by Simon Bradley, swissinfo.ch Islamophobic tweets and attacks against foreigners on Facebook, blogs, posters and TV – recent incidents involving politicians and party members have given food for thought as Switzerland prepares to appear before the Human Rights Council. Over the past few months a number of alleged discrimination cases […]
The Local: The Swiss, for example, pursue a policy of neutrality but also have a large army to defend the country. It’s not unusual to phone up a business acquaintance and find they have left for military service for a few weeks. And while the Swiss love their rules and […]
Justice Minister Simonetta Sommaruga has presented the first National Action Plan Against Human Trafficking at a forum attended by 250 representatives of the federal administration, cantons and civil society. Human […]
Four years after Switzerland officially joined the European Union’s borderless Schengen zone and the Dublin accord on asylum, it has been revealed that costs of Swiss membership are almost 14 times what were originally mentioned. In June 2005, the cabinet announced that the costs “would amount in the coming years […]
by Andreas Keiser, swissinfo.ch Switzerland tops all major research and innovation rankings worldwide, largely thanks to generous funding and a clear separation between public and private research, as well as […]
Christoph Bochinger, a professor of religious studies, sees no countertrend to secularisation, with the result that the churches have lost their role as leaders on matters relating to values and conscience. Interview by Matthias Herren “Swiss review”: The Catholic and Reformed Protestant Churches have steadily been losing members for decades. […]
The Swiss people’s relationship with religion is undergoing significant change. There are twenty times more Swiss with no religious affiliation today than forty years ago. Faith also plays a less […]
Over the past year, 35 people have died in Switzerland as the result of domestic violence. The figure has risen steadily since 2009. Per head of population, the rate is higher than in France, where there were 160 fatalities in 2010. 4,471 cases of violence were investigated in Switzerland in […]
The actual headline reads: Does chocolate help you win a Nobel prize? by Chantal Britt, swissinfo.ch A humorous but scientifically sound column published in the renowned New England Journal of […]
The Swiss government is tightening up the rules on the export of all war material after Swiss-made grenades – originally sold to the United Arab Emirates – turned up in […]
by Sophie Douez, swissinfo.ch For decades, Swiss hotels and mountain resorts have been able to rely on Swiss and visiting Germans to fill their coffers. But each year there are […]
by Christian Walther in Petra, swissinfo.ch Exactly 200 years ago, the remarkable cliff city of Petra in present-day Jordan was rediscovered by Basel native Johann Ludwig Burckhardt. To mark the […]
by Christian Raaflaub, swissinfo.ch In his documentary More Than Honey, Swiss filmmaker Markus Imhoof examines the collapse of bee colonies. Life on earth without bees, responsible for the pollination of […]
by Clare O’Dea, swissinfo.ch After a decade of largely unrestricted access to abortion, the rate in Switzerland remains stable and is among the lowest in the world. How is the […]
Del Ponte, who has also served as a Swiss ambassador and federal prosecutor, was named on Friday to serve on the commission alongside Vitit Muntarbhorn, a Thai expert and veteran UN investigator, American Karen Abuzayd and Brazilian Paulo Pinheiro. The international inquiry, led by Pinheiro, was set up a year […]
By Associated Press, Updated: Friday, September 28, 3:25 PM GENEVA — Swiss lawmakers have rejected a proposal to ban face-covering veils, such as the burqa worn by some Muslim women, […]
A Swiss study commissioned by the government shows that GM plants are safe, but many aren’t convinced by Marc-Andre Miserez, swissinfo.ch Banned from Switzerland until the end of 2013, genetically […]
NOTE BY THE EDITOR: I have amended the headline a little bit. Ahmadinejad denounces United Nations Security Council (UNSC) for monopolizing United Nations’ power I believe Swiss President in agreement […]
by Rita Emch in New York, swissinfo.ch In a speech before the United Nations General Assembly in New York, Swiss President Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf has urged swift action against Syria human […]
by Veronica DeVore and Simon Bradley, swissinfo.ch Swiss-based oil trader Vitol has bought and sold Iranian oil despite a Western ban, a new report claims. Vitol says it has stopped […]