Bern calls for new office to debate questions of religion
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 […]
Switzerland: Few veiled women fined in Ticino
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 […]
Becoming Swiss: ‘Where do I sign?’
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. […]
SWITZERLAND SECOND? Satirical Swiss Trump video goes viral. So viral
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 […]
Switzerland: FACILITATED NATURALISATION: This citizenship vote is about people like Iva
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 […]
Banned Swiss-based scientist arrives in US
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 […]
Automatic open door for Eritreans is shut
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 […]
Swiss-based scientist sues Trump as ex-US envoy blasts policy
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 […]
Checking “alternative facts” in a Swiss vote campaign
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 […]
LA? Not quite. Swiss plane makes emergency landing in Iqaluit
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 […]
Imam: 99% of radicalisation happens outside mosques
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 […]
Trump immigration order ‘goes in wrong direction’
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 […]
Swiss aid agency sets out its priorities
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, […]
Face it. Third generation immigrants are integrated
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 […]
Priest disguised gold bars as Swiss chocolate to evade customs
The Local news@thelocal.ch 25 January 2017 File photo: Ana Ulin Customs officials in India have fined a priest working in a parish in Switzerland for hiding three gold ingots disguised as chocolate bars in his baggage, Indian media reported. The 59-year-old Catholic priest travelled to India on Monday and was […]
Two terror suspects arrested during WEF meeting
SECURITY JAN 24, 2017 – Security forces were on heightened alert during the 2017 WEF annual meeting in Davos (Keystone) Two people suspected of links to terror groups were arrested during the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos last week but were later released by a local court, […]
Polygamy and the Social Media
No, I am not introducing a new ‘App’ or ‘Matching Service’ for potential ‘recruitment’ into polygamous unions via social media. What I am referring to is the problem of polygamous husbands using the social media or just spending some time on the Desktop Computer. All of us, whether married or […]
Multilingualism: Switzerland’s unique selling point
OPINION By Gabrielle Hogan-Brun JAN 23, 2017 (Keystone) The ability to speak more than one language is one of the more notable strengths of the Swiss people and economy. It also makes Switzerland a good test case for how the world might benefit from more multilingualism in economics and trade, […]
Switzerland: Saying prayers and answering questions at local mosque
TURKISH IMAM By Peter Siegenthaler (with input from Abdelhafidh Abdeleli) JAN 23, 2017 – 11:00 Friday prayers inside the Kevser mosque. (swissinfo.ch) How and what does an imam preach in a Swiss mosque? How much does he know about secular society? swissinfo.ch sought answers during a visit to a nearby […]
Davos — the rich are worried
Gwynne Dyer JORDAN TIMES “I can’t wait to see how the incoming administration deals with AI,” said US Secretary of State John Kerry in a less-than-gracious reference to the fact that the Trump team has not got a clue about the real driving force in the changing world economy. What […]