’s status as the world’s biggest gold trader is far less well known. In 2016, gold refined in Switzerland made up more than a quarter of its […]
EXPLAINER By Stefania Summermatter, Marc-André Miserez FEB 9, 2017 – The construction industry is heavily reliant on foreign workers (Keystone) On February 9, 2017, a deadline expired to implement immigration quotas approved in a nationwide vote three years earlier. With a solution still a long way off, we look […]
SIX KILLED FEB 8, 2017 ICRC President Peter Maurer condemned the attack in Afghanistan (Keystone) Swiss Foreign Minister, Didier Burkhalter, has condemned an attack on humanitarian workers in Afghanistan that left six International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) staff dead on Wednesday. Burkhalter expressed condolences to the families of the […]
MUSLIMS IN SWITZERLAND By Peter Siegenthaler FEB 8, 2017 How does an imam understand young Muslims’ lives in Switzerland if he only spends a few years in the country and doesn’t speak one of the national languages? (Keystone) Many imams at Swiss mosques spend only a few years in Switzerland, […]