by Susan Vogel-Misicka, swissinfo.ch Switzerland has a long tradition of hosting boarding schools. Today they attract mainly foreign students whose families appreciate this elite form of education. There are some 100,000 students enrolled in private Swiss schools, according to the Swiss Federation of Private Schools (SFPS). They come from all […]
Swissinfo. An unconfirmed report says the Taliban in Pakistan will release two Swiss tourists they kidnapped at the beginning of July if the United States frees a Pakistani scientist convicted of terrorism. The Swiss pair were abducted in the southwestern Baluchistan province while travelling across Pakistan in their camper van. […]
Rather than being the glue that prevents parents splitting up, children will at best just delay divorce, according to a Swiss study. Fabienne Stettler, a sociologist at Neuchâtel University, says the number of divorces peaks when the family’s youngest child is aged between three and five. “Parents are often too […]
by Mohamed Cherif in Geneva, swissinfo.ch Somalia’s ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva has sounded the alarm over the desperate food shortage in his country, where famine has been declared in the south. For several years, Yusuf Muhammad Isma’il has ensured a diplomatic presence for Somalia, hit by civil […]
by Jessica Dacey, swissinfo.ch and agencies Three environmental activists have been jailed for over three years each for plotting the bombing of the IBM nanotechnology centre in Switzerland. A 26-year-old Swiss-Italian from Ticino and an Italian couple aged 29 and 34 were found guilty by the Federal Criminal Court of […]
The Church of Scientology is rapidly losing support in Switzerland, and the number of members is declining, religious experts say. According to a report in the SonntagsZeitung newspaper, theologist Georg Otto Schmid, an expert on sects, said that support for Scientology is “shrinking.” “I would imagine that the sect will […]
A series of health centres specifically catering to the needs of gay men are being planned across Switzerland to help homosexuals deal with HIV issues, fear and psychological discomfort. Recent studies have shown that gay men suffer poorer health than heterosexual men, a fact not only attributable to the higher […]
The article below actually dates to October 2010. I am bringing it here, as the discussion continues. A political party in Switzerland launches a new effort to discontinue the ‘automatic church tax’ for ‘juristic entities’ (companies), which for instance ‘forces’ Muslim and Jewish firm owners to pay taxes to Christian […]
by Marie-Christine Bonzom in Washington, swissinfo.ch A report by the Global Commission on Drug Policy has concluded that the war on drugs has failed, triggering a heated debate in the United States. The report, written by a high-profile panel including former Swiss cabinet minister Ruth Dreifuss, criticises the repressive approach […]
Swiss Justice Minister Simonetta Sommaruga says illegal immigration would be easier to stop if Schengen’s external borders were better controlled. Sommaruga, who is attending an informal meeting of European Union interior ministers in Poland, told the Swiss News Agency that Switzerland supports all measures which increase the credibility and efficiency […]
Swiss Defence Minister Ueli Maurer discussed increasing military cooperation with his Chinese counterpart Liang Guanglie at a meeting in Beijing on Thursday. The atmosphere at the meeting was “harmonious” and “friendly”, defence ministry spokesman Jean-Blaise Defago told the Swiss News Agency. He said China regarded Switzerland as an interesting partner […]
by Samuel Jaberg, swissinfo.ch More than ten million people are caught up in the Horn of Africa crisis sparked by the worst drought in decades and compounded by intense fighting in Somalia. In refugee camps in Dadaab in Kenya – where nearly 400,000 people are crammed together with more arriving […]
by Abdelhafidh Abdeleli, swissinfo.ch If Spanish and Italian immigrants have their own old age care homes, why should elderly Muslims not have similar institutions? The relevant parties appear to be in agreement on the urgent need for special health and social services, but views differ on how to achieve them. […]
by Gemma d’Urso in Lugano, swissinfo.ch Thirteen years ago after causing a sensation with her book The White Masai, Corinne Hofmann has returned to the theme of Africa with her new book, Africa, My Passion. It tells of an arduous but glorious journey, her experiences visiting slums and her daughter’s […]
by Isobel Leybold in Zurich, swissinfo.ch Insect expert Hans Rudolf Herren’s work in tackling the devastating cassava mealybug crop pest in Africa saved millions of lives and won him the 1995 World Food Prize. Herren, the subject of a new biography, tells swissinfo.ch how he managed to naturally control the bug […]
By Eveline Kobler and Alexander Künzle, swissinfo.ch Terror attacks, political manoeuvering by rightwing parties and oversimplification in the media explain why Muslims in Switzerland are perceived as a threat. The National Research Programme 58 study into religious pluralism says immigrants from predominantly Muslim countries have been singled out even though this group has […]
Terror attacks abroad, rightwing policies and a biased media are all reasons why Muslims increasingly seem to have a bad image in Switzerland, a report has found. In particular the debate surrounding the national minaret vote of 2009 – in which the building of minarets was banned – was revealed […]
Mosques are a part of the Swiss landscape: there are over 100 dotted around the country. There are four minarets in Switzerland – in Geneva, Zurich, Wangen and Winterthur.
The European Court of Human Rights has rejected two appeals against a ban on the construction of new minarets in Switzerland.Judges ruled that the plaintiffs – three Muslim organisations and a private citizen – were not victims of an alleged human rights violation. The Strasbourg-based court on Friday announced that […]