Donna Leinwand Leger , USA TODAY Jan. 16, 2017 If you’re one of the lucky elites heading to Davos, Switzerland, for this year’s World Economic Forum, here’s what you need to know. About 11,000 people live in Davos year-round. Newslook (Photo: Laurent Gillieron, European Pressphoto Agency) DAVOS, Switzerland — The […]
Anyone can see why people believe the WEF is out of touch – only 20 per cent of attendees are women, and most argue that poverty has ‘already been solved’. But it’s interesting that they are now concerned about populism, which threatens their own power Satyajit Das Each year in […]
The Local news.austria@thelocal.com 13 January 2017 An undercover reporter who visited 35 asylum centres throughout Germany, Austria and Switzerland says security is so bad that they risk fomenting terrorism as radicals can easily infiltrate them and convert vulnerable people to their cause. Investigative reporter and terrorism expert Shams Ul-Haq, 41, […]
The Local news@thelocal.ch 12 January 2017 Photo: SBB Members of the public are calling on Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) to remove controversial posters from its railway stations just days after right-wing campaigners launched their provocative publicity campaign. The poster, unveiled in railway stations on Monday, shows a woman wearing a […]
WORKFORCE INTEGRATION JAN 13, 2017 – Asylum seekers help in a kitchen this year at a restaurant in canton Valais employing people getting social assistance (Keystone) Swiss social aid administrators are calling on the government to act in the face of increasing numbers of refugees and asylum seekers who must […]
theguardian: by Jennifer Rankin — Swiss authorities did not violate right to freedom of religion in rejecting parents’ request for exemption, court rules A mixed-sex school swimming lesson. The parents in the case argued that their beliefs did not allow their children to take part in mixed-sex lessons. Photograph: Fiona […]
SHOULD MUSLIM GIRLS SWIM? JAN 11, 2017 – How do schools cope with Muslim families who want to prevent their daughters from attending swimming lessons? Swiss public television, SRF, talked to school principals and an imam about the controversy. (SRF/swissinfo.ch) On Tuesday, the European Court of Human Rights upheld a […]
DATA PROTECTION By Susan Misicka JAN 11, 2017 – These Google servers in Oklahoma are subject to surveillance by US intelligence services. How much Swiss personal data is stored on them? (Keystone) The Swiss cabinet has established a new framework for transferring personal data from Switzerland to companies based in […]
NATURALISATION CONTROVERSY By Sibilla Bondolfi JAN 11, 2017 – 11:59 Naturalisations by municipality voting, such as this one in canton Schwyz, are controversial (Keystone) Dutch-born Nancy Holten has lived in Switzerland since she was eight, speaks fluent Swiss German, has three children with Swiss passports, has no criminal record, […]
Caroline Bishop news@thelocal.ch 9 January 2017 A Dutch woman has seen her request for Swiss citizenship refused for the second time by local residents who object to her media campaigning against cowbells and other Swiss traditions. Nancy Holten, 42, was born in the Netherlands but grew up in Switzerland from […]
Source: NTV.DE Two Muslim parents have failed at the Human Rights Court with complaints against the duty to attend their daughters in mixed swimming lessons. The Swiss authorities were allowed to give priority to compulsory schooling and the integration of children against the religiously justified wish of the parents after […]
‘DIRTY CAMPAIGN’ Controversial poster launched against naturalisation JAN 9, 2017 – http://www.swissinfo.ch The new poster appeared in railway stations on Monday (twitter) A rightwing poster campaign has been launched four weeks ahead of a vote on making citizenship easier for immigrants. A poster appearing in railway stations this week features […]
TOUGH ISSUES, TOP LEADERS JAN 9, 2017 – How did a remote Swiss mountain resort, and the highest town in Europe, become the site for the most important leaders from around the world to meet and debate pressing global challenges? (SRF, swissinfo.ch, cp) Born in Germany, Klaus Schwab became a […]
ALEXANDER SEGERT The advertising guru harnessing Europe’s immigration fears By Guy Chazan JAN 3, 2017 – A controversial poster from the Swiss People’s Party’s successful anti-minaret campaign in 2009 (Keystone) Swarms of black minarets bristle like missiles over a Swiss flag, next to a woman in a black burka. Black […]
PODCAST Language connects Swiss migrants to home By Jo Fahy JAN 1, 2017 – “My heart is in Switzerland, but I’m at home in America.” Choosing to set up a new life in a different country is a big step, but what effect does that have on the culture […]
VOTE FEBRUARY 12 Making it easier for young foreigners to become Swiss By Urs Geiser DEC 29, 2016 Applications for a Swiss passport may take a long time and be quite expensive under the regular procedure (Keystone) Should grandchildren of immigrants have privileged access to a Swiss passport? The political […]
REFORMATION ANNIVERSARY Defining Protestant identity By Olivier Pauchard DEC 28, 2016 – Attempts by Martin Luther (1483-1546) to reform the church from neighbouring Germany found fertile soil in Switzerland. (akg-images / Doris Poklekowski) The year 2017 will mark the 500th anniversary of the publication of Martin Luther’s theses that sparked […]
The gunman who shot three people in a Muslim prayer hall in Zurich on Monday afternoon was a 24-year-old Swiss, chief of police Christiane Lentjes Meili has said in a press conference. The shooter was later found dead a few hundred metres from the Islamic Centre where the crime took […]
TRANSPARENCY Who funds Swiss mosques? By Simon Bradley DEC 23, 2016 – There are thought to be around 250 mosques in Switzerland, mostly managed and organised as small private associations as well as a small number of foundations (Keystone) Swiss mosques and Muslim associations are in the spotlight after concerns […]
OPINION By Steve Crump DEC 21, 2016 – http://www.swissinfo.ch Steven Crump and his family will have the opportunity to apply for Swiss citizenship. In deciding to do this, he wants to be clear that he isn’t abandoning the United States. It is possible to be both Swiss and American, he […]