What inhibits the political integration of foreigners in Switzerland?
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There are few opportunities for non-naturalised immigrants to participate politically. In one case where they can, the results are disappointing.
Lessons in tradition and precision at a Swiss airshow
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Why did 30,000 people show up for Switzerland's biggest airshow of the year? Pilots and spectators share their knowledge and experiences.
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Not much is left of the headquarters of the European Gymnastics Championships, held this past May and June in the Swiss capital, Bern. The organising committee for the EC 2016 spent more than 18 months on the top floor of the House of Sport, a building just outside Bern that houses Swiss Olympic, the umbrella…
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On Monday gfs.bernExternal link confirmed a report by the daily newspaper Tages-AnzeigerExternal link, saying in a statement that the study is in the design phase and that once that phase is over, a decision will be made as to whether the study can be carried out on the basis of current scientific and methodological criteria.…
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For more than two years, the Zurich-based Swiss Society for the Common Good (SSCG) has been trying to do just that. After a contest in which 24,000 people voted on more than 200 entries submitted in the country’s four national languages, the winning text premiered at the August 1 Swiss National Day celebration on the…
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Swiss meat consumption fell last year as consumers lost their appetite in particular for horse, veal and beef. But federal figures in 2016 show that per-capita consumption of meat dropped just 1.3kg between 2007 and 2013, to less than 60kg per person per year. Switzerland should take steps to strengthen that trend, say environmentalists, who…
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Regardless of whether job seekers are young or old, foreign or Swiss, finding a job in Switzerland can be a difficult and lengthy process. swissinfo journalist Jeannie Wurz talks with job seekers and a job counselor about the experience.
Report proposes army service for women and foreigners
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Experts evaluating the challenges facing the Swiss conscription system after 2030 have suggested considering universal compulsory service.
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A survey released on Thursday by the research and polling institute GfS Bern found that 81% of Swiss respondents had either a “very positive” or a “rather positive” impression of the healthcare system, roughly the same as the previous year. Political scientist Claude Longchamp, who retired from his position as the director of GfS Bern…
Warming up for the European Gymnastics Championships
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It takes a lot of work to get ready for a major sports competition – and not just on the part of the athletes. Why do it? This week swissinfo.ch talks to a range of people involved in the 2016 European Gymnastics Championships in Bern.
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On Sunday, the NZZ am Sonntag reported that Russian IT specialists had gained access to personal data of members of the secret DRA10 special forces unit, which was established for risky operations in foreign countries. “We’re racking our brains trying to determine whether the elite soldiers will have to be given new identities,” an insider…
Ex-Minister Adolf Ogi talks trains, trade and tactics
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The Gotthard, the longest train tunnel in the world, is good publicity for Switzerland, says Ogi, who served as Swiss transport minister from 1988 to 1995. The building project was accepted by 64% of voters in September 1992. It’s an important signal that on June 1st 1,000 Swiss residents will be among the passengers on…
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First reactions to the affair “were not kind to Guy Parmelin”, said 24 heures. After the “universal acclaim” following his election to the cabinet in December 2015, the “state of grace has come to an abrupt end”. The crisis began after the Blick reported that Parmelin had pleaded in favour of fiscal privileges for farmers…
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Whereas the initiative calls for the creation of a CHF500 million ($514 million) reparation fund, the government counterproposal would create a fund of CHF300 million to be distributed to an estimated 12,000 to 15,000 victims, with each person receiving a maximum of CHF25,000. The counterproposal was seen as the better alternative by a majority of…
Learning to be a couple while caring for a sick child
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Anna of Bern and Remco of Amsterdam met at a Brazilian folkdance weekend in Paris in April 2014. Like many intercultural couples, they started with “a lot of EasyJet flights”, but soon decided they were ready for a deeper commitment. Both wanted children. And when they learned that Anna was pregnant, it made the decision…
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The neonatal intensive care unit at Bern’s university hospital is open and airy. Sunlight shines into the room from above. Nurses sit in a row at the entrance, overseeing a room full of incubators and keeping track of physiological data on numerous screens in front of them. Here and there, parents sit beside the high-tech…
Five things a whistleblower has to say about tax havens
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The Panama Papers scandal will not stop tax havens Eleven million documents revealing the offshore banking practices of Mossak Fonseca show that Swiss banks (Credit Suisse Channel Islands Ltd., HSBC Private Bank Suisse, UBS AG) and Swiss lawyers are major players in offshore banking.Elmer: “The tax havens are certainly not dying out. The practices will…
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With a total agricultural land area of 612 hectares, the minimum security prison Witzwil, located outside the Swiss capital, Bern, is also the largest farm in Switzerland. It takes a while to tour all the outbuildings, even for someone young and mobile. With the head of security, Christian Ambühl, I enter a barnlike structure full…
