PROTEST STUNT Duo defy first day of Ticino headgear ban By Stefania Summermatter JUL 1, 2016 – Nora Illi on the streets of Locarno in defiance of the headgear ban (Ti-Press) A Swiss woman, who has converted to Islam, and a French-Algerian businessman are facing fines after defying a new […]
RELIGION AND GENDER Why Islam? The story of three female converts By Sibilla Bondolfi JUL 1, 2016 – 11:00 Nora Illi, an officer of the Islamic Central Council Switzerland (ICCS), at an event in May 2010. (Keystone) With a burka ban coming into force in part of Switzerland on Friday, […]
Swimming lessons are compulsory in Basel’s education system. Photo: Daniel Orth Muslim school kids must swim to be Swiss Published: 28 Jun 2016 09:57 GMT+02:00 Authorities in Basel have denied two Muslim teenage girls a Swiss passport because they refused to participate in school swimming lessons and residential camps on […]
POST-BREXIT SOLUTIONS By Simon Bradley JUN 28, 2016 – 17:42 An awkward day for British Prime Minister David Cameron, in Brussels for the first post-Brexit EU meeting (Keystone) Post-Brexit Britain is likely to opt for a Swiss-style solution – rather than a Norwegian model – to oversee relations with the […]
Slow return Sending rejected asylum seekers home in depth: Asylum in Switzerland .http://tp.srgssr.ch/p/swi/embed?urn=urn:swi:video:42247752 Jun 27, 2016 – 15:47 When a request for asylum is rejected, the applicant is supposed to leave the country straight away. Not everybody does, and there are vast differences in how the cantons deal with this. (SRF/swissinfo.ch) In […]
Participants at the Europride festival in Zurich in 2009. File photo: AFP Priests to protest Swiss Pride march with Latin prayers Published: 23 Jun 2016 Thousands of people are expected to gather in the picturesque Swiss city of Fribourg this weekend to take part in French-speaking Switzerland’s 15th annual Pride […]
The fire broke out in a baroque confessional. Photo: St Gallen Police Tourists put out fire in historic Swiss church with holy water Published: 22 Jun 2016 10:21 GMT+02:00 A couple of quick-thinking tourists earned the praise of police on Tuesday when they used holy water to put out a […]
Pork sausages are as much a part of Swiss cuisine as fondue and chocolate. File photo: Kochtopf Anger as Swiss council plans non-pork school lunches Published: 22 Jun 2016 12:47 […]
June 8, 2016 (JTA) — Swiss Jews spoke out against a regulation that makes it illegal for schoolchildren to refuse to shake hands with their teachers because of religious reasons. A regional school board last month ruled that schools in Basel Country can fine parents up to $5,000 if their […]
OPINION By Luca Geisseler JUN 17, 2016 – 17:48 (Marina Lutz) It was ages ago. Yet it could have been yesterday. In 2008, to prepare for the Euro football championships that Switzerland would co-host, the national football team trained in Lugano. Just like they did eight years later. Their final […]
MINORS NGO blasts Swiss policy on detaining migrant children JUN 16, 2016 – 16:58 The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child defines a child as every human being below the age of eighteen, unless the law applicable to the child states otherwise. The age of majority in Switzerland […]
By Armando Mombelli JUN 15, 2016 – 11:00 While the eurozone struggles to manage public deficits, Switzerland has presented several plans to save every possible centime (Keystone) Public debt in non-EU Switzerland corresponds to barely 33% of gross domestic product (GDP), while the EU average is more than 85%. Yet […]
A member of the Islamic Central Council of Switzerland distributes flyers in Ticino against the veil ban in 2013. Photo: AFP Saudis warn tourists to respect Swiss burqa ban Published: 13 Jun 2016 10:22 GMT+02:00 The Saudi Arabian embassy in Bern has warned its citizens visiting Switzerland this summer to […]
INAUGURATION Controversial Islamic centre opens in Fribourg (Switzerland) JUN 13, 2016 – 20:48 The University of Fribourg is hosting the new centre (Keystone) The Swiss Centre for Islam and Society was officially inaugurated in Fribourg on Monday following high-profile attempts to block its opening. The centre, which is part of […]
Anti-racism Jun 7, 2016 – 14:10 Recorded cases of victims seeking advice grew from 87 in 2008 to 239 in 2015. (Keystone) Most racial discrimination in Switzerland happens in the workplace, according to an annual survey published by the interior ministry. Of the 239 incidents where victims sought advice […]
Trusted tweet? Fact checking the rumours spread on social media By swissinfo.ch Jun 8, 2016 – 11:00 Have your heard the news? Digital media make it easier to spread rumours fast. (Keystone) For the last two years, swissinfo.ch has been involved in a collaborative project to help journalists tackle one […]
by Labeeb Ahmed An incredible amount of controversy and interest has been generated regarding the refusal of two Muslim students in Therwil, Switzerland to shake hands with their female teacher, and the subsequent threat of a 5,000 dollar fine by Swiss authorities to the parents of students who withhold […]
Source: TOI At a length of 57 kilometres (34.5 miles) the GBT will overtake Japan’s 53.9-kilometre Seikan tunnel as the longest rail tunnel in the world. The 50.5-kilometre Channel Tunnel that links England and France will be bumped into third place. More:
Source: Swiss Info The controversies continue in the run-up to Friday’s opening of the Museum for Islamic Culture in La Chaux-de-Fonds, canton Neuchâtel. A related cross-party resolution, “No to the […]
EASY VS COMPLEX Entering Switzerland: who needs a visa? By Stefania Summermatter MAY 27, 2016 – 11:00 Switzerland will likely join the EU in granting visa-free access to Turkish citizens as part of a controversial agreement on migration with Turkey. But travellers from many other countries need a visa to […]