Switzerland denies Saudi sheikh entry for 5 years
JEDDAH: ARAB NEWS Monday 27 May 2013 Saudi Sheikh Mohammad Al-Arifi has been banned again from entering Switzerland and all European Union countries, according to a Swiss official. Jourg Walban, […]
Swiss politics: The big bad foreigner in poster art
by Daniele Mariani, swissinfo.ch May 24, 2013 – 11:00 First it was Bolsheviks and Jews. Then it was migrant workers from Southern Europe. Now it’s more exotic newcomers such as […]
NEW LIVES: Resettling the vulnerable who cannot go home
by Simon Bradley in Lebanon, swissinfo.ch May 22, 2013 – 11:01 Resettlement in the West for the most vulnerable of the more than 1.5 million people who have fled Syria is as good as winning the lottery. For its part, Switzerland has only taken a handful and there are obstacles […]
Illegal money: Swiss Cabinet drafts unique law on dictators’ assets
by Urs Geiser, swissinfo.ch May 22, 2013 – 18:15 Cabinet has presented a draft bill setting the rules for the freezing and restoring assets obtained illegally by foreign dictators and […]
Switzerland: Alcohol abuse linked to domestic violence
Epigraph: O ye who believe! wine and the game of hazard and idols and divining arrows are only an abomination of Satan’s handiwork. So shun each one of them that you may […]
Neither war nor peace: Battle begins against drones and killer robots
by Frédéric Burnand in Geneva, swissinfo.ch May 20, 2013 – 11:01 The intensive use of drones by the Obama administration is feeding a wave of protest and criticism which reaches […]
Human rights ruling: Swiss ordered to define assisted suicide laws
The European Court of Human Rights has ordered Switzerland to clarify whether and under what conditions individuals not suffering from terminal illnesses should be helped to end their own lives […]
ROCKS ON A ROLL : Huge colourless diamond goes for record (or should we call it: Picture of the Day?)
A pear-shaped colourless diamond – the largest ever offered at auction – has sold for a record CHF25.9 million ($26.7 million) in Geneva, where records were also set for the […]
Atypically Saudi: Haifaa al-Mansour, a woman’s voice from Arabia
by Islah Bakhat, swissinfo.ch May 14, 2013 – 11:00 Saudi filmmaker Haifaa al-Mansour has won worldwide acclaim for her first feature film, Wadjda, filmed in her home country. Al-Mansour, who […]
Islam in Switzerland: Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at concluded Book exhibition and lecture series in Schaffhausen
Commencing on 20th February 2013 in Schaffhausen City Library Jamaat Ahmadiyya Switzerland held a very informative Islam and Koran exhibition which ran for five weeks until 28 March 2013. The […]
TRADE VS HUMAN RIGHTS – Business is anything but usual with Saudi Arabia
by Peter Siegenthaler, swissinfo.ch May 14, 2013 – 11:00 Saudi Arabia, a key player in the conflict in Syria, is an important Swiss trade partner but it regularly makes headlines due to human rights violations. Is conducting business with the desert state complicity, or another way of bringing about change? […]
Switzerland: “Corpses” protest against asylum reform
Two teenagers and a dog inspect protestors wrapped in plastic bags in central Lausanne on May 13. The flash action was organised by a group in canton Vaud which is […]
Conflict resolution: Negotiating the “crowded field” of mediation
by Luigi Jorio, swissinfo.ch May 10, 2013 – 11:00 Most armed conflicts are resolved not by force but at the negotiating table. However, the growing number of mediation actors seen […]
Switzerland: COURT DECISION: Muslim Teens not exempt from Swimming lessons
May 10, 2013 – 21:25 Integration of foreigners is more important than their religious beliefs, Switzerland’s highest court ruled on Friday. The court denied a 14-year-old girl from a strict […]
Swiss Government report finds Muslims well-integrated
A joint cantonal and governmental report conducted in the wake of the 2009 minaret ban finds that most Muslims in Switzerland are well-integrated and don’t generally experience problems related to […]
Swiss-based Anne Frank Fund compares rival Dutch Foundation to Nazis in bitter dispute over family archive
Yves Kugelmann says ‘it’s a matter of fact’ that a Dutch institution is again trying to seize the family’s possessions STEVE ANDERSON THE INDPENDENT UK A bitter row between two […]
New WTO leader faces rough road ahead
by Veronica DeVore, swissinfo.ch May 8, 2013 – 17:08 Brazil’s Roberto Azavedo, announced as the new Director-General of the World Trade Organization on Wednesday, is a savvy “dealmaker” but will face a host of challenges in his new position, says former Swiss WTO negotiator Luzius Wasescha. Azevedo, who will be […]
Cautiously Optimistic: Swiss Foreign minister reckons Middle East talks possible
May 3, 2013 – 13:10 There is a ‘window of opportunity’ for Israel and the Palestinians to get back to the negotiating table, said Swiss Foreign Minister Didier Burkhalter after […]
Switzerland: Can a mega-alpine resort meet expectations?
by Susan Vogel-Misicka, swissinfo.ch May 2, 2013 – 11:00 Egyptian property developer and billionaire Samih Sawiris is confident his first venture in Europe, the Andermatt Swiss Alps resort, will be […]
NOT A TARGET: Jihadists show little interest in Switzerland
April 30, 2013 – 13:50 Switzerland is still not a priority target for jihadists according to the Federal Intelligence Service (FIS), although it cannot rule out that these organisations could […]