Migration a migraine for some
Against the backdrop of a looming Swiss referendum on whether to limit the number of foreign arrivals, the World Economic Forum has given much thought to the issue of migration: […]
Syrian civil war foes meet for first time, focus on aid
STORY SUMMARY By Tom Miles Syria’s civil war foes held their first face-to-face meeting on Saturday at the start of talks to end nearly three years of conflict which has […]
Switzerland: QUICK DECISIONS: Asylum seeker numbers drop significantly
swissinfo.ch and agencies January 24, 2014 – 17:12 The number of asylum seekers in Switzerland fell by a quarter in 2013 compared with the previous year. The authorities received 21,465 […]
Davos: UK’s Cameron urges ‘reshoring’ of jobs
British Prime Minister David Cameron at Davos on Friday urged the rest of Europe to seize an opportunity to win back millions of jobs through the “reshoring” of production from […]
WEF WOES: Business chiefs fear ticking jobless time bomb
by Matthew Allen in Davos, swissinfo.ch January 23, 2014 – 20:16 The nascent global economic recovery is failing to trickle down to the man or woman on the street in the shape of new jobs or improved incomes, the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Davos meeting has heard. Another five million […]
Creationism: When God created the Swiss He was well pleased …
… and God asked the Swiss: “What else can I do for you?” The Swiss answered: “Some Mountains with snow on top and forests on the bottom would be nice” and he got it. God asked: “And what else would you like?” The Swiss answered: “Lakes spread around the country.” […]
Hope in Montreux? A Starting Point for Peace in Syria
By Christoph Reuter SPIEGEL.DE Violence in Syria has been appalling in the run up to this week’s peace talks in Switzerland, where rebel and government representatives are to sit down together. Secret meetings in recent months give cause for hope. A bag filled with pieces of bread is dangling from […]
Syria and Iran come to fore at Davos summit
The bloody civil war in Syria and Iran’s efforts to come in from the diplomatic cold will drive the agenda this week as world leaders, business chiefs and celebrities gather […]
Syria’s camps as seen by a Swiss humanitarian
January 18, 2014 Oscar Assadullah Mukhtar Bergamin has been helping refugees facing starvation in different camps in northern Syria since July 2013, when he founded his association Ash-Sham Care in Zurich. For the past few months, Syrians in besieged areas have been dying of hunger, thirst, sickness and more recently […]
How the Swiss government keeps its secrets secret
October 26, 2013 SWISSINFO.CH As the row over spying by the US National Security Agency (NSA) deepens – it was reported this week that the NSA monitored calls of 35 world leaders – concerns are being raised about politicians’ communications. The latest revelations that the US National Security Agency swept […]
Gulf between rich and poor ‘is biggest global risk’
WEF: Economic, societal and environmental risks dominate list of global risks LONDON: The growing gulf between the rich and the poor represents the biggest global risk this year, the World Economic Forum has declared ahead of this month’s Davos summit. The institution issued the gloomy warning in its annual Global […]
Switzerland: University courses : English a fact of life for many Swiss students
by Geraldine Wong Sak Hoi, swissinfo.ch January 12, 2014 – 11:00 More than ever before, students attending universities in Switzerland are able to do some or all of their degree […]
ZURICH DEMO : ‘Asylum is not a crime’
Several hundred people marching with music and banners filled the streets of Zurich on Saturday in a peaceful demonstration against the Swiss federal reception centres for asylum seekers. “Asylum is not a crime”, “Human rights instead of asylum” and “No camps anywhere” were among the slogans displayed on banners carried […]
Switzerland: RE-INTRODUCING QUOTAS: Turnout could decide immigration vote
by Urs Geiser, swissinfo.ch January 10, 2014 – 17:00 A proposal to re-introduce immigration quotas would fail to win a majority at the ballot box next month, according to an […]
Switzerland: Fast track system to soothe asylum tensions
by Jo Fahy, swissinfo.ch January 7, 2014 – 11:00 Faced with a rising number of asylum seekers, Switzerland wants to cut down the average application processing time to less than five months. swissinfo.ch looks at the success – and potential pitfalls – of speedier procedures elsewhere in Europe. Compared with […]
IMMIGRATION POLICY: ‘In Switzerland immigration doesn’t only create winners’
by Samuel Jaberg, swissinfo.ch January 3, 2014 – 11:00 Swiss authorities will need to use more than just economic arguments if they are to convince a majority of voters next February to keep borders open with the EU, says one migration expert. Three nationwide votes on immigration policy are set […]
Geneva: A unique travel experience
Geneva is one of those cities that is on everyone’s must travel list; I know it was on mine before I finally visited. My mother and aunt lived there and attended college in a nearby city, Lausanne. Hearing their stories about this magical city made me want to visit, especially […]
UN votes initial funding for Geneva HQ repair
swissinfo.ch and agencies December 28, 2013 – The United Nations General Assembly has agreed to allocate $18 million (CHF16 million) to proceed with the detailed planning of urgently needed repairs of its European headquarters in Geneva, the Palais des Nations. The renovation project, known as the Strategic Heritage Plan, includes […]
A small side-step into history: Spain’s Arabs outside of Spain: up to Switzerland
History: SOURCE: WIKIPEDIA Switzerland: In the 10th century, Arabs and Berbers from their Mediterranean Fraxinet base settled in the Valais for a few decades. They occupied the Great St. Bernard Pass and even managed to reach as far as St. Gallen to the north and Raetia in the east. Muslim […]
A small side-step into history: Spain's Arabs outside of Spain: up to Switzerland
History: SOURCE: WIKIPEDIA Switzerland: In the 10th century, Arabs and Berbers from their Mediterranean Fraxinet base settled in the Valais for a few decades. They occupied the Great St. Bernard Pass and even managed to reach as far as St. Gallen to the north and Raetia in the east. Muslim […]