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, […]
Source: The Local Is a burqa ban against the Swiss constitution? How do you deal with a Muslim schoolboy who refuses to shake his female teacher’s hand? Do burkinis contravene […]
BURKA BAN Few veiled women fined in Ticino FEB 6, 2017 – 21:41 This billboard from the conservative Swiss People’s Party urges voters not to make it easier for third generation immigrants to become citizens. (Keystone) Six women have been fined since a so-called burka ban went into effect in […]
NATURALISATION QUESTIONS By Thomas Stephens FEB 6, 2017 (Keystone) Swiss citizenship is highly sought after – and correspondingly hard to get. swissinfo.ch looks at how to get the naturalisation ball rolling, who is eligible for the fast track and how much it could all cost. I want to become Swiss. […]
By Jo Fahy FEB 3, 2017 – Switzerland has jumped on board a late-night comedy trend, peddling its ideas of why the country could be an appealing place to the new president of the United States, Donald Trump. Following the lead of a Dutch TV programme, a late night show […]
By Katy Romy FEB 3, 2017 – Iva Petrusic wanted to become Swiss so she can take part in votes and elections (swissinfo.ch) About 25,000 third generation immigrants could benefit from facilitated citizenship if voters approve a reform on February 12. Iva Petrusic, whose grandfather came from Croatia to […]
TRUMP DECLARATION FEB 4, 2017 A protest about the Trump ban was held at the International arrivals of Boston’s Logan International Airport on January 28 (Keystone) A Swiss-based Iranian scientist has arrived in the United States to take up her post at Harvard. The scientist had been stopped from flying […]
Switzerland: ASYLUM POLITIC FEB 2, 2017 – No more automatic entry for Eritreans illegally fleeing (Keystone) A Swiss court has ruled that the nation’s policy toward Eritrean refugees needs tightening. The Federal Administrative Court’s decision handed down on Thursday says Switzerland will no longer recognize Eritreans as refugees solely […]
IMMIGRATION BAN By John Heilprin FEB 3, 2017 – A group of women in New York participate in evening prayers as people gather for a rally against the new ban on Muslims from certain countries (Keystone) An Iranian scientist who lives in Switzerland is suing US President Donald Trump and […]
FACT CHECK By Geraldine Wong Sak Hoi FEB 2, 2017 Some campaigners claim that Islamist extremists could obtain the Swiss passport under a proposed facilitated naturalisation procedure, as this poster from the youth wing of the Swiss People’s Party in canton Schwyz shows. (jsvp-sz.ch) Misinformation has been a recurring feature […]
Source: Swissinfo.ch and agencies/ts A plane from Swiss International Air Lines flying from Zurich to Los Angeles has made an emergency landing at Iqaluit in northern Canada. The landing went smoothly and all passengers and crew are safe. A technical problem caused the left engine of the Boeing 777-300ER to […]
NOUREDDINE FERJANI By Abdelhafidh Abdeleli FEB 1, 2017 “The role of mosques is to call to reason, to guarantee social cohesion and to call the faithful to set an example in society,” says imam Noureddine Ferjani. (Keystone) A recent opinion survey revealed that two-thirds of the Swiss refuse to recognise […]
SWISS FOREIGN MINISTER Trump immigration order ‘goes in wrong direction’ JAN 29, 2017 – United States President Donald Trump’s new travel ban on seven Muslim-majority countries is discriminatory and contrary to fundamental rights, warns Swiss Foreign Minister Didier Burkhalter. Trump signed an order on Friday suspending the entry of people […]
MIGRATION, EDUCATION AND ASSESSMENT JAN 28, 2017 The SDC gives aid in times of crisis, here a delivery of humanitarian aid set for Nepal, after an earthquake there in 2015 (Keystone) The Swiss Agency for Cooperation and Development (SDC) will focus its work over the next four years on education, […]
JAN 26, 2017 – Switzerland should recognise the rights of young people born and raised here and who are well integrated into Swiss life. Adrian Wüthrich, president of trade union umbrella group Travail Suisse, believes facilitated naturalisation is needed for third-generation foreigners. By Adrian Wüthrich On February 12, Swiss citizens […]