September 1, 2013 – 14:19 As the conflict in Syria worsens, Swiss Justice Minister Simonetta Sommaruga wants Switzerland to take in a limited number of those fleeing the fighting, and to reintroduce the so-called quota system to Swiss refugee policy. The NZZ am Sonntag newspaper quotes “well-informed” sources as saying […]
By Shaun Waterman -The Washington Times Monday, May 6, 2013 Testimony from victims strongly suggests it was the rebels, not the Syrian government, that used Sarin nerve gas during a recent incident in the revolution-wracked nation, a senior U.N. diplomat said Monday. Carla del Ponte, a member of the U.N. […]
by Simon Bradley, swissinfo.ch August 28, 2013 – 17:50 The United States, Britain and its allies are gearing up for a probable military strike against Syria that could come within days. Political scientist Markus Kaim says one of their underlying aims is to force parties to the negotiating table. According […]
August 27, 2013 – 19:13 Zurich Insurance chief financial officer Pierre Wauthier, who was found dead at his home on Monday, probably committed suicide, according to the local police in Zug. A police spokesman, citing information from the Forensic Medicine Institute, said third party involvement in his death could be […]
by Clare O’Dea, swissinfo.ch August 26, 2013 – 18:00 Human security, summed up as ‘freedom from want and fear’, is the current buzzword of international peace-building and humanitarian work. Two […]
http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/politics/Leaving_Egypt_behind.html?cid=36727150&view=embedded August 24, 2013 Egypt faces fresh uncertainty after more protests and a violent crackdown. Tourism has been decimated by political turmoil. Daniela Suter and her Egyptian husband Nasser Amin Gadawy recently returned to Switzerland with their children from their home in the Sinai region. Back in Löhningen in canton […]
by Scott Capper, swissinfo.ch August 23, 2013 – 16:13 An alleged chemical bombing outside the Syrian capital Damascus, with potentially hundreds of civilian victims, has left the international community horrified. […]
by Peter Siegenthaler, swissinfo.ch August 21, 2013 – 11:00 A Swiss commune’s decision to ban refugees from using an outdoor swimming pool has created a stir. The authority’s interference with asylum seekers’ freedom of movement is clearly an ethical disgrace, according to an ethics expert. At the beginning of August, […]
August 17, 2013 – 10:14 Record numbers of United States expatriates, including those resident in Switzerland, are turning their backs on their home country as the side-effects of aggressive anti-tax […]
by Gerhard Lob in Bellinzona, swissinfo.ch August 12, 2013 – 11:00 On September 22, Ticino will become the first Swiss canton to hold a referendum on banning face-covering headgear in […]
by Matthew Allen, swissinfo.ch August 9, 2013 – 11:00 An ambitious multinational project to tap into the solar energy potential of North African and Middle Eastern deserts is facing a […]
by Urs Geiser, swissinfo.ch August 9, 2013 – 18:05 Swiss Justice Minister Simonetta Sommaruga has dismissed accusations by human rights groups of discriminatory restrictions against asylum seekers. Rules declaring certain areas off-limits in the town of Bremgarten, attracted criticism in international media. Sommaruga said there was no formal ban for […]
Racism is alive and well, said media mogul Oprah Winfrey in an interview this week on Entertainment Tonight. And as proof, she recounted her own recent Zurich, Switzerland, shopping shame […]
by Stefania Summermatter, swissinfo.ch August 8, 2013 – 11:00 Over the last ten years, Switzerland has given more than 43,000 asylum seekers the provisional right to remain. But many cannot […]
August 03, 2013 Childhood memories of wartime Lebanon and street scenes from revolutionary Cairo: Lena Merhej and Mohamed Shennawy embody a trend in contemporary Arab graphic novels that draws its inspiration from real-life events. Aged 35, Merhej has a German and Lebanese background and works as a graphic designer and […]
by Christian Raaflaub, swissinfo.ch July 31, 2013 – A few months ago it was announced that Swiss universities would start training imams. Antonio Loprieno, leader of a working group on the issue, tells swissinfo.ch he hopes such a course will contribute to the debate about Islam in Switzerland. Muslims around […]
July 31, 2013 Swissinfo.ch Ramadan, the ritual Muslim fasting, is taking place. The challenge for those who are celebrating it in Europe are the longer days in which they have to go without either eating or drinking. Many of course miss the familiar atmosphere. (swissinfo.ch, Raffaella Rossello & Islah Bakhat) […]
by Susan Vogel-Misicka, swissinfo.ch July 30, 2013 – 19:59 Sales of alcoholic beverages in Switzerland are at their lowest level in about 60 years. However, the authorities caution that it’s […]
by Thomas Stephens, swissinfo.ch July 23, 2013 – 11:12 The Swiss media have reported the birth of Britain’s new prince, but without the feverish full-page coverage of their British counterparts, […]
July 23, 2013 – 20:08 After the attack on its Jalalabad office in May, the Swiss-run International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has reduced the scope of its activities […]