VEILED : Plans for burqa ban win ground
A large majority of citizens is apparently in favour of introducing a nationwide ban on burqas for Moslem women in Switzerland according to an opinion poll. More than 60% of […]
PHD POTENTIAL: Switzerland’s Indian migrants as agents of change
PHD POTENTIAL Switzerland’s Indian migrants as agents of change By Anand Chandrasekhar DEC 19, 2014 – 11:00 India must recognise and tap the potential of its brainy returnee migrants (Keystone) The value of India’s migrants is often judged by their ability to send remittances back home. But perhaps their worth should […]
PILOT PROJECT : Pioneering course helps refugees integrate
In canton Lucerne a pilot project is building new opportunities for refugees who have been granted asylum in Switzerland. (SRG Schweiz Aktuell, swissinfo.ch) Sursee in canton Lucerne is breaking new ground in terms of integration. In collaboration with the Sursee Bricklayers Association, the canton is promoting “Perspective Building”, a pilot […]
HOUSE OF RELIGIONS: Bringing the world’s religions together in Bern, Switzerland
By Marc-André Miserez swissinfo.ch It is thought to be a one-of-a-kind: tucked away in a multicultural, working-class suburb of Bern stands a house with five sanctuaries, one per religion. The House of Religions is a place for coexistence and interaction. With the tip of his spatula, an artist perfects the […]
Israel hits back at Swiss over rights conference
Israel on Friday condemned Switzerland’s plan to host a conference on respect for international human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories, charging it was a deviation from the country’s traditional neutrality. Switzerland has announced a December 17th conference in Geneva, in response to a recommendation from the UN General Assembly […]
100 YEARS ON : What the Tramp tells us about Charlie Chaplin – By Michèle Laird
The birth 100 years ago of Charlie Chaplin’s Little Tramp is celebrated on all five continents this year. In Switzerland, where Chaplin spent the last 22 years of his life, […]
Ebola vaccine trial ‘interrupted’ due to joint pains
BBC News: The clinical trial of an Ebola vaccine in Switzerland has been interrupted after some patients complained of joint pains in their hands and feet. READ MORE…
Swiss jihadist avoids prison sentence
A 30-year-old man from canton Vaud has been given a suspended sentence of 600 hours of community service for attempting to join the Islamic State terror group in Syria. This […]
TERRORIST GROUPS: Swiss Parliament bans Islamic State, al-Qaeda
Both houses of parliament have voted to ban the al-Qaeda and Islamic State terror groups in Switzerland. The House of Representatives followed the Senate’s lead on Monday and voted 184 to 0 in favour of the ban. It prohibits participating in or supplying the banned organisations as well as distributing […]
Saint Gallen cops probe Islamic centre blaze
Published: 07 Dec 2014 22:58 GMT+01:00 Two molotov cocktails thrown into an Islamic centre started a fire in a village in the canton of Saint Gallen early Sunday morning, according […]
GRAFFITI: Redesigning the Swiss embassy walls in Cairo
Through his work Khalid tries to show that the idea is more important than anything else. For him it is the individual’s ideas that make him different from his peers […]
SWISS IN THE SPOTLIGHT: OSCE meeting ends with no Ukraine consensus
Switzerland has won praise for its presidency of the Organization for Security and Cooperation (OSCE), which has now come to an end. But a key meeting in Basel has failed to find a compromise over Ukraine. The gathering of foreign ministers for OSCE countries did however make progress in the […]
ECOPOP VOTE : Strict immigration curbs overwhelmingly rejected
By Urs Geiser Voters have dismissed a proposal to reduce Switzerland’s ecological footprint by introducing strict immigration rules and family planning measures. Three out of four voters rejected the Ecopop initiative. Just under 26% of voters came out in favour according to final results on Sunday. Justice Minister Simonetta Sommaruga […]
SWITZERLAND: ECOPOP VOTE: Fears of strict immigration rules alarm establishment
By Urs Geiser Politicians and business leaders are concerned by uncertainty surrounding Sunday’s vote to reduce Switzerland’s ecological footprint by strict immigration limits and family planning measures. Although opponents of the initiative held a 17% lead in an opinion poll three weeks ago, experts see an outside chance for the […]
Faith debate : Questioning the role of Scientology in Switzerland
By Gaby Ochsenbein and Luigi Jorio Nov 25, 2014 – Forty years have passed since Scientology was established in Switzerland and the controversy surrounding the organisation has abated somewhat but […]
Switzerland: Poll: voters edge towards immigration curbs
By Urs Geiser A proposal to reduce Switzerland’s ecological footprint by strict immigration curbs is gaining ground ahead of a nationwide vote on November 30, a poll shows. New rules on gold reserves of the central bank and plans for scrapping lump sum taxation both look likely to fail. An […]
Switzerland: Young refugees demand better conditions
CHILDREN’S CHARTER Unaccompanied minors seeking asylum in Switzerland have demanded better living conditions as they wait for their applications to be processed. On Monday, a group of them presented a […]
ASYLUM DECISION: Strasbourg blocks Afghan family expulsion to Italy
Switzerland must not send a family of Afghan asylum seekers, including six children, back to Italy without individual guarantees over their care, the European Court of Human Rights has declared. According to Tuesday’s court ruling, Switzerland would violate Article 3 of the European Convention of Human Rights if it were […]
Nazi looted art? Jewish leader warns Bern museum over Gurlitt art works
The head of the World Jewish Congress has warned Bern’s Kunstmuseum that it risks an “avalanche” of lawsuits if it accepts German collector Cornelius Gurlitt’s controversial art collection, some of […]
ARAB SPRING : ‘Remarkable progress’ made returning stolen assets – By Simon Bradley
Handing back stolen state assets is complex and time-consuming but remarkable progress has been made, declared Swiss President Didier Burkhalter at the opening of the third Arab Forum on Asset Recovery (AFAR III) on Saturday. The Swiss government’s political will to hand back illicit funds is ‘unwavering’, said Burkhalter: “Whether […]