Humanitarian crisis: Swiss pledge more funds for refugee crises and Ebola
The government has pledged an additional CHF40 million ($42.2 million) for the victims of the conflicts in Syria and Iraq as well as for efforts to contain the spread of […]
Business schools: Swiss Executive MBA programmes rise in rankings
Four Swiss business schools have appeared in the Financial Times’ ranking of 100 executive MBA (EMBA) programmes, with IMD in Lausanne performing best, climbing four places since last year to 15th. The list, published on Monday, compares programmes for working senior executives and is topped for the first time by […]
MIDDLE EAST Swiss confirm support for Palestine
Switzerland plans to allocate an average of CHF30 million ($31.5 million) a year towards humanitarian aid and development programmes in the Occupied Palestinian Territory for the 2014-17 period. This support […]
Islamic Scholars are Failing the Muslim World- Tariq Ramadan
Tariq Ramadan: ‘ISIL’s acts are un-Islamic’ The prominent Muslim academic on the threat of the Islamic State group and how scholars are failing the Muslim world. An ‘Islamic Caliphate’, a […]
MIGRANT INFLUX : Swiss Minister asks Italy to register asylum seekers
Swiss Justice Minister Simonetta Sommaruga has called on Italy to comply with its obligations under the Dublin agreement and register asylum seekers. She also signalled Switzerland’s willingness to help share the asylum burden. Speaking ahead of a meeting with European Union (EU) interior ministers in Luxembourg, Sommaruga said Switzerland was […]
Law and order: The Swiss Government has decided to outlaw the militant Islamic State group and similar organisations.
OCT 8, 2014 – SWISSINFO.CH Defence Minister Ueli Maurer has performed a U-turn regarding the Islamic State The Swiss government has decided to outlaw the militant Islamic State group and similar organisations. The ban includes activities, as well as propaganda and financial support of the jihadist fighters. “Islamic State has […]
POST ANTI-IMMIGRATION VOTE : Swiss billionaire may fund new bilateral initiative
Wyss said during the February vote some people had been stirring up ‘imaginary fears’ about Switzerland’s future Swiss billionaire Hansjörg Wyss says he would be prepared to finance an initiative […]
SWISS MADE: Great expectations for scholarship Angolans
Among the intake of students at the Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW) this semester is a unique group from Angola. These young adults fought tough competition to secure places […]
150 years after Geneva Convention set out to protect civilians, things are worse for them than ever
Ambika KandasamyOctober 2, 2014 00:30 This Swiss diplomat says it’s time to rethink how we protect people in war. Thousands of Syrian refugees are streaming over the Turkish border this week after their towns were overrun by Islamic State militants. And millions more are enduring a brutally violent civil war, […]
The Swiss hopes of refugees with nothing to lose
By Stefania Summermatter, back from Ethiopia swissinfo.ch Fleeing a repressive regime at home, thousands of young Eritreans cross the frontier with Ethiopia every month. It’s the first stage on the way to Europe. swissinfo.ch talked to these refugees, some of whom have dreams of reaching Switzerland. Mebrathon has agreed to […]
Swiss universities top in mainland Europe
Switzerland’s federal technology institutes ETH Zurich and EPFL rank in the top 20 universities worldwide with the ETHZ coming in top in mainland Europe, according to the latest edition of the QS World University Rankings. Overall, the Swiss technology institutes’ rankings (12th for ETH Zurich and 17th for EPFL) put […]
RAISING THE STAKES: The ‘unprecedented’ challenge posed by Islamic State
By Peter Siegenthaler Amid international action against Islamic State militants, neutral Switzerland has limited its involvement to humanitarian and diplomatic efforts. United States President Barack Obama’s pledge to extend air strikes to Islamic State targets in Syria relies on other states’ readiness to participate in military action against the terrorist […]
Swiss leader’s commute turns Twitter sensation
A photo showing Swiss President Didier Burkhalter waiting for a train at Neuchâtel station, alone and without bodyguards, made waves on Twitter on Thursday, receiving 800 retweets around the world. […]
Swiss leader's commute turns Twitter sensation
A photo showing Swiss President Didier Burkhalter waiting for a train at Neuchâtel station, alone and without bodyguards, made waves on Twitter on Thursday, receiving 800 retweets around the world. […]
Isis intent on ‘house of blood’: UN rights chief
Published: 08 Sep 2014 THELOCAL.CH The jihadist militants who have seized large swaths of Iraq and Syria are intent upon creating “a house of blood”, the UN’s new human rights […]
Isis intent on 'house of blood': UN rights chief
Published: 08 Sep 2014 THELOCAL.CH The jihadist militants who have seized large swaths of Iraq and Syria are intent upon creating “a house of blood”, the UN’s new human rights […]
Refugee policy – Syrian migrant who lost baby on train journey gets asylum
A Syrian woman who controversially experienced a miscarriage on a train sending her back to Italy through Switzerland has received asylum in Italy along with her family. In July, the family of Syrian migrants had been travelling on a train from Milan to Paris – which passes through Switzerland – […]
RELIGIOUS FREEDOM : Headscarves should remain allowed in passport photos, cabinet says
The Swiss cabinet has advised parliament not to adopt a motion from a rightwing parliamentarian to ban women from wearing headscarves in their passport photos. Oskar Freysinger of the Swiss […]
EU an UKRAINE: Swiss stance on Russia sanctions divide opinion
stance on Russia sanctions divides opinions By Peter Siegenthaler AUG 26, 2014 – 11:00 Swiss vegetables and cheese are more popular in Russia than ever as a result of Russian countersanctions against the European Union (Keystone) Switzerland’s decision not to join European Union sanctions against Russia has prompted mixed reactions […]
Swiss fast-track asylum process advances
SEP 3, 2014 – 18:00 The fast-track pilot project at the Juch asylum centre in Zurich this year has been a success, according to the federal authorities (Keystone) The Swiss cabinet has adopted a draft law concerning major reforms of its asylum procedure, such as dramatic cuts in the average […]