READER RESPONSE Social media divided on religion in school By Stefania Summermatter and Gaby Ochsenbein POLITICS Education Religion FEB 18, 2016 – Potential for conflict: religion at school (Keystone) Do pupils have a right to pray in state schools? An article on this issue published by swissinfo.ch in ten languages […]
By Veronica DeVore swissinfo.ch FEB 19, 2016 – 11:00 Two participants in a food service apprenticeship for refugees show off their creations. Launched in 2006 on a national level, the programme now continues to be run by canton Lucerne. (Hotel & Gastro Formation) After first testing the waters […]
SYRIA CRISIS By swissinfo.ch and agencies FEB 9, 2016 – 10:54 Syrians huddle in a lorry near the Turkish border to protect themselves against the cold on February 6 (Keystone) For three years Switzerland has been dealing directly with the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad concerning the humanitarian situation in […]
FIGHTING TERRORISM FEB 11, 2016 – 15:52 The young man’s identity has not been made public. (Keystone) The Swiss Federal Criminal Court has upheld the decision of the Swiss Attorney General’s Office to confiscate the Swiss passport and identifying documents of an alleged Swiss-Lebanese jihadist. He was arrested at Zurich […]
STATE VISIT By Slaheddine Jourchi FEB 18, 2016 – 17:30 Tunisia’s president visits Bern to talk about democracy building and frozen assets (Reuters) On his first state visit to Bern as the first democratically elected president of Tunisia, Essebsi said the neutral Swiss government had been particularly helpful because it […]
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia The Ahmadiyya mosque in Zurich(built in 1963). Islam in Switzerland has mostly arrived via immigration since the late 20th century. Numbering below 1% of total population in 1980, the fraction of Muslims in the population of permanent residents in Switzerland has quintupled in thirty years, […]
FEB 16, 2016 – 11:20 Swiss parliamentarian Thomas Aeschi visited the village of Mendefera in Eritrea in early February, as part of a private parliamentary mission to the country (Keystone) While declaring that Eritrea is not the “North Korea of Africa”, the Swiss State Secretariat for Migration has criticised […]
The jihadists struck a restaurant opposite the four-star hotel where the attackers holed up. Photo: Issouf Sanogo/AFP Swiss and French among dead in Burkina Faso attack Published: 17 Jan 2016 18:39 GMT+01:00 The death toll in an attack by jihadists on a top hotel in Burkina Faso’s capital rose to […]
By JT – Feb 15,2016 – JORDAN TIMES AMMAN — The Royal Court on Monday denounced attempts by some media outlets and spokespersons of FIFA presidency candidates to promote false information about HRH Prince Ali’s campaign. In a statement, the Royal Court said rumours that Prince Ali’s campaign manager […]
By swissinfo.ch and agencies FEB 12, 2016 – 10:52 Asylum seekers outside a welcome centre for migrants in canton Vaud on February 11 (Keystone) An initiative to deport criminal foreigners will not result in more asylum seekers being sent home – the current law already authorises their expulsion for serious […]
FEB 14, 2016 – 18:38 Burkhalter (left) previously attended bilaterial meetings with Iranian foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif at the World Economic Forum in Davos in January. (Keystone) The foreign ministry announced Sunday that Switzerland will represent the interests of Saudi Arabia in Iran, and those of Iran in Saudi […]
Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman receives Swiss Foreign Minister Didier Burkhalter and his delegation at the Al-Yamamah Palace in Riyadh on Sunday. (SPA) ARAB NEWS Published — Sunday 14 February 2016 RIYADH: Switzerland has agreed to handle Saudi Arabia’s consular affairs in Iran, Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir […]
Prince Ali of Jordan at the Geneva Press Club on Thursday. Photo: Fabrice Coffrini/AFP Published: 11 Feb 2016 15:35 GMT+01:00 Fifa presidential candidate Prince Ali bin al Hussein in Geneva condemned the tactics of his main election rivals on Thursday, raising ethical questions about their efforts to secure block support […]
DEVELOPMENT AID By Katy Romy FEB 12, 2016 – 11:00 How should Switzerland be helping developing nations? (Keystone) Switzerland is cutting international development spending, sparking protest from the political left and humanitarian organisations. While Europe is in the throes of a migration crisis, the effectiveness of aid is up for […]
IMMIGRATION SATIRE Müslüm: Integration through comedy By swissinfo.ch http://tp.srgssr.ch/p/inline?urn=urn:swi:video:41947798 EMBED CODE FEB 10, 2016 – 11:00 Swiss-Turkish comedian Müslüm is using humour to raise awareness of the issues surrounding immigration in a new television series. (SRF/swissinfo.ch) Swiss public television, SRF1, is airing new series this spring looking at the country’s […]
By Gaby Ochsenbein FEB 10, 2016 – 11:00 Opinions are divided over whether students should be allowed to pray in state schools (Keystone) The decision to make prayer rooms available for Muslims in two Swiss state schools is viewed by some as a pragmatic solution. Others believe prayer rooms have […]
Feb 09,2016 – JORDAN TIMES – Hasan Abu Nimah Not many observers were surprised by the quick collapse of the Syria peace talks last week. It would have been a bigger surprise if the Geneva talks, organised by UN special representative Staffan de Mistura, had lasted any longer, let alone accomplished […]
TENSIONS WITH TURKEY FEB 8, 2016 – 19:46 The last major incident between Kurdish and Turkish groups took place in Bern last September (Keystone) Authorities in Zurich broke up an unauthorised demonstration by a group of Kurdish activists with tear gas and rubber bullets on Monday. The group was protesting […]
WAR CRIMES FEB 8, 2016 – 21:58 Del Ponte has formerly served on tribunals related to atrocities in Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia (Keystone) Carla Del Ponte, the Swiss special prosecutor who serves on the UN commission of inquiry on Syria, has said that she generally considers Russian intervention in […]
INTEGRATION By swissinfo.ch and agencies FEB 8, 2016 – 09:51 Not everyone is happy about advice given to asylum seekers on how to behave during the Lucerne carnival (Keystone) After the sex attacks in Cologne on New Year’s Eve, officials in Lucerne, where it is currently carnival season, last week […]